Let’s turn to Proverbs, the seventh chapter. These first early Proverbs, Solomon has been addressing to, “My son”, or, “To my children”. It’s really not necessarily literally his sons, but just to young men. Imparting wisdom that he has gained through the years. So the encouragement.
My son, keep my words, lay up my commandments with thee. And keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them on the table of your heart. Say to wisdom, You are my sister; and call understanding your kinswoman (7:1-4).
So the encouragement of Solomon. To keep the commandments for their life. “Bind them upon thy fingers, write them on the table of your hearts.”
As we have said, the commandments of God are for our good. God does not forbid you from one single thing that is good for you. You remember, the Lord said to Adam, “Of all of the trees in the garden, you may freely eat”. Lots of liberty, one restraint. The restraint was, the tree that would destroy. “Now from all of the trees that are beneficial, healthy, good for you, partake! There’s one tree that destroys, one tree that will bring death, one tree that will perhaps introduce into the body, those bacteria that will ultimately cause the break down of the cell structure, the aging process. The only thing that God forbid was those things that would be harmful, and detrimental.
Now the same is true today. God gives to us a wide, wide path, as far as Christian liberty is concerned. God only forbids those things that are harmful, and destructive to you. The commandments are to life. To follow the commandment is to live. God wants, doesn’t want you doing the things that would destroy you. God does want you to do those things that are good. The same is true for a society, when the laws pertain to the social order. Those things that will develop, and lift a society, God said, “Do these”. Those that destroy a society, God said, “Don’t do these”. With the family, the laws that God has given concerning the family, the things that God said you’re to do, will enhance and build up the family, make for wonderful family relationships. The things that God said, “Don’t do these things”, they’re the things that tear families apart. They’re the things that destroy. All the way along, the law of the Lord is perfect. The law of the Lord is good. For God is interested in your best welfare.
Now there are times when we foolishly think that we are smarter than God. We think that the God, the thing that God has forbidden, is something that is very desirable, and will tend towards a good life on our part. We foolishly think that we can outsmart God, in a way. “I know that God said I shouldn’t, but you know, ours is a special case, and surely God smiles upon us, and this violation of His law”. No. Never. I’ve heard it over, and over, and over again. But I’ve seen the consequences of it, and they’re always sad, they’re always tragic. So write the commandments upon your heart. Just make it a part of your life, to obey, to keep the commandments of God. Say to wisdom, “You’re my sister”, call understanding your kinswoman.
That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger that flatters with her words (7:5).
Throughout the history of man, there have been women who were willing to sell their bodies, knowing the nature of man, the power of the sex drive, the lust that he has, there have been women who have been willing to take advantage of that, and sell their bodies. There are those who just aren’t satisfied within their home. On the prowl. That goes for men and women. So Solomon is going to talk about a case that he saw.
Now, God forbids adultery, God forbids fornication. The bible said that, “God made male and female, and for this cause a man shall leave his mother and father, and cleave to his wife. And they two become one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man put asunder”. God has established marriage as the wholesome, healthy environment in which children can be raised, in which the social order can be maintained. When this breaks down, it breaks down the whole social order! We can see today how the breakdown of the marriage, the home, the family has, and is, bringing chaos. So many single parents, single mothers, who have to go to work. Leaving the latch-key kids. All of the social disorder that is come because we have forsaken the law of the Lord. So, he said…
I was looking out of the window of my house and I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man who was void of understanding. And passing through the street near her corner; [This gal is working a particular corner.] he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman who was dressed like a harlot, and subtil of heart. (Oh she’s loud and she’s stubborn; her feet do not abide in her house: Now she’s without, now in the streets, and she lies in wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and she kissed him, and with an impudent face she said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day I have paid my vows. Therefore I came forth to meet you, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found you (7:6-14).
Flattery. Oh I, you know, “Waiting all my life for you”, you know. “You’re surely the one, I’ve found thee!”
I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until morning: let us solace [Or drown] ourselves with love (7:16-18).
An interesting thing how that we are unable so often, to discern the difference between love and lust. So often the sex act is referred to as, “making love”. It’s not making love at all! There doesn’t have to be any love involved. In fact they have in testing the prostitutes, found that most of them actually hate men. They’ve been abused or whatever, and they have a real hatred for man, and it’s their way of sort of taking advantage of men. Yet they call it love. It’s not love, it’s lust. Yet how often today we hear that term, “love” used of purely lustful acts. Love not involved at all.
