Proverbs Lust

Lust is a big theme in Proverbs—and it's directly related to adultery. Proverbs supports fulfilling your desires, but not in letting those desires lead you outside of the prescribed areas of family life and social life. You need to fulfill your desires within the moral law, and—by violating one of the ten commandments—Proverbs makes it clear that adultery, and the lust that fuels it, don't do that. They really mess up everything.

Questions About Lust

1. In what ways might adultery be a symbol for more than the actual sexual act of cheating?
2. What does Proverbs mean when it says that "desire without knowledge" is not good? How does knowledge help make desire better, or direct it in the right ways?
3. Why does Proverbs say that the adulteress acts like someone who eats and wipes his-her mouth and says, "I have done no wrong"? What makes adultery different from enjoying a nice lunch?
4. How does the way that Proverbs talks about adultery and "loose women" fit in with today's world? Does Proverbs' language seem contemporary? Why aren't "loose men" condemned in a similar way?