Proverbs 7

Proverbs 7:1

7:1 Chapter 7 continues to warn young people against ruining their lives by immorality. They should treasure these inspired commands as more valuable than earthly, material riches. 7:2 Obedience to God’s Word is the pathway to abundant living. Therefore, it should be kept as the apple of the eye. With regard to this expression, the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says: The eyeball, or globe of the eye, with pupil in center, is called “apple” from its round shape. Its great value and careful protection by the eyelids’ automatically closing when there is the least possibility of danger made it the emblem of that which was most precious and jealously protected. 7:3 In poetic language, this verse says to let the Word of God control all that we do (bind them on your fingers) and become a matter of unquestioning obedience (write them on the tablet of your heart). 7:4 We should treat Wisdom with the honor and respect due to a sister, and make understanding one of our nearest kin. Wisdom in this passage is contrasted with the evil woman, who is to be carefully avoided. 7:5 Those who follow Wisdom and her instructions are preserved from the immoral woman and from the flattery of the seductress. Two different words are used here to describe this evil woman. Immoral means loose and faithless to her marriage vows. Seductress means foreigner and adventuress. 7:6 Verses 6-23 give a vivid account of a prostitute plying her trade and of a young man being “taken in” by her. The tragic drama unfolded as the writer looked through the venetian blinds on his window. 7:7 An empty-headed, aimless young man is out on the town. Perhaps he is from a decent home, but now he is out to have a good time. It could be that he is a G.I. who isn’t going to be outdone by his boasting pals. He isn’t really a hardened sinner, just an inexperienced small-town guy. 7:8 Now he wanders into the red-light district. He crosses the street near her corner. He slowly saunters on with the gait of idleness. That’s the whole trouble. If he were busy in some constructive, worthwhile activity, he wouldn’t be here. If his feet were shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, he wouldn’t have time to waste! There is real protection from sin in a life sold out to God. On the other hand, as Isaac Watts said, “Satan finds some mischief still, for idle hands to do.” 7:9 He has been wandering around all eveningfrom sunset to dusk to midnight blackness"There is a certain symbolic meaning," writes Barnes, “in the picture of the gathering gloom. Night is falling over the young man’s life as the shadows deepen.” He is like a moth flying to the flame. The awful moment of danger approaches when the temptation to sin and the opportunity to sin coincide. We should pray constantly that these two should never come together in our lives. 7:10 The prostitute now makes her appearance, dressed to kill in the latest Hollywood styles, painted, powdered, and perfumed. Beneath her charming exterior lies a sensuous, secretive, subtle heart. 7:11, 12 No gracious, modest lady this! She is brash, loud, and aggressive. Not for her to be a homemaker! She must prowl the streets for clients. She is almost ubiquitous. At times she was outside, at times in the open square, lurking at every corner. Sin is like that; it is easy to find. The Gospel should be easy to find, but unfortunately we fail to make it widely available. 7:13 The first step in her technique is the shock treatment. She rushes up to him, throws her arms around him and kisses him. Wow! He is swept off his feet by this tremendous display of love. He doesn’t know it is lust, not love. 7:14 Next comes the religious pose. She says, “I have peace offerings with me; today I have paid my vows.” He remembers his mother and the Bible on the living room table, then says to himself, “This woman must be all right. She’s religious. I can’t go wrong with anyone who has peace offerings and who pays her vows.” The noose is tightening. There is an added lure in the peace offerings. Those who offered them had to eat them that day or the next (Lev_7:15ff), so she has plenty of good food with which to regale him. She believes that at least one way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. 7:15 Then she pretends that he is the one she has been looking for. What a lie! She would have taken the first man who came along. But he is elated to think that he is important; someone really appreciates him, someone really cares. 7:16, 17 She gives more than a hint of her proposal by describing her bed: “I have spread my bed with tapestry, colored coverings of Egyptian linen. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.” Everything here is designed to appeal to his sensual nature. Even his sense of smell is to be captivated by exotic perfumes. 7:18 Now the mask is torn away. She openly invites him to go to bed with her. With carefully chosen words, she makes it all sound very pleasurable. 7:19, 20 She disarms him by explaining that the man of the house is not at home and won’t be home for a long time, because he has gone on a long journey. He expected to be away for an extended time because he took a good supply of cash with him. He wouldn’t come home till full moon (v. 20b NASB). The darkness described in verse 9 indicates that the moon wouldn’t be full for some time. 7:21 The more she talks, the more his resistance melts. With a little more flattery, she caused him to yield. 7:22 He makes a snap decision to follow her to her house. As he saunters along with her, there is all the pathos of an ox going unwittingly to the slaughter. The Hebrew text of the last line is very obscure, as will be seen by the variety of translations: “or as a fool to the correction of the stocks” (KJV, NKJV). “or as one in fetters to the correction of the fool” (ASV). “or as a stag is caught fast” (RSV). “like a dog cajoled to the muzzle” (Moffatt). “or as a frisky lamb” (Knox). “as in fetters a fool to his punishment” (Berkeley). But the general sense is clearly that the victim is moving irresistibly toward shackles and punishment. 7:23 The expression “till an arrow struck his liver” may mean:

1. The method by which the ox in the preceding verse is killed, i.e., a knife pierces its entrails.
2. The thorough inflaming of the man’s passions.
3. The consequences of immorality in the man’s body. The young man goes in to the harlot like a bird flies into a net, little realizing what it is going to cost him (e.g., VD or AIDS). 7:24, 25 No wonder then that the writer pleads for an attentive ear from his children! They should guard their heart against any desire to associate with this type of woman. They should guard their feet from straying into her paths. 7:26, 27 Her list of victims is a long one. She has ruined or slain a great army. Anyone who enters her house is on the broad road to hell. He is marching down to the chambers of death.