The proverb “Can a man take fire in his bosom and not be burned?” is found in Proverbs 6:27. This verse falls within a larger passage (Proverbs 6:20-35) warning against the dangers of adultery.
To “take fire in one’s bosom” refers metaphorically to embracing or flirting with sexual immorality. Just as carrying hot coals against one’s chest will surely result in getting burned, so too will dabbling in adultery end in harm and ruin.
The rhetorical question “Can a man take fire in his bosom and not be burned?” implies the answer is obviously “no.” It is foolishness to think one can entertain lustful thoughts or engage in adulterous relationships without consequences.
Some key points about the meaning of this proverb:
- It refers specifically to the sin of adultery. In the passage, a seductress is trying to lure a man into an affair even though he is married.
- The fire is a metaphor for sexual immorality or adultery. Just as fire burns what it touches, sexual sin corrupts and damages relationships.
- The rhetorical question emphasizes how absurd it is to think there will be no consequences for immoral behavior. Sin always brings negative results.
- The proverb serves as a strong warning. Flirting with adultery is like playing with fire – you will get burned.
1. The Immediate Context of Proverbs 6:27
Proverbs 6:27 comes in the middle of an admonition against adultery spanning Proverbs 6:20-35. Verses 20-26 contain parental advice to guard against the immoral woman and avoid her seduction. Verses 27-35 detail the disastrous consequences of falling into adultery.
In verse 27, the father continues warning his son by pointing out the absurdity and danger of flirting with sexual sin. Just as no one can carry fire in their clothes and avoid getting burned, no one can dabble in adultery without being harmed by it.
A. Advice to Avoid the Adulteress (Proverbs 6:20-26)
The father urges his son to internalize godly wisdom and commands:
My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life. (Proverbs 6:20-23)
This parental counsel serves to guard against the wiles of the adulteress described in verses 24-26:
to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life. (Proverbs 6:24-26)
The father urges his son to treasure wisdom in his heart so he will reject the allure of the immoral woman. Her tempting words and beauty are equated to the smooth flickering of fire – momentarily pleasing but ultimately destructive.
B. Consequences of Adultery (Proverbs 6:27-35)
After the rhetorical question in verse 27, the father details the ruinous results of falling into adultery in verses 28-35:
Can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished. People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house. He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away. For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge. He will accept no compensation; he will refuse though you multiply gifts. (Proverbs 6:27-35)
The father makes clear that just as walking on hot coals burns feet, engaging in adultery brings severe harm to the offender. Ruin, punishment, disgrace, wounds, jealousy, and revenge afflict all who touch another man’s wife. There is no escape from the consequences.
2. The Fire as a Metaphor for Adultery
The specific image of “taking fire in one’s bosom” in Proverbs 6:27 powerfully conveys the destructiveness of adultery. The fire here serves as a metaphor for sexual immorality for several reasons:
- Fire burns and consumes. Adultery corrupts marriages, ruins families, and damages souls. It brings pain and leaves scars and wounds (Proverbs 6:33).
- Fire spreads rapidly. Sexual sin often escalates quickly, consuming self-control and discernment in the heat of passion.
- Playing with fire is foolishly dangerous. Flirting with sexual temptation is extremely unwise and likely to result in ruin (Proverbs 6:32).
- Fire yields momentary pleasure but lasting regret. Adultery may bring temporary excitement but inevitably results in shame, heartache, and lifelong consequences.
In every way, the metaphor of fire accurately depicts the deceptive appeal but ultimate destructiveness of sexual immorality. It burns everything it touches.
A. Fire and Adultery Both Spread Quickly
Fire can rage out of control rapidly, consuming everything in its path within minutes. Sexual sin also tends to spread uncontrollably once kindled.
Just as no one can easily stop or contain a raging fire, sexual passion is difficult to restrain once aroused. Adultery often happens quickly, in the heat of the moment, overwhelming reason and restraint (2 Samuel 11:4).
And just as a small spark can turn into a massive forest fire, flirting with lust can quickly turn into full-blown adultery. The temptation is to play with just a little fire, but we inevitably get burned.
B. Fire and Adultery Both Inflict Pain
Touching fire inflicts painful wounds. Proverbs 6:33 graphically describes adultery in similar terms: “He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.”
On top of external wounds, adultery deeply hurts the soul. It causes inner turmoil, grief, shame, and heartache. David felt the anguish of his sexual sin, crying out: “My bones wasted away through my groaning all day long” (Psalm 32:3).
Adultery also crushes a spouse. Proverbs 6:34-35 describes the jealous fury and desire for revenge that consume the betrayed husband. The pain spreads like fire to many victims.
C. Fire and Adultery Leave Lasting Damage
The lasting ruins caused by sexual immorality are emphasized in Proverbs 6:32-33: “…he who does it destroys himself. He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.”
Fire often leaves permanent damage and scars in its wake. Burnt objects remain charred and deformed. Though adultery may bring temporary pleasure, it too leaves lasting devastation.
Marriages, families, reputations, and lives end up permanently marred by sexual sin. The scars may heal slightly over time, but the damage is never fully undone. Some of the disgrace and pain remain for a lifetime.
3. Playing with Fire Brings Pain
Proverbs 6:27 implies that suffering is inescapable for those who dabble in sexual immorality. Just as no one can carry fire in their clothes and avoid getting burned, no one can engage in adultery without being harmed.
