Why Solomon Repeats This Warning

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Well, good afternoon. You ready for another wonderful day in Proverbs? You know the last podcast was pretty tough to get through, but Solomon is not done. He is trying with all his mental capacity and heart to get a point across. Another listen, my friends, please for the love of God, do not sleep with strange women. I'm telling you, Solomon is trying to tell us something here. He just will not let it go. Because when somebody repeats something over and over and over again, especially a man like Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, this is not just random. It's not just filler. This is not just something, oh, I ran out of things to say. I guess I'll put another whole thing here about the same story. No, no. That thing that got him, that's the thing that took him down. Because you gotta remember, this isn't coming from a guy that didn't experience life. This is coming from a man who had everything power, wealth, wisdom, influence, anything a man could want. And yet here he is over and over saying, watch out for this one thing. So that should make you pause a little bit and go, wait a second, why is this so important to him? Why does he keep coming back to it? And I think it's because out of everything in life, this is one of those areas that if you don't have control over it, it doesn't matter how strong you are, everywhere else, it will take you down. And if we're honest, it seems like it's our main drive on this earth. Doesn't that sound crazy? There's something wired inside of us, especially as men, and if you don't understand it and if you don't guard it, if you don't put something stronger in its place, it will ruin you. It doesn't matter how successful you are, how disciplined you are in business, how sharp you are mentally, if this area isn't locked down, it can unravel everything. And Solomon Well he knows this because he lived it. So let's get into it. Proverbs

Write Wisdom Deep Inside

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chapter seven. He starts off by saying, My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, and my teaching as the apple of your eye, bind them on your fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart. Now do you see what he's saying here? He's saying put what I'm about to tell you deep inside. It needs to become part of what you think, how you respond. You need a wall of protection, and it only comes from inside of you. You need these words of God written through Solomon telling you one main thing. You need protection from this. God knows the temptation that is out there. Because there's a difference between knowing something and living something. You can know what is right, but still not do it. But when something is written in your heart, when it's part of who we are, it shows up when you need it, when nobody's watching, when there's an opportunity there, when it would be easy just to go along with the flow. That's why he says make it the apple of your eye, protect it, guard it, don't let it go. Say to wisdom, you are my sister, and call understanding your intimate friend. In other words, buddies, you got to stay close to this because if you don't, something else will take its place, so that they may keep you from an adulteress from the foreigner who flatters with her words.

Learn Without Paying The Price

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Now here's where he shifts, he says, Let me show you something. So he goes on to say, for at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice. Now I love this because Solomon isn't just teaching, he's observing. He's watching life happen right before his eyes. And there's a lesson right here for all of us. You don't have to go through everything to learn everything. You know, it's better if you can learn by observation, because some lessons just cost way too much. Some mistakes you don't come back from. And wise people, they watch, they observe. They learn from what they see. Fools, on the other hand, they got to experience everything themselves. Remember the other time Solomon was talking about he was walking by the field and saw all the needles and all the leaves all over it, the fence broken down and in shambles, and then it says that he got wisdom from looking at it. That a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come at you like a vagabond. So Solomon didn't have to actually live through that experience and become poor. No, he observed. He looked at it. So let's you and I start observing to learn things from them.

You Fall When You Choose The Street

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So he goes on to say, I looked out, and I saw among the simple, I discerned among the youth, a young man lacking sense. Now notice something. He doesn't say this guy was evil, and he doesn't say he was a terrible person. He just says this man lacks sense. He was unaware. He didn't understand what he was walking into. And you know that's most people. We don't wake up trying to destroy our lives. We don't just hop on a path that's bad for us. No. We just go down the path of life not paying attention. And it goes on to say that he was just passing through the street near her corner. I want to stop for a minute because this is one of the most important lines I believe in this whole chapter. He didn't fall when he met her. He fell when he chose the street. I'll let that sink in for a minute, because most people think the battle starts when temptation shows up. No. The battle started way before that. It started with the where you put yourself. It started with what he allowed. It started with, you know, what he entertained. You don't ax accidentally end up in temptation. You drift into it. You walk a little too close, you hang out a little too long, you scroll a little too far where you know you shouldn't be, but you think you got the power to control it at any time. And then all of a sudden you're in something and you're wondering, how did I get here? He goes on to say he takes the way to her house in the twilight, in the evening, in the middle of the night, and in the darkness. Now that is so poetic, it's just awesome. Do you notice the progression? It gets darker and darker and darker. It starts off with just you know, it's a little dark, I can handle this, but before you know it, he's in deep darkness, and there's no escaping at that point. Because

