Proverbs 6:24 (Mini Sermon)

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24. Pro 6:24 - "To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman." A. To keep thee from the evil woman, i. One of the benefits of keeping God's commandments (Pro 6:20), hiding them in our hearts (Pro 6:21), letting them lead and guide us (Pro 6:22), and having them be a light to our path and a reproof of our ways (Pro 6:23) is that they will keep us from the evil woman (Pro 6:24). ii. Evil - A. adj. The antithesis of good in all its principal senses. I. Bad in a positive sense. 1. Morally depraved, bad, wicked, vicious. Also absol. Obs. as applied to persons. iii. The Bible uses the phrases "evil man" and "evil men" 15 times. a. The phrases "evil woman" and "evil women" are only used once in the Bible (Pro 6:24). b. But it's not only men who are evil; some women are too (Deut 17:2-5; Deut 28:56-57; 2Ch 24:7; Rev 2:20). iv. The evil woman in this context is the strange woman (Pro 6:24) and the whorish woman and adulteress (Pro 6:26). v. The word of God gives us wisdom (the ability to make good decisions) which will deliver us from the evil woman (Pro 2:6, 10, 16; Pro 7:4-5). B. from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. i. A strange woman is a fornicatress or a prostitute. a. Strange adj. - 4. strange woman: a harlot. b. Harlot n. - 5. Applied to a woman. a. As a general term of execration. c. spec. An unchaste woman; a prostitute; a strumpet. (Very frequent in 16th c. Bible versions, where Wyclif had hoore, whore; prob. as a less offensive word.) c. Unchaste adj. - Not chaste; lacking chastity; impure, lascivious d. Chaste adj. - 1. Pure from unlawful sexual intercourse; continent, virtuous. e. Chastity n. - 1. a. Purity from unlawful sexual intercourse; continence. f. Lascivious adj. - 1. Inclined to lust, lewd, wanton. g. According to God's law, unlawful sexual intercourse is fornication (1Co 6:18) and adultery (Heb 13:4). h. Fornication n. - Voluntary sexual intercourse between a man (in restricted use, an unmarried man) and an unmarried woman. In Scripture extended to adultery. i. Therefore, a strange woman is not merely a prostitute, but is also a woman who offers the same service free of charge to boyfriends or men whom she dates. ii. The strange woman uses flattery to seduce her victims (Pro 7:21). a. Flattery n. - 1. The action or practice of flattering; false or insincere praise; adulation; cajolery, blandishment. b. Flatter v. - 1. a. intr. Of an animal, bird, etc.: To show delight or fondness (by wagging the tail, making a caressing sound, etc.). 2. To try to please or win the favour of (a person) by obsequious speech or conduct; to court, fawn upon. 3. To praise or compliment unduly or insincerely. †Const. of. †Also in weaker sense, to gloss over, palliate (faults), speak too leniently to (an offender). iii. The word of God will keep a man from being deceived from the strange woman's flattery. a. The scriptures teach us to not think highly of ourselves (Rom 12:3). b. A wise man who knows the Bible will consider the praise that others give him and will refine it to determine if it's valid praise or flattery (Pro 27:21). (i) A fool who thinks highly of himself (Gal 6:3) will readily accept all praise and be puffed up by it. 1. He will get a smile on his face as soon as someone compliments him. 2. A man like this is an easy target for a strange woman. (ii) Conversely, a wise man endowed with wisdom from the word of God will quickly recognize if the praise is undue, insincere, or exaggerated and will not accept it and be very wary of the person who gave it to him. (iii) The reason for this is that the wise man knows himself (Pro 14:8) and loves the truth (Psa 15:2) and will therefore not believe praise that not true of him. c. Therefore, the man who reads the Bible, hides it in his heart, and keeps it will be kept from the flattery of the strange woman.