A lot of you guys, gals who succumb to the wiles of that man, because he says he loves you so much, and you’re so needing of love, that you submit. Find out how much love there is, when you discover that you’re pregnant. Suddenly he wants nothing to do with you. He’s gone! Wasn’t love. If it’s true love they’ll wait, for love is patient. They won’t press. That fellow who is constantly pushing for sex is not thinking about you, he’s thinking about himself. His love is not for you, it’s for himself. You’re foolish to give in. She said…
For the goodman is not at home, he’s gone on a long journey. He’s taken a bag of money with him, he will be home on an appointed day (7:19).
“He’s not gonna be home for a month.” So he’s been enticed, seduced.
He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird that hastes to the snare, he knows not that it is for his life. [The disobedience to the command of God, costs you, costs you dearly.] Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, attend to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she has cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death (7:22-27).
Again, the tragedy that has been brought to so many lives, so many homes, so many ministries. We, within the church, we, as Christians are not immune to these things. We’re still living in these bodies. We still have our own physical drives and temptations. Many, a many, a pastor has fallen as the result of sexual problems, with their secretaries, or with a consort. Many ministers have been destroyed, their ministries wiped out, and, and it’s no secret. It’s, it’s in the papers all the time. You see, the thing about Christianity is that it is based upon love. God’s love. Our loving God, and our loving each other.
Our emotions are peculiar things, because many times when we begin to show Christian love to another person, they misinterpret. The practice of pastor’s counseling I think has increased the problem. It is a well known fact that so many times women fall in love with their counselors, and that’s understandable. Their husbands aren’t paying attention to them, they feel neglected, their husband won’t talk to them, they’re at home, they have the kids. When the husband gets home, he just plops down in front of the TV. He won’t really converse, just answers questions with a, “yes”, or “no”, short replies.
She gets to the place where she’s frustrated, she’s not happy, she’s not receiving the satisfaction from adult relationship with her husband. She goes to a counselor, and she pours out her problems, and he takes time to talk with her. He’s understanding, he prays with her, and she thinks, “Oh my this is so wonderful! I wish my husband would pray with me! I wish my husband would talk to me! I wish my husband understood me!” Pretty soon she thinks, “I’m not in love with my husband, I’m, this is the man I’m really in love with! He takes time for me, he talks with me, he’s so understanding, and he prays with me!”, and the chemistry gets started. How many have fallen! How many have fallen!
“She’s cast down many woman, many a man, strong men have been slain by her.” Paul, writing to Timothy said, “Flee youthful lusts”. I think probably the best example we have is Joseph. Far from home in Egypt, sold by his brothers, betrayed and sold as a slave, working there in Potophar’s house. Potophar was one of those work-aholics, always away. His wife lonely. There’s this handsome young Hebrew boy working in the house. She seeks to seduce him. Joseph steadfastly refused her seductious ways.
Finally one day, all the servants are out, Joseph is there by himself, and again she comes along and says, “Go to bed with me!”, and he says, “Oh no!”. She grabbed him and he struggled until he was free, left his, she had hold of his coat, wouldn’t let go, he just slipped out of it, and ran! I think sometimes that’s, that’s the best thing you can do, run! Paul said to Timothy, “Flee youthful lusts”. So the warning in Proverbs. This is not the last, but I think it’s the next to the last of the warnings that Solomon gives concerning elicit kind of sexual relationships.

Chapter 8
Now as we get into chapter eight, he begins to speak about wisdom. He personifies wisdom, so that as he talks about wisdom, we actually see a personification of Jesus Christ. “For in Christ”, the bible says, “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” So when you talk about wisdom, you’re talking about the Lord. “In Him are hid the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Does not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? She stands in the top of high places, by the way of the places of paths. And she cries at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in of the doors. Unto you, O man, I call; and my voice is to the sons of men. [So wisdom calls to us along the paths, at the gates.] O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips (8:1-7).
So wisdom is crying to be heard. “Listen to me!” I am always amazed at what foolish things smart men can do. Because they don’t have wisdom. I’m amazed what intelligent, smart people do! Several years ago, when Calvary Chapel was quite young, I was invited to a meeting of a group of doctors, lawyers, professors, who represented really the intelligencia of Orange County. These people got together once a week, just to, well they called themselves, “searchers”. Just to talk, just to intellectually try to challenge each other in a quest for truth, or understanding, or whatever, I don’t know.
