Poetry – Proverbs 7

Proverbs 7 continues on the theme that was started in Proverbs 5 & 6 – Shun sexual immorality and the wiles of the seductress.  Just one chapter today but the message is of greatest importance for our spiritual lives.

Bible Passage:  Proverbs 7

Last week when we looked at the previous passage from Proverbs, we concentrated on the 7 sins that God considered as an abomination.

But the sin of sexual immorality is so serious that the author of Proverbs uses the majority of 3 chapters (Proverbs 5-7) to give us life lessons on what we have to do to avoid this grave sin.

Apple of My Eye

In the past few chapters of Proverbs, we have read of several instructions.  Chapter 7 contains another instruction and begins with the typical address to “my son” and urges him to “treasure” this commandment.

Verse 2 describes this teaching as something that is essential to life. It is to be treasured and stored in one’s heart. Doing so will protect us from our passions and Satan’s attempts to snare us.

It is interesting that the author writes that we are to keep the law as the “apple of your eye”.

I was at McDonald’s last night and happened to see this sign – “Pie of my Eye”.  And below those words was a very tasty looking apple pie!

But the usage of this old proverb “apple of my eye” has more often been used to describe someone close to your heart.

But here… it says that “the law” should be the apple of our eye – something close to our heart at all times.

This wise father urged his son to diligently pursue wisdom through conscientiously adhering to the teaching he had given him.  His commandments should be treasured, his teaching carefully guarded (“as the apple of your eye”).

This teaching should not go “in one ear and out the other,” but should be etched into his conscious memory and frequently meditated upon. Not only should this son master the law which his father had taught him, but he should allow the law to master him. It should be written on his heart (Prov 7:3).

The first three verses of chapter 7 have much in common with Deuteronomy 6. Notice the words which God spoke through Moses to the Israelites:

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teaching them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign on you hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. And you shall write then on the door posts of your house and on your gates”

Deut. 6:5-9

This wise father has done what Moses commanded in the Book of Deuteronomy. He has taught the law of God to his son, and now he exhorts him to make this teaching his own to treasure it and to live in obedience to it.

It is much more than just adopting the faith of his father; it is coming to value the wisdom of God as the most precious possession in life.

Indeed, it is the possession of life (Prov 3:18). Because of this, this son should seek the most personal and intimate relationship with Wisdom (Prov 7:4).

The way of wisdom is not an academic pursuit, but a deep commitment and an intimate relationship.

Wisdom is to be viewed as a “sister.”

I had initially some difficulty in understanding this.  Then I recalled that Solomon used the term “sister” to describe his bride and lover (Songs 4:9. 10, 12; 5:1-2).  So if we view the word “sister” in the same sense (as Solomon wrote Proverbs and Songs) – then we can understand better that our relationship with Wisdom is not a casual one.

Indeed -where our treasure is… that is where our heart will be also.

What is the apple of your eye?

As for me, I will never look at an apple pie in the same way again!

Know Where The Line Is

The rest of Proverbs 7 warns us against the dangers of lust.

It is the story of a young man ensnared and destroyed by an adulteress. This is a foolish youth because he purposely throws himself into a situation of temptation.  By intentionally walking through the neighbourhood of prostitutes, the young man is exposing himself to temptation and danger.

The description of the seductress -subtle, with pretensions to piety (the references to making her sacrifices) – shows how many will be easily enticed by her smooth words and seductive speech so much so that they follow her home as an ox going to the slaughter, not knowing that it will cost them their lives.

Let’s face it:  There are certain situations that we simply cannot handle. And I’m not just talking about illicit sex either.

There are all sorts of sins where once the line is crossed, we cannot handle the temptation.

So we need to know where those lines are and stand far clear of those lines.  If we find ourselves accidentally near those lines, we should flee as fast as we can.

The lines may be different for different people.  But the lines drawn up in the Bible are very clear for us.

So if we look at Proverbs 7, we can also extend it to other situations beyond adultery and sexual immorality.

If we put ouselves in a position where we may be tempted to sin – we are foolish.

We know for ourselves what our weaknesses are and what are the things that we have a weak defence against.  So we should guard against these things by staying far away from them.

If we have God’s wisdom of Proverbs 7 treasured up in our hearts, we will avoid putting ourselves in situations where we can be tempted to sin.

So once again… what is the apple of your eye?