June 18, 2015.

Daily Reading: Proverbs 7.

Background: Proverbs 5-6.

Concepts and Connections.

Chapter 7

The adulteress: Once again, Solomon returns to warning his sons about the adulteress who ensnares the foolish in her seduction. This is a very prevalent topic throughout the first proverbs and it seems to be near to the authors heart, as he is pleading with his sons to get wisdom to avoid the adulteress’s path. Notice the emphasis on wisdom here, how it guides us away from the path of evil. In the case of the adulteress, the foolish man first travels near her corner, and goes down the road to her house in the twilight. He surrounds himself with temptation before she even comes out to meet him. This is folly, as he is simply setting himself up for failure. Giving in to her does not begin with her seduction, but rather with the choice to play with fire. This is where wisdom comes in, as wisdom would tell the man not to even get close to this temptation, as it is one that starts in the heart. Sexual immorality is a sin that we are told to “flee” from (see I Corinthians 6:18), just as Joseph did when Potiphar’s wife tried to lay with him (see Genesis 39). Though this is dealing with the specific case of adultery, a general case could be made from this principle that we should avoid temptation whenever possible, not setting ourself up for failure as we so often do. Instead of seeing how close to the line we can get, we should rather ask if what we are doing is for the glory of God. The adulteress here is said to have slain many mighty men, and we should not think that we will escape when we dabble in her arena, whether taken literally as the case of the adulteress or in the more general case of sin itself. Wisdom goes beyond asking if something is right or wrong, asking if something is good to do (see I Corinthians 6:12-20, 10:23-33).

Tomorrow’s Reading: Ezekiel 1-6.

May God grant you wisdom from above.

-Walter