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Do You Love What Wisdom Loves?

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Wisdom is available to all people who choose truth over wickedness, righteousness over crookedness, and instruction over material gain (Prov 8:1-11). Are you one of those people? The following questions may shake loose some areas for you to consider further application.

Koshy Koshy (2011), Creative Commons

Koshy Koshy (2011), Creative Commons

Do you love truth or wickedness?

  • Does God’s word delight you, or are you happy to set it aside or ignore it?
  • Do you understand more about Christ and his mission than you used to?
  • Have you become a teacher by now, or do you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God?
  • Do you quarrel or quibble?
  • Do you bear witness to the truth, or do you prefer to withhold the message of salvation and its offer of forgiveness from people?
  • When was the last time you sought counsel on your budget?
  • Do you act as though pictures on a computer screen can really make you happy?

Do you love righteousness or crookedness?

  • Are you a man or woman of your word?
  • Where have you made peace with disobedience because life is “too complicated”?
  • What changes have you made recently because of God’s commands to you?
  • What excuses are you prone to make?
  • Are you a party to any unresolved conflicts?

Do you love instruction or material gain?

  • What would you do with a million dollars?
  • How would you fill in the blank? “I would feel much more stable if ___________.
  • Which category of book takes up more shelf space at home: read or unread?
  • What would your last bank statement say about what you value?
  • What would your schedule say about what you value?
  • Would you prefer to have someone correct you or praise you?

These questions are not exhaustive. They just came to mind as I tried to examine my heart, which now looks blacker than I expected. Join me next week in taking these things to the cross, so we can work together to repent and believe the good news.

Wisdom is Available to Those Who Love What She Loves

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I’ve never been very good at the shell game. I’m usually more interested in a good performance than in getting the right answer, so I’m easily snookered by a decent sleight of hand. But wisdom doesn’t work that way. She doesn’t need misdirection or illusion. She tells it like it is, and those who love what she loves will get in good with her.

Proverbs 8 summarizes all Solomon has said about wisdom in Proverbs 1-7, by showing how nobodies become somebodies. The first stanza explains how wisdom is available to all people who choose truth over wickedness, righteousness over crookedness, and instruction over material gain.

1 Does not wisdom call?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
2 On the heights beside the way,
At the crossroads she takes her stand;
3 Beside the gates in front of the town,
At the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
4 “To you, O men, I call,
And my cry is to the children of man.
5 O simple ones, learn prudence;
O fools, learn sense.
6 Hear, for I will speak noble things,
And from my lips will come what is right,
7 For my mouth will utter truth;
Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are righteous;
There is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
9 They are all straight to him who understands,
And right to those who find knowledge.
10 Take my instruction instead of silver,
And knowledge rather than choice gold,
11 For wisdom is better than jewels,
And all that you may desire cannot compare with her.” (Prov 8:1-11, ESV)

We can break Solomon’s argument into six pieces

1. Wisdom is Available

Prov 8:1 presents the kind of question that is not really a question. It’s similar to the trial lawyer’s query, “Isn’t it true, that on the evening of June 8th, witnesses observed you arguing with my client in public?” The interrogator assumes the answer to be, “of course!” and doesn’t care what you actually have to say for yourself.

McKay Savage (2008), Creative Commons

McKay Savage (2008), Creative Commons

So, too, in this case. “Does not wisdom call?” is not a true question. “Does not understanding raise her voice?” is more of an accusation than an investigation. Of course! She’s on the heights, at the crossroads, beside the gates, and at the entrance (Prov 8:2-3). Wherever people are to be found, she is there. She is available for us to find, anytime, anywhere.

2. To All People

Wisdom cries out in Prov 8:4 to “the children of man.”  In Prov 8:5, she specifies simple ones and fools as the objects of her pleading.

According to Proverbs 1:1-6, there are three kinds of people. The wise person is moving toward the Lord. The foolish person is moving away from the Lord. The simple one stands at the crossroads, about to decide whether to head toward or away from the Lord. The Lord is always the reference point, and Proverbs defines people by their attitude toward him, which is why “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov 1:7).

Wisdom now begs all people to hear and receive her. Look, no ring! She’s available to any who have ears to hear.

