Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] I have to be honest with you this morning that I'm not really looking forward to talking about this subject because, well, first of all, because it's Mother's day, but this is where our study leads us today. But also, I'm also not looking forward to it because I do want you to know that I'm going to do my best to be discreet about this subject, which is the subject of the strange woman in Proverbs, because it is a major theme in proverbs on the subject of the different kinds of women in proverbs. And this is one of the major ones. And so I want to look at it. And like I said, I will try to be as discreet as I can, but I do want to see the truths from it so that we can understand this subject. And hopefully it'll be a help to us. All right, so we're going to be turning to the book of proverbs and chapter number two.
[00:01:04] Chapter two, we will read starting in verse number ten, proverbs two and verse ten.
[00:01:25] The Bible says this, when wisdom entereth into thine heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve thee. Understanding shall keep thee.
[00:01:40] To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things, who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness. There's something to be said about our associations, and it says something about ourselves, the kind of people that we choose to associate with.
[00:02:08] It says, to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things. So this is a reference to our association with others whose life is wrong and whose words are wrong. So both of those things can be criteria by which we judge our associations. Because, as I said, that says something about us. Verse 15. Whose ways are crooked and they froward in their paths. All right, so pause there and then go back up to verse eleven. The Bible says, this discretion shall preserve thee. Understanding shall keep thee. Now, continuing that sentence down in verse 16, we just saw to deliver thee from the evil man. Now it says, to deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger, which flattereth with her words, which forsaketh the guide of her youth and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
[00:03:10] For her house inclineth unto death and her paths unto the dead. Let's pray.
[00:03:19] Our Lord, thank you for the opportunity to study your word here this morning.
[00:03:24] Thank you for all of your people who have gathered here this morning. Lord, they've come expecting to learn and to grow and to be challenged. And, Lord, I pray that you would help them, and I pray that you would bless our time in your word. And you, I ask, would be the instructor both for me and for all of your people here and for those that are listening in.
[00:03:51] Lord, we. We just pray. I pray that you would especially guide me as I try to. Try to present these truths in a way that's pleasing to you, and it helps us to understand them. Lord, we all need to understand these truths, just like every other truth in the scripture. Help us, Lord, to profit by these things.
[00:04:09] And, Lord, we pray for the service to follow, Lord, that everything that's done would be done according to your will and that you would be pleased with it. In Jesus name. Amen.
[00:04:20] The strange woman. Now, the word strange is interesting is the word strange is, in scripture, just as often refers to a foreigner. A stranger is a word in the Bible that we would use the word foreigner to describe someone who doesn't belong. All right, so when you look at the book of proverbs and you see the term strange woman, it's at least a dozen times. A couple dozen times in proverbs, the strange woman is a little bit hard to define. But what is clear is the use of the term strange indicates that she does not belong to me. That's the idea. Your wife would be. In that definition, your wife would be considered the. Would be the equivalent of a citizen of a country. And a woman who is not your wife would be like the foreigner if you use that comparison, which is what the scripture uses, a strange woman. So there's a verse in the Old Testament where the Bible says that Solomon loved many what? Strange women. And that's a reference primarily to women who were not of Israel. And specifically, God faulted Solomon because he transgressed God's commandment because he took wives from a bunch of nations that were not of Israel. Now, the children of Israel were allowed to take foreign wives, but they were not allowed to take foreign wives of the land of the nations that were previously in Canaan. That's exactly who Solomon took as his wife, and he took many of them, which is another issue.
[00:06:07] But that's kind of the beginning of the use of the word strange woman. There is one other reference I want to look at to kind of give us an idea of what this strange woman is, because I'll be honest, when you look at this in proverbs, the strange woman is not a perfectly.
[00:06:26] It's not exactly clear what she is. In some places, she looks like one thing, and other places, she looks like something else. So that's why I want to look at that. So let's look, first of all, hold your place here. And let's look at judges chapter eleven.
