Proverbs 5:18-20 (ESV)
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.
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman
and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
As this section draws to a close, the father does something striking. His warning against adultery ends not only with prohibition, but with a prayer. He desires that his son would enjoy deep, lasting sexual satisfaction within marriage. God’s design is not restrictive. It is generous. He prays about the son’s wife, “the wife of your youth,” assuming a faithful, lifelong, monogamous marriage. His counsel points to the wisdom of early commitment and enduring devotion. The goal is no longer restraint, but joy. He wants his son to be satisfied, refreshed, and continually delighted in the love of his own wife.
Vivid imagery follows, reminiscent of the Song of Solomon. She is described as a graceful deer or doe, beautiful and captivating in the eyes of her husband. The language is intentionally romantic and even physical. Scripture does not avoid these themes because sexual love within marriage is part of God’s good creation. In a world saturated with distorted images of sexuality through music, entertainment, and the internet, God’s word points us to something far better. Marital intimacy is meant to be joyful and free from shame or insecurity.
Attention then shifts to not only the quality but the constancy of marital intimacy. He urges his son to “be intoxicated always in her love.” Sexual intimacy is not meant to be rare, reluctant, mechanical, or forced. It is to be a regular, joyful expression of covenant love. A husband is to live under the influence of his wife’s affection, satisfied and content.
Then comes the question that exposes the madness of adultery. Why would you go elsewhere? Compared to the joy God provides within marriage, any pleasure offered by a forbidden relationship is not only foolish but destructive.
This passage invites honest reflection. If you are married, are you cultivating intimacy with your spouse, or withholding it? Have pride, resentment, busyness, or neglect cooled what God intended to be warm and life giving? Ask the Lord to help you pursue your spouse with humility, generosity, and joy. If you are single, receive this text as a call to honor God’s design. Do not seek sexual satisfaction outside the covenant he has established. Trust his wisdom and wait for his timing. God’s design for sexuality is not deprivation but blessing. Whether single or married, the call is the same. Reject what is forbidden. Pursue contentment within the boundaries he has given, trusting that his ways lead to life.