I Have Seen a Foolish Person

 

 

 

 

[Proverbs 7:1-27]

 

 

Dear brothers and sisters, do you know the Korean saying, "Digging your own grave"? It means that a person brings trouble upon themselves. I often find myself in situations where I, too, have spoken words that dig my own grave. Through these experiences, I have learned that it’s not so much important what we say, but what we don’t say. However, the problem is that even after realizing this, I sometimes still speak in a way that traps me. Have you had similar experiences? Have you ever heard the saying "self-binding" or "self-entangling"? I first heard this phrase while preparing for this sermon. It means “binding yourself with the rope you have made for yourself”—basically, causing yourself to fall into trouble. In short, “self-binding” means “destroying yourself.” (Internet reference)

In today’s passage, Proverbs 7:7, we see a foolish person who ruins themselves. This foolish person is a young man who does not keep God's commandments in his heart (v. 1) and does not follow His word (vv. 1-2), thus falling into the temptation of the adulteress through his words (v. 5). Today, under the title "I Have Seen a Foolish Person," I would like to reflect on three key points on how a foolish person falls into the temptation of the adulteress. My prayer is that we may recognize all the temptations of Satan and, through God's strength, live victorious lives.

First, Satan tempts a foolish person to get closer to the corner where the adulteress waits.

Let us look at Proverbs 7:8: “He was passing by the street near the corner of her house, and he went toward her house.” In Proverbs 4:14-15, God commands us: “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and pass on.” The wise person keeps this commandment in their heart, avoiding the path of the wicked. However, the foolish person does not listen to or follow this command, but rather walks in the path of the wicked. The foolish young man in Proverbs 7 is an example of this. As he passed by the corner where the adulteress’s house is located (v. 8), he should have turned away and avoided that path (4:15). But instead, this foolish young man did not turn away but walked closer to the corner of the adulteress’s house. What’s worse, it was evening, at twilight, and in the darkness of the night (7:9). Why did he go to the adulteress’s house in the darkness of night rather than in the daylight? Because he didn’t want anyone to see him. In other words, the foolish young man went to the prostitute in the secret of the night, trying to hide his actions (Park Yoon-sun).

Why didn’t he stay at home and rest like any other person, but instead came out at night, getting closer to the corner of the prostitute’s house? What was the reason? The reason was that this foolish young man did not keep God’s law like the pupil of his eye. Proverbs 7:2 says: “Keep my commandments and live, and my law as the apple of your eye.” The term “the apple of your eye” in Hebrew literally means “the center of your eyes” (the pupil). Interestingly, the term “deep night” in Proverbs 7:9, when translated literally, means “the center of night” (Walvoord). What is the meaning of this? I believe the reason the foolish young man secretly went to the prostitute’s house in the middle of the night was that he did not keep God’s word as the center of his eyes. Instead, he may have been secretly watching the prostitute through his house’s window (v. 6). If we do not guard God’s word as the apple of our eye, we will easily fall into Satan’s temptation and walk toward the house of the adulteress, eventually sinning against God.

I’m not sure if it's still the same, but back in the 1980s, on Sunset Boulevard, just one block down from the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, there were many prostitutes standing on the street. As described in today’s passage, prostitutes stood at street corners and often made eye contact with the men driving by. I don’t remember it very clearly now, but I must have driven down Sunset Boulevard with some friends during my adolescence. Looking back, I can't deny that it was a foolish thing to do, driving down that street with my friends. The reason we probably drove down that street late at night was to see the prostitutes. I certainly was a foolish boy back then. Not only should we have never driven down Sunset Boulevard, but we also should never have gone near that street at that late hour. Yet, I foolishly did it. I’m not sure if prostitutes still walk down Sunset Boulevard late at night, but I think the real danger today isn’t the street but rather the temptation of immoral women via the internet, which has become far more serious. Once, I was watching Channel 4 on TV, and I saw a police sting operation. Police investigators had minors under 18 chat with men online, and when these men said they wanted to come to the girl's house, the police would arrest them on camera. Nowadays, Satan tempts us by stimulating our visual desires through the internet, and ultimately, we can’t resist our fleshly desires, leading to serious sexual activity outside of marriage. What should we do? We must engrave God's commandments on our hearts (v. 3) and live according to them. We must keep God's law like the "apple of our eye" (v. 2). Pastor Park Yoon-sun once said: "The eye is precious and very delicate, so it must be carefully protected. That’s why the eyebrows and eyelids protect the eye from even the smallest speck of dust. In the same way, when we keep God’s Word, even a moment of carelessness can lead us to stray from it." My hope is that, by valuing God's Word as the apple of our eye and keeping it, we will fight and overcome the temptations of Satan’s immoral women.

