Proverbs

Chapter 7 Handout

Warning Against the Adulteress

Another "My son" chapter head, six more paragraphs in the NIV (the last one beginning again with (plural) "sons"), the same topic we have seen before. This may not be important to some of us, but it's a real problem in our culture today, as I suppose it was in the time of Solomon. Except as we might infer from Solomon's advice repeated here in Proverbs, the Bible does not tell us much about the moral fabric of Israel at that time, but people are sinners in every time and in all places.

Invitation to Obedience

Except for the one final verse declaring the chapter topic, this first paragraph resembles the other introductions, where "My son" is invited to pay attention and to seek Wisdom [read v.1-5]

Pastor Mark's sermon focus last Sunday was elsewhere, but a clear teaching of Jesus in John 14:15,21 is that being one of God's People is inextricably connected to obeying His commandments. Obedience does not save us -- only Christ's finished work on the Cross does that -- but disobedience is incompatible with loving God. Moses said it repeatedly in the Law God gave to Israel from Mt.Sinai [for example Ex.20, Dt.28:1,2,15], Solomon repeats it here (and four other places we have already seen: 2:1, 3:1, 4:4, 6:20, plus a couple more beyond the scope of this study [10:8, 13:13]), Jesus said it in the sermon text Pastor Mark read from the pulpit on Sunday, the Evangelist John repeated it in his epistle [1Jn.2:3,4], and the great Apostle Paul also repeated it several times in his letters [Rom.6:1,2, 15,16, 1Co.6:9,10, Gal.6:9, Eph.2:10].

The Wayward Woman and Her Foolish Client

Most of this chapter in Proverbs is devited to an extended tale, Solomon watching how this plays out. My NIV broke this into four paragraphs for readability, but it's one story [read v.6-9]
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This guy is a kid, old enough to know better, but not very smart. Smart people don't do these things.

Continuing, [read v.10-13]

[Read v.14-17]

[Read v.18-20]

James in his epistle [Jas.4:13-16] warns against making assumptions about future events. What if the husband comes home early? Maybe his business client had his own emergency, or maybe the husband suspects something and only pretends to be off on a long trip, then what? You don't want to be that kid [read v.21-23]

Solomon's story ends with him musing about the kid's latter end, but it doesn't take much imagination for us to understand how right he is.

Finally, the moral of his story [read v.24-27]

Don't do this at home! Nor anywhere else.

Tom Pittman
2022 August 22