Proverbs 6:31
Yet if caught, he must pay sevenfold; he must give up all the wealth of his house.
Sermons
Sin and SafetyW. Clarkson Proverbs 6:20-35
Warning Against AdulteryE. Johnson Proverbs 6:25-35














No candid student can ignore the fact that the view of this sin, and the motives deterrent from it, are of far lower order than those of pure Christianity. They do not rise above those of Horace, or any general morality of men of the world. In the sense that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, that the soul is in communion with God, we reach that loftier point of view whence the odium of the sin is clearly discernible, and the motives against it are the highest that can be known.

I. SIN SPRINGS FROM THE ROOT OF DESIRE. (Ver. 25.) This is the general law (James 1:14, 15). Hence the last command of the Decalogue (Exodus 20:17; Matthew 5:28). The objects of desire may be good in themselves, but not lawful for our possession, as e.g. anything that belongs to our neighbour. Or the object may only seem to be good in itself, and its possession may be both unlawful and pernicious. This is the case with the adulteress. Her beauty is a deceitful show. It is a symbol with no moral worth behind it. The beauty, the "twinkling eye," are only sensuous charms. We must not speak of desire abstractly as if it were wrong, but of the indiscriminating desire, which confounds the lawful with the unlawful, the real with the unreal.

II. ADULTEROUS DESIRE BOTH UNLAWFUL AND PERNICIOUS,

1. The extravagance and avarice of the adulteress. (Ver. 26.) This is a commonplace of observation. Excess in one passion affects the whole moral equilibrium, and she who will lavish away her honour will be reckless of other waste.

2. She is a spendthrift of her lover's life. The Hebrew designates the soul or life as dear, or costly. After making havoc of his possessions, she preys upon his life, more precious than all.

3. The deadly certainty of those results of such liaisons. (Vers. 27-29.) By two impassioned questions the teacher conveys the most emphatic denial of what they suggest.

4. The further certainty of penal consequences on detection. Conveyed by means of an analogy (vers. 30, 31). The act of the thief who steals to quiet his starving stomach is not overlooked. If apprehended, he is made to restore sevenfold. The Mosaic Law says four or fivefold (Exodus 21:36; Exodus 22:1, sqq.; cf. Luke 19:8). The "sevenfold" merely expresses a round sum generally; the thief might have to buy off his exemption from legal prosecution with all he had. Much less, then, can the graver crime of adultery escape punishment, if detected. And hence the senselessness and suicidal conduct of the lover (ver. 32).

5. Other risks of detection. Castigation and ignominy at the hands of the outraged husband (ver. 33). Exposure to all the fury of excited jealousy, which is unsparing, fiercely vindictive, insatiable, unappeasable (vers. 34, 35).

1. The lower motive - fear of consequences - is the most powerful deterrent from crime.

2. But the higher motives, derived from the sense of what crime is in itself and in relation to the doer, are needed when the other is not acting.

3. It is not being found out that makes the evil evil, - that is an accident; the essence of the clime is in the wrong done to the soul. - J.

If he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry.
The deceitful and perverting influence of sin requires careful consideration. While as yet it is only a principle in the mind, and not ripened into an external action, it draws into its service the various powers of imagination, invention, and even reason itself. By these powers the forbidden object is represented as a source of peculiar enjoyment, or it is invested with features of external attraction, or it is exhibited as fitted to gratify curiosity at least, and to extend the sphere of natural knowledge. Even after the principle is matured into action, and its fatal consequences begin to be felt, it employs the same powers to find excuses and apologies for the act. The sources from which apologies are drawn are exceedingly numerous. But this is the striking peculiarity of sin, that it seeks with greatest eagerness to draw them from the character, the providence, or the Word of God. The passage now before us seems to hold out an excuse for stealing, or at least to take off the odiousness and criminality of it.

I. THE ASPECT OF THIS ACT IN THE SIGHT OF MEN. The text implies that by men it is considered as venial or excusable. But it is the act under special limitations.

