Rev. Arie denHartog
For some time already now, the Young Adults' Fellowship at our church has been studying the book of Proverbs. We have been amazed time and again by the treasures of practical spiritual wisdom which this book contains.
One of the outstanding chapters of Proverbs is chapter seven. Studying it again I was deeply impressed by the powerful warning this chapter contains for the young (really for the young and the old) regarding the enticement of the sin of immorality and the dreadful consequences this sin has for those who fall into it. Because today's society is so saturated with this awful sin, and because temptations to it are present on every hand, I decided to direct the attention of our readers to the extremely effective and relevant parable of Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived. Perhaps before reading this article you should take time to read Proverbs 7. I will try to give a brief summary of the main teaching of this chapter of God's Word.
My prayer is that the power of this parable will come across to you and that it will have its intended effect.
I remind you that throughout the book of Proverbs the inspired writer is addressing his spiritual son whom he loves very dearly. No counselor of the youth ever loved his patients as this spiritual counselor does. He cares for their deepest welfare. He loves them so much that he earnestly warns them about sin and its dreadful consequences. His fervent desire is to teach his young patients the perfect and absolute wisdom of God.
Some commentators are of the opinion that we must understand Proverbs 7 as a kind of allegory. They find not only a warning in this chapter against sexual sin, but a more general description of the seductive power of sin. Perhaps this is true. There is certainly application of this parable to other sins in the world. However, we believe the main purpose of this passage is to warn about the sin of immorality. Such warning is so necessary and so urgent in our day.
Chapter seven of Proverbs, as we said, is a parable. There are, in the main, two characters in this parable.
The one is a young man. Some have called him a farmer's son because he seems naive about the dangers of the wicked life of the city. Such naiveté does not of course exist today among farmers' sons. The young man in the parable may have been a single young man. He may even have been a young married man, who sins grievously against the wife of his youth.
The other character in the parable is a scandalous adulteress. She is a married woman. She symbolizes the epitome of the sin of adultery.
The reason why the second character is a married woman is not because the sin of fornication (sexual relationships between unmarried young people) is not as serious a sin. Rather, the sin of immorality is compounded when it violates one's own and someone else's marriage. In chapter six Solomon has seriously warned: "Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; but if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonor shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts" (Prov. 6:30-35).
In the parable Solomon speaks of looking through the lattice of the window of his house and observing a foolish young man in the streets of the city in the dark hours of the night. One commentator interprets the window through which the unnamed observer witnesses the tragic scene which unfolds in the parable to be "the window of the Word of God." The young man in the parable is said to be among the "simple ones." He is described as one "void of understanding." Though the inspired writer of this parable loves God's covenant youth very dearly, he minces no words in calling this young man "void of understanding." He is tragically foolish. He is sinfully foolish. He is woefully ignorant of the great dangers that lurk in the way that he is going. He is however willingly and inexcusably ignorant, for this young man was one born in a covenant home. He belonged to the nation of Israel, where the law of God was taught to young people from childhood on.
The foolish young man is pictured as passing through the street near the corner of the house of a known adulteress. It is in "the twilight in the evening, in the black and dark night." We can easily understand these details of the parable, can we not? Much evil is committed in the darkness of the night. Foolish men imagine that the darkness of the night covers up sin, so that no one sees it being committed. By doing their sin in the night they expect to avoid detection. They forget, however, that before God, the righteous judge of heaven and earth, the darkness and the light are both alike. The darkness does not hide us from God.
The young man purposely wanders into areas where temptation lurks. He enjoys the thrill and excitement of temptation. Perhaps he does not at this time have the express intention in his heart to follow after the sin of the deed of adultery. However, he already has adultery in his heart, and in his imaginations. Maybe he still thinks that he is strong enough that he can enjoy the thrill of the arousal of his sinful nature without falling into the gross sin of the deed of adultery. The foolish young man dwells by the corner of the house of the harlot (that is really who the woman of the parable is, though she may seem to all appearances at times to be a faithful and respectable wife to her husband). The young man dwells near the corner of the harlot's house. He is hoping to get a glimpse of her, just enough for a little excitement.
Already at this point in the sordid drama this young man is extremely foolish. The Christian young man (and young woman) is exhorted in Scripture to "flee youthful lust." They are not to flirt with temptations. They are to know the extreme dangers of the temptations of the world and stay as far from them as possible. The church, in earnest love and concern for her youth, must warn them regarding the places of worldly entertainment, the dance and the theater, the disco, even the ribald worldly parties of our day. What church today loves its youth enough to do that anymore?
