Proverbs 2:16 “so you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words”
I remember being approached for a senior role in a small family business. I was flattered by their approach and the way they seemed to value me, and I saw some benefits from leaving the high-pressure corporate job and working for a business run by a Christian couple. There was a really nice car with the job, and I think that did turn my head at the time.
In our discussions and getting to know each other the owners talked about how they tithed as a business and their commitment to great core values. To many of my friends, the move did not make sense but I thought that it was a good opportunity.
I was in for a reality check. The person who owned the business regularly screamed abuse in my face in front of the staff, and there was an expectation that I would work 70+ hours a week with no overtime payments. I think I worked out that my salary broken into an hourly rate was about $6/hr. At one difficult period, the owner over-ruled me and started to pass on counterfeit goods. That was the moment my heart left the business, my body left shortly afterwards. Was I the perfect employee? No, definitely not – did I give 100% – yes, every day.
A while later I started working for a business just 50 yards away. During my time there the owner became a Christian, they tithed and gave offerings generously each year. This owner’s core values were tested at times and they stood the test well. I worked whatever hours were needed each week cheerfully, I was challenged to grow, and we often had healthy disagreements. I was trusted and recognised. I was never flattered. In this role, I never really thought about what I was being paid.
KNOWLEDGE
There is a sudden change of pace here as the gender of those leading others away changes from men to women. For the writer [Solomon] history tells us that women, and particularly foreign women played a massive part in his eventual downfall. He was instructed by God [1 Kings 11] not to associate with them as they would turn his heart towards other gods and away from God. I love that later on in proverbs Wisdom is also given a gender, and it’s also a woman. But for now, we are confronted with this idea of something desirable, attractive and beautiful that can lead us away from God. This text has to be seen in its cultural setting. However, there is for sure for Christians today, a massive issue with things like pornography. The focus here is not simply trying to avoid temptations only on our own strength, but rather keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, our deliverer, our rescuer, and who brings understanding, knowledge and wisdom from heaven. Jesus is fully available to us each moment.
UNDERSTANDING
Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live?
What does the writer mean when he calls the words “smooth”. The word smooth itself appears 15 times in the ESV, one of these is Romans 16:18. The original word is pronounced “halaq” and has 64 mentions in the ESV, being translated as divide, divided, allotted, apportioned, distributed, smooth, flatter, and false. “halaq” appears seven times in Proverbs, and is always associated with partnership in immorality, someone or something that is slippery and deceitful, as well as flattering and seductive. Do you recognise the difference between praise and flattery?
WISDOM: what are your eyes drawn towards in life – what is it you don’t have, that you believe if you can just have it you will be happy?
STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Competition – remember winning at all costs is not really winning. What do you want to be known for?
Allan’s Unauthorised Version [you will be snatched away and spared from the woman who leads astray, who does outlandish things, and with her slippery sayings that seduce you].
PRAYER: Father thank you for today. Please help me to be aware of the things that can so easily lead me astray, where my weaknesses allow seduction, help me to bring these areas to you each day in humility and prayer.
Thank you Allan. I really love your “strength thoughts”.
Reminds me the saying “not all that glitters are gold. “
Your experiences are great teaching in itself.
I have also heard a brother in Christ who gave 80% of income in tithes and offerings (and his business closedown later. )When I heard that I was thinking to myself we are not even tithing consistently and this brother is so generous!
The humble and contrite heart , is so vital than being enticed!
I learned that through the Word of God and many years of experiences that smooth words has great influence in life. To give us strength and comfort or be led away with temptations.
A woman of God shared this powerful words: Daily surrender to the Lord in prayer
“IN HOLINESS,SUBMISSION, HUMILITY,OBEDIENCE AND LOVE “Dear Pastor Allan “
Discovering how deep is the book of proverbs through your sharing.
I pray that the whole world will discover these life transforming ways!
May be short films or episodes!!!!
Flattery is a powerful tool , a snare used to tempt us into sin, especially for young minds. As we grow, we need to learn and absorb God’s words of wisdom. We learn to discern genuine advice from flattery.
At all times we have to be vigilant, “Be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God, is with you wherever you go”- Joshua1;9 . A verse that has been of great help for me.
Thank you Pastor Allan.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all else will follow. I guess knowing who you are and what your core values are helps to discern in others what is right and wrong. Praying for God’s will in my life also helps. These thoughts came to mind after reading today’s message. Thanks Pastor Allan.
Thank you Ps Allan. Lady wisdom is what we need as we navigate this world.