1. Limited exclusively to food. The thing stolen is not classed as property. It is that which is seldom coveted, and never for its own sake except under the influence of hunger. But this can never be drawn into an excuse for stealing in general. The food is supposed to be taken by the thief only when he is hungry. It is not inspired by covetousness, but by hunger. This is a very important limitation. Food may be stolen with as much criminality as any other thing, for it may be turned into money.

2. But the feeling of hunger itself is restricted by the text. The purpose for which it supposes food to be stolen is to satisfy. The thief must take no more even of it than is necessary to extinguish present hunger. He is not permitted to carry any away either to provide against future necessity, or to procure anything which he may be anxious to possess.

3. Food is supposed to be stolen merely to "satisfy the soul"— that is, to preserve the life. The thief must be at the point of extreme necessity, at which, if he did not commit the act under consideration, he would actually surrender his life.

II. THE ASPECT OF THIS ACT IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. The text does not state that God regards this thief with indulgence. The context implies that this individual has incurred the penalty of the law, and must be punished if he be found. Mercy, which sets aside the demands of the law, is only sin, and, if generally acted on, would be attended with the most ruinous consequences. The mercy of man is a very inadequate medium for contemplating the mercy of God. Though the act under consideration may seem perfectly innocent to man, it may appear highly criminal and dangerous in the sight of God. The justice of this estimate may be clearly perceived by attending to this case of necessity in two aspects.

1. If the thief has been involved in this necessitous condition by his own misconduct — by idleness, intemperance, or any other immoral habit — he is plainly guilty. The very necessity to which he has been reduced is s sinful necessity, since it has been occasioned by his own misconduct.

2. When he has been involved in it by the providence of God. Even in this view the act under consideration is decidedly sinful. It is a serious misimprovement and abuse of God's providence. We may see that even the most extreme case of necessity will not warrant unbelief and the commission of sin. It is better to surrender even life itself than give way to an immoral and criminal act. A case can never occur in which one precept of the law may be set aside in order to avoid the violation of another. The case in which life is in danger is evidently the most extreme; it plainly comprehends every other. If the law is not to be broken in the superior, it is not to be broken in the inferior case; if it is not to be violated when life is at stake, it is much less to be violated when any inferior benefit is at stake.

(George Hislop.)

At one of the annual Waterloo banquets the Duke of Wellington after dinner handed round for inspection a very valuable presentation snuff-box set with diamonds. After a time it disappeared, and could nowhere be found. The Duke was much annoyed. The guests (there being no servants in the room at the time) were more so, and they all agreed to turn out their pockets. To this one old officer most vehemently objected, and on their pressing the point left the room, notwithstanding that the Duke begged that nothing more might be said about the matter. Of course suspicion fell on the old officer; nobody seemed to know much about him or where he lived. The next year the Duke at the annual banquet put his hand in the pocket of his coat, which he had not worn since the last dinner, and there was the missing snuff-box! The Duke was dreadfully distressed, found out the old officer, who was living in a wretched garret, and apologised. "But why," said his Grace, "did you not consent to what the other officers proposed, and thus have saved yourself from the terrible suspicion?" "Because, sir, my pockets were full of broken meat, which I had contrived to put there to save my wife and family, who were at that time literally dying of starvation." The Duke, it is said, sobbed like a child; and it need not be added that the old officer and his family suffered no more from want from that day.

People
Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Act, Caught, Costs, Giveth, Giving, Goods, Pay, Property, Repay, Repayeth, Restore, Seven, Sevenfold, Seven-fold, Substance, Though, Wealth
Outline
1. against indebtedness
6. idleness
12. and mischievousness
16. seven things detestable to God
20. the blessings of obedience
25. the mischief of unfaithfulness

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 6:31

     5492   restitution

Proverbs 6:30-31

     5341   hunger
     5555   stealing
     6029   sin, forgiveness

Proverbs 6:30-35

     5264   compensation

Library
The Talking Book
A Sermon (No. 1017) Delivered on Lord's Day Morning, October 22nd, 1871 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "When thou awakest, it shall talk with thee."--Proverbs 6:22. It is a very happy circumstance when the commandment of our father and the law of our mother are also the commandment of God and the law of the Lord. Happy are they who have a double force to draw them to the right--the bonds of nature, and the cords of grace. They sin with a vengeance who sin both against
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

An Appeal to Children of Godly Parents
A sermon (No. 2406) intended for reading on Lord's Day, March 31st, 1895, delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, on Lord's Day evening, March 27th, 1887. "My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Talking Book
In order that we may be persuaded so to do, Solomon gives us three telling reasons. He says that God's law, by which I understand the whole run of Scripture, and, especially the gospel of Jesus Christ, will be a guide to us:--"When thou goest, it shall lead thee." It will be a guardian to us: "When thou sleepest"--when thou art defenceless and off thy guard--"it shall keep thee." And it shall also be a dear companion to us: "When thou awakest, it shall talk with thee." Any one of these three arguments
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

How Sowers of Strifes and Peacemakers are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 24.) Differently to be admonished are sowers of strifes and peacemakers. For sowers of strifes are to be admonished to perceive whose followers they are. For of the apostate angel it is written, when tares had been sown among the good crop, An enemy hath done this (Matth. xiii. 28). Of a member of him also it is said through Solomon, An apostate person, an unprofitable man, walketh with a perverse mouth, he winketh with his eyes, he beateth with his foot, he speaketh with his finger,
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

A Jealous God
I. Reverently, let us remember that THE LORD IS EXCEEDINGLY JEALOUS OF HIS DEITY. Our text is coupled with the command--"Thou shalt worship no other God." When the law was thundered from Sinai, the second commandment received force from the divine jealousy--"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 9: 1863

How Subjects and Prelates are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 5.) Differently to be admonished are subjects and prelates: the former that subjection crush them not, the latter that superior place elate them not: the former that they fail not to fulfil what is commanded them, the latter that they command not more to be fulfilled than is just: the former that they submit humbly, the latter that they preside temperately. For this, which may be understood also figuratively, is said to the former, Children, obey your parents in the Lord: but to
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Preface to the Commandments
And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God,' &c. Exod 20: 1, 2. What is the preface to the Ten Commandments? The preface to the Ten Commandments is, I am the Lord thy God.' The preface to the preface is, God spake all these words, saying,' &c. This is like the sounding of a trumpet before a solemn proclamation. Other parts of the Bible are said to be uttered by the mouth of the holy prophets (Luke 1: 70), but here God spake in his own person. How are we to understand that, God spake,
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

"Boast not Thyself of to Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. "
Prov. xxvii. 1.--"Boast not thyself of to morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." As man is naturally given to boasting and gloriation in something (for the heart cannot want some object to rest upon and take complacency in, it is framed with such a capacity of employing other things), so there is a strong inclination in man towards the time to come, he hath an immortal appetite, and an appetite of immortality; and therefore his desires usually stretch farther than the present
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Heavenly Footman; Or, a Description of the Man that Gets to Heaven:
TOGETHER WITH THE WAY HE RUNS IN, THE MARKS HE GOES BY; ALSO, SOME DIRECTIONS HOW TO RUN SO AS TO OBTAIN. 'And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.'--Genesis 19:17. London: Printed for John Marshall, at the Bible in Gracechurch Street, 1698. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. About forty years ago a gentleman, in whose company I had commenced my
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

In Death and after Death
A sadder picture could scarcely be drawn than that of the dying Rabbi Jochanan ben Saccai, that "light of Israel" immediately before and after the destruction of the Temple, and for two years the president of the Sanhedrim. We read in the Talmud (Ber. 28 b) that, when his disciples came to see him on his death-bed, he burst into tears. To their astonished inquiry why he, "the light of Israel, the right pillar of the Temple, and its mighty hammer," betrayed such signs of fear, he replied: "If I were
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

"And Watch unto Prayer. "
1 Pet. iv. 7.--"And watch unto prayer." "Watch." A Christian should watch. A Christian is a watchman by office. This duty of watchfulness is frequently commanded and commended in scripture, Matt. xxiv. 42, Mark xiii. 33, 1 Cor. xvi. 13, Eph. vi. 18, 1 Pet. v. 8, Col. iv. 2; Luke xii. 37. David did wait as they that did watch for the morning light. The ministers of the gospel are styled watchmen in scripture and every Christian should be to himself as a minister is to his flock, he should watch over
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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