Forbidden Sex – Proverbs 22:14

A local Memphis pastor who had just come from Little Rock, answered the door of his apartment and faced his mistress from Little Rock.  Apparently he had tried to break off their affair, but she broke it off by shooting him three times, and yelling as she did, “You broke my heart!”  Not all affairs end with such drama, but all are equally destructive.

The mouth of forbidden women is a deep pit; he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it. (Proverbs 22:14, ESV)

The temptation of sexual greed is rampant in our culture, if not in every culture.  The number of people who desire and seek sexual fulfillment outside of their marriage is astounding.  And this is the tip of the iceberg if we consider how many of us fantasize about a sexual relationship outside of our marriages but don’t actually engage in it.

For the latter group there are various reasons they don’t physically violate their marriages but keep it in the realm of fantasy.  But all the reasons may be boiled down to fear of the consequences and respect for their marriages.  We could wish that respect for our marriages, which includes loyalty to our spouses and joy in the love we have found with another person, were sufficient to keep us from going to the forbidden woman or man.  But for most of us the fear of the consequences if we did is also needed to keep us from foolish decisions.

This proverb is warning us of the consequences of immorality.  Adultery or any violation of God’s provision of marriage for sexual fulfillment is a “deep pit” that traps one and keeps one from enjoying true freedom and love.  This proverb also asks us to consider that the pit we fall into of sexual sin may be seen as a judgment from God.  If God wants to punish us this is a painful punishment.

It is the mouth of the forbidden lover that is most dangerous.  Their words will entice us to remain involved and like the sirens who called to Odysseus they will seem impossible to resist.  We may be the ones using such words to seduce someone else.  We may be the forbidden woman or man who has thrown wisdom to the wind.  May God have mercy on our souls.