Grace Fellowship 03/30/08 The Desperate Housewife Proverbs 7
Let’s dive right in to our text today because we are dealing with a topic that is so familiar that it unfortunately requires no introduction at all. Proverbs 7 is all about desperate housewives and the men they seduce.
1 My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you. 2 Keep my commands and live, And my law as the apple of your eye. 3 Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," And call understanding your nearest kin, 5 That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words.
6 For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice, 7 And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, A young man devoid of understanding, 8 Passing along the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house 9 In the twilight, in the evening, In the black and dark night. 10 And there a woman met him, With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart. 11 She was loud and rebellious, Her feet would not stay at home. 12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square, Lurking at every corner.
13 So she caught him and kissed him; With an impudent face she said to him: 14 "I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows. 15 So I came out to meet you, Diligently to seek your face, And I have found you. 16 I have spread my bed with tapestry, Colored coverings of Egyptian linen. 17 I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with love. 19 For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey; 20 He has taken a bag of money with him, And will come home on the appointed day."
21 With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, With her flattering lips she seduced him. 22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, 23 Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life.
24 Now therefore, listen to me, my children; Pay attention to the words of my mouth: 25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths; 26 For she has cast down many wounded, And all who were slain by her were strong men. 27 Her house is the way to hell, Descending to the chambers of death. (Proverbs 7:1-27, NKJV).
Expository preaching delivers me from the fear of saying things that might otherwise be thought of by some as derogatory or degrading to women. It is not my intent to bash the opposite sex today or any day. In fact, I quite like the opposite sex. Some members of that subset of the human race I like quite a lot. There is one in particular that I love quite a lot. So this message is not about superiority or inferiority, or male vs. female. It is about sin, and it is specifically about sin committed by women and by the men who are tempted by them.
In this passage, we have a very unflattering presentation of an immoral, adulterous woman. The woman spoken of here is the representative of millions of women here in our country, and probably thousands here in our county. Adultery and sexual infidelity are so common in our culture that a couple is considered to have reached a great milestone in their lives when they have been married for 5 years. A five year old marriage is quite an accomplishment in a society that ridicules marriage as being hopelessly old fashioned, and where fidelity is boring.
I want to break this chapter down into five sections, beginning with verses 1-5. Here we have Solomon addressing his son or sons concerning Wisdom. Once again, wisdom is pitted against folly. The one preserves life while the other leads to death and hell. This principle is repeated dozens, if not hundreds of times throughout this book. Be wise, don’t be a fool. Keep my commands. Listen to my words, don’t follow the world. Write them on your heart. Obey my commands and keep your soul. Make understanding your closest relative.
But why? Because one of the greatest dangers to a young man’s soul is an immoral woman. If I were Solomon’s son, I think I would be tempted to say, “Dad, I got it. You don’t have to tell me this again. I understood it way back in chapter 2. And chapter 5. And chapter 6. I get it. Stay away from loose women.”
“Easier said than done, my son. Easier said than done.” There is an obvious natural attraction between men and women. I’m not revealing any secrets here. It is because of that attraction that we all exist. And the attraction is not evil. On the contrary, it is very good. But left uncontrolled, it becomes very deadly, and we live in a very deadly age.
6-12 Notice verse 6. How far does Solomon have to go to witness what he’s talking about? Across the room to his window. Why do you suppose he says that? I believe it is because he wants his sons, and us, to realize this evil is not something that happens somewhere else among those foreigners on the other side of the globe. The dangerous woman may very well live on the same block. Maybe this is where the infamous phrase, “the girl next door” got its start.
He looks out his window and sees the youths of Jerusalem standing in the street. He describes them as “simple.” The New American Standard Bible uses the word “naïve.” Another synonym in my Hebrew lexicon is “open-minded.” I’ve heard it said that some people are so open-minded, all their brains have fallen out. “Open-minded” is the same as empty-headed in this instance. It is just such a young man who wanders down the street to the home of the seductress. At twilight, in the darkness of night. It reminds us of the words of Jesus who said, “. . . men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
We see that clothes not only make the man, but the make the harlot as well. This woman meets the empty-headed young man with clothing befitting a whore. But she also meets him with a crafty heart. A subtle, guarded, cunning heart. Sounds a lot like something else Jesus said: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” (Matthew 15:19, NKJV). You’d almost think Jesus had read Proverbs. Adultery, like all other sins, is born in the heart. But the heart of the adulteress is sly.
Notice what else marks her: She has a big mouth. She is stubborn and rebellious. She doesn’t like the domestic life. She’d rather be out and about. The reason for her love of the outdoors was for the purpose of lurking, prowling on young men to make them her victims.