3. Who Choose

Wisdom is a choice. Always. It does not fall upon some while missing others. Those who get her want her. Those who don’t get her wanted something else. Folly works the same way. Just as the adulterous woman aims to seduce (Prov 7:5, 21), wisdom tries to persuade.

There’s a choice between instruction and silver, between knowledge and gold (Prov 8:10). Since wisdom is better than jewels (Prov 8:11), it makes sense to choose one and not the other. All you desire cannot compare with wisdom (Prov 8:11).

4. Truth Over Wickedness

Wisdom speaks truth and despises wickedness (Prov 8:7). Those who love her for it become wise.

5. Righteousness Over Crookedness

All wisdom’s words are righteous and approved by God (Prov 8:6, 8). Therefore, those who love wisdom love what God loves and receive his favor.

Wisdom’s words have nothing crooked or perverted in them. You never have to second-guess them. You won’t have to figure out the meaning behind them. They won’t lead you in a hurtful direction, but keep you moving straight toward the Lord (Prov 8:9). Those who love and heed wisdom’s words become wise.

6. Instruction Over Material Gain

Morality usually doesn’t pay. Purity denies sexual urges. Self-discipline limits spending. Hard work goes unnoticed.

But in seeking wisdom—in knowing Jesus—we do not settle for the lesser pleasure (Prov 8:10-11). And wisdom is so infectious that we can say with John, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4).

Wisdom Turns Nobodies into Somebodies

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Susan BoyleIn April 2009, a frumpy, middle-aged, and socially awkward Scotswoman marched on the stage of the TV show Britain’s Got Talent. Susan Boyle flouted her spunky attitude and wish to be a professional singer, while judges and audience members alike snickered and visibly mocked her. But they gave her a chance.

You’ve got to watch the video to understand fully what happened that day. Simon Cowell—the world’s most cynical and scathing judge of performance talent—shows little mercy to this nervous woman, but his bewildered expression after her first few notes is priceless. Boyle’s performance gives new meaning to the song “I Dreamed a Dream.”

Boyle’s audition was the most viewed YouTube video in 2009. She went on to take second place in that season of Britain’s Got Talent, but it was enough to secure her a record deal with Sony Music.  Her first album sold more copies than any other début album in British history, and she has since gone on to record 4 more. Two Grammy nominations and 22 million pounds later, she’s performed in Windsor Castle and had a musical written about her. She’s become an icon of success, a contemporary rags-to-riches tale.

Wisdom is like that.

I don’t mean that wisdom will earn you millions of pounds or pageviews. Nor do I mean that wisdom grants your wishes to become famous or successful. I mean simply this: Wisdom turns nobodies into somebodies.

We’re drawing near the end of Proverbs 1-9. Over the next few weeks, I’ll work through chapter 8 in my Monday posts, and I’ll show how this chapter summarizes Solomon’s entire model of wisdom. Before we get to the closing vision of chapter 9—which launches the reader into the body of the book—Solomon will remind us of all that came before. Solomon assembles the pieces of wisdom’s instruction into a few long poems placed on Wisdom’s own lips.

You and I might be nobodies. But God in his grace wants to make us into somebodies. His favor and life are stored up, ready for immediate disbursement to those who love his Son, Jesus Christ. If you grasp Christ, your wisdom from God, your life will never be the same again.

Easy Sex Will Keep You from Being Wise

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A student newspaper at my alma mater once published a set of ABC’s for first-year students as something of “a 26-step instructional guide on how to get the most out of higher education.”

Jirka Matousek (2011), Creative Commons

Jirka Matousek (2011), Creative Commons

Along with A for Alcohol, E for Energy drinks, and Q for Questions, came the following:

H is for House Party Weekend. Three parts live music, four parts indiscriminate alcohol abuse, two parts non-prejudicial fornicating. Mix well; serve warm. That’s House Party Weekend.

S is for Sexually transmitted diseases. See letter H.

W is for Walk of shame. Alternatively known as the “stride of pride.” That long walk home wearing the same thing you went out in last night, which inevitably followed a very awkward introduction earlier that morning. When you see the steady stream at 10 a.m., just remember, “Let he who has not woken up spooning a stranger cast the first stone.”[1]

There’s a reason “higher education” and “wisdom” aren’t synonymous.

