Thursday: The Threat of Death
Most people don’t think of death when they sin; they have other things on their minds, usually the immediate gratification and pleasure that they derive from their sin. It doesn’t help, either, that popular culture often extols adultery and other iniquities. In contrast, the book of Proverbs places sin in the right perspective, a view echoed many years later by Paul: The wages of sin is death
(Rom. 6:23).
Image © Steve Creitz from GoodSalt.com
Read Proverbs 7:22-23 (NKJV). What makes the adulterer vulnerable to the threat of death?
The one who goes after her
is described as someone who has lost his personality and will. He is no longer thinking. The word immediately suggests that he does not give himself time for much reflection. He is compared to an ox who goes to the slaughter,
to a fool who goes to the correction of the stocks,
and to a bird who hastens to the snare.
None of them realize that their life is threatened.
Read Proverbs 7:26-27. What makes the immoral woman lethal?
It’s possible that the woman here depicts more than a mere
adulterer. In fact, she represents values opposite to wisdom. Solomon uses this metaphor to warn his pupil against any form of evil. The risk is huge, for this woman does not just wound; she kills, and her power is such that she has slain even the strongest of men. In other words, others before you, stronger than you, have not been able to survive in her hands. The universal language of this passage clearly suggests that the biblical author is speaking about humankind in general. (The Hebrew word sheol in the text has nothing to do with hell,
as commonly thought; it designates the place where the dead now are: the grave.)
In the end, the point is that sin, whether adultery or something else, leads to annihilation, the opposite of the eternal life that God wants us all to have through Jesus Christ.
No wonder, as we said in Saturday’s introduction, the language is strong — we are dealing, literally, with matters of life and death.
Think of some strong
people who have fallen in a big way. Why should this make you tremble for yourself? What is your only protection?
(28)
Avoid temptation, and look towards eternity with God
a wise man shall be wise but the companions of fool will suffer harm....GALATIANS 26....
Sober thoughts - straying from the paths of righteousness leads to death.
The LORD wants us to have abundant joy, so He tells us via His Word what will be bad for us, to avoid being deceived.
His ideal for us is to be in a loving relationship with Him and to be like Him. The more we learn of His love, character, wisdom, world view, power the more we will be drawn to Him.
Psa 23:3 He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
"Psa 23:3 He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness ..."
Thank you, Shirley, for sharing that Bible promise with us! We need that guidance every day, and every minute of our life.
They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. May the Lord grant us wisdom and knowledge to acknowledge the truth.
Amen!
The solution for me is to stay far away from these situations as possible .not always easy but, more I play on the devil ground the easier it is for him to reach me.
Let him who thinks he staneth be aware least ye fall
The woman represents a church which does not follow God's commandments therefore beware she will lead you to hell!
One of Satans effective tool is human pride and he appeals to it by telling the tempted one " Do not fear, only the weak succumb to evil, you are strong! You can walk by sin, look upon sin & even touch sin but you shall not be caught by sin." So he ensnares many and not a few of these are strong, for sin is always more powerful than human strength and wisdom when we foolishly play with it. Those who are destroyed by this evil woman, are not just the ignorant and weak, but also the wise and strong. Satans snares are gradual steps away from truth & right, so subtle that man does not realize he is approaching the brink until it's too late. Praying that we will all heed the wise counsel of our fathers both physical and spiritual ones.
Verse 23 of proverbs 7 talks about the adulterer not knowing that his death would be so near! But lets face it, these days, even people who know still go ahead! Should we say that we are as numb to sin, so we are beyond repair? Why is it like that, and why are we so numb? In this time and era where adultery and fornication donot only lead to diseases like HIV/AIDs but also to family breakages, one would expect each and everybody to understand the death in this, but so we go ahead sinning. We need Gods mercy, we need to pray much more harder to resist the devil. He is making us more numb to sin and we will surely die!
There should be no fear of the first death. There is no fear of the second death if you have a genuine relationship with Christ. The key to a genuine relationship with Christ is to desire the Truth, give of yourself entirely to Christ, seek salvation with all your body, mind, and soul, surrender your bad habits to Christ, visualize Christ, let the Holy Spirit guide and train, then go out and tell the world what Christ has done for you. You will be suprised at how the threat of death disolves. Memorize. Romans 14:8
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
Prov 7:22-23
22He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
23Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
Temptation causes us to "walk" aimless, without foresight to see a ditch ahead. V23 says even wen the pinch of sin stings, we still don't wake up to reality that sin is a destructor.
May God rescue us from the prison walls of temptation and sin
This reminds me of the verse Ephesians 5:15-17. Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise but wise, making the most of every opportunity. Therefore, do not be foolish but understand what the Lord's will is.
the psalmist says it all , Thy Word have i kept in my heart that i might not sin against Thee , with Jesus in our hearts we are safe , as the heart is the centre of all activity so our safest way is to Jesus in us , Christ in me the hope of Glory , the devil is a chance he takes oportunity in our weakness , so for me to Christ is central to our obedience .
Solomon with all his wisdom fell. Woe unto me!! Help me God.
Proverbs puts so much emphasis on avoiding adultery that I think it is wanting us to see the treat to our spiritual lives. Other prophets used adultery as a metaphor for unfaithfulness to God and in Revelation, we see the "scarlet woman" who adulterates with nations. If God is not primary in our lives, we will separate ourselves from him. The absence of Him is death.