A youth who lacks judgment
[Proverbs 7:1-27]
Do you know the Korean proverb ‘Dig your own grave’? It means that we put ourselves in a corner. When I look at myself, I experience that sometimes I speak a word that digs my own grave. What I learn from such experiences is that it isn’t what I speak that is important but I don’t speak. But the problem is that even after realizing this, I still put myself in the corner. Have you ever had this experience? Have you ever heard the old Chinese saying “jaseungjabak”? This is what I heard for the first time while preparing a sermon. It means ‘to put yourself into trouble, like binding yourself with the braided rope. In a word, the word “jaseungjabak” means he who ruins himself (Internet).
If we look at Proverbs 7:7, there is a young man who lacks judgement and who ruins himself. He is among the young men who doesn’t store up God’s commands within him (v. 1) and doesn’t keep His words (vv. 1, 2). As a result, he falls into the temptation of the adulteress (v. 5). Today, under the heading “A youth who lacks judgement,” I would like to meditate on how this foolish young man who lacks judgment falls into the temptation of the adulteress in three ways. Therefore, I pray that we all realize and know any temptations of Satan and fight them to live a victorious life.
First, Satan tempts the youth who lacks judgement to walk along in the direction of the adulteress’ house.
Look at Proverbs 7:8 – “He was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house.” God is commanding us in Proverbs 4:14-15, “Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.” The wise man keeps this command of God in his heart and obeys it, so he avoids the path of the wicked and doesn’t walk in the way of the evil men. However, the foolish man does not listen to God's command in his heart, but rather ignores it and goes on the path of the wicked. One of the young men who lacks judgement in Proverbs 7 was such a fool. When the fool was going down the street near the adulteress’ corner (7:8), he shouldn’t set his foot on that path and walk in that way. Rather he should turn away from that path and left (4:15). But the foolish young man didn’t turn away from the adulteress’ path. Rather he walked closer to the corner of her street and walked along in the direction of her house (7:8). When the sun sets and twilight, as the dark of night set in, the foolish youth walked along in the direction of the adulteress’ house (v. 9). Why did the young man walk in the direction of the adulteress’ house during the dark night, not broad daylight? It was because he didn’t want anyone to see him. In other words, the foolish young man went secretly to the adulteress in the deep night to hide his actions from others (Park). Why did he leave his house without sleeping at night, near the corner of the adulteress’ street, and head toward her house? What was the reason? It was because the unwise young man didn’t obey God's laws as the apple of his eye. Look at Proverbs 7:2 – “Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.” Here, the literal meaning of the Hebrew word “the apply of your eyes” means “the center of your eyes”. By the way, the word “the dark of night” in verse 9 also literally means “the center of night”, that is ‘the middle of night’ (Walvoord). What does it mean? In my opinion, the reason why the unwise boy who lacked judgment went secretly to the adulteress’ house in the middle of a deep night was because he didn’t look at the word of God with the middle of his eyes and didn’t obey it. Rather, he may have been staring at the adulteress with his eyes, through the windows of his house, through the lattice (v. 6). If we don’t obey the word of God like this, we will be tempted by Satan, walk toward the house of the adulteress, and eventually sin against God.
I don't know if this is the case these days, but long ago in the 80s, there were many prostitutes standing on the Sunset Street, just one block below the famous Hollywood Blvd. As Proverbs 7 says, the prostitutes were standing in the corners of the street and winked at the men who were driving and passing by. I don't remember well now, but I must have driven the Sunset Street with my friends when I was adolescent. When I think about it now, I can't deny why I drove the road with my friends at that time, that it was such a foolish act. Perhaps the reason why we drove the street at night was to see the prostitutes. At that time, I really was a foolish boy. Not only should I not have passed the Sunset Street by car at all, but I shouldn’t go near the street late at night. I don't know if the prostitutes are still walking late at night on the Sunset Street. But more than that, I think the temptation of the adulteress over the Internet is now more serious. One day, when I watched TV channel 4, the police were having sting operation. They were trying to catch men who not only chatted with the minor girls under the age of 18 on the Internet but also came to their houses. TV channel 4 was broadcasting those scenes on TV when polices caught those men who came to the girls’ house. In this era, when Satan tempts us, he stimulates the lust of our eyes through the Internet. And in the end, we are unable to overcome the lust of the flesh and sexual relations outside of marriage are taking place seriously. What should we do? We must live by keeping God's command inscribed on the plate of our hearts (v. 3). We must guard and obey God's teachings as the apple of our eyes (v. 2). This is what Dr. Yun-sun Park said: ‘The pupils are precious, yet very tender, and must be carefully protected. That is why the eyebrows and eyelids are guarded to prevent even dust from invading there. Even if we are careless for a while in keeping the word of God, we will not be able to keep it well and it will be easy to deviate from it’ (Park). I hope and pray that we will all overcome the temptation of Satan's harlots by not deviating from the word of God and by keeping the Word of God as the apple of our eyes.