Lots of Sex

This week, I reinstate my long-running Bible study of Proverbs 1-9. As we hit Proverbs 6:20-35, we ought to notice that Solomon has said a lot about sex already, and he’s not yet done with the topic. Foolish and ungodly sexual activity was common long before universities developed such a strong reputation for it.

But what makes Proverbs 6:20-35 unique? What does Solomon say here that he hasn’t covered elsewhere? Though many ideas overlap, we can observe a primary focus for each of the “sex sections” of Proverbs 1-9:

  • Prov 2:16-19 explains how easy sex hinders wisdom.
  • Prov 5:1-23 unveils God’s surprisingly intoxicating alternative.
  • Prov 6:20-35 enumerates immorality’s terrible consequences.
  • Prov 7:1-27 unmasks immorality’s seductive tactics.

We must hear wisdom on these matters, so we can find life (Prov 6:23) and avoid death (Prov 5:23). In keeping you from being wise, easy sex holds nothing for you but pain and destruction. But there was one who endured pain and destruction to give us wisdom. So there’s always hope.

The Plan

Over the next few weeks, I’ll tackle this passage somewhat out of order. First, I’ll explain ten terrible consequences of easy sex (Prov 6:24-35). Then, I’ll go back to offer four steps for fighting it (Prov 6:20-23).

Question: How do you see easy sex hindering wisdom in our day?

——————————-

[1] Scott Gosnell, “The BU ABC’s,” The Counterweight, Volume 7, Issue 1, August 24, 2007, pp.8-9.

How to Recognize Sowers of Discord

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There is no foolproof formula for recognizing sowers of discord, but Solomon wants to train us to be discerning.

A worthless person, a wicked man,
Goes about with crooked speech,
Winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,
Points with his finger,
With perverted heart devises evil,
Continually sowing discord;
Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
In a moment he will be broken beyond healing (Prov 6:12-15, ESV).

1. Take note of crooked speech (Prov 6:12b)

Do they twist words to win sympathy? Do they label their complaints as “concerns,” their anger as “frustration,” or their bitterness as “misunderstanding”? Have they failed to forgive? Do they always have questions but never any answers?

2. Consider body language (Prov 6:13a)

When around people who offend them, do they roll their eyes, grimace, or shake their heads? Do they make eye contact with you when the other person turns away? Does their posture communicate disrespect or defensiveness?

3. Refuse to join the gang (Prov 6:13b).

a2gemma (2007), Creative Commons

a2gemma (2007), Creative Commons

The Sower of Discord “points with his finger” in an effort to persuade others to join his team. He’s a sneaky communicator, and his destructive power lies in his ability to recruit. Whenever someone has a complaint against another person, your best response is, “did you talk to that person about it?”

Sowing discord is one of the most prevalent and most disregarded sins in the church today. We think of gossip as something that happens on daytime talk shows, and we ignore it in the fellowship hall. We think slander deserves discipline only if it’s intentionally and overtly deceitful. Perhaps we’ll confront those who purposefully spread bad reports about others, but Proverbs is just as concerned to confront those who endorse those reports by giving them a hearing (Prov 26:20-28).

This passage convicts me thoroughly. I am as guilty as anyone of speaking ill, sowing discord, and fighting unity. I have shared details I didn’t need to share. I have discussed the failings of my supervisors with my subordinates. I have asked for the low down on specific people, and I have entertained conversations that went in the wrong direction. I have asked Jesus to change me, and I wrestle my self-importance daily.

If you are broken by this text, there is much hope for your repentance and healing. You can act as glue to reunite the shards of your once-vibrant community. You can unleash Christ’s redemptive glory in your church, and he can restore his body to full and proper functioning. Learn to recognize the characteristics of the Sower of Discord, and exterminate them from your heart and your church.

But if you find yourself still making excuses for sowing discord (or for aiding and abetting others to sow discord), you’ll be ruined before you know what hits you (Prov 6:15). God doesn’t like it when people mess with his wife.

Question: What else helps you to recognize sowers of discord?

The Illusion of Freedom

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The first section of Proverbs 5 (Prov 5:1-6) highlighted the deceptiveness of appearances. Not all is as it seems, and sexual immorality covers itself under the illusion of freedom. In this closing section, we see that deviation from God’s standards—what the culture calls “sexual freedom”—is not really free.

