Solomon's Solution

Wise Solomon spends much of the early part of Proverbs giving wise counsel to his son. A significant portion is warnings against sexual immorality. Young men apparently had the same sexual-sin tendencies ours do today. In Proverbs 5 we find Solomon's remedy.

Drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well. (Prov 5:15)

Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; be exhilarated always with her love. (Prov 5:18-19)

A cistern was, in Solomon's day, a method of storing rainwater. They would likely be underground, lined with lime to prevent the water from leaking out -- an excellent source of drinkable water in a dry area. Each house had its own -- "your own cistern." But ... what's with the water metaphor? Solomon was facing a young, hormone-driven son. This fire inside would be strong. What quenches fire? What satisfies a powerful thirst? You're going to need a lot of "water." The solution: drink your own water.

I thought it was strange when I read, "Let your fountain be blessed." What? Well, consider. If "fresh water" is in view as a metaphor for his wife, then she is the fountain. So it makes sense that if he is going to find his full satisfaction in his wife, he had better provide for her full satisfaction. "Let your fountain be blessed" ... as a part of being satisfied at home and avoiding sexual sin.

"Rejoice in the wife of your youth." Youth? Solomon clearly was expecting (at the time) one man and one woman for life. That "wife of your youth" was the one and only. We see this in Ecclesiastes.

Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun. (Ecc 9:9)

It's easy to miss it there, but Solomon wrote "the woman" -- singular -- and expected you to love her all the days of your life. That is, when you die, you part. I suspect if "all the days of your life" was the requirement, you might work harder at making it better, don't you think? (Oh, by the way, that is the requirement.)

You don't often hear sermons preached on this text. "Let her breasts satisfy you at all times" isn't really "church" material. Except that, obviously, it is. And the meaning isn't obscure. Instead of seeking for "just the right one" -- losing interest in this one because there are flaws or something else -- be satisfied with her. Be satisfied sexually. Be satisfied emotionally. Be satisfied socially. Don't look anywhere else.

I was interested to read the actual translation of the word "exhilarated" there. It means literally "to stagger" with the suggestion that it is intoxication. Figuratively, it means "be enraptured" or "captivated" as some translate it. In a very real sense, Solomon is urging his son to be drunk on her love. "I can't get enough of her. I can't even think straight when I'm around her. I can't imagine being away from her." You can see, I'm sure, if that is the way you see your wife, sexual immorality wouldn't begin to make sense.

We live in troublesome times, sexually speaking. God's version of the correct use of the gift of sex in marriage is out -- way out. In our day "good" is "Whatever I want." I can't imagine a time when this kind of advice is more needed. If husbands find their full satisfaction in their wives, there would be no need to stray. Conversely, if they find their full satisfaction in their wives, they would be fully satisfied. And if, as Scripture says, it is God who joins two together (Matt 19:6), then to do otherwise than be fully satisfied with your wife would be an affront to God. "That woman You gave me is not enough." I'm pretty sure you don't want to go there.