The Bitter End of the Matter in Adultery . . . Proverbs 5:4

But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. Proverbs 5:4

Where does immorality and adultery take you?  What do they leave you in the end?  This is what is told to us today in the proverb of the day.  It is wise for us to think about this soberly - because in the heat of the moment - sexual immorality and adultery seem to hold so much promise - promise of sensual pleasure - a feeling of being loved and cared for by someone who thinks your special - a promise that someone really thinks you are sexy.  All these things dominate the mind at the moment - and they cloud it terribly so that we cannot see the horror that will come in the end.  The end . . . there is a reminder all by itself.  "Acharith" is the Hebrew word for "the end."  It is a word that means after it is over, or, in the latter end.  It speaks of thinking of where all this is going to end.  What will be the result of my actions and attitudes?  What will all this lead to in the end?  What a great question for everything we do - but especially for the one who is being led by his or her own desires into sexual immorality and adultery.

Note in the previous verse we learn that the adulteress' speech is "smoother than oil" and that her words "drip honey."  She is quite the winder of words, the adulteress is.  The problem is that in all the honey-dripping promise - her words deliver something quite different in the end.  The latter end of her words are "bitter as wormword."  Wormwood is the most bitter taste you can imagine.  Commentators say wormwood is excessively bitter.  She leaves a bitter taste in your mouth in the end.  All promise at the beginning - all bitterness and pain in the end.  Think about the broken family - about the STD - about the divorce - about the shame and disgrace.  These are the things that will taste like wormwood and cut like a two-edged sword.  We don't think like this about sexual immorality because the enemy is doing all he can to keep us from thinking wisely like this.  Only think about your pleasure - but never mind the pain that will last for days and years - for what - 15 minutes of pleasure.  Pretty stupid trade off if you ask anyone.  But we don't think of the consequences of our actions.  Instead too many just stumble along like an animal led to slaughter.  And they will continue stumbling along - blind to the end of the matter.  But the wise will think - will consider - will weigh things not just by the instant gratification they hold - but more importantly by how things will feel a day, a week, a month, or a year later.  They will also realize that enough of these "instant pleasure trips" will amount to a lifetime of pain and regret.  That is what we need to help us turn away from the adulteress - not matter how much honey she uses to season her lying words.