Proverbs (Part 079) - Pro 7:17-19

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17. Pro 7:17 - "I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon." A. I have perfumed my bed i. Not only does this strange woman's bed look nice (Pro 7:16), but it smells nice too. ii. Perfume v. - 1. trans. To fill or impregnate with the smoke or vapour of some burning substance; b. of incense or other substance emitting an agreeable odour. (Now merged in 2.) 2. To impregnate with a sweet odour; to impart a sweet scent to. (Now the ordinary sense.) iii. God ordained that sweet smelling perfume was to be made from stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense for the tabernacle where He met with Moses (Exo 30:34-36). a. Stacte n. - A fragrant spice referred to by ancient writers; properly, the finest kind of myrrh, the exudation of the living tree b. Onycha n. - One of the ingredients in the incense used in the Mosaic ritual; the operculum of a species of Strombus, or other marine mollusc, which emits a penetrating aroma when burnt. c. Galbanum n. - 1. A gum resin obtained from certain Persian species of Ferula, esp. from F. galbaniflua and F. rubricaulis. d. Frankincense n. - 1. An aromatic gum resin, yielded by trees of the genus Boswellia, used for burning as incense; olibanum; occas. the smoke from the same. iv. The strange woman might very well have been trying to sanctify her filthy bed by perfuming it in imitation of the perfuming of the tabernacle of old. a. She was not using the same ingredients as Moses was commanded to, but she was using myrrh and aloes which are resins, so there is some similarity (see below). b. If she was trying to imitate it she was asking for trouble (Exo 30:37-38). v. Smells have a strong effect on a man's mood. vi. Perfume rejoices the heart (Pro 27:9), which is why she was using it to seduce the young man. B. with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. i. Myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon are all spices which women use to attract men (Son 4:14). a. Myrrh n. - 1. A gum-resin produced by several species of Commiphora (Balsamodendron), esp. C. Myrrha (see 2): used for perfumery and as an ingredient in incense. Also Med., the tincture made from this. In early use almost always with reference to the offering of myrrh by the Magi to our Lord. b. Aloe n. - 1. pl. The fragrant resin or wood of the agalloch (q.v.), derived from species of two East Indian genera, Aloexylon and Aquilaria. c. Cinnamon n. - 1. a. The inner bark of an East Indian tree (see 2), dried in the sun, in rolls or ‘quills’, and used as a spice. It is of a characteristic yellowish brown colour, brittle, fragrant, and aromatic, and acts as a carminative and restorative. ii. Myrrh is a perfuming spice fit for kings (Son 3:6-7; Mat 2:2, 11). iii. These are expensive spices which would help to deceive the young man into thinking that the woman was not a trashy, cheap woman, but an affluent woman of means. iv. Some whores, especially married ones, actually try to buy men with gifts (or luxurious accommodations in this case) (Eze 16:31-33). v. The thought of an ornately adorned bed perfumed with a sweet aroma would be very appealing to a lot of men. 18. Pro 7:18 - "Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves." A. All the ground work to seduce the young man has now been laid. i. First the strange woman appeals to the young man's lust of eyes with her immodest attire (Pro 7:10 c/w 1Jo 2:16). ii. Next she grabs him, kisses him, and tells him of her finely decorated and perfumed bed appealing to his lust of the flesh (Pro 7:13, 16-17 c/w 1Jo 2:16). iii. Then she flatters him appealing to his pride of life (Pro 7:15 c/w 1Jo 2:16). iv. Having thoroughly tantalized his carnal nature (and even trying to appeal to his spiritual nature - Pro 7:14) to weaken his resistance, she now goes in for the kill. B. Come, i. Up until now she has been trying to persuade the young man. ii. Now she moves from persuading to commanding. iii. Come v. - 1. In its most literal sense it expresses the hitherward motion of a voluntary agent. a. To move towards, approach. iv. Wisdom bids men to come unto her (Pro 9:5), and so does the strange woman. C. let us take our fill of love i. She invites the young man to come into her house to get all the "love" that he wants. ii. Fill n. - I. 1. a. A full supply of drink or food; enough to satisfy want or desire. iii. She perverts the meanings of words. a. She wants them to take their fill of love. b. Fornication and whoredom is not love, but lust (Rom 1:24; 1Th 4:3-7). c. Love is keeping the commandments of God (2Jo 1:6) toward God and toward our neighbor (1Jo 5:2-3). d. Fornicators do not love each other, they merely lust after each other. D. until the morning: i. She entices him with exaggerated promises. a. Until adv. - II. With reference to time. 5. Onward till (a time specified or indicated); up to the time of (an action, occurrence, etc.) b. She is suggesting that can take their fill of "love" from the evening (Pro 7:9) up to the time of the morning. ii. Only in the movies and romance novels do people make love all night long. a. Only an inexperienced fool would be excited by such a ridiculous proposition. b. In the real world, men fall asleep after sex and don't wake up for a long time (Son 2:3-7; Son 3:4-5). iii. By this point the young fool is too excited to be thinking rationally though. E. let us solace ourselves with loves. i. Solace v. - 1. trans. To cheer, comfort, console; to entertain or recreate. ii. The strange woman shows her cards with this comment. iii. Her enticement of him is for the purpose of entertainment and recreation, not for true marital love and intimacy. iv. This is a deception because fornication will only afford fleeting joy, afterwards to be followed by shame, disappointment, regret, disease, poverty, and more (Pro 5:8-14; Rom 6:20-21). 19. Pro 7:19 - "For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:" A. For the goodman is not at home, i. Goodman n. - 1. = good man. Sometimes used as a vague title of dignity or a respectful form of address. Obs. 2. The master or male head of a household or other establishment; the host (of an inn), the keeper (of a prison). b. A householder in relation to his wife; a husband. ii. The goodman was the strange woman's husband. a. Up to this point it would have been possible for the young man think that this woman was not married. b. She could have been a single woman with her own house. c. Any fool should have known that she was a whore based on her words and actions, but he might not have known she was an adulteress. d. But now there is no doubt that she is an evil, unfaithful woman. iii. She tells him that the goodman is not at home. a. This is obviously a suggestive comment. b. If the goodman would have known what was going to happen when he was gone, he likely would have stayed at home and not suffered the wife-thief to enter his house (Luk 12:39). B. he is gone a long journey: i. To alleviate any concern of getting caught, she assures him that her husband won't be back for a while. ii. The fact that the woman would commit adultery as soon as her husband leaves on a trip should have been ironclad proof that she was an evil woman. iii. Even a fool should have known to run from any woman who would do such a thing.