Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl: Friday, July 1, 2022 - Proverbs 2:16-22

Friday, July 1, 2022

Proverbs 2:16-22

[16] So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,

from the adulteress with her smooth words,

[17] who forsakes the companion of her youth

and forgets the covenant of her God;

[18] for her house sinks down to death,

and her paths to the departed;

[19] none who go to her come back,

nor do they regain the paths of life.

[20] So you will walk in the way of the good

and keep to the paths of the righteous.

[21] For the upright will inhabit the land,

and those with integrity will remain in it,

[22] but the wicked will be cut off from the land,

and the treacherous will be rooted out of it. (ESV)

Beware Immorality and False Teachers

The conclusion to Proverbs chapter two gives us the father's second address to his son regarding the purpose of divine Wisdom. Keep in mind that, ultimately, Wisdom is the knowledge and fear of the Lord, Jesus Christ. In the first example, the father shows how Wisdom will keep his son safe from evil men. In this second example, the father shows his son how the Word will keep him safe from the adulteress, the "forbidden woman." The appeal of her seduction mirrors the appeal of Wisdom. Wisdom comes from the Word of God. Therefore, the message of the forbidden woman must come from somewhere else.

Many commentators will speak only of the forbidden woman in the context of sexual immorality. Ironically, Solomon was born of an adulterous union between King David and Bathsheba. Likewise, Solomon himself was guilty of "loving many foreign women (1 Kings 11:1-8)." It would be wrong to interpret the forbidden woman as only an allegory and not literal sexual immorality. But to do so exclusively would be to not read the text in great enough depth. In many places in the Bible, the prostitute is an allegory for false teachers who seduce men away from the Word of God and pure doctrine. We see the greatest allegorical example of this in the whore of Babylon in the book of Revelation (Ch. 17). We also have the image of Christ as the bridegroom and His bride, the Church (John 3:29; Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34; Revelation 22:17; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Luke 5:35; John 2:9; Revelation 19:7; Mark 2:18; Ephesians 5:25-27; Matthew 9:14-15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35; Revelation 21:2). To read the text in the other extreme, only as an allegory for false teachers, is also wrong and opens the door for a liberal theological interpretation of moral permissiveness, though the commandments clearly condemn it. Letting scripture interpret scripture then, we read of the forbidden woman in both lights – both as sexual immorality and as false teaching.

The allure of sexual promiscuity is obvious. Human beings are sensual creatures, and doing what feels good in the moment is humanity's natural response in a fallen world. But it was not to be so. Before the fall into sin, husband and wife were created by God (one man & one woman!) for each other and each other only. This natural order did not change after the fall – only man's actions. We can see through the lens of history the destruction immorality has had on society. We see it today. No one is exempt from this temptation; all have sinned. Wisdom calls us to repent.

This text is about more than sexual immorality, though. It warns against spiritual adultery, chasing after false gods, of which there are legions. Anything that takes the place of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is a false god. Of course, that includes sexual sins, but it is not limited only to that. What do you make your priority above God? Whatever or whoever that may be, it makes you a cheater. An adulterer to the one true God. The world's seduction appeals to our base instincts, and her message makes perfect sense on the surface. Beneath lies rot.

As sinful as succumbing to her call is thinking you can resist such temptation on your own. Wisdom is ultimately the knowledge of Christ and what He has done by His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. Wisdom knows what Christ has done for you and clings to it like a life preserver. The life of a Christian is one of repentance – the knowledge that you are a sinner and have no hope outside of Christ. With Christ, there is forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. The wise will now "walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous." Will we be sinless in this life? By no means. But we will walk in the way of the sinless One who took our punishment in our place and walk in the newness of life bestowed in your baptism where you were covered with the righteousness of Christ. Wisdom is knowing you have hope in Him, rather than the hopelessness of ever being able to fix yourself or the ignorance of those who do not perceive their sin and need for Jesus.