Proverbs
Nine One Five
#49
Proverbs 2:16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
The second person we must avoid is the strange woman - the embodiment of lust.
When the Bible says strange woman, it means a woman who is not your wife. Many translate this as a harlot or as an adulteress, but she can be any woman trying to entice you that is not your wife. She is a stranger to you, meaning she is not yours and you have no right to touch her; that is important to our understanding of what lust is trying to do.
The goal of lust is to get you to chase what you have no business chasing. While the froward man is focused on leading you away from uprightness, knowing you will trip and fall once in the darkness; the strange woman has dug the pit herself and set the bait. She is not just trying to separate you from righteousness but to lead you headlong into sin.
Both the froward man and the strange woman want to destroy you, but their methods are not exactly the same. Where as his chief tool is deceit, hers is flattery. She knows what you want and how to entice you with it. She knows exactly what to say to you if she is going to catch your attention. She is indeed like those prostitutes who sit in the windows and tap on them trying to get the attention of those who pass by.
God never speaks well of flattery; in fact, He says those who do it seek your ruin (Proverbs 26:28) and to not meddle with them (Proverbs 20:19). So, heed His advice and do not give ear to this flattering stranger.
This froward man, this embodiment of deceit, rejoices to destroy people. His desire is to hurt you no matter the cost. Just know then that anyone who wants you to leave the path of uprightness and to play in the dark, is doing so because they want to hurt you.
There is a reason why criminals are more active at night. Once you step out of the light you are much more vulnerable to their evil. This man takes joy in your harm, and he delights when wicked men deceive or lie to you.
Wicked is also not only a generic word for those who are morally wrong. It also refers to Godless people or people who refuse to give God place in their thoughts and lives. The wicked are those who do not conduct their lives in righteousness because they refuse to let God tell them what is right; they have rejected all His ways. This is why it is no problem for them to play with the truth, because where there is no God, there is no truth. Without God, the truth is just your opinion, and it can be whatever you make it. The froward man enjoys when you are hurt or lied to, don’t let him lead you away from the path of uprightness.
When the Bible says strange woman, it means a woman who is not your wife. Many translate this as a harlot or as an adulteress, but she can be any woman trying to entice you that is not your wife. She is a stranger to you, meaning she is not yours and you have no right to touch her; that is important to our understanding of what lust is trying to do.
The goal of lust is to get you to chase what you have no business chasing. While the froward man is focused on leading you away from uprightness, knowing you will trip and fall once in the darkness; the strange woman has dug the pit herself and set the bait. She is not just trying to separate you from righteousness but to lead you headlong into sin.
Both the froward man and the strange woman want to destroy you, but their methods are not exactly the same. Where as his chief tool is deceit, hers is flattery. She knows what you want and how to entice you with it. She knows exactly what to say to you if she is going to catch your attention. She is indeed like those prostitutes who sit in the windows and tap on them trying to get the attention of those who pass by.
God never speaks well of flattery; in fact, He says those who do it seek your ruin (Proverbs 26:28) and to not meddle with them (Proverbs 20:19). So, heed His advice and do not give ear to this flattering stranger.
This froward man, this embodiment of deceit, rejoices to destroy people. His desire is to hurt you no matter the cost. Just know then that anyone who wants you to leave the path of uprightness and to play in the dark, is doing so because they want to hurt you.
There is a reason why criminals are more active at night. Once you step out of the light you are much more vulnerable to their evil. This man takes joy in your harm, and he delights when wicked men deceive or lie to you.
Wicked is also not only a generic word for those who are morally wrong. It also refers to Godless people or people who refuse to give God place in their thoughts and lives. The wicked are those who do not conduct their lives in righteousness because they refuse to let God tell them what is right; they have rejected all His ways. This is why it is no problem for them to play with the truth, because where there is no God, there is no truth. Without God, the truth is just your opinion, and it can be whatever you make it. The froward man enjoys when you are hurt or lied to, don’t let him lead you away from the path of uprightness.