“To deliver you from the strange woman, from the adulteress who flatters with her words…” (Proverbs 2:16-22, NASB)

Here’s how I would summarize today’s reading: Be on guard against the evils of immorality. It says,

“To deliver you from the strange woman, from the adulteress who flatters with her words; that leaves the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God; for her house sinks down to death, and her tracks lead to the dead; none who go to her return again, nor do they reach the paths of life. So you will walk in the way of good men, and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted from it.”

In this chapter, Solomon exhorts us to receive God’s wisdom and value it as treasure in our hearts. Of the many benefits of embracing such wisdom, he shares that it will guard us against violent and evil men and immoral and promiscuous women. Today’s passage deals with the latter benefit.

The words “strange woman” and “adulteress” can be interpreted both literally and symbolically, as there are examples of them in the other parts of the Proverbs. If we are to interpret it literally, then Solomon was exhorting men of his day to be on guard against the temptations of a promiscuous woman, so as to be delivered from the consequences of immorality. Solomon had firsthand knowledge of such consequences and understood the heartache of being tied down to such women. Although he was given much wisdom, he fell away from God because of his love for women. 1 Kings 11:1-4 says, “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women… And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.” It’s a legitimate warning for Christian men today. Hebrews 13:4 says, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” On the other hand, if we are to interpret it symbolically, then Solomon is exhorting us to be on guard against sinning against God as temptation comes to each of us like a seductive mistress, who flatters us with smooth words.

Whichever way you would interpret it, the end result is the same: the seductive nature of sin will lead us down the devious hole where it will be hard to come out of. Verse 18-19 say, “For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks lead to the dead; none who go to her return again, nor do they reach the paths of life.” What imagery! It paints a picture of a dark, deep hole that keeps going down to the grave, where no one can return from! He exhorts us to guard against it by showing us how to spot the tempter. It will “flatter with her words,” and “forgets the covenant of her God.” The former describes the tempter’s temptation technique, and the latter its nature and value. Temptation makes sin look good, and it will blur the line between what is right and wrong.

The tempter even tried to seduce the Son of God in the desert with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. In response, Jesus guarded himself by submitting to God’s words. In each of his temptations, he responded with the words, “It is written” (Mt.4:10). Likewise, Solomon urges us to receive God’s wisdom and treasure it in our hearts, as it will help us overcome the temptress’s seductions. We should make the psalmist’s commitment our own as he says, “Thy word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against Thee” (Ps.119:11).

• What do you think? Is the immoral “woman” in this passage talking about literal women or a symbol of temptation to sin?
• What does it mean to you to “treasure” God’s words in your heart?