What does "bitter as wormwood" symbolize in Proverbs 5:4? \Setting the Scene\ “Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil, in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword” (Proverbs 5:3-4). The verse contrasts a seductive beginning with a devastating finish, hinging on the image of wormwood’s bitterness. \What Is Wormwood?\ • A desert shrub (Hebrew laʿănâ) whose leaves are notoriously bitter • Used medicinally in small doses, yet unpleasant and even poisonous if over-ingested • Its taste lingers, leaving the mouth dry and the stomach unsettled \How Scripture Uses Wormwood\ • Deuteronomy 29:18 – spiritual apostasy likened to “bitter poison and wormwood” • Jeremiah 9:15; 23:15 – divine judgment: “I will feed this people wormwood” • Lamentations 3:15, 19 – deep sorrow: “He has filled me with bitterness; He has drenched me with wormwood” • Revelation 8:11 – end-time wrath turning waters “bitter like wormwood” In every case, wormwood signals painful consequences, grief, and God’s righteous retribution. \What “Bitter as Wormwood” Conveys in Proverbs 5:4\ • Hidden consequences – Pleasure promised by sexual sin is temporary; bitterness follows. • Moral and emotional anguish – Guilt, broken trust, disease, and regret taste as harsh as the herb. • Divine displeasure – The same plant God uses as a symbol of judgment elsewhere marks His disapproval here. • Inevitability – Just as wormwood cannot lose its bitterness, sin cannot shed its painful harvest (Galatians 6:7-8). • Contrast to honey – The sweetness of verse 3 is superficial; the bitterness of verse 4 is lasting and real. \Life Lessons for Today\ • Test the end, not the beginning. Before stepping toward temptation, picture its aftertaste. • Don’t trade momentary sweetness for lingering sorrow—“her end is bitter.” • Seek God’s true sweetness: “Taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8). His ways alone have no wormwood. |
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