[00:06:42] This is the first mention of the strange woman in the Bible.
[00:06:46] Judges chapter eleven, verse number one.
[00:07:03] Judges eleven one. Now this is kind of an obscure passage about Jephthah the Gileadite.
[00:07:12] Judges eleven one. Now, Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of an harlot.
[00:07:22] All right? So note that word. And Gilead begat Jephthah, and Gilead's wife bare him sons. And his wife's sons grew up. And they thrust out Jephthah and said unto him, thou shalt not inherit in our father's house, for thou art the son of a strange woman. Now, whether this is a reference to the fact that this prostitute was a foreigner, because the scripture does strictly forbid, in the Old Testament does strictly forbid any of the daughters of the children of Israel be engaging in that kind of activity. I mean, obviously beyond the moral aspect in the Old Testament law, God forbids that to boot. To boot.
[00:08:12] But in this case, you see that these two are in parallel. They're used synonymously. That is the harlot with the strange woman. Okay, now go back to proverbs. So the reason I brought that up is there are a number of words in proverbs that are used to describe this basic kind of woman. Okay? And the lines between them in our world, in our society, are generally pretty clear.
[00:08:48] But in scripture, especially in proverbs, it's not exactly that perfectly clear. And I think I know why. But anyhow, let's look at chapter. Well, in fact, let's not look. I'll just list them very quickly and we'll move on. In chapter six, verse 24, the strange woman is also referred to as the evil woman. All right, that's one.
[00:09:12] In chapter 23.
[00:09:14] I'm sorry, chapter six, verse 26, the strange woman is called a whorish woman.
[00:09:21] We just saw in judges 111, the strange woman is called the harlot.
[00:09:26] And then, of course, in 23 27, she's called the whore.
[00:09:33] I won't be using that term again, but I had to say it because that's what the scripture says on it. And then in chapter six, verse 26, she's called an adulteress. The adulteress. Because apparently there are times when the strange woman has a husband, which is interesting.
[00:09:50] So the reason I want to bring this up is because the lines are blurred in the scripture, compared to our society. In our society, a woman who engages in this kind of activity for money is considered to be one thing, right?
[00:10:10] And then just a woman who is just an immoral woman is another.
[00:10:16] And there seems to be, at least to my understanding, there seems to be a very clear line of distinction between that. In fact, there are crimes built upon this distinction, right?
[00:10:27] There's crimes regarding prostitution, but no crimes regarding adultery and fornication. Maybe there should be, but there's not.
[00:10:37] So there's a distinction made in there. But in the scripture, that distinction is not nearly as clear. And you'll see, as we go through these verses, there's overlap.
[00:10:49] There's overlap. Now, I have heard of examples in churches where men have actually fallen to a strictly speaking, a strange woman, like, straight up woman of the night, for profit type of thing. Now, that does exist. But generally speaking, that's. That's not all that common. But there are examples of this that exist in our society that are far more common, but definitely overlap the scripture's description of a strange woman.
[00:11:34] So when we look at the definition, we all know this. And I'm trying to be discreet. I know, I'll keep repeating myself on that.
[00:11:45] When you see some. When you know of a lady who engages a woman who engages in this kind of activity for profit, for money as a means of living, that is the strict definition of the harlot or the strange woman.
[00:12:03] But there is in the scripture, there's another aspect to it whereby it's not that clear cut.
[00:12:11] And then when you take that and apply it to what we do see in our society. All right, now think about it.
[00:12:22] In most states in our country, I would say a majority, although I didn't do my research, straight prostitution is illegal now that it still exists. Of course we know that, but it's unlawful to do that.
[00:12:37] But yet, in the pornography industry, they are engaging in the very same thing.
[00:12:48] The very same thing, in no way different, except there is no personal contact. But listen, I know people. I have people in my family who.
[00:13:02] Who describe that industry in terms of victims.