Second, the adulteress comes out and greets the youth who lacks judgement with hidden intentions.
Look at Proverbs 7:10 – “Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.” When the foolish young man without wisdom fell into the Satan’s temptation and passed through the street in the twilight, in the evening, in the middle of night and in the darkness and went near to the adulteress’ corner and took the way to her house (vv. 8-9). She dressed as a harlot and greeted the foolish young man with cunning of heart (v. 10). The cunning adulteress hid her true intentions in meeting the foolish young man who lacked judgment. In fact, the literal meaning of the original Hebrew word ‘to be cunning’ here is ‘hidden’ (MacArthur). What was her hidden intention? Look at Proverbs 23:27-28: “For a harlot is a deep pit And an adulterous woman is a narrow well. Surely she lurks as a robber, And increases the faithless among men.” The hidden intention of the adulteress in greeting the foolish young man in dressing like the prostitute was to set a trap and render him faithless in marriage. In other words, the adulteress’ hidden intention is to force many married men to break what they had promised at marriage (Park). The problem is that many unwise men are approaching her too foolishly without knowing the hidden intentions of the cunning women. What should we do? As King Solomon says in Proverbs 7:1, we must keep and treasure the Heavenly Father's command in our hearts. Here, the original Hebrew word for 'to keep' means 'to hide' or 'to treasure up'. Isn't it interesting that in verse 10, the cunning adulteress hides her true intention, and the Bible tells us to hide God's command in our hearts in order to resist her temptation? In the end, the lesson King Solomon wants to give us is that we must hide the word of God in our hearts in order to resist the temptation when the cunning woman comes to us and tempts us with her true intentions.
Third, the adulteress seduces the youth who lacks judgement with her flattering lips.
Look at Proverbs 7:21 – “With her many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips she seduces him.” Have you ever thought about how a woman seduces a man? I went to Google on the Internet and typed 'How a woman seduces a man?' And I watched the movie "Obsessed" and wrote down 4 ways the woman seduces the man. For reference, this film Obsessed is a thriller film that shows the obsession of a woman who seduces a married man (Internet). The first way is to 'expose appropriately and strategically'. This method stimulates the sexual nature of men, which means that when men see the secret parts of women, they are not immediately forgotten by their heads. The second way is 'Smile often with your eyes'. A woman's smile evokes a lot of imaginations in a man. So when the woman looks at the man and smiles, the man becomes even deeply delusional, saying, 'I think that woman is in love with me.' The third way is 'Show your tears'. It is said that the woman's tears are like magic that attracts men. The fourth way is to 'Look often'. If the woman looks at the man often, the man must be aware of that woman. In Proverbs 7:21, it is said that the adulteress seduces the foolish young man who lacks judgement with her flattering lips. Here, the word “seduction” comes from Latin and its literal meaning is “to lead astray”, which means ‘to lead in the wrong direction,’ ‘to deceive’ or ‘to degrade’. When the word is used negatively, it means that temptation and perversion are involved, causing a person to arouse sexual excitement, leading to a choice of behavior, but that behavior eventually leads to corruption (Internet). Indeed, in today's text, I would like to consider three ways how the adulteress seduces and corrupts the young man who lacks judgement:
(1) The adulteress seduces the young foolish man by being seen.
