"I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors!"   Proverbs 5:13

There are consequences for sexual sin in the lives of those who commit it.  These two verses in Proverbs chapter 5 relate to us what some of these consequences are for the immoral person.  What is fascinating is that these two things are not exactly on the what's what list for sexual immorality - and yet they are both problems that will come for those who practice this kind of lifestyle and choice in life.

It would be wise for us to briefly remember the context of these verses.  These are in the context of a father warning a son not to consort with prostitutes and with women who commit adultery.  The warnings are dire but are in no way hyperbole.  The things being said to this young man are true warnings and they contain true consequences for his actions.  This is why the one who commits adultery later laments that he did not listen to the voice of his teachers - nor pay attention of incline his ear to hear how they were seeking to instruct him.

There is very real ruin and disgrace that attends adultery.  Anyone who has watched a marriage and a family disintegrate under the weight of it knows this to be true.  Yet, even with all the examples that we have before us of these things, men and women still enter into relationships and commit adultery.  The siren call of pleasure drowns out the voice of teachers and instructors who have warned them of the rocky shores upon which they will wreck their lives and the lives of their families.  The only cry they will lift is unfortunately the one that comes from the battered survivors who cry in pain in the midst of their wreckage. 

That is what we have here before us - the cry of the destroyed.  I did not listen to my teachers!  I did not incline my ear to my instructors!  I am ruined due to my sin and my indiscretions!  The cries come from the rocks and from the ruins of lives that have ventured too far into those dangerous waters.  They have ignored the warning of the lighthouse of Scripture that tells them what will happen.  Rebellious and unteachable - their lesson will only be learned the hard way.  They will add their names to the long list of cautionary characters who faced ruin in opposing and thinking they can get past the Scriptures and God's warnings.  All this can seem like too much - but tomorrow we will see a ray of hope in what is said in verse 14.  So if you are on the verge of despair - there is hope - there is mercy - and there is grace!

How blessed is the man who fears always, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. Proverbs 28:14

This particular proverb is based on the previous verse.  That verse deals with those who conceal versus those who confess and forsake their sin.  This verse is a reminder to us about another comparison.  This one is those who fear God versus those who harden their heart.  That is what happens when we become aware of sin in our lives.  We have a choice at that point as to whether we are going to fear God and deal with our sin - or - whether we are going to harden our hearts and think that sin is not that big of an issue.  Some even deny that sin exists and in so doing, put another crusty layer of hardness from ungodly philosophies over their heart. 

When we become aware of sin we should fear God.  We should fear God because He is holy and sin will break our fellowship with Him.  As a holy God, we should also fear because His great love for us will respond with discipline in our lives to get us to turn from sin.  Anyone who is even remotely familiar with the passages in the Old and New Testament where God responds to sin, should know that good things are NOT going to happen when we choose sin.  Even worse things are in store if we not only choose sin - but them add to our sin by rejecting the conviction of the Holy Spirit when He seeks to alert us to our rebellion against God's Word.  Just naming names and places should remind us of this.  Sodom and Gommorah, Pharaoh, the Egyptian army at the Red Sea, Dathan and Abiram, Achan, Nadab and Abihu, David and Bathsheba, and Annanias and Saphira are names and places that should immediately make us aware that God takes sin seriously.  Then there is that whole "judgement seat of Christ" thing, as well as the "lake of fire" in the book of Revelation that should remind us that God is anything but "pro-sin" in His dealings with mankind.  Therefore we grasp and see that there would be a blessing on the man who "fears always," when it comes to sin.  This does not mean that this man is cowering 24 hours a day thinking God will strike him dead at any moment.  But it does mean that this man has a healthy fear of God that assists him in making godly choices - and steering clear of ungodly ones.

When sin comes to us, we do have a second choice.  That choice is to "harden our heart" toward God.  The wise man receives the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  He embraces what God has to say to him, knowing that God loves him - and sin will be harmful.  But the fool stiffens when God offers rebuke and correction.  The fool doesn't want to listen - and he doesn't want any other authority than himself in his life.  He completely rejects any warning that is given.  He wonders what an ancient document has to do with him.  Why should he restrict his desires and wants due to what the Bible has to say.  Thus he hardens his heart against God and against God's Word (think here whatever God has to say about an issue. 

The problem with a hardened heart toward God is that its rejection of God's Word puts him in the path of calamity.  That is what we read here.  God made this world - and it works best when we submit to Him.  When we do not - problems are on our horizon.  What I am about to say you can take to the bank.  You cannot reject God's Word without causing yourself harm. There are going to be consequences for disobedience and rebellion.  There are going to be consequences for following your own lusts.  There are going to be consequences for choosing your own way or the ways of the world system rather than choosing God's ways.  The best way to describe these consequences is with the word "calamity."  This word is the Hebrew word "raah" and it means something evil or bad.  Zhodiates says that this word has ten or more shades of meaning about evil according to the context where it is used.  It describes absolute evil as well as various aspects of bad things that happen in our lives.  One thing though about this word is that it never means something good.  Thus we may not physically die immediately after rejecting God's Word and hardening our hearts toward Him - but - you can know that nothing good is going to come of it. 

