Posted by Jeff Short on November 7, 2016 · 1 Comment
In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
– Proverbs 7:9
The young man is already in the way to her house and we learn it is also dark at night. Both conditions of opportunity for sin have been met—place and time. Seeking the cover of darkness is a sign of no good motive. It is the preferred time for evil deeds (Job 24:15; John 3:19). Wisdom teaches to avoid such a place and especially at such a time, but this youth is void of understanding.
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Posted by Jeff Short on November 6, 2016 · 1 Comment
Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
– Proverbs 7:8
He went the way or the path to her house. One wonders if his choice of route was in anyway influenced in the youth group he left from. We are not told what his designs were, if there were any. We do know that he is walking contrary to the instruction of wisdom (Proverbs 4:14-15). Even if unwittingly, he is putting himself in the way, or in the place, for something to happen.
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Posted by Jeff Short on November 5, 2016 · 1 Comment
And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
– Proverbs 7:7
Solomon saw a group of young simpletons. The simple in Proverbs are gullible, naïve, and aimless. If not corrected by wisdom, they go on to become full-blown fools. Being young, they are also inexperienced. Lack of experience is one of the great dangers to the young. Of course, they can’t help being inexperienced, but it is all the more reason to listen to the instruction of wisdom, which is designed to inform the simple (Proverbs 1:4). The word for understanding is also translated “heart” frequently. It stands the mind. Solomon is saying he saw a young man without a brain, and that is proven from what follows.
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Posted by Jeff Short on November 4, 2016 · 1 Comment
For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,
– Proverbs 7:6
Verses 6-23 give the dramatic account of the young fool who was snared by the adulterous woman. Verses 6-9 introduce the rattlepated youth. Solomon retells the account as an eyewitness observer—he looked through the window of his house and saw. This account provides a model for obtaining wisdom through observation. Some would say that all things must be experienced for oneself but wisdom knows how to learn from observing the experience of others as well as heeding wise instructions.
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Posted by Jeff Short on November 3, 2016 · 1 Comment
That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
– Proverbs 7:5
The fatherly admonition is designed keep from the strange woman. Wisdom is to be kept, guarded, treasured, and loved. The one who does so will keep from the strange woman. Protection is particularly needed against her words. She flatters or speaks smooth words that appeal to the lust of the flesh. Here again Solomon pits the words of wisdom against froward words the young man will encounter. The froward words here are those in the guise of an adulterous woman. Smooth talk is one of her wiles to be recognized and guarded against (Proverbs 2:16; 5:3; 6:24).
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Posted by Jeff Short on November 2, 2016 · 1 Comment
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:
– Proverbs 7:4
In chapter 5 Solomon set the blessings of faithful marriage over against the consequences of adultery. Here he refers to familial love and natural affections. The point enforced is to not only hear and keep wisdom but to love wisdom as one does his near kin. The young man has a special relation to his sister or other close female relation. He treats her with a certain tenderness and attentiveness to help and to protect. The young man must develop just such a love for wisdom to keep from errant paths. Charles Bridges captured the thought in his classic commentary on Proverbs:
Man must have his object of delight. If wisdom is not loved, lust will be indulged. The Bible therefore—not merely read, but the cherished object of familiar intercourse—proves a sacred exorcist to expel the power of evil.
The point is that we do not need or want a heart that is cleaned, swept, garnished, and empty (Matthew 12:43-45). We must fill our hearts and minds with good things (Philippians 4:8).
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Posted by Jeff Short on November 1, 2016 · 1 Comment
Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
– Proverbs 7:3
Solomon alludes to the exhortation to keep the law (Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18; Proverbs 3:3). The point of the admonition is not the phylacteries of the Pharisees, but rather that the law may be always at hand and always on the mind. Here the commands of wisdom need to be ready to put to use, i.e. bound to the fingers, and continually meditated on to deepen understanding and application to life, i.e. written upon the heart or mind.
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 31, 2016 · 1 Comment
Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
– Proverbs 7:2
Wisdom is life and leads us into life. The many admonitions to keep, or guard, the commandments indicate how easily we can let them slip. We must stir up ourselves to actively keep them. We are to guard as “the apple of thine eye.” This refers to the pupil, but the figure is probably used because the commandments of wisdom give us spiritual sight and must be guarded.
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Posted by Jeff Short on October 30, 2016 · 1 Comment
Chapter 7 brings the capstone warning against adultery. The warning here comes in dramatic fashion as a tale of a young simpleton ensnared in this sin. Considering the weight of the warnings given, it is plain that such sin is only avoided through wisdom. It takes forethought, planning, and deliberate actions and habits to keep away from such sins. Verses 1-5 begin the fatherly address calling the son to attentiveness. Verses 6-23 illustrate the cunning of the evil woman and how she takes her prey. Verses 24-27 press the lesson home. Solomon’s primary method is to teach us wisdom by learning through experience and observation. Life furnishes an endless supply of lessons of folly. Wisdom learns from the foolishness of others and avoids it.
My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
– Proverbs 7:1
Verses 1-5 are familiar, particularly throughout the first chapters of Proverbs. Keeping and laying up give the idea of guarding a hidden object. The words and commandments of the father are words and commandments of wisdom. Learning by paying heed to instruction and keeping the words so that you avoid the consequences of folly is far better than learning through bitter experience. Learning through instruction is an essential mark of wisdom (Proverbs 9:9).
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Proverbs 7:9
Posted by Jeff Short on November 7, 2016 · 1 Comment
In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
The young man is already in the way to her house and we learn it is also dark at night. Both conditions of opportunity for sin have been met—place and time. Seeking the cover of darkness is a sign of no good motive. It is the preferred time for evil deeds (Job 24:15; John 3:19). Wisdom teaches to avoid such a place and especially at such a time, but this youth is void of understanding.– Proverbs 7:9
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