Proverbs
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 7
Proverbs 7:1-5
Wisdom Protects from Immorality
1 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
1. Solomon once again addresses his son. This has been a very personal, father/son talk through the past several chapters.
2. Since 6:23, Solomon has been warning his son about the sin of adultery and its consequences.
3. 7:1-4 might seem like a diversion from the context, but actually, it is not. It is a continuation of the same theme.
4. In this section, Solomon is speaking about the importance of holding his words of wisdom near and dear to his heart… SO THAT they might provide protection from that evil woman in a time of temptation (vs. 5).
5. Thus, he charges his son once again, to KEEP (guard; obey; take heed to) his words and commandments.
a. In particular, he is charging his son to obey what he has just told him… the commandments and words of wisdom found in the previous section.
b. What words? What commandments?
• vs. 24 – stay away from the evil woman…
• vs. 25 – don’t lust after her beauty…
• vs. 27 – don’t take fire into your bosom…
• vs. 32 – don’t commit adultery…
2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
1. Now he states that his son is to keep these commandments and LIVE.
a. Keeping these commandments is a matter of life and death.
b. Adultery was punishable by death according to the Mosaic Law.
c. Lev. 18:5 – Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.
d. Lev. 20:10 – adulterers were to be put to death.
e. Jesus was brought to a woman caught in the act of adultery, and He too upheld the law. He asked the accusers to cast the first stone…
f. Thus, in a real way, obeying this commandment could save the life of Solomon’s son!
g. We don’t live under the Mosaic law—but that doesn’t mean we should take the sin of adultery less seriously! God hates this sin and so should we!
2. Keep this law as the apple of thine eye!
a. This expression means either:
• The apple on the tree that catches your eye—a special apple…
• The apple of thine eye might refer to the pupil of the eye… and would speak of the perhaps most sensitive part of your body. You guard your eye much more carefully than you do your arm or leg. With that same extra care, guard yourself concerning this commandment!
• Either way, the meaning in this passage is similar — “There are lots of commandments. But be sure to keep this one! This one is especially important!”
• Just as you guard your eye with special care—guard yourself in the area of moral purity with special care too!
• Of all the commandments “on the tree”—this one should catch your eye and be seen as one especially worth paying attention to!
3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
1. Solomon’s words of wisdom, advice, and commandments concerning sexual purity are to be bound on his fingers and written upon his heart.
2. Fingers: this principle of purity should affect everything he DOES with his hands… everything he TOUCHES with his hands…
3. Heart: These principles about holiness ought to affect everything he THINKS about in his heart…the inner man.
4. Thus, there is to be purity for the inner man (don’t lust in your heart) and the outer man, the body (don’t commit the act of adultery).
a. Solomon wanted purity in his son’s heart… but he also wanted it demonstrated in his outward life…
5. We are to be perfecting holiness and to be cleansed from filthiness of the flesh and the spirit. (II Cor. 7:1)
• It is possible to have our body or flesh pure (never committed the act) but our spirit defiled (lusting in the heart).
• God requires complete holiness…
6. 6:21-24 – the same context — this wisdom, if bound to the body and the heart, will protect you, lead you, and counsel you throughout your days… and throughout your life!
7. Having these commandments bound to the hands and heart also speaks of how precious they ought to be to us.
a. Purity and holiness ought to be near to our heart!
b. Holiness should be written upon our heart… deeply etched in our heart
c. All of the commandments are holy… but this one should be especially kept near our heart.
8. The fact that it is written on the heart also implies that there should be some passion about keeping this commandment.
a. Written on our heart, we will have a heart-felt conviction about the importance of this commandment!
b. This sin isn’t like an unfortunate slip of the tongue… or getting angry at the dog. That is sin too, but this command is to WRITTEN on our heart…
c. This sin is far more serious in that its consequences are far more serious.
