Proverbs 7)
1 My son, watch my sayings,
And lay up my commandments with you.
2 Keep my commandments, and live; (I.e. live forever in resurrection and eternal life. See Lev. 18:5. Illustrations: Adam [Gen. 3:22,23]; Lot's wife [Gen. 19:26]; Saul [1 Chron. 10:13]; Prophet [1 Kings 13].)
And my law as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them upon your fingers, (Cp. 3:3. See Deut. 6:8; 11:18)
Write them upon the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister;" (Cp. Matt. 12:50.)
And call understanding your close friend: (See Rurh 2:1, of Boaz.)
B4 f 5. The woman.
g 6-9. The young man.
f 10-21. The woman.
g 22-27. The young man.
5 That they may keep you from the apostate woman,
From the foreigner which makes smooth with her words.
6 For at the window of my house
I looked through my casement,
7 And beheld among the simple ones,
I discerned among the sons,
A young man void of understanding,
8 Passing through the back street near her corner;
And he sauntered the way to her house,
9 In the darkness, in the evening of the day,
In the black and dark night:
10 And, behold, there met him a woman
With the attire of an harlot, and hidden of heart.
11 (She is loud and stubborn;
Her feet abide not in her house:
12 Now is she outside, now in the streets,
And lies in wait at every corner.)
13 So she caught him, and kissed him,
And with an impudent (Heb. hardened. Put for boldness) face said to him,
14 "I have peace offerings with me;
This day have I payed my vows.
15 Therefore came I forth to meet you,
Diligently to seek your face, and I have found you.
16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry,
With carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us drink deep of love until the morning:
Let us solace ourselves with much love.
19 For the master of the house (cp. Matt. 24:43. Luke 12:39) is not at home,
He is gone a long journey:
20 He has taken a bag of money with him,
And will come home at the day appointed: (What she’s saying is, “I know he’s on a long trip because he took a great deal of money with him for a long journey and I know exactly what day he’s coming home.” In other words she was trying to indicate to the youth that everything was clear and she knew it.)
21 With her much fair speech she caused him to yield,
With the flattering of her lips she forced him. (You know sometimes other religions can sound so very good, so enticing by offering a new or different way to worship God. Be careful my friend. That is what this is likened to.)
22 He goes after her suddenly,
As an ox goes to the slaughter, (Poor dumb animal. Just walks in and gets pole-axed)
Or as a fool (lax or careless habit of mind and body) to the correction of the stocks; (Just docks right into it. Satan wants your soul. He wants company in the abyss with him.)
23 Till a dart strike through his liver;
As a bird hastens to the snare,
And knows not that it is for his soul. (Now the tip off here that this is speaking in a spiritual sense, hinges on the word “life”. In the Hebrew manuscripts it is nephesh, or soul. If she had struck just his flesh body that wouldn't take his soul, just his flesh body would perish. So with the use of nephesh, we're talking about someone hunting for the soul of a man. Satan uses religion more than anything else as his form of temptation. Christ documented that to you in Matthew chapter four when Christ’s time for temptation arrived. How did Satan tempt Christ? He tempted Him with scripture, something very religious. There’s just one problem; Satan twisted each of those scriptures. And you know the saddest part of the whole thing? I mean you don’t have to worry about the Lord, He’s not falling for it. But most Christians today are not well founded enough in God’s word that they could read those scriptures that Satan quoted in Matthew chapter 4, to recognize that they’re all twisted just a little bit. Twisted just enough to be a lie and many Christians are not aware of that. They wouldn’t know enough of God’s word to catch it. It’s really sad. That means they certainly aren’t qualified to be warriors against Satan because they are not equipped. Many say they have on the gospel armor. What is the gospel armor? Figuratively speaking it is that piece of clothing that one girt up and is tied around you whereby one is ready for running into the battle of deception, armed with the gospel on and in place. But if you’re ignorant of the word of God then you can’t wear the armor because it falls off every time you move. Everyone doesn't to be qualified as a teacher, but at least you should now the general flow of God’s word. It isn’t necessary for you to quote most of God’s word, but to read it with understanding and to gain wisdom. Wisdom is necessary.)
24 Hearken to me now therefore, O you sons,
And attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not your heart decline to her ways,
Go not astray in her paths. (You stay out of sister Babylon’s paths. Let her play the harlot all she wants to but you stay out of her clutches.)
26 For she has cast down many wounded: (Illustrations: Samson [Judg. 16:4-11]; David [2 Sam. 11]; Solomon [1 Kings 11. Neh. 13:26].)
Yes, many strong men have been slain by her. (That’s to say sister Babylon. Now I know the feminine is used here but there’s no gender necessarily. There are just as male many smooth-mouthed con-artists of the male gender out as there are of the female gender, even more so I would say. Most men won’t let women teach God’s word anyway, yet they never seem to get around to doing it themselves. A bunch of one-verse reverends. They probably are uptight because they know that women are much smarter than they are. Regardless, it states in the Proverbs that we are not to listen to fools whether they be male or female. Some men say, “Well brother you don’t understand. A woman is supposed to be subject to a man.” Subject to a man that's a fool? Come on! Where is your wisdom? God says don’t submit to a fool and not to listen to him… or her, if she be a fool.)
27 Her house is the way to the grave,
Going down to the inner chambers of death. (An explanation of Sheol. That’s where false religion will lead you my friend. You see that’s the reason why God would tell you in that 6th chapter along about verse 17 or 18, of the 6 things He hated and the 7th that was an abomination. This abomination was regarding the one that sows disorder in a group that is truly trying to study God’s word. God hates a person like that. Worse than hates, He considers it an abomination because they ultimately lead someone into a snare and causing a spiritual slaying of a soul if the sucker they got to listen to them hears and then follows the falsehoods they're peddling. Got it?)