²¹With her many persuasions she entices him; with her flattering lips she seduces him. ²²Suddenly he follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, ²³until an arrow pierces through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, so he does not know that it will cost him his life.

Our extended passage today presents a detailed look at the progression of falling into foolishness. Keep in mind the more significant topic of wisdom versus foolishness as we read through the story of a young man’s plunge before the sexual wiles of an adulteress. In typical Hebrew literary style, the consequences of falling into foolishness are presented as terminal and permanent, emphasizing the terrible results of making wrong choices. Even in the “smaller” areas of foolishness, recovery can take a lifetime. For example, a person who reveals secrets may find it difficult to shake the reputation of not being trustworthy. Some people may never forgive him or trust him again with confidential matters. So also, in the illustration before us, someone who falls to adultery will experience disastrous consequences, far more than what he would have expected. We have noted before the saying, “Sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you ever want to pay.”

So, how important it is that we listen to the voice of wisdom rather than the voice of foolishness; our choice determines the kind of person we become:

Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge? (Prov. 1:20–22)

Yet we do not learn these truths in a vacuum; there is the active, competing voice of temptation to foolishness. We have seen the metaphor of sexual enticement slowly develop, beginning in chapter 1, where the adulteress is first introduced. Then we return to this picture in chapters 5­­ and 6, and now in chapter 7, fleshing out the steps to the downfall of a young man about to throw away his life for a moment’s pleasure.

Lest we write this off simply as a young man “sowing his wild oats,” we read the summary conclusion of the matter, that it will cost him his life—if not death from the hands of a jealous husband, then the loss of abundant life which God has designed us to live in fellowship with Him. The illustration of the metaphor is serious business! But so is any decision to take a foolish course of action.

So the father’s wisdom to his son in our passage tells the story of a young, naïve man, presumably someone coming of age, possibly just entering puberty. Since sexual sensations are new to him, he is naïve and unlearned in how to respond. He needs to learn wisdom at the moment of first temptation.

Everything in the story suggests he is flirting with temptation by putting himself in the wrong place at the wrong time (twilight, evening, midnight, darkness). He doesn’t realize that the enticing agent, the adulteress, spins her web like a spider as she lurks in the dark, waiting to pounce on her prey. While dressing alluringly like a prostitute, she barely veils herself with a spiritual veneer referring to her peace offerings. Her temptation strikes to the heart of the young man’s urges with promises of fulfilling love and physical enjoyment, touching on deep longings in every man’s heart. God is not a cosmic killjoy, however, for He placed those inner desires in us. But pursuing satisfaction outside of God’s design is foolish. The young man in our story chooses to listen to the wrong voice and buys into the thought that no one will find out. So there is now nothing to hold him back, and he falls.

All temptation is like that, whether giving in to a burst of anger, taking revenge, or answering a fool by becoming a fool. The rest of the book of Proverbs (chapters 10 to 30) enumerates the temptations to foolishness that will fill our lives. We must learn to plan for how we can avoid those temptations. For the young man in the illustration, that would mean remembering his parents teaching about wise choices, avoiding the places and times where temptation will be actively lurking. Jesus similarly taught:

“If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Matt. 5:29–30)

We must do everything we can to guard against foolish decisions, for once the web is spun and we are caught, it will be virtually impossible to break free. Better to avoid it from the beginning. The place to begin is before the temptation presents itself and to keep as far away from it as possible. That is wisdom!

Lord, I want to learn wisdom and become wise like You, for You are perfect in all Your ways. Now to You, “the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.” (Rom. 16:26–27)