So one of the group had accepted the Lord at our church, and invited me to come and speak. So when I arrived, they were seeking to impress each other with their intelligence, and finally one fellow sitting in a lotus position on the floor said, “Might as well tell you that we’re searchers, and we’ve been searching through all the religions. I’m a Buddhist priest, and we’ve studied Buddhism. We’ve all taken LSD, and, and we’re searchers for truth. Here they were, doctors, lawyers, college professors, all of them having taken LSD. I thought, “My oh my! Smart people do dumb things!”, and I’m amazed at what foolish things smart people do! It’s because they don’t have wisdom. Wisdom calls! Understand wisdom! You can be smart, and be a fool! “My mouth shall speak truth.”
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. And they are all plain to him that understands, and right to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not silver; knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. [Wisdom is the most important thing you can get, better than riches.] I wisdom [Now you see wisdom, because, “I wisdom”, becomes personified here.] dwell with prudence, and I find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate (8:8-13).
So, the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Some of the evils that wisdom hates are listed. “Pride, arrogancy, the evil way, the froward mouth, I hate.” “If you say you have fellowship with God, and you walk in darkness, you lie, and do not the truth.” The fear of the Lord, that’s the beginning of wisdom. But the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. You cannot fear the Lord and embrace evil, embrace evil things.
Counsel is mine, [Wisdom says.] sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. And my fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. [The value of wisdom, oh that we would have wisdom!] I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures (8:14-21).
Now it’s really, it is referring more directly to Jesus.
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there was no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hiss was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set the compass on the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, when the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him (8:22-30).
Wisdom is speaking, its existence from the beginning. Last Thursday night as Dr. Wilder Smith was sharing with us, the missing ingredient of the formula for the evolutionist is that intelligence that is found in the cell. That code, that decrees intelligence, or shows intelligence. I was fascinated by his lecture in that the evolutionist says that, “Given enough time, as matter interacts with matter, it can produce anything. Just given time”. I wonder how long we’d have to wait for a building like this to just come together, just given time. How is it that we don’t find buildings like this out in the middle of deserts? Out in uninhabited places? Why is it that you, surely a building like this is much more simple than, than, than a human body, or than a jack rabbit, or a frog!
The thing that is so marvelous about the life forms, is the genetic code that is printed in every cell. That genetic code that has all of the information for the reproducing of the original product. I look at the human body, and as David said, “We are fearfully, and wonderfully made”. You think of the genetic code that’s in a single cell of the human body. It is so complex that if you wrote out the information, just wrote it out, the information in a single cell, you could fill one thousand volumes of six hundred pages.
Because the information that is there in that cell, has every aspect of the human body coded in. How to create it, how to develop it. The development of the muscles, the development of the skeleton, the muscles, those that are attached to the skeleton, those that are not attached to the skeleton. So, the voluntary, involuntary muscles. The digestive system, the blood stream, the nervous system. All of this information there in the code of the cell. How to form little platelets when the body is cut, so that they will fill, rush into that cut area and will stop the flow of blood. Start building up until they form a dam and stop the flow of blood. Then even how to go ahead and repair the damaged tissue! What a machine!
What if you had a car like that? You get in an accident, “Oh don’t worry, in a couple weeks the thing will straighten itself out!”. The dents will all be pushed out, you know, and they’ll fill in themselves, and the car will be like new in just a couple weeks. Just nurse it along for a couple weeks, maybe you can put it in the garage, give it a little rest, in a couple weeks, it’d be fine. You blow a rod, don’t worry! The thing will take care of itself, and you know just give it a little time, and it’ll put itself together again.
That’s what the human body does! All of those factors for the repairing of itself, the replacing of the tissues. All of that information, how to do it, is coded in that one little cell! The code can be read, deciphered!
Thought it was interesting how that our government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to define, trying to find out if there is intelligent life somewhere else in the universe. So we have these antennas set up. One in Hawaii over on Mauna Loa. This antenna is designed to listen to the radio emissions out of space, cosmic kind of signals that are coming from space. What they are looking for is non-random radio emissions that can be deciphered, and thus understood. If they find that, that is proof that there is intelligence, and intelligent beings out there in space somewhere. Non-random radio emissions that can be decoded into a message.
That’s exactly what you have in the human cell, in those DNA molecules. The non-random codes that are there, that can be decoded into a message, that would fill a thousand volumes of six hundred pages. But the denial of the intelligence!