[00:13:09] People, women who engage in that kind of thing, who are essentially, you know, it's kind of broad brushed as people who do that are victims of a trafficking industry. How many of you are familiar with what I'm saying? At least victims of a trafficking industry? And so, you know, because of drug addiction, they're, you know, they're trying to get drugs, and so they. They're trafficked into that and forced into it, and they can't get out because they're addicted to drugs and that kind of thing. Does that exist? Yes, I'm certainly, I certainly do believe it exists, but that is not the whole picture.
[00:13:43] There are many in that industry that are in the industry because they are choosing to be in that industry and here, and then you have that one thing and you have that, that industry as it was 30 years ago. But now we're in a whole new world of sin with the Internet.
[00:14:02] And now people there, I'm not going to mention them, but there are apps that exist and platforms that exist where independent women who aren't trafficked, who aren't on drugs, who have jobs and careers and all that engage in that kind of thing, in that industry for money to supplement or even supplement their income or actually live off of that.
[00:14:32] And it does exist. And it is common. It is common.
[00:14:38] And you see it on the news. My wife pointed out, Fox News, the bastion of conservative news, is full of trash in this vein. I'm just saying it's wicked.
[00:14:49] They in their articles, promote this as if it's not a moral stain on our country, and it is absolutely a moral stain. Listen, if you look at Fox News, you just better keep scrolling. You better keep scrolling because they are actively promoting it by giving it a platform.
[00:15:13] And it's promoted in that way on Fox News. I'll just call out Fox News particular station. Even the more liberal leaning news outlets do not talk about this stuff, but Fox News does. And they broadcast it as if it's not morally wicked.
[00:15:32] That's the way they present it.
[00:15:35] This is my hobby horse for the day.
[00:15:40] But in some of those articles, it's these people.
[00:15:46] They're engaging in that industry, and then they have a normal life outside of that school, teachers and stuff, reputable employment, that kind of thing. And they're found out sometimes by their students to be engaging in this.
[00:16:08] Listen, that is no different than prostitution.
[00:16:13] That is no different.
[00:16:15] No different. It is the same strange woman exist in our world.
[00:16:24] This is not just a Bible. Something in the scripture. It is something that exists in our day for the same purposes as we read in the Bible. For money.
[00:16:35] For money.
[00:16:39] Now, so as we look at these things, and I'm speaking mainly to the men now, as we look at all of these different aspects of the strange woman in proverbs, you know, in the scripture, there was no Internet, there was no tv, there's no movies or anything like that. So we might tend to look at this and think, well, this is just talking about the act. No, it's not. It's not just talking about the act. The things we read about the strange woman are perfectly and rightly applied to things and the pornography industry.
[00:17:22] And you'll see what I'm saying in just a minute. Look at chapter two, where we just read verse number 16 to deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger, which flattereth with her words. Again, if you just turn your brain off to, in the sense of the literal sense that this in which this was written, and you turn it on to the computer or the phone or the app, the website, these things also apply.
[00:17:55] It says, which, notice this, which forsaketh the guide of her youth and forgetteth the covenant of her God, the guide of her youth. In scripture is a reference to the woman's father.
[00:18:08] It's a reference to the woman's father.
[00:18:13] And that can be seen in. I believe it's in Jeremiah. I wrote it down there. Jeremiah, chapter three, verse four. Take a peek at that, if you would.
[00:18:23] Jeremiah three, four says, this, wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, my father, thou art the guide of my youth? See that?
[00:18:46] This is the Lord speaking to Israel, saying, will you not cry unto me, saying, my father, thou art the God in my youth? In other words, Israel is calling God their father, the guide of their youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. So what we see in verse 17 with the strange woman is she didn't start out like this.
[00:19:08] She started out with a family, with a dad, with a mom, with a covenant, which speaks of some sort of relationship to the Lord, some sort of, you know, especially in the context of Israel. You know, she was, she was raised up as a religious or a spiritually minded person, but she is not there now. She forgot all of that.
[00:19:31] And that's a warning.