4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman
1. Thou art my sister (relative; beloved; wife) and thy kinswoman (female relative)
a. This implies that Solomon wants his son to LOVE wisdom… to have a close relationship to wisdom.
b. It may well be that wisdom is to be his wife…
2. Here Solomon personifies Wisdom… Lady Wisdom. (He speaks of wisdom as a lady calling unto us to hear her – 4:5-9)
3. Thus, there is a sharp contrast being made here between Lady Wisdom and the Evil or the Strange Woman…
a. Both are calling to this young man… trying to lure him to them.
• Lady wisdom calls him – 1:24; 8:1-4 – she is calling to young men to come to her… hear her…
• The harlot lady is calling to the young man too – 7:18 – come!!!
b. Solomon tells his son to avoid the strange woman and her enticing ways, and to embrace Lady Wisdom… “say unto wisdom, “Thou art my sister.”
c. Solomon encourages his son to enter into a close relationship with Lady Wisdom… and to avoid the evil woman.
5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
1. The words of wisdom Solomon is giving his son (personified as a Lady Wisdom) will protect his son from the strange woman… the harlot… the prostitute… the immoral woman.
a. Solomon’s son—like our sons—need protection. They need to be warned.
b. And as we go through the next couple of chapters, we will see that Solomon warned his son OFTEN about this sin!
c. It is repeated a lot, but worth repeating. We need to hear it!
2. One lady will keep you from the other.
a. Lady Wisdom will keep you from the evil, immoral woman…
b. And the evil woman will keep you away from God’s wisdom!
c. His son must choose… who will he listen to?
d. Solomon has been trying to train his son in making the right choices—the kind of woman to pursue, and the kind of woman to avoid.
e. One man wrote, “If wisdom is not loved, lust will be indulged.”
f. To love one is to hate the other.
3. The stranger flatters. That is her method of alluring and enticing…
a. Cf. 2:16; 5:3; 6:24
b. This is her method—a smooth tongue… convincing… reassuring that it will be OK… just this once!
c. Contrast the words of Lady wisdom (8:6-8). She speaks excellent things; right things; her words are truth… there is nothing perverse in her words!
4. It is interesting to follow the descriptions of the two women throughout these chapters—Lady Wisdom, the godly, wise, woman… and the strange woman, an evil adulteress.
a. Young men need to be taught the difference between the two and to seek a godly woman!
b. Young girls need to be taught the difference between the two, and should be encouraged to follow the example of Lady Wisdom…
c. Our daughters are bombarded with images of movie stars, whose lives are glamorous—but are just like the strange woman Solomon warns us about! They allure through scant, slinky clothing… and Hollywood has somehow managed to make sin look glamorous. It is not!
d. How our young girls need examples of a godly woman!
Proverbs 7:6-21
The Deception of Sin
Introduction:
1. Solomon is teaching his son about the dangers of sexual immorality.
2. In chapter six, he describes a scene in which a young man is enticed into sin by the strange woman…
a. The person observes the scene from a latticed window… looking out over a city street late at night.
b. He recounts what he saw…
3. This is actually one scene he describes, so we will look at the whole picture at once.
4. Next week we will look at the same scene from the perspective of the young man—at his ignorance, inexperience, folly, and sin.
5. Tonight we will look at it from the perspective of the woman—and notice her methodology in enticing and alluring.
She has Set a Physical Trap…
1. She was out there late at night (vs.9)
• This woman is taking advantage of the darkness.
• If you are going to set a trap, you try to hide or camouflage the trap.
• Thus, this woman hides under the cloak of darkness.
• John 3:19 – men loved darkness because their deeds are evil!
2. She was waiting… (vs. 10) “There met him a woman”…
• As he walked down this street, the woman was waiting for him… anyone!
• That’s how any trap is set. You put the trap out and wait for your victim.
• If you leave a trap in a good location, eventually, you will snag something!
3. She was attired like a harlot… (vs. 10) This is the bait.
• A trap needs bait… something that will allure the animal into the trap.