For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord,
And he ponders all his paths.
The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,
And he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
He dies for lack of discipline,
And because of his great folly he is led astray (Prov 5:21-23, ESV).

Jesus Solana (2012), Creative Commons

Jesus Solana (2012), Creative Commons

Pursuing immorality is like snapping the handcuffs, donning the straitjacket, locking the cage, or triggering the land mine. You thought to hunt a foxy partner, but the real hunters will “cry ‘havoc!’ and let slip the dogs of war.”[1] You are the prey, fit only to become a fur scarf or set of mounted antlers.

Notice first that God sees everything (Prov 5:21). Nothing we do is really in secret, though we reason with ourselves that it is so. To be free from the prying eyes of men is still to be under the fiery, knowing gaze of the Almighty. The First Catechism, a children’s version of Christian theology, summarizes:

Can you see God?
No. I cannot see God, but he always sees me.
Does God know all things?
Yes. Nothing can be hidden from God.[2]

Do these lines inspire you with hope or terrify you with despair, when you consider your sexual life of the past week or month?

Notice second that sin is ensnaring (Prov 5:22). We think that a little sin will produce a little happiness; otherwise, we wouldn’t do it! We must realize instead that every time we sin, we take up the yoke and subjugate ourselves to a harsh master. We choose slavery, not freedom. We more closely resemble unwelcome critters, to be caught and disposed of, than carefree gazelles, frolicking through glade and meadow.

Notice finally that, for the wicked, freedom is elusive (Prov 5:23). The sinner would rather die than become disciplined. The immoral person is full of “great folly” that leads him astray. He missed his turn and will never reach his destination. Life and freedom elude him; they’re always just out of reach.

Those final words (“led astray”) are significant because, in the Hebrew text, they represent the same vocabulary as was used in Prov 5:19 and Prov 5:20. Solomon commanded his reader to be “intoxicated” by the love of his spouse, and not by the forbidden woman. “Intoxicated” could also have been translated as “swerving astray” or “reeling” to show the repetition. The translators of the NET Bible[3] explain it this way in a note: “If the young man is not captivated by his wife but is captivated with a stranger in sinful acts, then his own iniquities will captivate him, and he will be led to ruin.”

The message is clear: sexual “freedom” is an illusion. Fools set their own traps and surprise themselves by springing them. The simple claim insufficient knowledge or education, and their traps are no less painful. Even those who ought to be wise struggle in the chains of self-love, self-focus, self-pity, and self-centered fear or insecurity.

Is there hope we’ll ever find the way of life and enjoy God’s delightful wisdom?

Appearances are truly deceptive. How could the son of a carpenter be, as the Nicene Creed states, “very God of very God?” How could one born in obscurity and killed in infamy provide God’s righteousness to any who want it?

Immorality has real consequences, and the pure and righteous one suffered so we immoral ones might be washed clean.

Marriage has phenomenal delights, and the Great Bridegroom chose to die and not demand his rights as Husband. In so doing, he didn’t coerce his Bride, but won her allegiance for the long haul.

Sexual freedom is truly an illusion. Jesus submitted to the cross and the grave so we could be free of both forever; he proved it by his glorious resurrection. Now we get to image him to the world. Find your freedom in self-denial. Obtain life through your death. Secure satisfaction by serving and satisfying others, especially your spouse.

The wise person sees the culture’s illusions, blasts them with Bible dynamite, and wins others to radically selfless, Christ-like joy, far more exciting than either religious prudishness or enslaving immorality.

[1] Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, III.1.273.

[2] Suwanee, GA: Great Commission Publications, Inc., 2003, Questions 11 & 12.

[3] Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C, 1996-2005.

The Best Object of Sexual Delight

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Previously, I examined two atrocious abuses of sexually explicit Bible texts. I concluded with two observations from Prov 5:18: You ought to rejoice in your spouse, and you ought to rejoice in your spouse. This week I’ll unpack the second observation.

Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice in the wife of your youth (Prov 5:18, ESV)

Observe the proper object of delight: rejoice in “the wife of your youth” (Prov 5:18). “Be intoxicated always in her love” (Prov 5:19). Solomon does not say, “Rejoice in how amazing the whole thing is,” or, “Get drunk on the incomparable sensations of sex.” We’ve seen it already with money issues, and we’ll see it again in the next few chapters of Proverbs: We’re always tempted to focus on ourselves. In doing so, however, we ruin the very joy God desires for us.

Marriage will not solve your lust problem. Sex will not make you happy. Sexual climax will always result in crushing disappointment when it’s about you. However, when it’s about the other, when it begins with self-denial and ends with sacrificial service, when it regards the well-being and delight of your spouse as being more important than your own, then it reflects God’s own selfless love for his people. You begin to understand the delight and ecstasy of sharing Christ’s own heart for the Church (Eph 5:31-32), and you will fulfill your potential of having been created and redeemed in his image, after his own likeness.

Four LovesIn The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis understood that true godly romantic love finds delight in a person, a spouse, not in a feeling or experience:

We use a most unfortunate idiom when we say, of a lustful man prowling the streets, that he “wants a woman.” Strictly speaking, a woman is just what he does not want. He wants a pleasure for which a woman happens to be the necessary piece of apparatus. How much he cares about the woman as such may be gauged by his attitude to her five minutes after fruition (one does not keep the carton after one has smoked the cigarettes). Now Eros makes a man really want, not a woman, but one particular woman. In some mysterious but quite indisputable fashion the lover desires the Beloved herself, not the pleasure she can give.[1]

By contrast, love of Love harms the lover: “Love becomes a demon when it becomes a god.”[2]

If you are unmarried, you do not have to get married to have a fulfilling existence. If you aspire to marriage, the best preparation is to practice serving others now. As you think about sex and dating, “How far can I go?” is always the wrong question. Instead ask, “How sacrificially can I serve others?”

If you are widowed or divorced, you have not yet lost the good years; now is the time to lay down your life in Christ-like abandon for those around you. Don’t fall prey to bitterness or self-pity. Find help, and engage the community.

If you are married, perhaps you need to repent of the selfish way you’ve exercised your passion thus far, of the way you’ve either made unloving demands or withdrawn in desperate self-protection. Demanding certain acts or increased frequency of lovemaking may have been out of line. Resisting your spouse in fear may be selfish and unloving. Whatever your struggle, consider a new goal: “What will serve my spouse and Christ?” For in such consideration, we find real freedom and Christ-like empowerment.

Thus, whatever your marital status and whatever your history, the Lord offers you the opportunity to enjoy something better than you dreamed possible. He offers you pure water, sweet streams, and a blessed fountain, but only when your satisfaction is rooted in the denial of self and the satisfaction of others. Don’t settle for a trifle.

[1] The Four Loves (New York, Harcourt, Brace, 1960), p.94. Disclosure: This is an affiliate link, so if you click it and buy stuff from Amazon, you’ll support our site at no extra cost to yourself.

[2] p.22.

The Only Intoxication the Bible Advises

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Last week, I examined two atrocious abuses of sexually explicit Bible texts. I concluded with two observations from Prov 5:18: You ought to rejoice in your spouse, and you ought to rejoice in your spouse. This week I’ll unpack the first observation.

Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice in the wife of your youth (Prov 5:18, ESV)

Subharnab Majumdar (2009), Creative Commons

Subharnab Majumdar (2009), Creative Commons

God’s plan is for joy. It’s not for well-contained respectability. It’s not for safely restricted teenagers. It’s not for secretly confused husbands and wives. Pastor Paul Browne of New Life Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Williamsport, PA spoke at length of this joy, from Solomon’s other famous love poem, at my wedding:

The Song of Solomon appropriately celebrates the only kind of intoxication that the Bible advises, which is that we should be drunk on the love of our wives and husbands, but it celebrates that intoxication with a clear-eyed, morning-after sobriety. It doesn’t present the unimproved, unexamined, sophomoric, sickly sweet cotton candy goo of immature infatuation…

Marriage is the covenanted giving of two selves, man and woman, one to another, as long as they both shall live. This is an unreserved giving and receiving of self that involves body and soul, an exhaustive mutual indwelling, a complete interpenetration of persons, a relationship involving a simultaneous oneness and twoness that doesn’t erase individual identity, but sharpens it.

