Proverbs 2:16-18

Discretion now gives us a protection from an immoral woman. During this time, it was very well known, and even today, it is well known that sexual immorality is generally practiced by men. This does not excuse it, but it is a fact that God created men to be more visually stimulated. However, there were, and are, women that have engaged in this immorality. Sadly, while women were traditionally thought of as being more chaste and proper, our culture, with its sad destruction of the God given gender roles and identity, women now are becoming as debased and as perverted as the men in many cases.

But here in Proverbs, Solomon is writing to his son to warn him about the immoral women. The one that, stands as the way to destruction. This warning still carries through to us today and is a caution today, not just for men to watch out for immoral women, but for women to watch out for the men who will also lead to death. So let us dig in, and this is a strong calling.

First, notice in Proverbs 2:16 it is the women, the seductress. Look at how the trap is formed. It starts with the flattery of lips. This woman is going to say sweet things. It is going to drip with honey (Proverbs 5:3), covered with lipstick, and makeup. Men, be aware of this trap! The Bible talks about this kind of woman as being anything but a lady. Our society today calls them ladies, but they are not. They are less than a lady but this shows the depredation our culture is in, does it not? A true lady, and one that is actually worthy of honor is found in Proverbs 31:10-31, not walking the streets or allowing themselves to be used. This is not a lady.

There must be care. Solomon was worried about his son, and I will say that I am concerned for the men in our society today along with our young men. Proverbs 5:20, 6:24, 7:5 all talk about being on guard. They trap. Why? Therein is the question. Some like the chase. Others want to just cause destruction in homes. Still others want physical attachments without the commitments. There are two words that bear importance here.

The first is immoral. This is the word that means strange, on the outside, foreigner. In the realm of relationships, dealing with married couples, this would be the other woman. If single, this would be the woman that has done the following: Left her companions, and forgot her covenant with God. This woman has left the safety and counsel of other women that would help her to walk in a way that is pure, clean and holy. Then the covenant of God, which was based on the moral purity of the people under the law, is now thrown aside and the very physically immoral acts are adopted (Proverbs 2:17). The pursuit is physical pleasure of a sexual nature. This covers every form of sexual sins ranging from voyeurism to bestiality and who knows where this will end as our society keeps sliding into the depths of wickedness and vice.

Second word is seductress or those who practice harlotry. This word is given to those who whore themselves out or who, in our modern context, sleep with anyone they want. It was said that sex is like a currency. As such, these women are as destitute and broke as the poorest in the world. This is not to say they cannot be saved. This is not said in derision. This is said in grief. For these girls and women believe the only way they can get attention, or for people to like them is if they use their bodies. That is not Biblical, true, or even remotely honest. Believer, weep for these women who work the streets. Weep for what their life is. Pray they find forgiveness and peace and hope and meaning for their lives.

But the warning is not based on calling this woman to repentance, but is calling to the young man to flee her! This fleeing is vital. It is the only way to survive. Even pornography becomes a death trap because now instead of being physically present or potentially being caught going into these type of places, this form of sin can be brought right into the house on T.V., the net, and cell phones. The trap is indeed large, and is only growing. Dear reader, put guards up! We must be guarded, not just what we drive by or what we see in the magazine racks, but now we must be guarded in what comes into the home through electrical devices. Then we need to guard what our children watch, what they are exposed to, and how they see us act with our electrical devices. The pressure and urgency to guard is much more vital!

Where do we even start with this warning? We could spend years on this one verse. Here is my caution. Men, if you are married, do not entangle yourself with a strange woman. They will destroy your home, marriage, and life. Plus, if you see what is happening, they will also destroy your health with all kinds of diseases that can and will wreck you for life, and even your wife at home. DO NOT FALL INTO THAT TRAP! If you are not married, there is no such thing as free love. The chances of destruction to home and life grows exponentially every time you sleep around. Then, if the woman you are sleeping with is also sexually active, you will be sleeping with everyone, and most disgustingly, possibly everything they have slept with. DO NOT FALL INTO THAT TRAP!

There is a beauty of keeping yourself pure till the day you are married. When, men, you marry that special, true, lady, and ladies, you marry that special, true man, you will then be able to give yourself to them truthfully and completely. This gift is cheapened when sexual activities are practiced before marriage.

Ladies, be warned of the men who are only seeking to have sexual intimacy with you. They are not interested in you. No matter how they look, or what they say, or what they do, you are nothing to them but a conquest. You will be dumped as soon as they get their desire. And this is why there is such a drastic increase in fatherless homes.

Why is this so dangerous? Why is this such a strong warning? Well, look at who is writing this. Solomon, for all his warnings and wisdom, failed. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3). These women led Solomon astray from serving the one true God (1 Kings 11:4) and the kingdom was never the same. Instead it still is not the same, even today, from the time of David. They are only a fraction of what they could have been. Sin is pleasurable for a season, but there will be a price to pay.

