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Millard Kinnison on November 13, 2024

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Together in Christ: 'Drinking Water from Our Own Well!' — Proverbs 5:15-20

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Drink water from your own well — share your love only with your wife. Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone? You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers.

Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love. Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman?

— Proverbs 5:15-20 NLT

Key Thought...

Thankfully, the Bible isn't subtle or ambiguous about matters of sexual intimacy. [1] God speaks through His servants clearly about the sacredness of a husband and wife entering into sexual intimacy. [2] They are to please each other before focusing on their own needs and fulfillment. [3] They are to recognize that their bodies are not their own but are to be used to bless their marriage partner and glorify God. [4] And they are not to step outside of their marriage union to find sexual satisfaction. [5] Sexual intimacy is something a married couple is encouraged to "rejoice" in together as they learn to "satisfy" each other with their love. They should be "captivated" by the love they have and share. Sexual intimacy with anyone other than their marriage partner is a sin and a profane rejection of both God's will and the preciousness of the person they married. [6] They should "reserve" their intimacy for each other and not let other poisonous influences intrude into the sanctity and joy of their one-flesh relationship. [7]

Thankfully, God is not prudish about sex. [8] After all, He designed it as a gift to give to us as His beloved creations. He is, however, unequivocal: The joys of sexual intimacy are reserved for the sanctity of marriage and the protective security of a life-long covenant with each other and with God. [9]

[1] Hebrews 13:4 places sexual love in marriage in the context of worshiping God. This verse is in the section between Hebrews 12:28-29 and Hebrews 13:15-16, which form an inclusion with the encapsulated verses telling us how to worship. Sexual love in Hebrews 13:4 in Greek is ἡ κοίτη ἀμίαντος (hē koitē amiantos), which is translated literally as "keep the coital love in marriage pure!"

[2] Hebrews 13:4 and 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 are great places to start studying this concept.

[3] Paul emphasizes that the husband should look to fulfill the wife's sexual needs (a concept foreign to sex for many cultures), just as the wife should seek to fulfill her husband's needs — 1 Corinthians 7:3.

[4] 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, 7:4.

[5] 1 Thessalonians 4:2-8; Hebrews 13:4 and today's focus passage.

[6] Genesis 2:24-25; Malachi 2:13-16; Matthew 19:4-6.

[7] Proverbs 5:16-17.

[8] Having the whole book of the Song of Solomon in the Scriptures should make this clear. See the Related Scripture Readings and also footnote [1].

[9] Our passage today and many others cited in these footnotes point to this theme.

Today's Prayer

Almighty God, thank You for creating us as people who long for connection with someone who loves us, is committed to us, and will share their bodies with us in marriage. Thank You for designing joy, excitement, pleasure, and a sense of oneness in sexual intimacy. I commit to honoring You by using this great gift to bless my marriage partner, as we worship You in holiness and honor with our bodies and each other. [A] Forgive me when I have not held the preciousness of this gift in as great an honor and gift as You do. In Jesus' name, I praise and thank You. Amen.

[A] See footnote [1] above and 1 Thessalonians 4:2-8.