It is a fact that the Song of Solomon very much emphasizes the physical, bodily aspect of this mutual giving. In Song 2:16, “he grazes among the lilies” refers to kissing or the other intimacies of physical lovemaking in the Song…

So not only do the bride and groom anxiously await the time they can give themselves physically in God-blessed physical sexuality, but she envisions it lasting until “the day breathes, and the shadows flee away.” Here is the Word of God commending to us all-night making love in unbroken romantic tryst until the morning. And, of course, the bride in the Song of Solomon knows the possibility because she again likens her lover to a gazelle or a stag: sure-footed, agile, virile, potent, living life in 4-wheel drive…

The wonder of it is that this is lovemaking that takes place in a garden setting, a paradise that is untainted by guilt. When the shadows flee away, and the day comes, there are no regrets, there’s no sorrow, there is no fear of the light exposing wrongdoing, because God blesses this lovemaking in the permanently covenanted setting of marriage.[1]

God intends such intoxicating delight for every married couple, but it’s only possible when we do it according to the way of wisdom. God’s plan is for joy.

[1] Excerpt from Browne’s sermon delivered at my wedding on September 18, 2004.

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Wise People Crave Wisdom

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Knowable Word LogoSharper Iron posted an article by Ed Vasicek on the wisdom of Solomon. Vasicek rightly says that “wise people crave more and more wisdom, for wisdom is given to those who value it.”

He shows how Solomon asked God for wisdom in 1 Kings 3 because he felt inadequate to lead God’s people. Wise people always feel inadequate, and so fear the Lord, desiring his instruction.

Vasicek highlights a few things I didn’t cover in my introduction to Proverbs, so I recommend you check it out!

HT: Jake Swink

Appearances are Deceiving, Especially When Hormones are Involved

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The cultural ideal of “sexual freedom” is an illusion. Don’t be fooled.

My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
Incline your ear to my understanding,
That you may keep discretion,
And your lips may guard knowledge.
For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,
And her speech is smoother than oil (Prov 5:1-3)

Solomon begins Proverbs 5 with another reminder to listen to his wisdom (Prov 5:1). If we don’t passively receive and actively seek instruction in the sexual realm, we endanger our lives. Once we receive it through our ears, we ought to “keep discretion” (presumably in our hearts, as Prov 4:21 advises). Then it changes who we are, affecting what we do, especially with our “lips” (Prov 5:2). Our lips must guard knowledge because honey drips from the forbidden woman’s lips. Her speech is so smooth, it makes oil seem irritating, so we ought to be ready (Prov 5:3).

Daniel Lobo (2006), Creative Commons

Daniel Lobo (2006), Creative Commons

Before continuing, let’s clarify who the “forbidden woman” is. Remember that Proverbs is a work of poetic wisdom literature. As poetry, it makes liberal use of imagery to evoke an emotional reaction, but, as wisdom literature, it assumes we’ll think hard about what we’re reading. Earlier in Proverbs, Solomon exaggerated the portraits of his characters: the bumbling gang of thieves (Prov 1:10-19), Lady Wisdom the mocking street preacher (Prov 1:20-33), the adulteress whose house sinks through the ground into the grave (Prov 2:16-19), and the sleep-deprived, ferocious evildoers (Prov 4:14-17).

Solomon paints such an exaggerated picture of his subject to strengthen his point. He takes a character type and vividly describes the worst-case scenario for that type, thus including all variations of explicitness and severity. For example, in describing the violent gang, Solomon critiques all who want to get more stuff at the expense of others (Prov 1:19). Through Wisdom’s speech, Solomon warns not only those who have already harmed themselves but also everyone who loves being simple (Prov 1:22). When he warns against joining ravenous evildoers, he warns us to avoid their highway, not just their particular rest stop. We shouldn’t risk even entering it (Prov 4:14).

Who then is the “forbidden woman” in Proverbs 5? She includes loose women who tire of their husbands, but she ultimately represents every enticement to sexual immorality that you and I, whether male or female, experience. Solomon is clear about this fact when he broadens his final applications to include not just adulterers, and not just sexually immoral people, but all “the wicked” who show “great folly” (Prov 5:22-23). Whatever your gender, age, or marital status, this chapter of Proverbs applies to you. In fact, this chapter can help if your temptation involves the opposite sex, the same sex, solo sex, or images on a computer monitor. The “forbidden woman” still drips her honey at you, and you had better watch out. Therefore, for the sake of clarity, I’ll use the word “immorality” in future posts to refer to the opponent Solomon has in mind.