Biblical Marriage

15 Drink water from your own well— share your love only with your wife. 16 Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone? 17 You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers. 18 Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. 19 She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love. 20 Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman? 21 For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. Proverbs 5:15-21 (NLT)

From the beginning of Scripture, marriage is sacred (see Genesis 2:18, 24). God enjoys a strong and healthy marriage. He created marriage for our good and enjoyment (see also Genesis 2:21-25; Proverbs 5:15-19; John 2:1-11). In addition, the institution of marriage was approved and sanctioned by Jesus (Matthew 19:4-6). At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride Eve away to her groom Adam and witnessed the couple’s interaction in His sanctuary-garden (Genesis 2:18-25).

Married love is a special and binding covenant commitment before God. Appropriate sexual expression is an important part of marriage (Genesis 2:23-25). Breaching that holy covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a crime against oneself and God (see Leviticus 20:10-12; Deuteronomy 22:22; Malachi 2:10-16; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Hebrews 13:4) and leads to extreme hurt, including poverty (Proverbs 6:26-29, 33-34). God created marriage and made marriage holy to be enjoyed for physical pleasure, procreation, and companionship (see Hebrews 13:4). The book of Proverbs urges young men and women to keep the beauty of marital love and guard its holiness as God intended. Sex is not to be shared with strangers.

26 For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life. 27 Can a man scoop a flame into his lap and not have his clothes catch on fire? 28 Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet? 29 So it is with the man who sleeps with another man’s wife. He who embraces her will not go unpunished. Proverbs 6:26-29 (NLT)

In the book of Proverbs, the wise teacher frequently warns naive young men and women to avoid the temptations of sexual expression outside of marriage (see Proverbs 2:16-22; Proverbs 5:1-23; Proverbs 6:20–7:27). While a young person might find another person physically attractive and seductive, the consequences of acting on these temptations are deadly and destructive. Sexual sins are like walking a path that leads to death (Proverbs 2:16–22), destruction (Proverbs 6:20–35); and hell (Proverbs 5:5; see also Proverbs 6:20–35; Proverbs 7:6–27; Proverbs 22:14; Proverbs 23:26–28). Having sexual relations outside of God’s intended purposes endangers one’s life, health and security of family.

Proverbs teaches everyone people to cultivate a strong relationship with their own spouses. They are advised to have healthy marital sex with their spouses rather than physical intimacy with other people outside the bonds of marriage (Proverbs 5:15-20). Sadly, many evil temptations entice husbands and wives to abandon one another to seek excitement, physical pleasures, and companionship outside of marriage. Although the book of Proverbs was originally written to instruct young men, young women readers can think in the same categories and consider the same important issues.

Proverbs 5:15-21 discusses the importance of faithfulness in marriage. This faithfulness means to enjoy the spouse God has given you for sexual satisfaction and companionship. Sex is a gift God gives to married people for their mutual enjoyment and pleasure (see also Song of Songs 4, especially Song of Songs 4:12, 15). This honors marriage (Genesis 2:22-25) and keeps God’s seventh commandment (see Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18). Rather than expend sexual energy on immoral man or women, a spouse should develop a healthy sexual relationship with one’s own spouse. Only within God’s covenant relationship can we find holy love and fulfillment of our physical pleasure (Song of Songs 4:10). 

References:
Life Application Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005.
NLT Study Bible. Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2008.
Wiersbe, Warren W. With the Word Bible Commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991.