[00:19:34] That's a warning to all women.
[00:19:38] It's a warning to all women. You say, well, I could never do that. Well, I'm sure this verse tells us there are many women who did think like that before they ended up as the strange woman.
[00:19:51] So it's a warning. And look, this is, all of us who have daughters understand that they have to be protected, and they have to be not just protected physically, but protected spiritually.
[00:20:07] And sometimes they got to be protected, hear me? Sometimes our daughters have to be protected from those who would prey on them.
[00:20:18] Strange men, if I can put it like that, right, that would take advantage of girls.
[00:20:24] And dad just needs to stand between them with his AR 15 in hand. And I'm not even joking. My daughters know, hopefully Josh and Isaiah will be behind me, too.
[00:20:41] Verse 18.
[00:20:44] For her house inclineth unto death and her paths unto the dead. Now this is. We'll look at one other passage in a minute, but this is the first instance in which you see the strange woman. Association with the strange woman is being connected with death.
[00:21:04] Death. Okay, so I won't say a whole lot about it. We'll look at it a little more in just a minute when we get to chapter five. But look at the next verse. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. Now hear me. Don't. Again, I'm talking to the men. Now, don't think of this in terms of just physical action.
[00:21:31] Apply this to the. Of course it applies to that for sure, but apply it and extend it also to the use of the Internet. Listen to what this says.
[00:21:42] None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold the paths of life. Notice the term paths of life. Here's the danger and here's the warning to the men, is when you go down that road, and once you get entangled with that, whether it be the actual literal stuff or virtual stuff, once you get entangled with that, it is rare to return.
[00:22:07] It will annihilate you.
[00:22:12] It will destroy you, just like the physical part will neither take they holds of the paths of life. Now, notice this phrase, paths of life. We're going to see that in just a minute. Look at chapter five.
[00:22:35] So we saw there's not really, once you go down that man, once you go down that road, once you associate with that, once you go there, there's not really a means of recovery.
[00:22:48] I mean, we always, of course, we always, scripturally, we always hold out hope for an act of God. And God does do that miraculously, delivering people. And he does do that, especially when you're talking about one of God's children, because God's children are just as susceptible to this as anybody else living in a flesh.
[00:23:09] And sometimes God will actually intervene. And that does happen. But if he doesn't, it's not like you can just shut it off and just turn around. That's not how it works. That's not how the nature of man works.
[00:23:23] Chapter five, verse three. If you look at that for the lips of a strange woman, drop as in honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil. Now, we already looked at that from the perspective of flattery when we're talking about the words verse four, but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two edged sword. Notice verse five. Her feet go down to death.
[00:23:49] Her steps take hold on hell. Notice that. Notice that, once again, association with the strange woman, be it in person or virtually, is connected with death and hell. Now, there's two ways you can look at this, okay? You can look at it in the sense of physical death.
[00:24:13] Because with this, with association with these types of women, there are all kind of other things that are associated with it, like alcohol, like drugs, like a whole acquaintance group, all associated who approve of and engage in this. I mean, listen, if any man is involved in this kind of thing, that's going to be his. The crowd with which he runs.
[00:24:41] And with that crowd comes other things that are also full of danger to him physically, like getting drunk and driving or getting drunk or getting high and getting incarcerated and being put in prison.
[00:24:59] There's all kinds of, I mean, beyond that, overdosing. And you say, well, that's kind of far. It's not far fetched. I'm telling you that once the hooks get into a man, they will drag him whither he does not want to go.
[00:25:14] That's the danger.
[00:25:29] Chapter five, verse number five, on the subject of death and hell. And I really would like everybody to listen closely.
[00:25:42] But beyond the physical aspect, the physical danger of dying, you know, of being involved in things that are actually dangerous to your health and well being, there's a spiritual element to this, too, because, and we'll see it in the next verse, that being involved, for a man, being involved with a strange woman is actually dangerous also to his spiritual health.