• Therefore, you have to appeal to the animal’s senses… sight, smell, taste, etc
• That is just what this woman does. She dresses in the attire of a harlot…
• This means her clothing was designed to attract attention to herself… to appeal to this man’s eye…
• Just as you would put a piece of meat in a trap to lure an animal in the forest, so this woman shows her flesh to attract this young man…
• Note here that the Bible acknowledges that there is such a thing as the “attire of a harlot.” Be careful ladies what you wear—and what you allow your daughters to wear! The way a woman dresses makes a loud statement about that woman! Her clothing was bait!
4. But subtlety was in her heart
a. NIV – with crafty intent.
b. Again, like a trap… an alluring exterior… but with ulterior motives… crafty, evil intent…
c. She is exactly like a trap… lying in wait for a victim to come by; her trap hidden under the cover of darkness; alluring bait; but with the intent of taking a victim… crafty intent.
5. She lies in wait for her next victim. (vs. 11-12)
a. First Solomon describes her character.
• A godly woman has a meek and quiet spirit. This woman is loud and stubborn (defiant; rebellious).
• She does not abide in her house… but is out all over the place.
• She refuses to submit to her husband but is stubborn and defiant.
• She refuses to be a housewife faithful to her husband, but is all over town looking for her next prey.
b. The reason she is out of her house is that she is waiting at every corner to meet her next lover. (vs. 12)
c. Now she is pictured as a trap that doesn’t stay in one place.
d. If the fish aren’t biting in one spot, you move to another. If you aren’t getting any beaver or rabbits in your trap, then you move the trap where you are more likely to catch some!
e. This woman could be found at the corner bar… at hotel lobbies… at parties… busy street corners…
f. But wherever she is found, she is on the prowl…
g. That is how Solomon describes this woman. She is determined!
h. The term “lie in wait” in vs. 12 is a word that can be translated “ambush.”
i. It is used in Prov. 1:11 – of men ambushing someone to steal from them. This woman is going to ambush her victim too…
j. The trap is set… and it might be found in any number of places… so be careful! Be aware!
6. She caught him… she is aggressive (vs. 13)
a. Now the young man walks into her trap… and the trap springs on him!
b. Any trap would have a mechanism to spring on its prey and capture them. (a door will shut on the animal; levers will spring shut on his leg; a net falls over him…)
c. But whatever mechanism used, the trap is designed to “catch” the animal off guard…
d. That is just what this woman does. She “catches” this young man and kisses him… throwing him off guard. She’s got him!
e. With an impudent face—sometimes translated “brazen”—Lexicon defines it as “firm; strong; prevailing”—She has the brazen face of a conqueror. She won! She got what she wanted! She prevailed again!
She Sets an Intellectual Trap…
• Unlike an animal in a trap, this young man CAN physically escape if he so chooses.
• The seductress now has to set an intellectual trap for him… and convince him not to flee.
• She has allured his flesh—now she attempts to capture his head too. She appeals to logic… she gives him reasonable arguments why he should stay with her that night.
• Her arguments are as follows:
1. She convinces him that there will be NO CONSEQUENCES… (Vs. 14-15)
a. These verses are difficult to understand… and could be interpreted several different ways.
• Some have suggested that by stating she has just made her offerings, that she implies that she has a great banquet of food at her house, left over from the offering. (Lev.7:15)
• Some have suggested that the woman is telling the man that she is ceremonially clean… and he would not become ceremonially unclean by lying with her—although that is hard to see in light of the gross sin!
• It is more likely that she is telling this young man that she won’t get pregnant. (Lev. 15:30 – speaking of a ladies’ menstrual cycle and the offering made at the end of it)
b. If this last view is correct, then the woman is trying to calm this young man’s fears of ending up with an unwanted child. She won’t get pregnant… not now!
c. Thus, her first intellectual argument to talk this man into sin was that there would not be any long lasting consequences! Don’t worry!
d. We can sin—and there will be no consequences!