Secondly, the immoral woman comes out with hidden motives to meet the foolish person.

Let’s look at Proverbs 7:10: “And there a woman met him, with the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.” The Bible describes a foolish young man who, overcome by Satan's temptation, walks through the street and approaches the immoral woman's corner, eventually going to her house (vv. 8-9). In verse 10, it tells us that the immoral woman meets him dressed like a prostitute. The Bible refers to her in verse 10 as a "crafty woman" because she has hidden motives when she meets the young man. In other words, this crafty prostitute hides her true intentions when she meets this foolish young man. In fact, the Hebrew word for "crafty" here literally means "to hide" (MacArthur). So, what are her hidden motives? Let’s look at Proverbs 23:27-28: “For a harlot is a deep pit, and an adulterous woman is a narrow well. She also lies in wait as for a victim, and increases the unfaithful among men.” The hidden motive of the immoral woman, dressed like a prostitute and meeting the young man, is to set a "trap" that causes him to become unfaithful in his marriage. In other words, her true hidden intention is to make many married men break the vows they made when they married (Park Yoon-sun). The problem is that, as foolish men, we don’t recognize these hidden motives of the crafty woman, and we foolishly approach her. What should we do? As King Solomon says in verse 1 of today’s passage, we must keep God's commandments in our hearts. The Hebrew word for "keep" here means "to hide" or "to treasure up." Isn’t that interesting? In verse 10, the crafty woman hides her true intentions, but the Bible tells us that to resist her temptation, we should hide or treasure God's commandments in our hearts. What Solomon is ultimately teaching us is that when a crafty woman approaches us, hiding her true motives and attempting to seduce us, to resist her temptation, we must hide (or treasure) God’s Word in our hearts.

 

Thirdly, the immoral woman seduces the foolish man with flattering words.

Let's look at Proverbs 7:21 in today's passage: “With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.” Have you ever thought about how women tempt men? I entered Google and searched for “how women seduce men,” and I found a list of four ways, as explained by someone who watched the movie Obsessed. For reference, Obsessed is a thriller movie about a woman’s obsession with seducing a married man (internet source).

The first method is to "expose strategically and moderately." This method stimulates a man's sexual nature, as men tend to remember what they see when a woman's intimate parts are exposed. The second method is to "smile often with your eyes." A woman’s smile can cause a man to imagine many things. If a woman looks at a man and smiles, he might even start imagining that "she's in love with me." The third method is to "show tears." A woman's tears are said to have a magical pull that draws men in. The fourth method is to "stare at him often." If a woman gazes at a man frequently, he will inevitably start to notice her.

In today's passage (Proverbs 7:21), it says that the immoral woman seduced the foolish man with smooth words. The word seduce in English translates as “诱惑” (in Chinese, it’s “to tempt” or “to lead astray”). The word seduction comes from Latin and literally means “to lead astray,” “to mislead,” or “to corrupt.” When used negatively, it refers to the act of tempting someone, making them experience sexual excitement, which ultimately leads them into moral corruption (internet source). So, how exactly does the immoral woman tempt and corrupt the foolish man in today’s passage? I will reflect on three ways she does this:

1. The immoral woman seduces the foolish man through what he sees.

Let’s look at Proverbs 7:10: “Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.” The phrase "dressed like a prostitute" means she dressed provocatively, like a prostitute. How do prostitutes dress? Don’t they dress in a way that attracts attention, in a seductive manner? These days, in Korea, it seems that women's skirts are getting shorter and shorter. Some women even wear clothes that are barely more than underwear. Prostitutes dress provocatively to visually stimulate men’s lustful desires. They wear revealing clothes that stir up men’s sexual desires, which is extremely provocative to foolish men. The Bible says that such women stand on street corners or in public places, waiting for men (v. 12).

