DCLM Higher Everyday 14 November 2023 — Withdraw from stolen waters
Topic: Withdraw from stolen waters
Text: Proverbs 9:13-18
13A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
14For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
15To call passengers who go right on their ways:
16Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
17Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
18But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
Key Verse: “Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant” (Proverbs 9:17).
Message
Both wisdom and stupidity invite the passers-by to “turn in hither.” While wisdom invites the youths to a feast of meat and bread, stupidity invites them to a binge of stolen water and bread eaten in secret. In the Scriptures, experiencing intimate relationship with a beloved wife is likened to drinking refreshing water from a running well (Proverbs 5:15-18). Stolen water, on the other hand, represents immoral intimate relations carried out by the unmarried. Such waters are made to appear sweet and pleasant. But remember, “All that glitters is not gold.”
The secret bread is given the appearance of being more delicious than the bread and meat of wisdom. But the end is not usually pleasant. Often, illicit affairs end in sorrow and pain. Many a youth is today languishing in regrets and guilt due to one dangerous experimentation with sin. Prince Amnon died through immoral act with his half-sister. Yes, stolen waters may indeed be sweet, but at the end, the mouth is filled with gravels. To view what is forbidden as attractive is a mark of stupidity.
Quote: Often, illicit affairs end in sorrow
Challenge: Shun illicit relationships.
Prayer for today: Lord, help me to abhor the forbidden.
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