This truth condemns the foolishness of thinking we can “play with fire” without consequences. We lie to ourselves in thinking we won’t get burned if we’re careful. But we inevitably do.
Even sexual fantasizing, flirting, and small compromises play with fire. We foolishly assume a little sin won’t hurt too badly. But there is no such thing as “safe” sin. Any sexual immorality outside of marriage will damage us.
A. Sin Deceives Us into Thinking We Are Safe
Sin is deceptive (Hebrews 3:13). It tricks us into thinking we can engage in a little evil without being harmed. We rationalize that as long as we don’t go “too far,” we’ll be fine.
But this is the height of self-deception. Just as we can’t stick our hand in a fire without being burned, we can’t dabble in sexual thoughts, pornography, or adulterous relationships without causing damage to our souls.
B. Our Hearts Foolishly Minimize Sin’s Dangers
Jeremiah 17:9 warns that “the heart is deceitful above all things.” Our hearts downplay the hazards of sin and exaggerate our ability to resist it.
We foolishly convince ourselves that flirting with sexual temptation won’t hurt us too badly. Our hearts minimize the true dangers, making excuses like:
- “It’s just a little sin.”
- “I can stop before it goes too far.”
- “I deserve some excitement.”
- “No one will find out.”
- “I can handle it.”
But these lies expose us to the fire of sin. There is no such thing as “safe” immorality.
C. Presuming on God’s Mercy is Dangerous
Sometimes we justify sexual sin based on the thought that God will forgive us afterwards anyways. But this is presumptuous and an affront to God’s mercy.
Just because God is quick to forgive sins (Psalm 86:5), that doesn’t make it okay for us to deliberately dive into sin. As Paul warned: “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” (Romans 6:1-2).
Grace is not a license to sin. God’s mercy should lead us to repentance, not embolden us to sin all the more (Romans 2:4-5).
4. Adultery Brings Severe Judgment
Proverbs 6:27 implies it is absurd to think we can escape consequences for sexual immorality. Verses 29-35 elaborate on the kinds of judgment adultery incurs:
- Inescapable punishment – “None who touches her will go unpunished” (v.29).
- Disgrace – “He who commits adultery lacks sense” (v.32).
- Wounds to body and soul – “He will get wounds and dishonor” (v.33).
- Permanent shame – “His disgrace will not be wiped away” (v.33).
- Jealous rage – “For jealousy makes a man furious” (v.34).
- Vengeance – “He will not spare when he takes revenge” (v.35).
This is a frightening list of judgments for sexual sin. Clearly, playing with the fire of adultery does not go unpunished.
A. God’s Judgment for Sexual Immorality
While Proverbs focuses on natural consequences of sin, the Bible is clear that God actively judges those who rebel against His commands regarding sexuality and marriage.
Hebrews 13:4 warns bluntly that “God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Sex outside of marriage provokes God’s wrath (Colossians 3:5-6).
When we understand that the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator stands against our sin, it seems absurd to think adultery brings no consequences.
B. Natural Consequences Also Punish
Even apart from God’s supernatural judgment, sexual sin reaps consequences naturally through damaged lives, bodies, relationships, and reputations.
As Proverbs 6:27-35 makes clear, adulterers inflict much pain on themselves and others. They destroy their own lives and families. They reap jealousy, wounds, disgrace, shame, and dishonor.
Sin often carries its own penalties. The fire of immorality burns the sinner, regardless of whether God directly intervenes with judgment.
5. Hope of Restoration for Adulterers
Though Proverbs 6:27-35 emphasizes the painful judgment for sexual sin, the passage does not imply adulterers are eternally condemned or beyond hope.
Many examples in Scripture show God will forgive and restore even the adulterer who repents:
- After committing adultery and murder, King David confessed “I have sinned against the Lord” and found atonement (2 Samuel 12:13).
- The prophets Hosea and Gomer illustrated God’s continued love for unfaithful Israel (Hosea 1-3).
- Jesus offered forgiveness and living water to the Samaritan woman who had five husbands (John 4:1-30).
- Christ forgave the woman caught in adultery, telling her “Neither do I condemn you” (John 8:11).
While consequences may remain, God’s grace brings hope of redemption even for sexual sinners. Confession, repentance, and faith lead to mercy and cleansing.
As 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 promises, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
A. Forgiveness Through Christ’s Sacrifice
Full atonement for all sin, including sexual immorality, was purchased through Christ’s death on the cross. His blood is sufficient to cleanse all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7).
No matter how grievously we have sinned, God’s grace is greater. As Psalm 103:12 assures, “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Our sin is blotted out, remembered no more.
B. Repentance Required for Restoration
To walk in God’s forgiveness, we must confess and turn from our sins (Proverbs 28:13). We can’t cover up or continue in sexual immorality but must repent.
As James 4:8-10 instructs:
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Coming clean about sexual sin is often painful, but it is the only path to redemption. We must humble ourselves before God to be restored.
Conclusion
Proverbs 6:27 asks the rhetorical question “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” The clear implication is that embracing sexual immorality brings inevitable consequences.
Just as playing with fire gets you burned, flirting with adultery harms your life and soul. Sexual sin consumes quickly, inflicts painful wounds, and leaves lasting scars. It is dangerously foolish to think we can escape unharmed.
Though God offers forgiveness to the repentant, His grace is not permission to sin. Adultery merits judgment, both natural and supernatural. Let Proverbs 6:27-35 be a strong warning to shun sexual temptation lest we take fire into our bosoms.