Proverbs 7
Proverbs 7
So far in the book of Proverbs, we have seen quite a bit of text devoted to warnings against adultery. If you have been reading along with us, you have no doubt noticed the emphasis that the author puts on avoiding sexual sin and pursuing God instead. Proverbs 7 has similar themes throughout.
Verses 6-9 talk about how the one who goes down this path is one who is “simple”, and “lacks sense”. Basically, this person is not wise. In his simplicity he goes near where he knows there is danger.
Verses 10-23 talks about how the woman goes about her seduction and allurement of the simple young man, with verses 21-22 showing the impact that this poor decision makes: death.
What I want to focus on briefly is how the author bookends this chapter with positive exhortation of how to fight this sexaul sin. Here are some principles we can draw from verses 1-5 and 24-27:
1. Know and obey God and His Wisdom. We see words like “treasure”, “keep”, “be attentive”, used as examples of what we should do instead of pursuing sexual sin (or any sin for that matter).
2. Love and value God and His Wisdom. Verses 4 and 5 show how much we should keep close and value wisdom. We should value wisdom as we would a family member (sister), and as close as an intimate friend.
3. Keep your heart focused on God and His Wisdom. Verse 25 shows us that our hearts are not to turn away from the way of wisdom, which leads to straying into the paths of sin. This is reminiscent of Proverbs 4:23 — “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (ESV)
Discussion Questions:
1. Why do you think sin can be so alluring? What does it look like to fight it?
2. What can you apply to your life from points 1-3 above?
3. In what ways do you need to guard your heart?
By: Graham Withers
So far in the book of Proverbs, we have seen quite a bit of text devoted to warnings against adultery. If you have been reading along with us, you have no doubt noticed the emphasis that the author puts on avoiding sexual sin and pursuing God instead. Proverbs 7 has similar themes throughout.
Verses 6-9 talk about how the one who goes down this path is one who is “simple”, and “lacks sense”. Basically, this person is not wise. In his simplicity he goes near where he knows there is danger.
Verses 10-23 talks about how the woman goes about her seduction and allurement of the simple young man, with verses 21-22 showing the impact that this poor decision makes: death.
What I want to focus on briefly is how the author bookends this chapter with positive exhortation of how to fight this sexaul sin. Here are some principles we can draw from verses 1-5 and 24-27:
1. Know and obey God and His Wisdom. We see words like “treasure”, “keep”, “be attentive”, used as examples of what we should do instead of pursuing sexual sin (or any sin for that matter).
2. Love and value God and His Wisdom. Verses 4 and 5 show how much we should keep close and value wisdom. We should value wisdom as we would a family member (sister), and as close as an intimate friend.
3. Keep your heart focused on God and His Wisdom. Verse 25 shows us that our hearts are not to turn away from the way of wisdom, which leads to straying into the paths of sin. This is reminiscent of Proverbs 4:23 — “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (ESV)
Discussion Questions:
1. Why do you think sin can be so alluring? What does it look like to fight it?
2. What can you apply to your life from points 1-3 above?
3. In what ways do you need to guard your heart?
By: Graham Withers
4 Comments
The Enemy has been using our desires to tempt us from the very beginning. From Adam and Eve, we rationalize our sin because it resembles what we want.
HOW TO FOCUS OUR HEART ON GOD- Daily arming of ourselves:meditate on the Word and simply asking God to help us.
Sin can be alluring because it's a lot like water taking the path of least resistance,It's easier to go through a broad gate than a narrow gate that you have to guard and be obedient to get through. Fasting prayer and keeping my mind aligned and thoughts obedient to Christ can be a way of fighting sin. It's also making the right choices and when the easy way looks good go to God and find out the right way. Reading The Word of God and getting to know God developing a personal relationship, cherish our friendship with God. Guard our hearts and lives to be sure we are putting the Good of Christ in our hearts for the abundance of the heart a man speaks. Good in good out. Make sure we speak life and not death!
Any sin can be like the "seductive woman". We need to write His wisdoms in our hearts and rely on them in times of temptation no matter what the sin is. Thank you Graham. This gave me a new perspective on this passage.
I love how this chapter emphasizes uses God's Word and wisdom to fight sin. It reminds me of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. He is the living Word. Everything he says IS the word of God, yet he responds to each of the devil's temptations by quoting scripture.
If he used scripture to fight temptation, then I better use it as well!