• This is an old lie of the devil!
• This is the temptation in any sin—not just sexual sins.
• Satan told Eve, “enjoy the forbidden fruit and you will not die! Don’t worry about the consequences!”
• But that was a lie—and this woman is a liar too.
• Sin deceives us! It exaggerates the pleasure and hides the consequences.
• Sin promises us to enjoy the pleasures of sins and promises we can avoid the evil consequences.
2. She makes the sin as ATTRACTIVE AND APPEALING as she can (vs. 16-18)
a. She describes to the young man how enjoyable it would be if he came home with her.
b. She speaks of beautiful tapestry and carved work to capture the eye gate…
c. She speaks of the perfumed bed—to capture the nose gate…
d. She speaks of the pleasure of the sexual relationship…
• Our fill of love – fill = to be satiated… satisfied… fulfilled…
• But sin does not fulfill. It leaves a person quite empty and guilty…
• Solace ourselves in love – solace = rejoice; delight;
• She promises delight; but the joys of sin are short-lived… followed by feelings of guilt that last a long time…
e. But her appeal is that the pleasure will be worth it all… the pleasures she has described were designed to appeal to his sense of logic—the pleasure will outweigh any misgivings he might have. It makes sense to enjoy. You only live once!
3. She promises him that they will NEVER GET CAUGHT (vs. 19-20)
a. Her husband is gone—on a long journey! He won’t be back. Nobody’s home!
• vs. 20 – day appointed = full moon or new moon…
• NAS & NIV – will not be home till full moon
• He is on business and can’t return before a certain date. There’s no way we could get caught!
b. She convinces him that it is a safe and reasonable plan.
c. She is allaying any fears he may have of being caught.
d. This too is a lie. God knows all. Be sure your sin will find you out! (Num. 32:23)
4. Finally, she flatters… convinces… and conquers her prey (vs. 21)
a. She allured him originally with subtlety and her skimpy, appealing attire.
b. But once she catches him, she then has to convince him…
c. She has already appealed to his senses:
• She alludes to the smell—the spices in her bed
• he felt her embrace—as she caught him and kissed him (vs. 13)
• he saw the way she was dressed (vs. 10)
• He now hears her invitation and flattery… (vs. 14-15)
d. Ultimately, it is her tongue… her reasoning… her cunning speech… her words that were smoother than butter… that convinces the young man to stay.
e. She flatters him… somehow she makes him believe that HE is the one she has been waiting for—even though she was a trap waiting for ANY prey to walk by…
f. She forced him… (force = impel; thrust; drive)
• She didn’t physically force him… it was the force of her powers of persuasion.
• Like a slick salesman, she one by one removes all his reasons for NOT buying her product. There are no negatives—only positives!
• In particular—it was her lips… what she said… her convincing arguments that there would no consequences… it would be pleasurable… and they would never get caught… why not?
Conclusions
1. Solomon is warning his son what he should expect to find out in the world.
2. He warns his son so he is not caught off guard… so he will be aware and alert to temptation.
3. Seduction is a trap… the evil woman sets a trap. Young people need to be aware of such traps—and to be careful!
4. Eph. 5:15-17 – walk circumspectly—for we live in evil days!
Proverbs 7:7-27
The Simple Young Man
The Young Man Described
1. Simple: simplicity, naïve; foolish, open-minded; inexperienced;
2. Void of understanding:
• Void = in need of, lacking, in want of;
• Understanding – inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding; inner part, midst.
• This man is lacking in mind and heart. He is empty in the inner most part of his being. He is hollow… shallow… superficial… no depth of character.