We continue to follow the vivid picture painted by the inspired writer of Proverbs, but even in this we must do so with the Spirit of sanctification in our hearts lest we are stirred up in sinful excitement by this picture. This is an awful picture of the temptation of sin. This showing of the bitter fruits of sin, the judgment of God, is not Hollywood's portrayal of the excitement of sin. The parable is intended to portray the reality of temptation in order to warn us finally of the dreadful consequences of the sin and the judgment of God that follows upon it.
The second main character of the parable suddenly appears on the scene. "And behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtle of heart." We must not imagine that this woman is a picture only of those engaged in the vile occupation of harlotry. There are many who would not "stoop so low" as to visit the abode of a harlot. Yet they commit adultery as contemptible and with as disastrous consequences as those who consort with the harlot. Furthermore, the women today who profess to be Christians but "freely sleep around" with one man after another who is not their husband are in fact harlots before God.
The harlot in the parable is wearing her attire. She is dressed in such a way that she will attract the adulterous eye of evil men. She finds great pleasure in doing this kind of thing. She prides herself in seeing one man after another give her the look over. She is shameless in her sin. She has made sin the profession of her life. Solomon describes her as subtle of heart. The point of this description is that with her enticements she will offer that which will bring great sinful pleasure. She promises what she pretends to be good, but she has a selfish and desperately evil purpose in her heart. She is seeking her own selfish pleasure and glory and at the same time the ruin and complete destruction of those who are attracted by her.
"She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house." In our modern world such women are actually glamorized. They are constantly being featured on the front pages of the world's magazines. They are the movie stars who gain great attention and fame. They sometimes make millions through the promotion of their life of sin. Solomon wants us to know that such women are the total opposite of modesty and godliness. They are the opposite of the God-fearing woman who is the keeper of the house, who is characterized by the godly virtues of a meek and quiet spirit. The adulterous women of the world promise a life of pleasure and excitement, but they will in fact bring misery, shame, and destruction to those who fall prey to their temptations. Solomon wants us all to know how terribly ungodly these women are, and how extremely dangerous it is to have anything to do with them.
This woman is further said to be without and in the streets. She lieth in wait at every corner. The meaning of this again is obvious. The temptation of this sin is everywhere. It is perhaps hard to believe that this evil was already so prevalent in Solomon's day. What a proof of the fact that there is "nothing new under the sun." The world has always been engulfed by the sins of immorality. Yet all of it is so much more graphic with the availability of pornography and blatantly immoral movies and videos in our modern-day world.
There follows in the parable the description of the scandalousness and brazen wickedness of this woman. "So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows." That she has paid her vows could mean one of several things. Some give the meaning to be that this woman has with her the portion of the thank offering which those who offered in the temple were allowed to keep for themselves. The devout Israelite would take this home for a formal religious ceremony in his own home. This woman boasted of having this portion in her hands because she wanted to invite the young man she was tempting to come to her house for a feast.
Others have interpreted this part of the parable to be a shocking indication of this evil woman's attempt to "sanitize her sin." She professes to having done her religious duty. She has made her offering in the temple. She is not really such an evil person. Consorting with her will not be that bad. Even professing Christians engage now and then in the sin of immorality. It is not all that bad. Everyone is doing it. Make your offering in the temple and your sin will all be washed away again and you can go on in your life of sin without pangs of conscience.
The woman in the parable further entices the young man by telling him the lie that she has come forth specifically to meet him. She has been diligently looking for him. He is exactly what she always wanted. She pretends to have genuine love and great interest in the young man. He is very attractive to her. She wants him very badly. She wants especially him and only him, no one else.
Finally she gives an irresistible, graphic, and sensual description of the pleasures of sin that await the young man if only he will come to her house. "I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us make our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves."
What foolish young man driven by sinful passions could ever resist such temptation? What extreme pleasures are promised.
But it must be remembered that the reason why this has gone so far is that this young man began by dwelling in the streets in the night by the corners of the house of the harlot. This man will soon go to his slaughter like an ox. This young man is going the way of hell. He is going down to the chambers of death. Be warned!
We shall continue our consideration of this parable next time.