We have a choice day by day as to how we are going to live.  Will we respect our own thinking and ways or the ways of God?  Will be fear God and choose to honor and obey Him and His Word - or will will consider our own finite minds more than adequate to guide us through life?  In the end, the choice that we make will yield very clear consequences.  Thus we need to know as we make these daily choices that every one of them will come with either a reward or a recompense.  May we be wise and choose the right way - the way of fearing the Lord - and the way of turning from sin rather than turning to it.

A rebellious man seeks only evil, So a cruel messenger will be sent against him. Proverbs 17:11

When a man is in rebellion against God he is seeking only evil in his life.  What a fascinating statement this is - and yet, because it is Scripture, we know that it is true.  So let's learn some lessons from the rebellious man so that we will not find ourselves visited in the same way that he is visited in this proverb.

The rebellious man is the one who is obstinant - stubborn - and rebellious.  But there is one very important thing about his rebellion.  It is against God and His laws and ways.  The term was used often to describe the way that Israel was determined to go their own way - stubbornly refusing to obey the precepts and laws that God gave them in His Word.  It is used also of Saul's reusal to carry out the Lord's command concerning the Amalekites.  This man wants nothing to do with what God desires and calls for from us.  Thus he sets himself in a direction that only agrees with what he wants.  We read here that this man, while in this sad spiritual condition, seeks only evil.  Until he comes to the place where he will submit himself to God and to what God says in His Word - it matters not what he does - because it is evil.  Turn from God and you turn from anything that is truly good.  Turn from God and you will ultimately turn away from anything useful - at least in eternal matters.  And since everything in this life and this existance will be destroyed with fire in the end, anything not laid up in eternity will be first consumed by moth and rust - but in the end it will be destroyed by fire. 

A promise is given to the rebellious man - one that is pretty frightening.  God says that because of his rebellion, this man will receive a messenger from the Lord.  We read that a "cruel messenger" will be sent against him.  The word for cruel here is "akazarty" and it means someone whose cruelty is contrasted with a person who is merciful and righteous.  What God is saying here is that a messenger who knows no mercy is going to come against the rebellious man.  There is coming a day for the rebellious man - a terrifying day.  God refers to such days in the prophets of the Old Testament.  He calls such a day, "the cruel day of the Lord. 

Isaiah 13:9 tells us of such a day when God says, "Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it."  In order to grasp what is said here - and what kind of things will come with this cruel day I want to take a few moments and exegete this verse for us.  The "cruel" day of the Lord is described for us in five ways here.  Each will help us understand better the cruel messenger that is going to be send against the rebellious man.

1.  Cruel - this day is going to be one that is "cruel" The Hebrew here - akazary - means lacking mercy or kindness.  This is the day - the day Jehovah removes mercy from the scene - in other words, man is going to receive what He deserves.  He has deserved such cruelty - but God has withheld it - even pouring it out upon His Son for forgiveness to be given - but now - only cruelty is left.  This word was used to describe the utter savagry of the cruel warriors of Babylong - now - that savagery is returning upon their head!

2.  Fury - Hebrew is "ebrah" meaning an overflowing fury, wrath, and anger.  God is overflowing with wrath.  He has withheld it for the most part - but now, no longer.  It is released - and like a dam breaking - it comes with power - crushing all that is before it.

3.  Burning Anger - The word here means a fierce anger that is like an uncontrolled fire burning and consuming all that is before it.  God is no longer holding back this fury and wrath - now it burns in all its measure upon the wicked.

4.  Desolation - The land is now a desolation - a waste - a horror to behold.  Those who would look upon it would do so with a sense of being appalled! 

5.  A Day of Extermination of Sinners - The end of this is to "exterminate" the sinners from it.  The word means to destory, eraditcate, exterminate - to totally or utterly destroy or wipe out.  That is what is awaiting those who grieve and anger the Lord of the universe!

When we read these words, the wise among us tremble in fear of God.  We also do all that we can to abandon any way that God would describe as rebellious.  We want nothing to do with the rebellious man - or his ways.  He is truly a stupid man for living in this way.  Some might accurately go as far to say that he is close to insane for living in rebellion against God.  Others (actually the rebellious themselves) will laugh all this off - rejecting God's warning and His holiness and justice. 

It is sad to say that the cruel messenger that will come to them to awaken them out of their spiritual lethargy and rebellion will be death.  In that moment they will move from rebellion to terror.  But in that day it will be too late.  God will have already sent His final message to them - and what a cruel, absolute message it will be.  No mercy will be available in that day.  Just the opposite will be true.  Having rejected God's mercy all their lives, these rebellious fools will have only the fiercest of the wrath of God as the reward for a life that sought only evil during the few brief years given to them.  May God give us grace that we will reject such a stupid and foolish choice.  May we look at rebellion and rebellious ways toward God as we would look at a vile of beubonic plague - as that which will bring certain death and destruction.