3. The terms used speak of a man without discernment… lacking in judgment.
a. In fact, the exact same terms are used in 6:32 – the adulterer lacks judgment… in 7:7 – “void of understanding.”
b. The woman in this scene convinces the young man that they are too smart to ever get caught. (Adulterers always think they will not get caught.) (vs.19-21)
c. Yet later we are given a vivid image of just how lacking he really IS in judgment—he is like an ox going to the slaughter! (vs. 22)
d. This young man lacks understanding… he is a fool… he is like a dumb animal… he is shallow… no depth of character… empty… shallow kind of a person… a youth with little experience… naive…
4. He is seen passing through the city under the window of an observer. (vs. 6,8)
a. We are not told if he just happened to be walking that way, or if he was headed for the red light district on purpose.
b. We are not told this—perhaps so that the passage might be applied more broadly.
c. Thus, it would apply to a young man who innocently stumbles upon temptation (like Joseph) — or a man who went seeking for sin.
d. One man wrote, “If you want to avoid the devil, stay out of his neighborhood!”
e. If he HAD discernment, he would have AVOIDED the temptation.
f. Paul wrote, “Make no provision for the flesh.”
His Failure
1. The young man was met by a woman in the attire of a harlot.
a. Her attire should have alerted him to the danger. He should have turned around and ran… like Joseph did.
b. Instead, she caught him and kissed him. He should have turned around and ran as fast as he could in the other direction.
c. But he did not. He stayed. He listened.
2. He follows the same pattern of failure we saw in the Garden of Eden.
a. Eve listened to the serpent. Satan reasoned with her…
• ye shall not surely die (Gen. 3:4) (no consequences) (Cf. Prov. 7:19)
• ye shall be as gods (there is great advantage to sin—Gen. 3:5—cf. Prov. 7:16-18—it will be like paradise!)
• The woman SAW the fruit was good for food and pleasant to the eyes (Gen. 3:6) This young man SAW the harlot… and her skimpy clothing… and the flesh…
• And just like Eve who took of the fruit and ate—so too, he partook of sin with this woman.
b. This young man listened to the persuasive arguments of the harlot, and was convinced to follow her home. (vs. 21)
• This shows his lack of understanding… naïve… easily led…
• The wise man does NOT listen to the arguments of evil. The devil is clever enough to package evil in such a way that it looks good! He is clever enough to beat us in arguments.
• What we need is to rest upon “Thus saith the Lord!”
• Don’t even LISTEN to anything else! As soon as you hear anything contrary to God’s Word—depart! Run!
c. The woman was subtle of heart. The young man was simple… and void of understanding. (vs. 7-10)
• We don’t have to be more clever than the devil.
• We don’t need to be able to out argue our adversaries.
• All God wants of us is to know His Word and DO it!
• As SOON as he knew what this woman was up to, he should have left… but he didn’t. He hesitated… he listened… he fell pray.
• The sin of adultery or sexual immorality is not something that you can toy with… you will get burned! (6:27-28)
• Don’t try to hold on to coals of fire and reason with it. You will lose. You will be burned.
• You’re not going to out smart coals of fire. You are not going to over power coals of fire. You are going to be burned by coals of fire!
• There is no reasoning with the flesh. Run away—or the flesh will carry you away.
• Once this woman had this young may toying with the idea of coming home with her, she won.
• She got him thinking about the sin… then she gave arguments why he wouldn’t get caught… and all the while juices are flowing… and that becomes irreversible… overwhelming…
• Don’t give the flesh any opportunity whatsoever. Run like Joseph!
• By running, Joseph wasn’t being weak spiritually. Rather, that is a sign of spiritual strength: recognizing the weakness of the flesh = spiritual strength! The spirit may be willing to do what is right—but the flesh IS weak! Acknowledge it.
• When I am weak, then am I strong! (II Cor. 12:9-10). God’s strength is available to us when we admit our weakness and our need for Him!
• One who is spiritually strong will ALWAYS recognize the total weakness of the flesh. He has NO confidence in the flesh. He knows that in his flesh dwells no good thing. He knows that the arm of flesh will always fail you.
• If you are in a building engulfed in flames—is it a sign of weakness to run out as fast as you can? Hardly. It is the RIGHT thing to do… the smart thing to do. Only a fool would remain inside and say, “I can handle these flames!”