How Temptation Hunts And Flatters

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that's where this stuff lives. Now he goes on to say, then here she comes, and behold, a woman comes out to meet him, dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart. In other words, she knows exactly what she's doing. This isn't random. This isn't in this is intentional. She is boisterous and rebellious. Her feet do not remain at home. She's now in the streets, in the squares, and lurks by every corner. You know what she's doing? She's out hunting. And that might sound strong, but that's what it is. And look, it's not just about the woman. This is about temptation as a whole. Temptation doesn't sit at home and wait for you. It positions itself. It's looking for you. Like remember the scripture says the devil is like a roaring lion seeking he looking for something he can devour. It's a word for temptation here. It's always looking for you. A sweet voice chatting with you. Come this way. It'll be fun. And it meets you when you're weak. So we go on with Solomon saying so she seizes him and kisses him, and with a brazen face she says Now here's where it gets interesting. She goes on saying, I have a peace offering with me. This day I have paid my vows. Now on the surface, she's sounding religious. You know, that sounds like, oh she just came from church. What a good person. But this is where you gotta be careful, because temptation doesn't always show up looking evil. Sometimes it shows up looking spiritual, and sometimes it uses God type language. It feels like, oh this must be right. This must have been meant to be. She's basically saying, I just did my religious duty. Everything's good, everything's clean. Come celebrate with me. And what she's really doing is using something meant for God to justify sin. And that happens all the time. I'm sure you've heard it before, especially if you're in Krishna circles, people will say, Well, God told me, God led me, God brought us together. And if it goes against God's word, it's not from God, no matter how good it sounds. Then she goes on, I've come out to meet you, to seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you. Now she's making this young man feel special, like this was meant to happen. Like he wasn't walking down the street, you know, trying to hook up, but what a gift this beautiful one came chatting with him. Like out of all the people she chose him, and that hits something in a man. It makes him feel special, like, wow, I am the one she really desires. Even though this woman is married, and the husband's been gone for a long time and took a lot of money with him, in today's language is like, oh, my husband's never at home. He doesn't care for me. We're really not married anymore. This is what I've heard personally. We're really not married because, you know, we're not sleeping together. It's a crazy world we're living in right now. And it makes it, you're mentally, if you're not safely hidden with these words, it makes sin sounds logical.

Feelings Beat Logic In The Moment

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That's why I personally don't debate with people in different kinds of situations because I know I'm not smart enough to win a logical debate. I just rest on what I know God said and let their words just bounce off me like you sound completely correct. This is my thoughts. But I don't care. I'm sticking to what God said. So she goes on saying, I've spread my couch with coverings, colored linens of Egypt. I sprinkled my bed with myrrh, olives, and cinnamon. You see the picture she's painting here? She's got her house all decorated, beautiful. The man doesn't care. She has her table spread out with all this fine food from the peace offering. It smells wonderful. This is going to be an amazing night, this young man's thinking. It's going to be full of comfort and pleasure, with no consequences. So she goes on to say, Come on, let us drink our fill of love until morning. Let us delight ourselves with caresses. And listen, this is where it gets real honest, because if you just read this, you go, you know, it doesn't sound too horrible. Just gonna hang out. We're not really gonna go all the way before this night's over. But you know what? You don't notice it's a trap until it's too late. It doesn't look like destruction. It looks like a great night. And that's the problem. If it looked like destruction, nobody would go near it. But it doesn't. It looks exciting, feels harmless, you know, and it seems like manageable. Like I can stop this train at any time. So Solomon goes on with the story saying, she says, For my husband is not at home. He's gone on a long journey. He won't return until the full moon. In other words, no consequences, and you know what? Nobody will know. No one will find out. And temptation always says the same three things. You deserve this. You won't get caught, and you know what, it won't cost you anything. With her many persuasions she entices him, with her flattering lips she seduces him. And here's the key. People don't fall because of logic. They fall because of feelings. And then this line suddenly he follows her. And it says suddenly. But it wasn't sudden. It was building the whole time, every step, every decision, every moment leading up to it. It just feels sudden when you finally cross that line. As an ox goes to the slaughter, or as one infetters to the discipline of a fool, think about that. If the ox knew where he was going, he wouldn't go. If the bird knew it was a trap, it wouldn't fly into it. But he just doesn't see the danger ahead of him. That's why Solomon is telling you over and over again, don't do it. So he doesn't know what's about to happen until an arrow pierces through his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, he does not know that it will cost him his life. It means something shifts. What I'm trying to say here is that once he crossed the line, something changes. Because once you cross certain lines, it gets easier the next time and the next time. And then before you know it, you're in something way over your head you thought you'd never be in.