13-20 That’s why we read in verse 13 that she “caught” the young man who wandered down to her corner. The word has the sense of taking someone with a strong hand, gripping them with no intention of letting go. The man is trapped. But it is such a pleasant trap. What young man would fight to get away from a beautiful woman who smothered him with kisses and suggestions of more to come?
With brazenness, she shamelessly entices him. She says, “I have peace offerings!” “I have peace offerings?” That’s supposed to be an enticement? What is she talking about? Here’s what one commentator says:
“The peace offerings were to have been eaten in communion with others, and she needed a companion to dine with her in her empty home. The ”vows” she paid may have included a vow to enjoy [a man] as a ritual act of obedience to the priests before whom she took her vows. Hosea makes clear how much pagan practice of religious immorality had permeated Israel’s life and culture. Whether these religious explanations were rationalizations for raw passion or whether they were a part of her inner motivation, we cannot say. The text surely indicates a sense of eagerness that outruns any sense of mere duty. The clincher in this depiction of illicit, though perhaps religious passion, is the woman’s explanation that her “husband” is away on “a long journey” probably out of the country, and is not slated to return until the “full moon”. . . . “ In other words, you can stay as long as you want.
This sounds like life in America. While I have not heard them first hand, I have heard from very reliable sources what kinds of conversations often take place among younger women in the workplace. I have personally heard many such conversations among young men. It is not hard to believe that this kind of sin happens regularly. The simpletons are running rampant, the alluring women dressed like prostitutes are legion, and the danger to the Christian is very, very real. And we’re not even talking about printed material or the Internet. I’m just talking about real, live people.
21-23 Here is the record, in very few words, of what usually, eventually happens in these situations:
She entices and seduces; He yields and immediately goes after her. But while she is described as having a crafty heart, he is described as a dumb ox lumbering to the slaughter. Now he has a ring in his nose, now he is in shackles, he is in bondage, he is the captive of the enemy of his soul. “He did not know it would cost him his life.” (v. 23)
Once again, here is what my commentary said:
“Evidently there is something about sexual immorality that anesthetizes our judgment. Part of it, I suppose, is the sheer passion involved. More than one sorry culprit has said to me, ‘I never thought it could happen. Before I really knew what was going on I had committed the adulterous act.’ Adrenalin shots through our systems, hormones race about in our bodies, our nerves are all a-tingling. The chemistry and neurology that God placed within us to urge us to populate the earth and to bind us to our life partners is set to boiling in the wrong laboratory and with the wrong coworker. Nothing less than sheer mayhem is the result.”
24-27 Consequently, Solomon says yet again, “Pay attention to me. Listen to what I am telling you.” And he should know what he’s talking about. A woman like the one he has been describing is powerful and dangerous. Strong men cannot overpower her. Many have been wounded, some have died. Her house is the front door to death.
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“Why do we need to talk about such things from the pulpit? I thought this was supposed to be a holy place, not suitable for talk about prostitutes and adultery. All of this makes me uncomfortable. I don’t like hearing about it here.”
I think that is the problem with much of our culture. These things aren’t being spoken from pulpits. That is why so many of our young people get shipped off to college and come home pregnant or suffering from some sexually transmitted disease. It is because these things aren’t talked about that in more than half the United States, adultery isn’t a crime. Recently in Virginia, where adultery is still a crime, a man admitted in court to an adulterous relationship. His fine? $250.
Adultery is a crime against God, if not against the state. Mayor Welch said that a gay commitment ceremony, and homosexuality itself is neither illegal nor immoral. In fact, he says it is a beautiful thing. Mayor Welch is also an atheist, if my information is accurate. It’s not a crime to be an atheist, or a homosexual, or an adulterer. Until you meet God.
We have to talk about these things because everyone answers to a higher authority than the state. We all answer to God and His Law. In the vast majority of cases in those states where adultery is a crime, it is not prosecuted. But in God’s court, every infraction of His Law committed by anyone, anywhere, at any time, will be prosecuted. The sentence for adultery, and atheism, and homosexuality, and gluttony, and thievery, and disobedience to parents, and every other sin we commit is death. Every sin is a capital offense in God’s court.
But besides that, even though the offense against God is the primary reason we avoid sin, here in the book of Proverbs, the fundamental message that we read throughout these pages is this: “Don’t be stupid.” That could be the title of every sermon that comes out of this book. Not only is adultery a heinous sin against God which carries the sentence of death, it’s also just plain stupid. It is ruinous to our lives here and now. It produces the opposite of happiness and blessing. It is not wise.
I want to close with this: Turn to 1 Corinthians 6.
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh." 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6:9-20, NKJV).
It is hard to imagine a more pertinent message for the church in America today than this one. Do not be deceived. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Let’s not be counted among them. We were bought at a price, the price of the blood of the Son of God. Therefore let’s be sure to glorify God in our bodies and our spirits which belong to Him.
Beware of desperate housewives.