March 7, 2008

Today's Reading - Proverbs 7
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Following Scripture Verses

1. My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
2. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
3. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
4. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:
5. That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
6. For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,
7. And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
8. Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,
9. In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
10. And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
11. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:
12. Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
13. So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,
14. I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.
15. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
16. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.
17. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
19. For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
20. He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
21. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.
22. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;
23. Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.
24. Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.
26. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.
27. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

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"And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart." - Proverbs 7:10

Proverbs 7 tells the sad tale of a young man who surrendered his purity to a married woman. In the chapter we see actions which both of these people committed that led to this sin. One of them is found in today's verse. The Bible tells us that the adulterous woman was wearing the kind of clothing that a harlot would wear. I have often asked this question: what was the occupation of the seducing woman in Proverbs 7? Invariable the answer given is: a prostitute. Read the passage again. It is important to notice that the Bible never says that the woman is a harlot. In fact, we know that she is a married woman (7:19) who kept a beautiful home (7:16-17). We don't know that she was a harlot; what we do know is that she dressed like one.

How does a prostitute dress? In our western society she normally dresses in something revealing or something snug. Either the skin of the body is being shown through skimpy clothing or the curves of the body are being shown through tight clothing. The idea behind it, of course, is to get a man to look at her physical features so that he can be seduced. Unfortunately, some Christian ladies, who would never dream of committing fornication, do not seem to grasp this concept. They do not understand, or perhaps do not care, that short or low-cut outfits can cause men to think improperly. Clothing which accentuates the woman's figure can draw a man's eyes and attention to places where they do not belong. It is easy to say that a man should not look, and that is correct. However, a woman should not reveal, either. Perhaps if the woman in Proverbs had dressed appropriately, the immorality would never have taken place.

I Timothy 2:9-10 tells us that women who profess godliness should dress in "modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety". Ladies, can this be said of you? Men, does this describe your wife and daughters? How a woman dresses really does matter, both to God and to others.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery