Tuesday: Fighting Temptation
As we have just seen, the author of Proverbs 6:23, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, directly links light and life to God’s law. In the next verse he gives a solid example of how the law, as light and life, can offer us powerful spiritual protection.
Image © Steve Creitz from GoodSalt.com
What are we being warned about in Proverbs 6:24? Besides the obvious, what more subtle warning is given here?
When a religious person is tempted, the greatest temptation is to find a religious reason to justify the iniquity. Using God to rationalize bad behavior is not only a terrible form of blasphemy — it’s powerfully deceptive. After all, if someone thinks that God is with me,
then what can you say in reply? This can happen even in cases of adultery. God has shown me that this [man or woman] is the one I should be with.
If that’s what they believe, who or what can trump whatGod
has shown them?
Notice, too, it’s not just her physical beauty that lures him. She uses language, flattering words, to draw the victim into her trap. How often have men and women been led into compromising situations by subtle and seductive words, sometimes even couched in religious language? The author of the book of Proverbs seeks to warn us against this deception.
The law is the perfect antidote against the flattering tongue of a seductress.
Only the imperative of the law and the duty of obedience will help us resist her alluring words, which can sound so true and beautiful. Indeed, the seductress will find you not only handsome but also wise and bright. She may even evoke her spiritual needs; and ironically, dangerously, the love of God
might become the justification for sin.
Just think how easily we can be led, even under the guise of faith, to justify wrong actions of any kind, not just adultery. Why, then, is an absolute commitment to the law of God our only real protection against even our own minds and the tricks that they can play on us?
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The lesson brings up an all to common issue these days:
People who state "God has shown me ...." as an excuse for a belief or behaviour which is contrary to the Word of the LORD.
Some just don't know what the Word says which re-enforces the texts telling us to make the Word part of our life.
God the Father, Son & Holy Spirit are in accord and do not contradict one another. The Holy Spirit will not lead contrary to the Word.
Joh 16:13-15 However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatever He hears, He shall speak. And He will announce to you things to come. (14) He will glorify Me, for He will receive of Mine and will announce it to you. (15) All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and will announce it to you.
Many want to reject the OT completely, however I believe that the Principles of all the instructions given by the pre-incarnate Jesus through Moses are still applicable and useful for instruction in our day and age. Paul confirms this in 2Tim 3:16,17.
Deu 11:1 Therefore you shall love Jehovah your God, and keep His charge and His statutes and His judgments and His commandments always.
2Ti 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, (17) that the man of God may be perfected, thoroughly furnished to every good work.
thank you for sharing 2Tim.3:16&17; wee need to memories for we will need these words to help us though the coming trials we will face with word, (it was written by man/men)
I pray for each of us to keep the faith as our fathers in past and hold unto (thus said the Lord).
"She uses language, flattering words, to draw the victim into her trap". Sin traps its victims as something appealing. It can come in the form of the movies that we watch, the social media pages that we are on. The time we spend on social media and the messages that we forward. All these are like the woman that the Proverb is talking about. They snare our minds to the extend that we cannot even manage to see a day through without visiting such pages. I have seen many people on social media during a Sabbath lesson or even Divine service. You cannot have a face to face discussion with your spouse without her/him scrolling on her phone to check her status. Social media is has turned into this beautiful woman with "lips like a honeycomb which are as smooth as oil"
Garikayi, so true. Spiritual adultery can come in the forms you mention and it's a very real problem. Thanks for pointing these things out.
There is an angel coming from the east with the seal of the living God.This seal is the law of God lsaiah 8;16. The angel sealing it is Jesus in hebrews 8;8-13 .Jesus he is the light and the truth,so the bible in psalm 119:142 says the law is the truth and law is perfect in coverts the soul ,psalm 19.Law is the mind of both God and Jesus,it is their character which a true reflection of who they are ,and this reveals the life and exposes the darnkness of ignorance,hence in opens man's mind to knowledge of whhlo God is to lead man to live and have the same mind as God has,to be one with him in life forever.God is light 1John 1:6-9, and the law is light proverbs 6:20-24. Therefore the law is the mind of God, for God's mind and himself are one.if you reject the law of God you have refused to receive the mind of God which is his glory and image we lost in eden.For this reason in hebrews 8 : 8-13 Jesus has come to restore the image of God in man which is the law Of God humanity lost..This carries the mind of men to unity with the mind of God which is a passport to lead them to the tree of life and have access into the city of God.Revelation 22:14-15
How can the LAW convert the soul when it can only justify or condemn?
I fully realize that the Psalmist says that the LAW converts the soul.
