The Wiles of a Harlot
01 My son, keep my words,
00 And treasure my commands within you.
02 Keep my commands and live,
00 And my law as the apple of your eye.
03 Bind them on your fingers;
00 Write them on the tablet of your heart.
04 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister,";
00 And call understanding your nearest kin,
05 That they may keep you from the immoral woman,
00 From the seductress who flatters with her words.
The Crafty Harlot
06 For at the window of my house
00 I looked through my lattice,
07 And saw among the simple,
00 I perceived among the youths,
00 A young man devoid of understanding,
08 Passing along the street near her corner;
00 And he took the path to her house
09 In the twilight, in the evening,
00 In the black and dark night.
10 And there a woman met him,
00 With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.
11 She was loud and rebellious,
00 Her feet would not stay at home.
12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square,
00 Lurking at every corner.
13 So she caught him and kissed him;
00 With an impudent face she said to him:
14 "I have peace offerings with me;
00 Today I have paid my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you,
00 Diligently to seek your face,
00 And I have found you.
16 I have spread my bed with tapestry,
00 Colored coverings of Egyptian linen.
17 I have perfumed my bed
00 With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning;
00 Let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For my husband is not at home;
00 He has gone on a long journey;
20 He has taken a bag of money with him,
00 And will come home on the appointed day.";
21 With her enticing speech she caused him to yield,
00 With her flattering lips she seduced him.
22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter,
00 Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,
23 Till an arrow struck his liver.
00 As a bird hastens to the snare,
00 He did not know it would cost his life.
24 Now therefore, listen to me, my children;
00 Pay attention to the words of my mouth:
25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
00 Do not stray into her paths;
26 For she has cast down many wounded,
00 And all who were slain by her were strong men.
27 Her house is the way to hell,
00 Descending to the chambers of death.
Probably the greatest example of the consequences mentioned in Proverbs 7, is the way Delilah sold out for some silver. Only the betrayal of Christ by Judas', will you find a greater example of betrayal. However, this Proverb is about a man being brought down by a harlot, so Samson's by Delilah fits for today.
Many men through the ages have lost everything, because they cherished the moment over their future. I would lie if I said I never fell for such a woman, as many men have. Mine cost me my first marriage, and to this day I still regret it. I lost all I had, my wife, my children, my home, and my lively hood. Years later I still pay the price, because I lost millions of moments with my children.
I was quite young, and many said I was too young to get married in the first place. Great excuse, but it's just a cop-out. I never should have believed that forbidden passion was worth the chance I was taking. The moments I spent with the woman, whom was also married, were everything you read about in novels. Yet to this day I cannot tell you anything about her, other than she was beautiful. I thought she would be just another trophy in my past. The truth is, I was just another destroyed life in hers.
Even King David had a stolen moment of infidelity with a beautiful woman he saw bathing. She knew the King could see her bathing, because her home was below his palace where he was known to walk in evening and cool of the day. Oh God did forgive them both, as he forgave me. God eventually blessed the union of David and Bathsheba by using their descendants to bring us our Savior. However, their infidelity cost an innocent man his wife and life. Because of his moment of forbidden passion, turmoil never left his home. A problem that almost destroyed David's hold on the Kingdom.
God is a forgiving God, and in time my life did settle down and I am blessed to have a wife of 30 years whom I love and cherish. However, I lost the intimacy I had with my older children who themselves also suffered from my infidelity in ways one can never foresee.
Be ware, and do not give your time to another whom you are not betrothed to. Be you a man or a woman. For you will be putting the future of what you hold dearly on the line. Like chips on a roulette table that can be lost with a spin, so too can the life you know and cherish be lost. You may think you will get away with it, but God know's and eventually He will make you pay for your sin. It's His way of keeping you from heading to hell. He wants us all to live forever with Him, but unless He stops us from sinning, or punishes us when we do, we will never care to weigh the consequences.
God Bless you all this day.
The purpose of Writing the book of Proverbs was to reveal the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and Godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.
Without wisdom, knowledge is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts, influenced by emotional feelings. Many highly educated people are in positions of power in the United States, but very few of those educated leaders have the wisdom needed to rule properly.
One can say that they have been educated well beyond their intelligence. A cursory look at the court system will prove my point that knowledge without wisdom will only lead to an immoral society that eventually crumbles from within. Judges are supposed to be above the fray, and immovable to emotions. Instead, the vast majority of judges today are Godless individuals who are vacant of wisdom. So their rulings are totally based upon emotional feelings.
We the people are to blame, because we ignored God's guidance in appointing our leaders. Instead of putting leaders full wisdom in power, we instead chose those who would scratch our itchy ears to lead us.
Of the 31 Proverbs, only the first 24 were written by Solomon. King Hezekiah wrote 5, Proverbs 25 to 29, Agur wrote Proverb 30, and Lemuel wrote Proverb 31. Now many believe Lemuel was in fact King Solomon and Lemuel was just a nick name his Mother, Bathsheba gave him. We are told that Solomon write over 3000 Proverbs and composed 1000 songs, but the only Proverbs God decided to preserve for us are Proverbs 1-24. Like the New Testament epistle by James, it is impossible to get a chronological outline for a study since they all bounce from subject to subject.
Along with my daily routine of reading the Bible, I try to read through the book of Proverbs once a Month. It's an easy task when you consider there are 31 Proverbs. So all you need to know is what day of the Month it is. In the Months that have 30 days, or in the case of February, I just double up by reading more than one two proverb so I can begin the next month with Proverb 1 on the first again.
Thank you for your words and vulnerability.
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