Look at Proverbs 7:10 – “And behold, a woman comes to meet him, Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.” When the Bible says the adulteress ‘dressed as a harlot’, it means in these days that the adulteress is dressed like a prostitute. How does the prostitute dress? Doesn’t she dress temptingly? Looking at women wearing clothes in Korea these days, why is the skirt so short? Even some women wear clothes that are almost the same as panty clothes. It seems that prostitutes wear clothes seductively and the exposure is severe. But they are dressed enough to sexually stimulate the lust of men’s eyes and the lust of their flesh. I think it's really stimulating to seduce foolish men. The Bible says that wearing such clothes, the adulteress is standing here and there on the streets or corners of squares waiting for men (v. 12).
(2) The adulteress seduces the young foolish man by touching.
Look at Proverbs 7:13 – “So she seizes him and kisses him ….” Can you imagine a heavily exposed prostitute rushing at the foolish young man, squeezing him tight with her arms and kissing him with her lips? At that time, the foolish young man would have already felt sexual excitement visually when he saw the adulteress’ clothes worn like a prostitute. But if he was held by here and even was kissed by her, then he would have had to feel sexual impulse at that time. This cunning adulteress even uses physical contact in seducing the foolish young man who lacks judgement. If the adulteress touches and even kisses the foolish young man, how can it not sexually arouse the young man?
(3) The adulteress seduces the young foolish man by being heard.
In other words, in seducing the foolish young man, the adulteress seduces "with persuasive words" and "with her smooth talk" (v. 21). I think that women are the same, but especially men seem to have weak sense of sight, of touch and of hearing. In other words, when a man is seduced by a woman, he may be tempted not only because he sees a woman's body, or he may be seduced through skinship, but he can also be tempted by listening to what the woman says. So, in today's text, the adulteress seduces the foolish young man, with the words that persuade him to move according to her hidden intention, that is, with very soft words that make the man to slip away and deviate from the walking path.
What does the Bible say that the adulteress says to the foolish young man who lacks judgement?
(1) The adulteress says to the young man who lacks judgement with a brazen face (v. 13), “I was due to offer peace offerings; Today I have paid my vows. Therefore I have come out to meet you, To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you” (vv. 14-15).
This means that the adulteress says to the foolish young man 'God let me meet you' because she remains in the position of prostitute, and made a vow in front of God by coming to Him and offered an offering to Him and kept that vow. Does this make sense at all? Obviously, Deuteronomy 23:18 said, " You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God, what you have promised", how could the adulteress ignore this word and practicing religious rituals from time to time without obeying God's word in real life, and think that God was also helping her with her obscene jobs? (Park)
(2) The adulteress describes her bed in words to the foolish young man (Prov. 7:16), tempted him by saying, “Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with caresses” (v. 18).
Since her husband left the house with a bag of money and went a long journey and would come home at the full moon (vv.19-20), she said to the foolish young man with peace of mind, ‘Let’s sleep together.’ What a tempting words of the adulteress? How convincing will this smooth seductive word of the adulteress that sounds especially to the foolish men who are not listening to God's voice? Now, many Christian men have been persuaded by the adulteress’ flattering lips and have gone to bed and have sex with her and sin against God. In today's text, the young man who lacked judgment eventually fell into the adulteress’ temptation and followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose (v. 22). What does the Bible say the result is? Look at verse 23: “till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life.” What does it mean? The end of one without wisdom is destruction (v. 23). Just as a bird certainly loses its life when it enters the net, so the ending of the one without wisdom loses life as well.
What should we do? We must listen to God's word. We must pay attention to what God says (v. 24). We must keep His commands and guard His teachings as the apple of our eyes (v. 2). We must cherish the word of God in our hearts (v. 1). And we should be closer to wisdom and understanding than to the adulteress (vv. 4-5). We must obey and keep the commands of God with wisdom that fears Him. The reason is because if we follow the adulteress, there will be many of us who will be perished (v. 26). I hope and pray that all of us obey God's word with the wisdom of God, so that we will not let our hearts turn to the way of the adulteress or stay into her paths (v. 25).