THE STANDARD BEARER Vol. 73; No. 6; December 15, 1996
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It would be good if the reader of this article would open his Bible to Proverbs 7 and read it again. The harlot portrayed in Proverbs 7 could not possibly more accurately picture the impudent immoral women that are so common in our modern day world. These women are glamorized by the world. They are the heroines of our modern day hedonistic society. They have made an "art" out of the business of enticing men into sin. Their dress, their whole demeanor, is geared for this. They are the women featured in popular pornographic magazines and seen on highway billboards. They are the movie stars of the cinema, produced to entertain sinful men of the world.
Their ever more daring display of immorality is calculated to captivate the attention of men and arouse their sinful passions in more and more powerful ways. Images of these women are constantly being flashed across the television screen to seduce the unwary viewer. They display their bodies in outrageous swim wear on American beaches to be gawked at by lustful men, many of whom have their wives and families with them. Men's clubs where these women perform are called "gentlemen's clubs." Images of these women in suggestive poses are used to advertise almost every product under the sun. The women who practice this evil profession are some of the highest paid "professionals" in our day. They are also among the common people. They are everywhere in our society. To our godless society these are respectable and popular women. How shockingly prevalent all of this is in our modern day society.
But these women are the total opposites of the holy beauty and modesty which the Lord requires of godly women. God has given the beautiful sexual aspect of the nature of both men and women to be used in the holy bond of marriage for the expression of exclusive, intimate love and faithfulness of husband and wife for one another. The wife is to devote herself completely to pleasing her husband and living faithfully with him. The harlot described in Proverbs 7 does the very opposite. She violates her marriage vows. She corrupts the God-given gift of her feminine nature for lust and enticement, for selfish glory and aggrandizement. She is after every attractive man she may meet in society, even though she is already married. She uses her womanly nature to bring about destruction of those who fall prey to her temptation.
We have considered already much of the vivid description of Proverbs 7 which tells us how these women laden with lust entice young, foolish men. We are warned by all of this description to avoid the adulterous woman at all cost. When the foolish young man in the parable follows the dangerous path warned against in Proverbs 7, he will come to a situation in which the temptation to gross sin will become so powerful and overwhelming that no one would be able to resist. The fault lies with the foolish young man who went to the place of temptation in the world. He allowed himself to be overcome by the powerful sin of lust that resides in every man's nature.
The harlot has described the pleasure of sin in an irresistibly graphic way. She has invited the young man to her marriage bed in her own home. There seems to be a bit of hesitation yet on the part of the young man in the parable. The evil woman of the parable works to allay any fears that the young man she is trying to entice might still have.
"For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey. He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed" (Prov. 7:19, 20). The one last thing that might still deter some from falling into gross sin is the fear of being "caught in the act." Should the woman's husband come home unexpectedly, his fury may be dangerous and have disastrous consequences. Even the world will sometimes be deterred by the fear and shame of being found out. So the adulteress must by all means allay this fear. She must give the young man the assurance that "it is safe" to commit sin with her.
For the Christian, however, this is the lowest form of deterrent. The fear of God in our heart must be the mighty deterrent that keeps us from great sin. Our greatest concern must be that God sees and knows all that we do. The holy God of heaven hates the sin of fornication and adultery. If we love this God, we will strive against every temptation to this sin.
One final powerful form of enticement by the adulterous woman will persuade the foolish young man to engage in sin with her. "With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him" (Prov. 7:21). The most powerful of all appeals to this sin is the appeal to man's pride. The world and the devil know this very well. Tell the young man that he is strong and handsome, tell him that he is so manly, tell him that he is so very desirable. Women find him attractive. Sexual prowess and adventurism are considered by the world to be the marks of the real man. The appeal to this proud, sinful passion will be the final temptation that the foolish young man will not be able to resist. There can be no more vivid spiritual and psychological description of the power of this sin than the description of this parable. It is true to life in our world today.
What the world, however, always tries to hide is the inevitable consequences of this sin for the life of man. Our society has reaped the bitter consequences of it already in this life. Much of the wretchedness of betrayal in marriage and broken homes and abandoned children comes from this sin. This sin brings in its wake psychological misery and hurt that is incalculable for men and women who are married and violate the trust that marriage requires. Children of marriages caught in the caldron of wickedness created by this great evil in our society are scarred for life and often in later life perpetuate the sins of their fathers and mothers and reap ever increasing misery and wretchedness. The spiritual and psychological hurt this evil causes has led some even to suicide. But Proverbs 7 tells us of even worse consequences.