If you are reading this, whether you are male or female, and you believe you have to live a life of a harlot to either make money, or to find satisfaction, please, understand, God created you with much more value than this. He alone can give you forgiveness and peace. He alone can give you purpose and hope. You were created in His image, and because you have a soul and spirit, you are of immense value. Do not throw yourself away to the pigsty of sexual deviancy. There is so much more for you. There are places that can and are able to help you break free from this sin and find hope, peace, forgiveness and mercy.

But the Bible still gives us more warnings about this woman. Proverbs 2:18 talks about her home leading to death. This path of sexual immorality can only led to death. Is it unforgivable? No. The only sin unforgivable is the sin of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29), but this path can only lead to death. When we see what is told to us in the New Testament, we see that sexual sin is the one sin done from inside the body (1 Corinthians 6:18). But notice where this house leads It leads to death and dead.

That is the only ending that is possible with this life of harlotry. It is death to the individual. Not only physically, with the STD’s and STI’s that are capable of being contracted, but it is death to the Spirit and mind as well. Those who have been rescued from this life have shared that it destroys who they are as an individual. They are nothing more than just an object with no individuality. They are simply a tool to be used to fulfill lustful desires. Then, they are abandoned, and cast away, never to know what true love, and what fulfilling sexual intimacy is like. Just typing this and reading this should cause us to weep and break for these people. But that is only part of the death. The nation that promotes, and encourages this type of life is also a nation showing their true inside and it is rotten. This is a rot, a cancer, a scourge that will destroy a nation and a people from the inside out and this has been seen in History time and again. It would be safe to say that sexual purity, or lack thereof, is a great bellwether of how a nation is doing and the worse it is, the worse the nation is as a whole. If that is the case, America and many other nations are in deep trouble.

What happens if this warning is not listened to? Many who read this may say, “You do not know what you are talking about. We are consenting adults who are not being forced to engage in this. Your beliefs are old fashioned, closed minded, bigoted, and hateful. How dare you suppose we are doing wrong. You and your God are nothing and therefore you are nothing. It is our life, our pleasure, our fun. Keep your Christianity to yourself!” I am sure, scattered in the midst of this is all kinds of vulgarity. But let me pose this. If this is true, why is it the world, for all their humanistic, sinful, fleshly, pleasure, sure seem to be going deeper into depression, anxiety, chaos? Why is suicide on the rise, murder climbing, abuse growing, substance abuse abounding? If what these so called Atheists say is true, they should be getting better. They are not. True Christians who hold to strong morality is the one that seems to be stable. Their homes are happy. They have peace. There is joy. There is, dare I say, hope?

Oh the world will deny and point to themselves and say, “See, we are happy. You are a fool!” Are they really? In the quiet of the night, they are bombarded by the stark reality of the emptiness of their existence. That is why they have to fill it with all they do. They have no peace. To answer the question, what happens, they never return. Once this trap is engaged in, they can never get back to where they were (Proverbs 2:19).

Oh, healing can happen, but tell that to the wife or husband who’s spouse cheated on them. How does that work out? Sure there can be healing, and reconciliation. But there are also scars there. Scars may fade, but they never heal. Tell the children whose mother or father are now gone because of sexual immorality. Why are they part of a broken and dysfunctional home? Tell that to the wife or husband who found out they now have AIDS because their spouse had a one night stand with a prostitute. How will they feel?

This topic is very heavy, and sitting here typing this is of no joy to me. I am struggling with how to get this warning across to you, my dear reader. There is no return to full life. It is death and can only be death if this path is followed.

But I do not want to leave this on a negative note. This is heavy and it was very hard to write this. I have seen the danger and destruction this sexual impurity can cause. I could point out ministry after ministry, group after group, individual after individual who has had their life turned completely upside down by this sin.

Oh please, with all I can say, do not fall into the lustful trap of sexual immorality. Yes, the feeling and intimacy of sex is good, and great. I know. But it is great if it is used right and done right! I know it is cliché, but sex is like a fire. If it is in the right place, the fire ring, the fire pit, the wood stove, etc, it is good. It produces heat, light, food. But take it out, it can destroy and kill land and people. Sex, if kept in the bonds of marriage of one man, one woman in the covenant of marriage for life, it is a beautiful thing. It provides intimacy, security, love, closeness. It can bring about children, joy, peace, and even contentment. But if taken out, it will kill and destroy. It is not a harmless, simple consent between adults. It is playing with fire that will destroy. Please, if you are trapped in sexual immorality or are struggling with this temptation, please know that you are not alone, and you can overcome through Jesus Christ. Do not throw your value away. Do not throw your soul away. Do not give yourself over to that which is evil. God created you and designed you for a purpose. Only in Jesus Christ, living a life that is holy, pure, and separated to Him will you find the satisfaction that is falsely labeled as sexual freedom. Jesus gives life. It is a life that is true and rich and deep. Please, come to Jesus. Ask for mercy and forgiveness, and find peace. It does not matter if you have been in the sexual sin for years or are just tempted. You can find mercy and grace. Come to Jesus. Find the love and hope that He has for you.