"Wounds and disgrace he will find, and his reproach will not be blotted out"
wounds
This is the Hebrew word nega which means a stroke, a plague, a mark, an affliction. It seems light to call this word a wound when it is much deeper than that in Hebrew. It means a severe mark that does not go away; a permanent affliction or mark that cannot be washed away.
Solomon is trying to warn people. You will be stained. You will be carrying an affliction that does not heal easily, if at all. This wound has physical, emotional, and mental aspects to it.
disgrace
This is the Hebrew word qalon which means dishonor, ignominy, disgrace, shame. Our present culture does not have the proper place for shame. Because we are so afraid of shaming a person, everything becomes permissible. The sin of destroying a marriage through sexual unfaithfulness is shameful. It needs to be discouraged, not encouraged as it is in our day.
I am deeply saddened by the fact that we have begun to attach shame to being righteous rather than being wicked. In some circles in the teen culture it is a shameful thing to be a virgin. It is a shameful thing not to have cheated on an exam.
We must bring back the concept and the practice of disgrace and shame for certain actions. There should clearly be forgiveness and restoration, but society needs to have the right thing to become shameful.
We need to be a society where people think about living their life in front of the eyes of God and others. I was telling one of my daughters the other day that we need to live our lives so that we are not ashamed of any part of our life. I let her know that we have monitors on the Internet and monitors on the car she will drive so that she can get used to the idea that an open and accountable life is the best life. Many in our society have the idea that they have a right to do hidden things – even destructive or harmful things – that others don't have the right to know about. But the problem is that they will eventually find out. I try to live my life so that anyone can look in on it and not find hidden stuff that would disgrace me or God. We all will sin. But you should avoid the hidden shameful practices that if others found out you what did, it would cause you to lose massive amounts of respect from them. If you have any of these areas of hidden sin in your life, find a way to stop doing this. Bring a new level of openness and accountability into your life.
reproach
This is the Hebrew word cherpah which means a reproach, contempt, scorn. Contempt is a good word here because it conveys the negative emotion that flows out of others toward those who destroy or damage the marriages of others through adultery.
Solomon is pointing out that while adultery looks enticing and pleasurable, you will have a blot on your life; and people will hold you in deep contempt because of your breaking of your marriage vows.
Those who have committed this sin also need to know that even though the blot or contempt that others feel for them may not go away, God has made a way through the death of Christ to remove the stain of this sin. Forgiveness is possible in Christ, and He will wash you thoroughly from your iniquity.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz