Monday, March 17, 2014

SIH’s Think On These Things: Proverbs 23:26-28


He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)

Sources Of Ruin For Our Lives: Giving Attention To The World: Proverbs 23:26-28
26) My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
27) For a whore [is] a deep ditch; and a strange woman [is] a narrow pit.
28) She also lieth in wait as [for] a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.

The Lord, through Solomon, continues to address sins that can ruin a Christian’s life.  Out of concern for our welfare, as a parent would instruct a child, the Lord now looks at placing our attention on the things that the sinful world has to offer…


EXPOSITION:

26) My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
The Lord speaks to us as a loving father instructs his child…
1.  Willingly, turn over your desires to me.
2.  Willingly, turn your eyes to, and consider thoroughly, the paths I have laid out before you.

In this opening verse, the Lord encourages us to make a two-fold commitment to Him…
a. Make a commitment that our desires will be pointed toward things of God.
b. Make a commitment to keep our eyes and attention on the Lord and His ways.

These two commitments go hand in hand, when we turn our desires over to Him, we will then naturally watch Him and follow His ways for us.  This will lead to a victorious life in Him.
When we place our desires on the world, we will have to be force ourselves to look to Him and will struggle to follow His ways.  Eventually we will be spiritually shipwrecked. 


27) For a whore [is] a deep ditch; and a strange woman [is] a narrow pit.
The all the enticements of the world are now being pictured by one of its greatest enticements… that of a prostitute (much like Prov 7:10-23 etc)
1.  the prostitute is like a deep ditch that will hold us once we fall into it. 
2.  a foreign woman (who will lead us into idolatry) is like a pit that tight place that is leaves us no way of escape.

A woman (or man) that uses sexual desires to attract their prey, are very dangerous indeed.  They are using the base, carnal desires of our fallen nature to distract us from the things of the Lord.  So it is with the enticements of the world… they appeal to our sinful, fleshly, fallen, corrupt nature to lead us astray.

In the above, we find the need to avoid the enticements of the world.  Why?

In both cases the principle is that, if we allow them to ensnare us, they are extremely difficult (if not impossible) to escape.  It is FAR better for us to avoid falling into them, than to fall and be forced to escape its clutches.   In these warnings, we can see the Lord’s love and concern for us being clearly shown, as He teaches us a way to avoid these pitfalls… keeping our desires and eyes upon Him.



28) She also lieth in wait as [for] a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.
1.  The enticing woman is ready to ambush her victim
2.  The enticing woman’s goal is to multiply those who step over the bounds God has set.  Their lives are lived selfishly in an effort to please their flesh.

This basic principle helps us to understand the motives of the enticement of the world.  It is not to bring us great fleshly joy and pleasure, it is to attack when we least expect it and to cause us to go beyond the area of safety God has given to each of us. 

Keep in mind, when the Lord restricts us from following the world’s enticements, He is giving us these limits for our safety and our long-term benefit.  When the world entices us to step beyond the Lord’s limits for us, it is an attack against us, attempting to harm us and bring our eventual downfall.

SUMMARY:

One of the greatest keys to overcoming the enticements of this world is to place our desires on the things of the Lord and then to keep our attention and thoughts upon Him.   When we do this we will not be distracted by the enticements of this world.

When we allow ourselves to be distracted, we will fall into traps that are very difficult, nigh to impossible to escape.  Not only that, but the end result of our actions will be to be taken unawares and brought to spiritual ruin.

By God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value that they deserve.

May the Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.

SIH Homepage: http://www.settledinheaven.org


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