[00:26:12] In other words, for a man who is not a believer, for a man who is not a believer, being involved with a strange woman can actually drag his very soul to the lake of fire.
[00:26:25] Because once he's tangled up in that, in that sin, in that lust, that will prevent him and hinder him from coming to God.
[00:26:38] Because the nature of sin is, the more sin that you're involved in, the more it wraps its web around you, the more difficult it is to free. In other words, to be. Of course, no one frees themselves from their sin, but I'm saying their willingness to be open to the truth, willingness, it clouds and darkens the mind. That's what sin does.
[00:26:59] And so, in a very real sense, being involved with a strange woman, be it physically or even virtually, it will absolutely. It can absolutely drive someone away from the kingdom of God to the point that they end up in hellfire over that. That is a real thing. That is a real thing.
[00:27:21] Now, what if you're a child of God, you're already saved.
[00:27:30] Being involved in looking at pornography or being involved in the physical acts like this, or taking a girlfriend who is willing to engage in this kind of stuff. That is a strange woman. Listen, no question about it. That is an evil woman who would lay a temptation like that before her, before her association like that. That is a strange woman. You better run.
[00:28:01] You better run as fast as you can get, because it will obliterate your spiritual life.
[00:28:08] And you'll look up.
[00:28:11] You'll look up. Not only will your life, your relationships with your family and everybody else be wrecked, but you'll look up and you'll be so far from God, you'll be like the prodigal off in the far country, eating what the pigs eat spiritually, just so far from God. Why this one little sin?
[00:28:32] Notice it says here in the next verse, verse six, lest thou shouldst ponder the path of life. Her ways are movable that thou canst not know them.
[00:28:45] This is kind of a difficult verse to understand, but basically, one way to take this verse is that because, notice, her ways are movable. And what is the purpose of her ways being movable? Her ways are movable in order so that that man involved will not ponder the path of life. In other words, he's not thinking about it. In other words, she's got him so wrapped up that he can't think about eternal things. He can't think about what's good for him. Only thing he's thinking about, what is the this moment. He's not thinking ahead. He's not thinking about where the path he is on, where it leads. He's not thinking about anything like that. His brain is off.
[00:29:31] That's the danger with this.
[00:29:37] And you think about, you know, again, the path of life could refer to the physical life, living long, prosperous.
[00:29:44] That's a definite truth in proverbs.
[00:29:47] But then the path of life, the way of life, as it's also called, jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. It could definitely be in the spiritual realm as well. Eternal life.
[00:30:00] So what does it say on the subject of something that is, is common? If we looked at statistics about pornography? Brother David, do you have statistics off the top of your head? How many people are involved in that? I think you've told me stuff like that before.
[00:30:17] I mean, we're talking like 70, 80% of men who, like, in the past two weeks have looked at pornography. I mean, it's way up there.
[00:30:28] It's way up there.
[00:30:32] This is absolutely a danger to the soul of man.
[00:30:39] It is absolutely a danger to the soul. Whether you're a believer or not, it is a danger.
[00:30:45] Now notice in verse number seven says this. Hear me now, therefore, o ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her and come not nigh the door of her house. Lest thou give. Notice what it says in verse nine. Lest thou give thine honor unto others and thy years unto the cruel.
[00:31:14] Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth and thy labors. Be in the house of a stranger.
[00:31:20] Notice the waste. This is what's being spoken of in nine and ten. The waste. His honor is wasted. His years are wasted. His wealth is wasted. His health is wasted. He says in verse eleven. And thou mourn at the last when thy flesh and thy body are consumed. All this is wasted on temporary pleasure. That's what it is. Temporary pleasure.
[00:31:44] And listen. It says in verse nine. Lest I give thine honor unto others.
[00:31:48] Listen.
[00:31:50] If a man and a woman are engaging in immoral activity outside of marriage, there is no honor in that. And there is no honor in the woman. And there is. That is dishonorable in the man. It is dishonorable. It is giving away your honor. Because, listen. To have self respect means that you preserve yourself morally and in righteousness.
