Last time, we looked at God’s answer to the portrait of the wicked man: being trained in the love of God (the Shema), which is wisdom. Ultimately, this can only happen through Christ and by His Holy Spirit. Proverbs 6:25-35 brings us again to the adulterous woman. You may be wondering why Solomon spends so much ink on this. Here is a brief overview, which should help to explain this: Solomon first introduces the adulterous woman in 2:16-19, which encapsulates the core issues with the adulterous woman in Proverbs: (1) we need to be delivered from her, which can only be through God’s wisdom; (2) pursuing her means forsaking our earthly spouse and our covenant relationship with God (both are intimately connected); (3) and her way is the way of death, leading only to death (after death, the way of life can never be regained). The next time Solomon breaches the theme of the adulterous woman is in Proverbs 5:1-23. There, these three themes are described and taught. For instance, in Proverbs 5, the theme of how wisdom delivers is in verses 1-3 and 7-14; cherishing our spouse (pointing also to being singularly loyal to God) can be found in verses 15-21; and death being the result of pursuing the adulteress can be found in verses 4-6 and 22-23. Notice also that each time the adulterous woman is introduced that it follows an exhortation to pursue wisdom: (1) exhortation to wisdom in 1:20-2:15 to deliver from the adulteress in 2:16-19; and (2) a two-chapter exhortation to wisdom through teaching love for God (rooted in Deuteronomy and the Shema) in Proverbs 3-4, followed by Proverbs 5 as an exhortation to avoid the adulteress woman and cherish one’s spouse.
This again happens in our passage, beginning with an exhortation to wisdom in Proverbs 6:20-24, but focuses on taking a married woman as an adulteress (verses 25-35). We will also find an echo of 6:20-24 in 7:1-5, followed by a vivid example of the seductiveness of the adulterous woman (7:6-27). Proverbs 8:1-9:12 culminates the exhortation to wisdom, followed by the climax of the themes of the adulteress in 9:13-18 as actually being the woman folly: the opposite of lady wisdom.
Given the practical nature of the exhortation to avoid the adulterous wife (7:25-35), I will go over it only briefly, focusing on how the exhortation in 7:1-5 parallels 6:20-25, the latter of which was covered in the last devotional. Here is the rest of chapter 6:
25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; 26 for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life. 27 Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? 28 Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? 29 So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished. 30 People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, 31 but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house. 32 He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. 33 He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away. 34 For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge. 35 He will accept no compensation; he will refuse though you multiply gifts.
Notice the extremes of this all-to-real example. The cost of pursuing an adulteress is a loaf of bread, and a married woman his life. The spiritual consequences are the same, both leading to death. The idea regarding the married woman is that everyone will despise the one who wrongfully goes into her, and that they will seek his punishment (that punishment was death). This is not like the thief stealing out of need. He will not be despised because of his need. No such need is associated with pursuing the married woman. The husband would be the most vicious opponent of such a one, who cannot be pacified. Even if he does not die, his reputation will be permanently marred. In effect, his life will be destroyed.
After this on the danger of pursuing a married woman, Solomon repeats the exhortation given in Proverbs 6:20-24, but in different words in 7:1-5. These differing words in turn help us to have a fuller picture of godly wisdom,
1 My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; 2 keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; 3 bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call insight your intimate friend, 5 to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words.
In verse 1, “keep” refers to guarding carefully, and “my words” seems to harken back to the Ten Commandments, which are called the “Ten Words” in Hebrew. The same idea is then repeated: “treasure up my commandments within you.” Just as keeping the Ten Commandments requires the inward obedience of the heart, so are God’s commandments to be treasured within one’s heart. Verse 2 connects this heart-obedience to God’s commandments with the way of life or wisdom, and repeats the same idea with “keep my torah as the apple of your eye” (meaning to keep all God’s instruction as the most cherished and protected possession, as that which the eye is ever fixed upon). In verse 3, we are exhorted to “bind them on your fingers.” We have ten fingers, denoting that we are to live out each of the Ten Commandments (God’s commandments are what are bound to each finger). Again, this is repeated: “write them on the tablet of your heart” (The Ten Commandments were originally written on tablets of stone, but for the purpose of being written on human hearts). This means that our hearts are to be characterized by obedience to those commands.
Notice now what Solomon does in verse 4. He is speaking in parallelisms, meaning that he is essentially saying the same thing, but in different words so we can come to a fuller understanding. That is the relationship between verses 1-4. Verse 4 is meant to repeat the meaning of verses 1-3, but puts it in terms of God’s wisdom. Calling wisdom “my sister” and insight “my intimate friend” denotes a very close relation, much like the expression “apple of my eye,” treasure, and binding to our hearts. So, when we keep wisdom close, then we are keeping God’s commandments and instruction close to our hearts. They are one and the same. This is pursuing undiluted covenant faithfulness to God, and everything in Proverbs—including avoiding the adulterous woman—fit into this commitment. This much is also clear in verse 5, which continues the parallel language: (1) “to keep you from the forbidden woman,” (2) “from the adulteress with her smooth words.” The effect is that we are to keep wisdom so close to us (in our hearts) so that we may avoid the adulterous woman, a woman who thus represents all that it means to forsake God and His covenant. The adulterous woman thus represents all that seeks to oppose wisdom and the commandments of God—even God Himself. Pursuing wisdom is pursuing God, and that is what we must do. Can you claim that God’s wisdom is the apple of your eye? How about an intimate friend? Is God’s wisdom your treasure? That is how we are to regard the teaching and commands of God, and it will help to deliver us from the evil one’s seductions.
Next time we will be taking this association further, showing how evil is very seductive and tantalizing to those who do not hold fast to God’s wisdom.