Proverbs, Chapter 7

Proverbs 7 serves as another warning against adultery, but I think the language of the text here suggest that it is a different type of adultery. The wisdom given in this chapter is more meant as a preventative measure from getting tripped up by all that tempts us in life, not just sexual temptation. The adulteress in this chapter can serve as a metaphor for all types of temptation that can lure us away from the path that God has chosen us.

 ² Keep my commands and you will live;
       guard my teachings 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 understanding your kinsman;

 ⁵ they will keep you from the adulteress,
       from the wayward wife with her seductive words. – Proverbs 7:2-5

Life can be seductive. That which can destroy us or take us off the path God has for us can be seductive. The only true way to avoid these temptations is through the knowledge that God provides in His word. That is why Solomon, the author of this book, warns us to guard these teachings. He is not only talking about the word of Proverbs, but the Word of God itself.

It is the word of God that guides us. As I have said many times previously when writing about the book of Proverbs, the Word is God's way of keeping us on the path that He has intended for us. When we are on that path, life is good. Unfortunately, as this chapter suggests, life wants to lure us away from that path. It makes things look easier, when in truth it is quite the opposite. We are never the master of our own destinies, but it is only by submitting ourselves to the wisdom God provides that we can truly find our place.