But I am convinced in my own mine that it is only THE LAW GIVER that can convert any soul. The LAW is only a MIRROR according the apostle PAUL. The LAW can only show me what is wrong with me. It is then up to me to go to the LAWGIVER to give me HIS GRACE, and also HIS converting POWER.
Talking to a non SDA Christian gym buddy about Psalm 19:7 and how the Apostle Paul compared The Law to a mirror: The mirror can only show a person the dirt on his or her face but it cannot apply the soap and water to it to clean those dirty spots off of it.
And in our short conversation about this the thought came to me that the OT people of God viewed all the law including the ceremonial law when referring to the law. And it is in the ceremonial law that the converting the soul can be found in the true symbolism of the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Psalm 19:7 may be referring to the whole law including the ceremonial law.
We know what is right and wrong, but sometimes we need an extra push to do the right and shun the wrong. The Word of God informs us of what is right and why it is wrong; admonishes us when we found ourselves leaning to wrong, and encourages us when we flee wrong and do right.
This lesson also points out that we have to ask the Lord to guide our eye and ears because what we see and hear can have an impact on our minds and can cause us to lose focus.
It sound ironical, nonetheless real that the book of proverbs states exactly what is going on in the real world these days! Flattering words, every where and anywhere even where they are not supposed to be. It is sort of like that is all there is to talk about these days, right from social media to interactions both at home and work. These words do not only perpetuate pride in the hearers but also lead them to the path of destruction, seeking to impress more others and thinking that they are overly special. Thus one can say "one seductress will lead you to many other seductresses" after all, you need to impress them with your handsomeness and wit bestowed on you.
Nuwamany,
How true about flattering words. No longer do people earn a good reputation.
Often times, men have more time than women, especially after retirement, and they can spend their time gossiping and flattering others. Women often work, take care of the kids and the house and they don't have time to waste.
So beware of anyone who gossips and flatters.
Prov 6:24
To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
The contrast between verse 23 (the commandment which serves as a lamp, light and for reproof and instruction) and verse 24 (the evil woman who flatters and deceives) is sharp!
When we've the Word in us, we first of all won't deceive others and equally important, we will not be deceived thru flatter. We will be able to discern what's worthy and what's evil. We need the Word to fight temptation.
In proverbs 6:24, we are being warned against the evil woman, her flattering tongue and seductive ways. This evil woman is represented in all forms around us, any and or everything that causes us to be separated from God is this "evil woman" and should be shun. We have to be careful as we can unknowingly fall into her trap.
Because the law is constant and unchanging while our emotions are fickle and capricious. Therefore, we must always look back at the law of God to decide our steps.
Not only look back at the law but take it alittle further to let it be our LIGHT.
Agreed, Leland. We must also keep the Word of God in our hearts and mind continuously to thrawrt evil thoughts and evil imaginings.
I wish the "wise man" had not focused solely on the woman who might do this - especially that we have to discuss this lesson in their presence. We need to not be gender specific.
There are a few reasons for this but the one I would like to focus on is the fact that men do equally well here if not much better than the women. I used to visit a church very frequently almost making it my home church.
I got to know the organist very well. He was a man.
One time we got into a conversation - I don't remember how. But he told me that before he was married he was quite the lady's man. His victims were married women, and if I remember correctly they were members of the church.
I asked him why specifically married women - keeping in mind that if I was doing stuff like that - married women would be the last ones on my list. His answer was that they were the loneliest of women, and were the most likely to be seeking for "love" and his attention. I don't remember him telling me that they initiated the illicit, adulterous relationships.
I could give quite a few more examples of this kind of behavior initiated by men. Lets be careful not to blame only women for this.
the (woman), the word used to state the church; I could be wrong?
comments are welcomed.....
I dont think in this case it is referring to the church. I think it is as is...
Some cases this is true, woman means church but must study in context to the passage. I think it means not just 'woman ' but man, TV, Internet...as someone said earlier, Anything that keeps us from God.
True it is anything that leads us from God. But why didn't Solomon just say, "anything that leads you from God?" He is mentioning specific things we need to be specifically warned about that could lead us from God. That is why he is being specific instead of just generalizing everything.
Hi Albert, you are right adultery involves both the man and the woman. It doesn't matter which one initiates the relationship both are in the wrong. Actually if you read Proverbs carefully, it is the man who is going outside his marriage to consort with a prostitute - the loose, evil women. But you are right without the men there would be no prostitutes.
Albert, could it be that perhaps the author focused on seductress women because at this point in his life he blamed them for his defects?