"He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare and knoweth not that it is for his life" (Prov. 7:22 and 23). The Bible does not call the young man who follows after this sin a "playboy." Adultery is not the proof of manhood but the proof of one's great foolishness and shameful weakness. Proverbs 7 does not glamorize the prowess of the foolish young man. It does not glory over his ability to conquer many women and "score" with one after the other. It says concerning this young man that he is as an ox going to the slaughter. That is what he truly is in spite of all the world's esteem of him. The ox is one of the most stupid of all animals. Sometimes the ox is stubborn and will not move. But when he is prodded he will suddenly run headlong to his own destruction. A fitting symbol it is, in this passage of Scripture.
The consequences of this sin will follow not merely for those who get caught at it. It is undoubtedly true that there are many who do not get caught. Some seem to be able to escape the consequences of this sin in this life even though they live openly and brazenly in it. For others the consequence of their evil life is obvious. As much as the world vehemently denies the association between a life of immorality and AIDS, the connection is obvious. Proverbs 7 does not speak merely about the natural consequences that will follow for some from engaging in this great evil, while others will be able to avoid them. Proverbs 7 speaks of the fearful judgment of God. God's Word gives this final warning: "Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell going down to the chambers of death." There is no doubt about this consequence because it comes as the sure judgment of God. None will be able finally to escape it. God's judgment on this sin is death and hell.
There can be no stronger warning uttered than this. It is not a warning given only to the world in general. This is a warning addressed particularly to covenant youth. In the world in which we live, covenant young men are in great danger of being enticed by the adulterous woman. This warning is charged with the love of a father for his children: "O ye children!" This loving warning must be earnestly and repeatedly sounded by parents to their young people and by the church to the covenant youth growing up in her midst.
There is forgiveness for this vile sin at the cross of Jesus Christ. Those who have fallen into it are urged to flee to the cross in sorrow and shame and repentance to find the mercy of God and His forgiveness. This is the only way of escape from the sure and dreadful and final consequences of this sin. Let none hesitate for even one moment. Let none continue in this vile sin that is so abominable to the Lord. Let the sinner flee to the cross of Christ Jesus for deliverance from the awful judgment of this sin. The mercy of God is greater even than this terrible sin. The blood of Christ can and does wash away this sin also. The penitent adulterer finds forgiveness and mercy with God - but only the penitent one, not those who continue in this sin.
There is deliverance through the power of the grace and Holy Spirit of God from the great evil of the enticement of this sin and from the deep falls that result from it. Those who have gone in the way of this sin and become a slave and captive to it must realize that there is no other power than the power of God's grace that can deliver us from this sin that has destroyed so "many strong men." Without the grace of God the young men will only be led deeper and deeper into a sin that will end in death. The truly strong man who is pleasing to God and brings glory to His name is the one who steadfastly resists the many temptations to this sin. The wise, godly young man does not flirt with temptation in the imagination that he is strong enough to avoid a fall into sin. The truly strong young man, spiritually strong by the grace of God, steadfastly avoids every temptation to this sin in his life. The Word of God extols such a man. Great strength is needed. God alone can and does give it.
God's Word sets before covenant youth and all of us the wisdom of God. The law of God teaches us the perfect wisdom of God. The law of God has been given to us to guard us and to keep us from every evil way, also the evil way of this sin. The commandments of the Lord are good. Keeping the law of God and resisting the temptations of sin with God's grace and Spirit in our hearts is the greatest wisdom and will bring the great reward of God's favor and blessing on our life. There is great wisdom in avoiding even the beginning of the temptation to this sin in our life. We must do this for the salvation of our souls. This means that we must shun and flee from the many enticements of our modern media, and the world of entertainment. We must not allow the spirit of the age in which we live to desensitize us to the seriousness of this sin. We must know our own sinful nature and the power of the temptation of the world to appeal to this sinful nature and the great danger for all of us that we might fall into this sin.
How greatly God has blessed us with His Word in the church and by giving us His holy law. How blessed are those who have the grace and Spirit of God in their hearts to follow this law and keep its perfect wisdom. The book of Proverbs calls the Christian young man to rejoice in the wife of his youth, living in sexual love exclusively with her. Those who are not married are to keep themselves pure and holy because our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Doing this by God's grace will bring lasting joy and happiness that the world does not know.
THE STANDARD BEARER Vol. 73; No. 9; February 1, 1997
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