“My son” (November ‘08)
Solomon’s progressive treatment of “the strange woman” topic
reaches the max in the seventh Proverb:
“My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments
with thee. Keep my commandments and live; and [keep] my law as the apple of
thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine
heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy
kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger
who flatters with her words.” (Proverb 7:1-5)
He once again commands his son/sons to
memorize, meditate upon and fully obey his commandments. He adds the necessity
of embracing wisdom and understanding which will be the result of consistently
practicing the memory, meditation and obedience to the Word of God. One of the
many benefits will be protection from unwanted advances of a woman who would
attempt to bring down the man of God!
Notice how Solomon describes the
activities of the man who is vulnerable to falling into her clutches. First of
all he is naive, lacking insight or the sense to realize exactly where he is
headed. So, he chooses to go the way to her house, in the darkness of night
(v.7-9).
The description of the woman and her
activities uncovers her plan for she is a harlot/whore, one who is given over
to prostitution denoted by her dress. She has hidden motives and is very subtle
of heart. She is loud/noisy, rebellious. She is in the streets/streetwalker
waiting to pounce upon her prey. She succeeds in catching him, as she is
aggressively on the hunt, initiating physical advances in order to accomplish
her desires (v.10-13).
She puts forth her wicked strategy in
(v.14-21) as her seductive words are recorded painting a very inviting picture
to the man who is without the Biblical protection taught by Solomon. Her “much fair speech” causes
him to give in to the temptation so craftily put forth by the devil himself
through his willing agent of sin!
The young man’s fate is sealed as he “goes after her straightway
[immediately] as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of
the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver, as a bird hastens to the
snare and knows not that it is for his life.” (v.22,23)
Solomon
reiterates his advice/commands underlining the grave consequences of not
obeying his words in the remainder of this most instructive Proverb concerning
the number one sin plaguing the men of God in this day. What Solomon recommends
will bring an end to the sinful seduction of good men that is evidenced
throughout the Church/Christianity!
However, every man who falls into sex sin
is not necessarily seduced by a “professional” harlot/whore who sells her body
for gain. But, we must keep this in mind, if a woman puts herself on display
through immodest attire she is in essence offering herself for sale. As one
preacher has rightly stated: “If it’s on display it’s for sale”.
And, as the Lord taught, many men are
“buying in”, committing adultery in their heart by looking upon a woman
(Matthew 5:28) therefore the only real protection from all kinds of sex sins
is:
“Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not
provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14)
This is in fact what Solomon is saying for
when we put on the Word of God we are in effect putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and He will guard our
hearts from falling into temptation regardless of the kind of sin, whether it
involves fornication, adultery, or committing adultery in our hearts! The key
is putting on Christ! That will not happen until we realize that we need to
memorize, meditate and fully obey the written Word of God!
Solomon is speaking to his adult son/sons
following his own experiences of engaging in sexual sins with a multitude of
different women as recorded in the history of his life. However, he learned
from his mistakes and in the Proverbs he is passing on to the next generation
the advice that will give victory over sexual temptations.
Therefore, being disciplined, habitually
memorizing the Word of God is the only way we can have complete victory. If you
would like a copy of our memory plan just drop an email and we will send it to
you. It emphasizes sound doctrine, accountability and discipline which will provide
a good starting point.
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