• If you want to avoid sin, you must avoid the temptation to sin. Flee youthful lusts! Flee temptations!
The Consequences (Vs. 22-23
1. We do not know for sure whether this man went looking for a prostitute, or whether in ignorance, he just happened to run into her.
2. We don’t know for sure if the meeting occurred out of ignorance on his part. But we DO know that he was ignorant of the consequences.
3. Solomon gives several illustrations to demonstrate his ignorance:
• An ox going to slaughter—
• He goes willingly… but is unaware of the results. He doesn’t know what he is really getting himself into.
• An ox is a picture of strong but dumb animal…
• He is strong—but looses all strength in the slaughterhouse. He gives up his life.
• A fool going to the stocks—
• Again, not a complimentary picture.
• NIV = like a deer stepping into a noose, till an arrow pierces his liver, (food in stocks doesn’t explain the arrow and liver)
• Either way, it speaks of a naive person who is ensnared because of his foolish behavior
• A bird in a snare—a bird blindly walks into a snare, and is oblivious to the danger until it is too late.
4. The meaning of each of the illustrations is summed up in vs. 23c – “Knoweth it not that it is for his life.”
a. Just as an animal that is brought to the slaughter or is caught in a trap is going to lose its life, so too the simple young man who goes after the immoral woman.
b. Such a situation COULD result in the loss of his physical life, but that is not what Solomon means.
c. Such behavior will RUIN a life… his good life will come to an end…
d. When a man commits adultery, and has to hide it with lies… constantly covering up… leading a double life… he has no peace or rest.
e. He loses his honor. (5:9)
f. He could lose his wealth. (5:10)
g. His physical flesh COULD be consumed in disease. (5:11)
The Moral of the Story
1. Now Solomon asks his son to pay attention. He is about to give the moral of the story just told. (vs. 24)
2. The moral of the story: (vs. 25)
a. Don’t let your heart (mind; inner man) be drawn in by her
b. Keep your body out of her paths! Stay out of her neighborhood! Run away! If you see her coming, head in the other direction.
c. Stay away mentally and physically!
• Don’t fill your mind and heart with her ways—through bad literature… pornography… TV… soap operas… movies…
• Avoid places where you are likely to run into such temptation.
• Keep your heart with all diligence… keep it pure… clean…
• Keep your body away from anything and everything that will stir up evil in your heart—TV, movies, videos, literature, impure web sites… theatres… shows, beaches, clubs, parties—anything that will stir up your flesh.
3. Reasons to stay away:
a. She (the immoral woman) has not only wounded a few, but MANY men have been wounded by her!
• Many STRONG men (physically) have been slain by her!
• This ONE sin has been the ruin of MANY people… many households… many families… many men and women, young and old.
• Strong men—like Solomon himself—have been completely undone by this sin… their lives ruined… their testimony for the Lord ruined… their ministries ruined…
• Solomon wants to warn his son that if MANY STRONG men have been ruined by this sin—don’t be so presumptuous to think it won’t harm you!
b. Her house is the way to death and hell… (vs. 27)
• Death—her husband; disease; the stress of a double life; drugs and alcohol which often accompany such behavior…
4. Moral purity… faithfulness to one’s marriage partner is the way of life and peace. Adultery is the way of death and guilt. Choose life!
Conclusion
1. These are not warnings for the unsaved who hang around the barrooms. These are warnings for believers who have been raised into heavenly places in Christ Jesus!
2. WE are warned about the fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Be vigilant! (I Pet. 2:11)
3. Col. 3:1-5 – Those who have been raised up with Christ and whose lives are hidden with Christ in God are warned: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication… etc.)
Charles Bridges: “If impure love solicits, remember that holy love of thy Saviour to thee, proved by His most shameful death. Think of Him, as looking into thy heart boiling over with corruption, showing thee His wounds, and exciting thee to a reciprocal love of Himself.”
