Wisdom for Wedlock    Proverbs 31:1-4, 10-14 and 28-31

I. Don’t: We should keep away from tempting situations.

  7 “And now, O sons, listen to me,
   and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
  8 Keep your way far from her,
   and do not go near the door of her house” (Proverbs 5:7-8, ESV).

  “Do not give your strength to women,
  your ways to those who destroy kings” (Proverbs 31:3).

  Joseph, when confronted with seduction by Potiphar's wife, employed a very effective strategy for overcoming temptation.
  Run! Run! RUN! (see Genesis 39:12). Timothy’s mentor, the apostle Paul, admonished his spiritual protégé,
  “Flee also youthful lust . . .” (2 Timothy 2:22a). Fleeing temptation doesn’t show cowardice; it shows good sense.

II. Do: Focus on enjoying and strengthening your relationship.

 a. Advice for Singles

  i. Develop godly friendships

  ii. Use your giftedness and flexibility of time to serve others

  iii. Choose a marriage partner wisely

  “An excellent wife who can find?
  She is more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 31:10).

 b. Guidance for Married Couples

  i. Focus on your marriage

  ii. Be faithful   Don’t “forsake the companion of [your] youth and forget the covenant of [your] God” (from Proverbs 2:17).

  iii. Enjoy your marriage

  18 Let your fountain be blessed,
   and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
  19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
  Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
   be intoxicated always in her love (Proverbs 5:18-19, ESV).

 c. Cultivate your relationship

  i. Be constant (Proverbs 17:17 and 18:24)

  ii. Be caring (25:20, 27:10 and 14)

  iii. Be candid (27:6)

III. Accountability: Ultimately, we stand before the LORD and are accountable to him for our actions
“For a man's ways (derek) are before the eyes of the LORD,and he ponders all his paths” (Proverbs 5:21, ESV).
“Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” (31:30).

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