Now here, wisdom is saying, “Look I was there in the beginning”. That’s, that’s the key to the whole thing! Is the knowledge, the intelligence, the knowledge that is in that cell! You can’t have the development of the cell without the code being there! The code can’t be created by accident! You have a, it’s, it’s like going to a, a print shop, and setting a ten tons of TNT in the typesetting room, and just blow those things apart, and hope that as they come together randomly, you can just print them into the Encyclopedia Britannica. It doesn’t happen! That’s not the way the Encyclopedia Britannica was put together. Some parts of it I think.
But intelligence, wisdom. “I was there”, wisdom said. The, the wisdom that is there in the, that’s, that’s there in every living cell. It’s, it’s manifested, and so wisdom speaks about being there. In the beginning, when He prepared the heavens, when He established the clouds, He strengthened the foundations, wisdom was there, and, and this code into the cell which is so marvelous.
Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they who keep my ways. [Wisdom is speaking to you, listen to wisdom.] Hear instruction and be wise, refuse it not. Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whosoever finds me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. For he that sinneth against me wrongs his own soul: and all they that hate me love death (8:32-36).
Again, personifying it, making it Christ that surely speaks to us, the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Finding Christ, you find life. You obtain favour of the Father. Sin against Christ, you’re only wronging your own soul. And, if you hate Him, you love death.

Chapter 9
Continuing in the phrase of wisdom..
Wisdom has builded her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars: She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine; she has also furnished her table. She has sent forth her maidens: she cries upon the highest places of the city, Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she says to him, Come, and eat of my bread, drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding (9:1-6).
Wisdom is there, it’s prepared for those that would seek it. The invitation is, is there for you to come, to learn. Now we get into proverbs, and this is a book of Proverbs, but as I said, not every verse is a proverb. Here is a proverb…
He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: [If you reprove or rebuke a man who is a scorner, all they’re gonna do is turn on you, and you just get to yourself shame.] he that rebukes a wicked man gets himself a blot (9:7).
That is, a black eye! So the encouragement, or the instruction is…
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: but rebuke a wise man, and he will love you (9:8).
If you get a hold of a fellow who is a scorner, a fool, tell him, “Hey man that’s wrong”, he’s just gonna turn on you, he’s gonna hate you. If you have a wise man, and you say, “You know, that isn’t the way that should be done, you should do it this way”, a wise man will say, “Oh! Thank you! Appreciate that!”. So be careful who you rebuke.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning (9:9).
These are proverbs. We are getting several little proverbs in a row here. This is why it’s called the book of Proverbs. These are the things that Solomon said that brought him fame as authoring over three thousand proverbs. Then he declares…
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (9:10):
You want to be wise? Learn to reverence God. Have that holy fear of God. That kind of a fear that is not a craven kind of a fear, where you’re over in the corner just shaking, and saying, “Oh I’m afraid God’s gonna come”. But it’s that respect, that reverence, that awe of God, as you realize the greatness of God, the wisdom and the power of God. You look at the universe, and you’re made aware of how powerful God is. It’s just that, “Ah the Lord is so great!”, that kind of fear.
the knowledge of the holy is understanding. [Knowing God.] For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life increased. If you are wise, you will be wise for yourself: but if you scorn, you alone shall bear it (9:10-12).
Now, Solomon alone had these experiences of course, with women, he knew them I guess pretty well, having seven hundred wives, and three hundred concubines. I guess you get to know a little bit about women. He had quite a bit to say, and he’s gonna say more before we get through with the Proverbs. Some interesting things about women, that he probably garnered out of his own experiences.
But a foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. [Didn’t have much respect.] For she sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, To call passengers who go right on their ways (9:13-15):
So there she is. She’s loud, she’s brash, as men pass by, she’s calling to them.
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wants understanding, she says to him, [“Hey!”] Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knows not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell (9:16-18).
Solomon’s instructions. A lot of wisdom there. God help us to be wise.
Father we thank You for Your word, the instruction, and Lord help us that we might apply our hearts to understanding, and to wisdom. Help us Lord, to hate evil, and every evil work. Help us Lord to have that fear, that reverence for thee. May we walk Lord as the wise, keeping and obeying Your commands, that we might live the good life, the blessed life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
May the Lord be with you, and may you have a great week. May you feel the anointing of God’s Spirit upon your life, and have that sense of God’s presence as you go. That the Lord might deal with your heart, the issues of your life. That He might guide you in His path, the path of the just, the path of the righteous, the path of wisdom. May God grant to you wisdom and understanding in His ways, that you might walk with Him. In Jesus’ name.

Edited & Highlighted from “The Word For Today” Transcription, Pastor Chuck Smith, Tape #7220
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