Proverbs (Part 081) - Pro 7:23-25

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23. Pro 7:23 - "Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life." A. Till a dart strike through his liver; i. Dart n. - 1. a. A pointed missile weapon thrown by the hand; a light spear or javelin; also applied to pointed missiles in general, including arrows, etc. ii. Being thrust through with a dart is a death sentence (2Sa 18:14). iii. The liver is a vital organ. iv. An animal that is thrust through the liver with a dart will die (Pro 7:22 c/w Heb 12:20). v. Likewise, the man who goes after a strange woman is under a death sentence. B. as a bird hasteth to the snare, i. Just as the ox walks to the slaughter and the bird hastens to the snare not knowing that it will be its demise, so the young man goes to the strange woman's house. ii. A snare is for catching and killing birds or other animals. a. Snare n. - 1. a. A device for capturing small wild animals or birds, usually consisting of a string with a running noose in which a foot or the head may be caught. Also in fig. context. b. A strange woman's heart is a snare and a net (Ecc 7:26). c. Just as birds are caught in snares, so men are snared in an evil time (Ecc 9:12). iii. Haste v. - 1. trans. To cause to move more quickly; to urge, drive, or press on; to quicken, accelerate, hurry. a. Just as the foolish bird hurries to the snare, so sinners waste no time sinning and sealing their judgment. b. They run to evil and make haste to shed blood (Pro 1:16). c. They do evil with both hands earnestly (Mic 7:3). C. and knoweth not that it is for his life. i. This young man is ignorant: he knoweth not that it is for his life. ii. But he is willingly ignorant (2Pe 3:5) because the strange woman told him plainly that her husband was away (Pro 7:19-20). a. Being a Jew, this young man certainly should have known that the punishment for adultery was death (Lev 20:10). b. Therefore, he should have known that to go in unto her was a death sentence. iii. In his lustful exuberance he may have forgot what the punishment for adultery was, or he might have thought that he would not get caught. iv. This is why it's crucial to read and learn the scriptures well so that God's principles are ingrained in us and will keep us from sin (Psa 119:9-11). 24. Pro 7:24 - "Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth." A. Hearken unto me now therefore, i. Hearken v. - 1. intr. To apply the ears to hear; to listen, give ear. ii. Solomon began this chapter exhorting his son to listen to his instruction and keep his commandments (Pro 7:1-2). iii. Therefore adv. - II. 2. In consequence of that; that being so; as a result or inference from what has been stated; consequently. iv. After giving him much instruction on the tactics of the strange woman and the danger of being seduced by her, he concludes the chapter by again exhorting his son to listen to him. v. This is a good method of teaching: tell them what you're going to tell them, then tell them, and then tell them what you told them. B. O ye children, i. Although Solomon's instruction was primarily aimed at his son (v.1), it was not written exclusively to him. ii. He commands "children" to hearken unto him. iii. He uses "ye children" instead of "my children" indicating that his words were for children in general. iv. Adult disciples are called children in the Bible (Mar 10:24; 2Co 6:13; Gal 4:19; 1Jo 2:28). v. Solomon's words are God's words to us His children (2Pe 1:21). C. and attend to the words of my mouth. i. Attend v. - I. To direct the ears, mind, energies to anything. 1. To turn one's ear to, listen to. 2. To turn the mind to, give consideration or pay heed to, regard, consider. ii. We must not only hear the words being said but we must direct our ears and mind to listen to and consider what is spoken if it is to benefit us. iii. This is the fourth time that Solomon admonished us to attend unto his words (Pro 4:1, 20; Pro 5:1). iv. He exhorts us to listen and pay close attention because he is going to give us one last warning about the strange woman in the remaining three verses of the chapter. 25. Pro 7:25 - "Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths." A. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, i. Decline v. - 1. a. To turn or bend aside; to deviate (from the straight course); to turn away. 3. fig. a. To turn aside in conduct; esp. to swerve or fall away (from rectitude, duty, allegiance, instructions, etc.). a. To decline to the strange woman's ways is to turn aside and deviate from God's ways. b. We are not to decline from God's word (Psa 119:157; Pro 4:5). ii. Solomon previously warned his son to stay on the strait and narrow way and turn not to the right hand nor to the left (Pro 4:27). iii. God's way concerning romantic relationships is to get married to one woman (Mar 10:6-9), stay married to her for life (Rom 7:2-3), and only have sex with that woman (Heb 13:4). iv. The strange woman's ways are to either never get married and have sex with whomever she chooses, or to get married and still have sex with whomever she chooses. v. We must follow God's way and not decline to her ways. a. If we do so we will have a blessed life, a happy wife, and a pleased God. b. If we don't we will have sorrow, misery, and death (Pro 7:26-27). B. go not astray in her paths. i. Astray adv. - 1. Out of the right way, away from the proper path, wandering. 2. Away from the right; in or into error or evil. ii. The paths of the strange woman incline unto death (Pro 2:18). iii. None that walk on her paths return again, either at all, or as the men they once were, nor do they take hold of the paths of life (Pro 2:19). iv. To ensure that we go not astray in her paths it is critical to not enter them in the first place, but to avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away (Pro 4:14-15). v. It's a lot easier to stay on the right path than it is to try to find your way back to it after falling in a ditch or wandering out into the wilderness.