2. The immoral woman seduces the foolish man through physical touch.

Let’s look at Proverbs 7:13: “She took hold of him and kissed him.” Can you imagine this? A woman, dressed provocatively, rushes toward the foolish man, embraces him tightly, and kisses him? When the foolish man sees how provocatively she is dressed, he’s already sexually aroused. And when she hugs him and kisses him, how could he not feel even more sexual desire? This crafty woman uses physical contact to seduce him. By touching and kissing him, she triggers the young man’s sexual impulses. How much more sexually stimulated is this vigorous young man likely to feel when the immoral woman touches him in such an intimate way?

3. The immoral woman seduces the foolish man through what he hears.

This means that the immoral woman seduces the foolish man with "persuasive words" (v. 21), using "smooth talk" to lead him astray. While both men and women are influenced by their senses, men, in particular, seem to be especially susceptible to visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli. In other words, when a man is seduced by a woman, it might be through what he sees—her body, or through physical touch, but it can also be through her words. In this passage, the immoral woman uses persuasive and flattering words to lead the foolish man to follow her hidden agenda. With her smooth and seductive speech, she makes him slip off the right path and move toward destruction.

Through these three methods, the immoral woman seduces the foolish man and leads him astray, using visual, physical, and auditory temptation.

What does the Bible say the immoral woman says to the foolish man?

(1) The immoral woman says, “She speaks with a bold face” (v. 13) and “I have peace offerings with me; today I have paid my vows. So I came out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, and I have found you” (vv. 14-15).

This means that the immoral woman, despite being a prostitute, claims that she made a vow to God and offered sacrifices to Him. She believes that God has led her to meet the man. Does this make any sense? Clearly, Deuteronomy 23:18 says, “You shall not bring the earnings of a prostitute or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord your God for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.” How can the immoral woman disregard this command and live in disobedience, all while occasionally performing religious rites and thinking that God supports her sinful profession? (Commentary by Park Yun-Seon)

(2) The immoral woman seduces the foolish young man by describing her bed to him (Proverbs 7:16), saying “Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love” (v. 18).

She says her husband has gone on a long trip with a bag of money, and he won’t return for a fortnight (vv. 19-20), so they can safely sleep together. How tempting are these words from the immoral woman? How persuasive are these smooth and seductive words, especially for foolish men who are not listening to God’s voice? Many Christian men today are being persuaded by such seductive words and fall into sin, committing adultery and disobeying God. The foolish young man in this passage also gives in to the woman’s temptation and follows her, just like an ox going to the slaughter or a bird caught in a trap (v. 22). What does the Bible say the result is? Look at verse 23: “He does not know that it will cost him his life, like a bird hastening to the snare, and does not know that it will cost him his life.” What does this mean? The end of the foolish man is destruction (v. 23). Just as a bird loses its life when caught in the trap, the foolish man also loses his life.

As we close this reflection, what should we do? We must listen to God’s Word. We must pay attention to His commands (v. 24). We must keep His law like the apple of our eye (v. 2). We must treasure His Word in our hearts (v. 1). And instead of drawing near to the immoral woman, we must draw near to wisdom and understanding (v. 5). We must obey God’s commands with the wisdom that fears Him. The reason is that if we follow the immoral woman, we will surely end up in destruction (v. 26). I hope that both you and I will follow God’s wisdom, keep His Word, and not let our hearts stray to the path of the immoral woman or be led astray by her ways (v. 25).