ANOTHER LONG WARNING against adultery is the theme of this week’s study.

As we noted last week, there are two layers to this fatherly warning against dallying with prostitutes or the wives of other men: On the one hand, it’s a path to disgrace, ruin, and death; and on the other, ritual sex was common among the pagans around ancient Israel, and it was forbidden. So, the path to Sheol was not simply a metaphor, it was a warning of the ultimate end of those who reject this wise counsel.