Fool Proof: A Tale of Two Women (week 6)

Introduction: Today we are continuing in our sermon series “Fool Proof.” As we go through the Book of Proverbs, the book instructs us and gives us practical wisdom and lessons in how we can avoid folly and becoming a fool in areas of our life that are important. Today, we are going to be looking at two different ladies that appear in the first few chapters and the outcomes they produce when we pursue them. Before we get started though, I want us to really understand that the first lady is the lady we do not want in our life and she can be switched in her roles because this absolutely applies to all of the men and women in the room, whether you are married or someday want to be married. The second lady is used metaphorically and will apply to every person in the room regardless of relationship status! Our text for today, points us to the second lady in today's sermon.

Proverbs 2:1-6

1 My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, 2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom; Incline your heart to understanding. 3 For if you cry out for insight, And raise your voice for understanding; 4 If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And discover the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

The Big Idea: Pursue the lady who will give you an understanding of what a life of righteousness looks like.

THE ADULTEROUS WOMAN

1)She Leads To Death

Proverbs 2:16-19

16 To rescue you from the strange woman, From the foreign woman who flatters with her words, 17 Who leaves the companion of her youth And forgets the covenant of her God; 18 For her house sinks down to death, And her tracks lead to the dead; 19 None who go to her return, Nor do they reach the paths of life.

-The first thing we need to understand about this text is who the person is that is writing this and that is Solomon.

-He describes the woman you do not know and is strange and foreign to you. Foreigners have an allegiance to another.

-She flatters you with her words but as they say, “flattery deceives.” Speech always has an agenda.

-She is willing to leave her husband and forsake her wedding vows and the covenant she has as God is her witness.

-Everything sin touches, and so her path leads to death. Even her own home is destroyed.

-There is no return to what was after the act is committed. The life that was is no more.

2)She Needs To Be Avoided

Proverbs 6:24-26

23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And rebukes for discipline are the way of life 24 To keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman. 25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelids. 26 For the price of a prostitute reduces one to a loaf of bread, And an adulteress hunts for a precious life.

-Commandment #7, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” It’s important enough for God to put it in the original 10 commandments.

-The commandment is a lamp and a light to help us walk the paths of righteousness and to keep us from the evil woman. God’s Word teaches wisdom!

-Do not desire her beauty because it will fade. The moment your heart starts drifting you better make changes. Jesus echoed this in a similar way in Matthew 5.

-As soon as you catch a woman looking your way, do not let it capture you and take you prisoner. Sexual sin starts with visual stimulation and eye contact.

-The decision of a moment of sexual immorality can reduce your value to a loaf of bread. The value of a few dollars.

-The adulterous woman is on the hunt for a life that is precious and valuable. You become prey to the predator. AVOID HER!

3)She Is Deceiving

Proverbs 5:3-6

3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, And her speech is smoother than oil; 4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol. 6 She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

-Again we repeat what we have already said about her words of flattery.

-Honey is sweet, and oil is smooth. But wormwood is a plant that has a very bitter taste to it.

-Her words seem innocent but they are sharp like a sword that cuts and slices resulting in death.

-Follow her and she will lead you to the place of the grave. She doesn’t think or ponder the way of life.

-Her ways are unstable like trying to get up a muddy hill. There is no sure footing.

4)She is Seeking You

Proverbs 7:10-15

10 And behold, a woman comes to meet him, Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart. 11 She is boisterous and rebellious, Her feet do not remain at home; 12 She is now in the streets, now in the public squares, And lurks by every corner. 13 So she seizes him and kisses him, And with a brazen face she says to him: 14 “I was due to offer peace offerings; Today I have paid my vows. 15 “Therefore I have come out to meet you, To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you.

-In Ephesians 6 we see the Apostle Paul tell us to put on the whole armour of God so that we may stand against the devil’s schemes.

-The devil is seeking to devour you and he will use the adulterous woman to do it. It’s almost as though he is speaking through her.

-She is dressed to impress with a hidden agenda. She is cunning meaning she wanting to achieve her goal through deceit, craftiness and sly planning.

-Jest as she is lurking around every corner waiting to ambush you when your guard is down and so is he! She is looking to seize the opportunity to meet you.

-She is seeking your presence diligently to find her opportunity to shoot her shot. And when she finds it, she will take it.

LADY WISDOM

1)She Doesn’t Hide Herself

Proverbs 1:20-21

20 Wisdom shouts in the street, She raises her voice in the public square; 21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she declares her sayings:

-Wisdom’s call is calling out to anyone who will hear her. We see the picture of her not being found in the private areas of life.

-She can be heard if our ears are open to hear when she calls. She doesn’t whisper, but do we recognize her voice?

-She can be found in the most public places. She plays out in the midst of crowds.

-The public square was the marketplace and the city’s gates was where civic debate and official business was carried out.

-If you seek her, you will find her. If you love her, she will love you back.

2)She Speaks Truth and Righteousness

Proverbs 8:6-8

6 “Listen, for I will speak noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal right things. 7 “For my mouth will proclaim truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 “All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.

-If we take time to hear her, she will speak to us things of high moral character. She is honorable in everything she reveals.

-She is not like us, when she speaks her lips reveal the things in this life that is right and just. She will teach us her ways and in her we will find common-sense.

-Unlike the other woman we discussed, she doesn’t deceive us with lies and words that are empty.

-She reveals truth in her speech and despises wickedness and immorality. Evil intentions can never be found in her.

3)She is Valuable

Proverbs 8:18-19

18 “Riches and honor are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness. 19 “My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold; And my yield better than choice silver.

-When we discover her she more valuable than the things that this world has to offer. It is lasting wealth that does not evaporate.

-She sustains and endures spiritual wealth. Her value is immeasurable. Those who possess her hold something extremely valuable.

-Gold is valuable but pure gold is even more valuable. The purity of the gold matters. Pure gold goes through a process of separation that distracts the other minerals in the rock.

4)She Has Rewards

Proverbs 4:5-9

5 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 “Do not abandon her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you. 7 “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your possessions, acquire understanding. 8 “Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her. 9 “She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty.”

-According to the text, we see that Lady Wisdom has rewards if we choose to acquire her. The fact is that she will come with a price tag.

-She telling us that we need to sacrifice whatever it will take to gain understanding.

-If we do not abandon her and choose to love her than we will be under her protection and under her watch!

Gaining wisdom takes action. Look at the verbs in these few verses: love her, prize her, embrace her, all action words to acquire her.

-With humility comes wisdom and with wisdom comes exaltation and with exaltation comes honor.

-After all of that we will find ourselves living a life of grace and wearing a crown of beauty.

Conclusion: Which lady will have your heart? The lady that leads to death or the lady that leads to life? The choice is ours.