Gold Plated Grenades

Introduction

Roman indoor plumbing with lead pipes

Scripture Introduction

Forbidden woman

How one’s actions today play out in their life story

Connection: Exhortation to keep from the forbidden woman. Additionally, these principles apply to most temptations.

Take Home: To resist temptation, we must value wisdom by fully engaging with its teachings and internalizing them.

Message Focus: The lure and hazards of sin

Wisdom here, is teaching us to recognize temptation is a grenade.

A Forbidden Woman’s Temptation vv. 6-23

The Forbidden Woman vv. 10-12

Proverbs 7:10 “And behold, the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.”

Guard: Do not give their hearts away. Her purposes are secret.

Proverbs 7:11–12 “She is loud and wayward; her feet do not stay at home; now in the street, now in the market, and at every corner she lies in wait.”

Similar to the description of wisdom

Loud: Seductive and naive (Pro 9:13)

Wayward: Undisciplined

Feet: Could stand for the female sexual organ (vulva)

e.g., “She growls with lust. Her sexual desires are not satisfied at home”.

The Unmindful Mark vv. 6-9

Proverbs 7:7 “and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense,”

Simple: Naive (inexperienced)

During more than forty years of ministry, I’ve listened to many sad stories from people who have indulged in sexual sin and suffered greatly; in almost every instance, the people deliberately put themselves into the place of temptation and danger. - Warren W. Wiersbe

A Father’s Exhortation vv. 1-5

Proverbs 7:1–2 “My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you;” keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;”

What we focus on affects what we do and what we do is the measure of our character.

A focus on sexual thoughts will skew our view of the opposite gender

A focus on wisdom will protect us.

Proverbs 7:3 “bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.”

Contemplation. Internal rather than external requirements.

Proverbs 7:4 “Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call insight your intimate friend,”

Intimately familiar (endearment for a wife)

Proverbs 7:5 “to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words.”

The main exhortation

A Forbidden Woman’s Temptation vv. 6-23

The Lure of Temptation vv. 13-20

God’s Approval

Proverbs 7:14 ““I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows;”

I live an alternative lifestyle but I still have faith in Jesus

Works not included

Monographs represent minority views

Minor offences: Many falsely assume they can rebel against God because they have a faith that He exists. What they are doing cannot be wrong, for they are a Christian.

Matthew 7:21 ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Charms Ego

Proverbs 7:15 “so now I have come out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.”

Glenn Sischo’s warning about flattery. They are the ones who will stab you in the back.

Excessive adoration to break down defenses and create avenues for control (obligation & dependency)

Addictive because of the dopamine it stimulates in your brain

Come on, everybody needs a break. And you’re the one I want to share all this with.” -Raymond C. Ortlund

Signs: excessive praise, quick attachment, mirroring (reflecting interest and behaviors)

Inspires Imagery

There are seven courses, each named. It begins with The First Touch on the Skin: a plate of silky white flesh submerged in yellow sauce - fresh, sharp, shocking. Next comes Struggling Against the Current, a fierce terrine of coursing flavours. It leaves the diners watery-eyed and reaching for their wine. Before they recover, bowls of soup are set before them. The taste is deep and rich and heavy, lining the stomach.

Beer commercials

Proverbs 7:16–18 “I have spread my couch with coverings, colored linens from Egyptian linen; I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight ourselves with love.”

Sacrifices (v.14) (peace offering) meant there was a meal of meat for the offerer

Only the rich had furniture

All the senses are enticed

Beautiful, God honoring, woman; feast; luxury; ecstasy

Proverbs 5:3 “For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,” (smooth words, v. 5)

Be sensible, and don’t entertain thoughts that take you places you shouldn’t be.

Ensures Safeness

Safety provides a sense of security and freedom from fear or anxiety

“According to Jesus, I should feel guilty for not just what I do but for what I think. . ..  I’d like every person who reads this book to experience the freedom I have found [atheism].”

Proverbs 7:19–20 “For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey; he took a bag of money with him; at full moon he will come home.””

Contraceptives

If she is willing to betray her husband, why would she be good to him?

"Live your life so you have to hide your diary"

The Impact of Giving in to Temptation vv. 21-23

Proverbs 7:21–22 “With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast”

Proverbs 5:9–10 “lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,”

Proverbs 7:23 “till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life.”

*loathing of not listening to advice

Proverbs 5:13 “I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.”

A Father’s Appeal vv. 24-27

Proverbs 7:25–26 “Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng.”

Gold plating on a grenade

Proverbs 7:27 “Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.”

Her house is likened to dead corpses on a battle field

Proverbs 7:24 “And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth.”

Reflecting and putting into practice wisdom

1 Corinthians 6:15–17 “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.”

Joined to the Lord Jesus Christ, in body and spirit

Not just spirit but also the members of your body

You have become one spirit with him (married to Jesus)

You are so indwelt by the living Christ that you are his physical presence in the world

Summary

The allure of temptation can convince us it has God’s approval while appealing to our egos and imagination and promising us safety.

To resist temptation, we must value wisdom by fully engaging with its teachings and internalizing them.

Potential Impact

We may be simple, naive, and thoughtless, but by reflecting on and practicing God's wisdom, we can become aware of the lure of temptation and escape its grasp before it can ensnare us.

If we find ourselves already ensnared, we can be freed by the power of God.

A Possible Next Step

If the world had more light, there would be less darkness. If the world had more salt, there would be less decay. If the world heard more truth, there would be less deception. We have a job to do! - Warren W. Wiersbe