Proverbs 2:17: Warning! Discussion of mature themes within

“who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God;”
-Proverbs 2:17

Last time, we started to look at the second major section of chapter 2: the adulteress. In that verse, we were mainly looking at the fact that she did not follow the God of the Bible, and what that means for us today. In this verse, let’s look a little bit at sexual sin in general, since this woman has forsaken the companion of her youth.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about sexual sin, so let’s define a few terms.

Adultery is when you cheat on a spouse.

Fornication is when you have any sexual contact with anyone who is not your spouse. A lot of translations will use the phrase “sexual immorality” here, which has confused people. Some have even gone so far as to say that this is only adultery, and fornication is not wrong. Well, that term in the Greek is “porneia,” and it means any sort of sex outside of marriage, including sleeping with your boyfriend, heavy petting, stripping for someone, posting pictures online, or anything else you can think of.

And if you don’t agree that these are sins, Jesus tells us “that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). So pretty much anything that will get you excited is also adultery, just in case you deny that it is poreia.

Homosexuality of any kind is also forbidden for both men and women (for example, Romans 1:27-28).

So is sex bad? Heavens, no! May it never be! The Bible speaks very highly of sexual relations, but that it was meant for marriage. Whether we want to admit it or not, there is a spiritual connection that happens when two people make love, and that connection was meant for one person.

God does not want to steal our joy, but to free us into real joy. He wants us to be sexually open and free within a relationship, without dragging around a past that probably lead to jealousy, shame, regret, comparisons, or what ifs. He wants us to experience one another unselfishly and lovingly, without restraint, for all our lives.

We bring honor to our wives like this. We show them love by waiting for them, by treasuring them, by making them the only one. We bring honor to husbands this way, by respecting them enough to make love to them only. We bring honor to those who are not our spouses by not taking what belongs to a future spouse. We bring honor also to God, by following His plan rather than our own momentary desires. We make the statement that He is more important than getting laid tonight. “You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20).

This connection is mirrored in the way Jesus loves His Church. He would do anything for His Church, and even died for her. His Church is not something He will leave for another church, or cheat on. He chose that Church from the foundation of the world, and there will never be another.

Even while we were sinners, Jesus died for us. Even when we were committing all sorts of sins against Him, including sexual ones, He came to earth and died upon the Cross to take our sins upon Himself. It is a wonderful feeling to know that someone has stayed true to you even before that person knew you. That was Jesus, even when turned to other things that seemed more important.

He will forgive you if you repent and follow Him. It may be that He chose you from the beginning of time and is calling for you now to join His Church. The Church is His bride, and even though we do not come pure, He has cleaned us with His Blood, and He welcomes us and will always stay true.

A wayward man will repent of his past when he falls so completely in love that his own desires are not as important. Repent also to God, for He is worthy of that love.