Proverbs 9:17
Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
Proverbs 20:17
Bread obtained by falsehood is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
Wow. There is no need for grand commentary on this. Perhaps this is why the majority of married couples who were sexually active before marriage end up divorcing each other. Once the passionate relationship becomes “okay” or “lawful” (in the moral sense), the water isn’t so sweet anymore, and the bread isn’t so pleasant anymore and they start desiring other bread and water.. even if it is sub-par. It isn’t the quality of the bread and water that makes it desirable… it’s whether or not it’s forbidden.
Again, perhaps this is why a man or woman might wildly fantasize about being with someone else, even if that person isn’t half the person their spouse is…
Listen, what we read in the Bible is written by real people with hearts and minds just like ours. Proverbs 9:17 is something that Solomon probably witnessed among the young men in and around his court, or maybe he learned this from personal experience, or both. He did after all have a million and one concubines… Maybe he noticed that he desired women who he couldn’t have (like the women who were already married) 100 times more than women he had in his harem. ***Hello!!!! David and Bathsheba anyone!?***
We need to heed God’s wisdom, and stay with our Shepherd so that we don’t walk off a cliff.