[00:32:22] And see, the problem in our society is everything is let to hang out. There's no honor in letting everything hang out.
[00:32:31] There's no honor in that. But yet that is exactly. People are giving. Young people especially, but not just young. Older people too. Older people, too are giving themselves away.
[00:32:43] Giving themselves away. In this sin.
[00:32:46] There is no honor. It is dishonorable. And let no person think that if they're engaging in that in some way, they still have honor. They don't. It is gone.
[00:32:57] It is gone.
[00:32:59] There's only one thing to do. What is that?
[00:33:02] Repent.
[00:33:03] Confess it to God.
[00:33:06] Get it right.
[00:33:08] That's the only thing to do.
[00:33:13] Notice it says, verse nine. And thy years unto the cruel. Where are those years? What are they? That's time.
[00:33:27] Because here's the picture you have. This man's going after the strange woman and he's walking down a path. But because he's chasing her, her ways are movable. She's here. She's there. The temptations are diverse, right? And always ensnaring him. It's a new thing every time. It's something fresh. All the time. All the time. All the time. And he's walking down this path, but he's walking down it like this. He's not looking where he's going and he looks up and he is way far away. His years have been wasted because all he was looking at is the now his wealth.
[00:34:05] Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth. I have a question. How is being involved in immorality like this? How is it related to money? When you read this, what is related to money?
[00:34:15] I'm going to be discreet here, but sometimes it's not that virtual immoral industry.
[00:34:24] Sometimes it's not the unlawful act of prostitution, but sometimes it's a transactional thing where the strange woman will engage in immorality like that out of an unwritten understanding, a transaction to get support, to get supported by a man. That is wicked, that is wicked, that is ungodly. And again, I'm trying to be very careful what I'm saying here, but that is the same thing. It's a profit motive.
[00:35:09] This is why the wealth. In fact, in all of these passages with the strange woman, the man is warned about the loss of money, which seems kind of odd, obviously in the industry that's one thing, but it exists in every way.
[00:35:26] His life is wasted. And finally, in verse eleven, his health is gone because with this comes all sorts of diseases.
[00:35:37] You know, one time when I was in the Marines, you know, they, the blood bank found a good solid way to get a whole lot of blood at once. And so they would find out when we were going to have drill at the reserve center and the blood, the blood mobile, the blood vessel as they call it, would be there.
[00:35:58] Did they do that in the army? Yes. It's just wrong. It's just wrong. Just milking us dry.
[00:36:06] So they would show up and the co or the, I think the platoons, the company command or whatever, he would come out and he'd be like, we ain't leaving until there's so many pints of blood donated. You know how that goes. Make it look good, you know, make the military look good.
[00:36:23] And so one time I went in there and they said, mister Wood, I'm sorry, but we can't let you donate blood. Call this number and they'll tell you why you remember this?
[00:36:34] And I was like, what?
[00:36:38] So I called them. They said, last time you gave blood, we did a test on it and it showed that you were positive for HIV.
[00:36:51] And then thankfully she followed that up and she said, because if this were true, I'd be dead now.
[00:37:00] But she said, but we did a more thorough test and it came back negative. So you're good, but that's why you couldn't give blood.
[00:37:08] But here's the thing, though, on the subject of verse eleven, your body being consumed.
[00:37:15] I didn't. By the grace of God, I only say this. I didn't have to worry about whether I actually had HIV.
[00:37:26] I didn't have to worry about that. You know, there's a great deal of liberty and freedom and having a conscience, which we're going to talk about this morning. It's just free. It's pure. It's clear.
[00:37:38] You don't have to worry about that. You don't have to worry about skeletons in closets and things coming up and biting you and things like that.
[00:37:47] You don't have to worry about getting these diseases which wreck the body beside all the other vices and destruction from it. So we'll have to press pause there and pick up next week. Let's pray.