To answer the question, I would love to be known as someone dressed in the “armour of light,” prepared to win the battle against the influence of this world, even my own flesh, and the attacks of the enemy!
Without Jesus, I can’t!
Flattery and deception is manipulative and once I have realised I was the target and got conned, it robbed and weakened me. Shock took the breath out of me. However over the years of renewing mind daily by the Word of God and incredible devotions like this, I have become more discerning. I can tell if it’s genuine praise or if it’s flattery. Also you can tell a tree “by its fruit”.
We are designed to be in a relationship with the Triune God- that’s true happiness and what HE says about us and His Kingdom’s Cause, giving us a purposeful life. Amen!
Thanks for your thoughts and encouragement xxx
Very good word this morning !! So appreciate these little reminders of who we are in Christ
I’ve found the challange that I want to reach out to other people outside our bubble but when you have close proximity to them it’s a challange not to be drawn into their world.
Flattery is deceptive, destructive, dangerous, seductive and can lead to sexual sin in this context. A thing of beauty with smooth words that appeal to human hearts and feels good can be dangerous, and the warning here is to stay away from seductive situations.
Avoid all compromising situations as they can be seductive.
Thanks again Ps Allan
“keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus” who is “fully available to us each moment”. This is a beautiful truth. Every time I’ve taken me eyes off Jesus and then turned them back onto Him it’s been amazing how quickly peace has been returned to me.
“what is it you don’t have, that you believe if you can just have it you will be happy?”
This is a powerful question.
There are many things in my life that for years I’ve wished I’ve had, but still have not. The older I get the more I realize those things won’t actually make me happy, the only thing that will truly bring me happiness is Jesus Christ and knowing Him.
Thank you Pastor Alan. Powerful thoughts today!
The enemy makes it so easy to slip back into our own selfish desires. Often, as Christians, we can recognise the difference between good and bad choices quite easily, but the enemy within us finds other more subtle ways to trip us up. Flattery, praise, adulation, fawning, applause or sweet talking us to take our focus off God and put it more on us. Whatever the adulteress looks like for each of us let us fix our eyes on Jesus Christ the author and finisher of our faith, daily. He is our example of facing and overcoming temptation.
We are reminded in this verse that being lead astray will present itself as enticing and beautiful appealing to our sinful flesh.
Also thankyou Allan for your insight about why wisdom is assigned the gender of a woman and the historical/cultural context behind this.
I’m very thankful that Godly wisdom and council has been very present in the past years.
I have been drawn to search for more of God and to find my purpose in this life .
He has been there with me in the valley and on the mountain tops
I know He is the
Way maker ,promise keeper miracle worker and
the light in the darkness.
I’m thankful that he touched my life so deeply .that I chose to live to please him everyday
Thanks Pastor Allan – experience is a great teacher if we are willing to learn what God says about it & what fruit it produces.
Our biggest battle is with our flesh & flattery can lead us into all types of temptations if we don’t have the wisdom knowledge & understanding to discern where it’s going to lead us. We can all be easily enticed into compromise & justifying our actions if we haven’t decided in our heart to choose only one way – God’s way – it’s either black or white! God warns us in His Word to guard our hearts & minds for as a man thinks in his heart so will he be … focusing & filling our minds with God’s Word daily & being accountable to our Christian friends are great safeguards to being led astray & falling into sinful ways .
This reminds me that I should always fix my eyes to Jesus, He is faithful.
Jesus is our deliverer, our rescuer and who brings understanding, knowledge and wisdom from heaven . He loves us
I love the fact that, Jesus is fully available to us each moment. And is good to always fix our eyes to His the author and finisher of our faith.
He is our deliverer, our rescuer who brings understanding, knowledge and wisdom from heaven. He is faithful.
I read a quote ina book a few years ago that went like this, “An idea remains an idea until you have an experience, then it becomes insight”. The writers suggested that the insight we gained from our experiences, for better or for worse, assured us of our ideas, whether they were good or bad.
I wish insight about our ideas could be gained apart from experience. We can form more insightful ideas about whether a path is right or wrong for us by learning from others. But it is often our experiences, past or present, that confirm for us whether an idea is good or bad for us.
Today’s reading highlights the perils of flattery but also bids the question, “Could the insight gained from that experience have been wholly gained without that experience?” From the way the story ends, Allan, it is clear that you gained insight about flattery that has determined how you would handle a similar situation in the future but how could you have avoid the situation entirely – from the outside nothing appeared to be wrong with the initial opportunity.
Yet, I know and agree that some situations should be wholly avoided. It is the wisdom to discern, apart from experience, when the opportunity appears to be a good; I find this to be the challenge.