Proverbs 7 - The Art Of Seduction Series

We will now look at Proverbs chapter seven:

INVITATION TO LEARN WISDOM

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. Proverbs 7:1-5 (NKJV)

Sin always lies ready at the door – ready to trap us and snare us. We should always be ready to resist temptation. It comes in many shapes – but the most deadly shape that it takes is when it comes as a seductress. It looks good – gives instant pleasure – but in the long run it will lead to death. The solution for the seductress is simple – follow God – keep His commands. If you keep His commands – (He gives the promise) – that you will live – live in the abundant life – not just survive. (John 10:10)

Place God’s law close to you:

Bind them on your fingers – wear them like a ring – so that whenever you reach out you can see them no matter what you are grasping for. This should help direct your reach.

Write them on your heart – have them affect your desires. This should help you direct your motives.

Make them your closest relative – have them give you direction and understanding. Our family members should have the desire to give us good advice – for they love us and do not want to see us injured. Their advice and love for us should keep us on the straight and narrow road.

Protect God’s wisdom like the “apple of your eye”. Use it as your source of vision. To be able to see is one of the greatest senses that a person can have. I have worn glasses since I was in the third grade – I remember the first time I put them on – they made my life clearer. For the believer – our vision should be filtered through the lenses of God’s Word. We should have a Biblical world view. We should know God’s laws – His commands – and we should cherish it as we would our eyes – our vision. Our actions and motive should be filtered through God’s Word. The process of discipleship is putting on the mind of Christ. This process happens as we get a grasp on God’s Word and apply it in our lives.

THE ART OF SEDUCTION

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. Proverbs 7:6-9 (NKJV)

It could be that this is a historical account. Many a young man (and woman) has fallen into sin. It would not take too long to find such an example – and so the author tells us that he “looked through his lattice” – covered window.

Although this advice is directed toward young men, young women should heed it as well. The person who has no purpose in life is naive (Proverbs 7:7). Without aim or direction, an empty life is unstable, vulnerable to many temptations. Even though the young man in this passage doesn't know where he is going, the immoral woman knows where she wants him. Notice her strategies:

1. She is dressed to allure men (Proverbs 7:10)

2. Her approach is bold (Proverbs 7:13)

3. She invites him over to her place (Proverbs 7:16-18)

4. She cunningly answers his every objection (Proverbs 7:19-20)

5. She persuades him with smooth talk (Proverbs 7:21)

6. She traps him (Proverbs 7:23)

Would you dance on the edge of a cliff, when he has just seen another fall headlong from the same place? We think that the darkness will hide our actions – do we not know that God can see right through the darkest of nights?

Matthew Henry warns us: “We ought daily to pray that we may be kept from running into temptation, else we invite the enemies of our souls to spread snares for us. Ever avoid the neighborhood of vice. Beware of sins which are said to be pleasant sins. They are the more dangerous, because they most easily gain the heart, and close it against repentance. Do nothing till thou hast well considered the end of it. Were a man to live as long as Methuselah, and to spend all his days in the highest delights sin can offer, one hour of the anguish and tribulation that must follow, would far outweigh them.”