Sometimes it is difficult for us to see our flaws. It is more comfortable to blame others for luring us into sin, instead of owning our inappropriate actions. In the Biblical male dominated society the woman would naturally be the blame. Other examples of this in the Bible include the Samaritan woman (no doubt she did not divorce the 5 husbands) and the woman caught in adultery (an impossible act without a partner).
You are so on point...all sinners are in need of repentance...not just women.
Thanks, Albert James;
We have a very special class in our Church where any member of this class can volunteer to lead the class and so I am up for this Sabbath and I found this one for today rather lopsided with the feminine gender as the culprit for evil.
I guess that the WISE MAN, who himself had many wives and concubines must have somehow viewed his Psycho sexual demise on the opposite sex and somehow never on the possibility that HE HIMSELF had a lot to do with the sexual problems of HIS DAY AND AGE.
JESUS sure set things straight when HE indicated where the whole problem is---ADULTERY starts with the MIND (HEART.) And that has no gender boundaries.
Let us not forget that foreign religion and churches have been called the woman and harlot in prophesy. If you re read remembering that, it will bring us all in to this warning, not just those who might be tempted in a carnal manner.
The Bible should always be taken literally except when a literal explanation makes no sense. Then we look for the symbolic meaning. In prophecy a woman represents the church. Solomon is not talking about prophecy in Proverbs. (or in Song of Solomon for that matter, where people who are scared of sex want to spiritualize the whole book away)However a dual, literal and symbolic application of the woman in Proverbs could be applied and still make sense, but the literal application is still very valid and should not be explained away as just being about a church.
In the ancient world when Proverbs was written it was a man's world where women were mostly in the background. Even in the case of Bathsheba less is said about her sin than is said about David's sin.
The sad thing about what David did was that he didn't have good judgment and let his glands dictate his action instead of his brain, that he should stay away from the seductress which Bathsheba was. She most certainly didn't have to bath out in full view of the king's palace - she knew what she was doing. Under the culture of the time in spite of that David took the responsibility for the adultery, he had the decision to make concerning the situation even though Bathsheba initiated the affair.
It also might be that his son, Solomon, remembered the stories about what happened and is warning others about such things. And yes the Bible does symbolize the church as a woman and because of that a spiritual application might very well apply but I am inclined to think Solomon was thinking of a real woman instead of a symbolical application.
Words become actions and actions speak louder than words because people will watch what you do more than they will listen to what you say so practice what you preach!
Like others have said before me, the seducer is everywhere...in Solomon's day, a woman was typified by the one you pass in the street, or spy on the neighbour's roof or back-yard...today however, the seducing woman is everywhere...the media today is all pervasive, and sex is it's number one weapon of choice.
Before I was married, I didn't understand, if people are married, why they would even think of or desire in some way, another man or woman. Then after I was married, I learned that most people commit adultery for emotional reasons.
Marriage is about committment, no matter what happens to either spouse.
People end up in wheel chairs and can't have sex. One of the spouses may not be affectionate or caring, doesn't listen, is ornery and mean, and the other spouse needs to pray much to continue to be connected with God. No matter what comes to either spouse, marriage is an opportunity to experience all the Christian graces.
My parents didn't get along but they stayed committed and never mentioned another man or woman. Because they committed, many people in that generation stayed married.
Considering how often relations outside of marriage has come up (just w/in the first 7 chapters) in proverbs makes me believe that in all of Solomon's wisdom this was a VERY big problem for him (and those around him.) Unless teachers utilize another's words, they teach from their own experiences to be used as analogies. The point is not only in the literal but also in the meaning of the story/example. We are to meditate on it and find out (w/God's help) how the meaning of the story applies to ourselves.
If, as so many have done (in this week's lessons,) one can translate the verses that speak of obeying one's parents' instruction to mean God's commandments than why not be able to interpret the woman in scripture as anything that would lead one from God. In the end, the point is: compare your options to the Word of God. Live the option that abides by the Word of God and He will not forsake you. You may be tested but trust Him and the prize will be yours at the end.
Many OT Prophets talk about God as wanting to be His people's Father. Jesus Himself does this in His counsel as how we are to pray to Him---"Our Father which art in Heaven..." So from this standpoint I like to view the Proverbs that say to "Listen to the Law of your father" as meaning the Law of your Creator too who is our real and ultimate Father.
The Torah speaks a lot about faithfulness to God and consequences of being distracted away, comparing it to adultery. Solomon had many wives, but also allowed many gods to be brought into the palace. I think he is talking about both physical and spiritual adultery.