The Aftermath Nobody Sees Coming

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So it goes on to say, Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Do you hear it now? Solomon is pleading for you from ye thousands of years in history. Listen to me. He's not teaching anymore. He's pleading with us. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray into her past. Guard your heart, not just your actions, because by the time you're fighting the action, you're way too down the road. Goes on to say for many are the victims she has cast down, and numerous are all her slain. In other words, this isn't a rare thing that happens. This is common. This takes down strong men, smart men, successful ones. Her house is the way to shoal, descending to the chambers of death. And I'll be honest with you, like I said before, at the moment, it doesn't seem like a horrible, deathful situation, but that's exactly why it is dangerous. Because the aftermath, the consequences, the ruined reputation, the eternal battle, it never leaves.

God Always Provides A Way Out

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And I've always believed, like it says, those who God loves, he puts a wall of protection around. It's funny as like Solomon even explains this in let me see, it's in Ecclesiastics. One second, let me find that for you. Here it is. He goes on in another book he wrote, he writes it again. He says, I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. The one who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner will be captured by her. And a New Testament verse, kind of on the same subject, but just to bring something a little newer, says, No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind, and God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you will endure it. Now look, it's not that God removes the temptation, but he gives you a way out. I always tell that even to my children, when they get caught, not this deep, but they're getting into the twilight, the little bit darkness thing. I'm like, pray to God and ask him for a way out. And he always does. When you reach out to him, he gives you a window to escape out of. And that's one of the many reasons I love about the Lord. He's always there with you. But the other scripture about ecclesiastic is the man who it pleases God. Man, that's where you want to be. I mean, it's being a little tangent, it's like you're not a heroin addict because you don't think about it. You're not an alcoholic because you don't think about it. But the devil knows is how to whisper in your ear something that you find enjoyable and he doesn't stop. So the lucky ones, the ones that aren't to temptation tempted by a beautiful woman like this, is because they're protected by the Lord where the devil's not whispering in their ear all day long that that's what they need, that's what they deserve, and that's where you want to be.

The World Cheers Then Disappears

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Because men in this world are weak in this area. And the world, it promotes it. Every movie, every show, everything. Sleep around, it's normal, it's nothing. But the second someone gets caught, now they're the villain. Now everyone steps back. And now you're alone with your consequences. Now you're alone with a little baby in your arms having to care for. Now you're alone when you're trying to now have a normal life and raise a family, but you got other baby mamas banging on your door and you're having to work and support them. Telling you, build the wall of protection. So don't follow the world. Follow wisdom. Put this deep in your heart, because the world will cheer you into sin and disappear when you're dealing with it. Now remember this, Solomon learned this not just by living it, but by watching. He looked out and he saw, and he understood. So my final question in closing is closing is do you learn by watching? Or do you have to learn this the hard way? Whew. That was awesome. Alright, well stay tuned while I put my little attachment about you really want to get my book on how to hear the voice of the Lord, it'll save you a ton of time. Have a great day. Before we close, I just want to mention that if today's teaching resonated with you and you'd like to go deeper in learning how to recognize God's voice in everyday life. I've written a book called God, Why Won't You Talk to Me, written by Edward L. Carpenter. It's available on Amazon and it's very practical, no hype and no theory, just real everyday tools to help you understand how God speaks and how to respond with clarity and peace. Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible.