20 My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not forsake the [k]teaching of your mother;
21 Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk about, [l]they will guide you;
When you sleep, [m]they will watch over you;
And when you awake, [n]they will talk to you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp and the [o]teaching is light;
And reproofs for discipline are the way of life
24 To keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the [p]adulteress.
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.
26 For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,
And [q]an adulteress hunts for the precious life.
27 Can a man [r]take fire in his bosom
And his clothes not be burned?
28 Or can a man walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?
29 So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her will not [s]go unpunished.
30 [t]Men do not despise a thief if he steals
To satisfy [u]himself when he is hungry;
31 But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold;
He must give all the [v]substance of his house.
32 The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking [w]sense;
He who would destroy [x]himself does it.
33 Wounds and disgrace he will find,
And his reproach will not be blotted out.
34 For jealousy [y]enrages a man,
And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35 He will not [z]accept any ransom,
Nor will he be [aa]satisfied though you give many [ab]gifts.
There is a key word toward the beginning of this passage: continually. Solomon encourages his son to bind the commandments and teaching of his parents around his neck. Now, it seems likely he wasn’t talking literally, but there was a tradition that the Jews literally carried reminders of God’s commands attached to their clothing. They didn’t carry literal scrolls, but they had these which were symbolic, to remind them constantly of God’s teaching.
At any rate, the point is still the same. We need constant reminders of God’s teaching, which is hopefully the teaching of our parents. Regardless, we are responsible for our own actions, and need to know what God has instructed, and often. Our flesh is weak, and if we are not careful, it will carry us away into a pit of sin.
Did Solomon honestly think his son would be trying to carry fire inside his cloak, or walk on hot coals with bare feet? No, these are foolish things… and so are many of the desires of our flesh. The rest of the chapter describes a couple possible snares, but these are not the only traps that tempt us each day.
So if we are tempted every day, we need something to set us straight, which takes us back to the beginning. We must observe and remember God’s commands, and since our fickle hearts need constant reminders, that means we need to be in God’s word every day. Don’t slack off or put it off, make it a priority, so that God’s word will truly be a light unto your feet, showing you the right way to walk.