Proverbs 30.20
“This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I have done no wrong.”
Proverbs 5.22-23
“The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.”
Listening to the voice of truth, turning away from the deceptive seduction of sin, and learning to live in alignment with God’s standards is the result of the process of disciplined training, which is the Hebrew word musar that we have seen throughout Proverbs.
Proverbs 30 warns us about the “adulteress,” that is, the attractive lies of a fallen world. Proverbs 5 warns us that if we reject the process of musar, we will get seduced by the adulteress and become ensnared in the cords of “iniquity.” The point is that in order to avoid the seductions of the world, we need discernment and discipline.
The foolish person is attracted to seductive lies, embraces the “forbidden woman,” and then gets caught in the snare of his own repeated default behavior. He is like an animal caught in a trap and is “held fast in the cords of his sin.”
It is a sobering truth: “He dies for lack of discipline (musar).” Without disciplined training, people do not have the strength or skill to resist the temptations of “the seductress,” and they are vulnerable to her strategies. If they are ensnared in her seductions long enough, at some point the result will be deadly.
The message is clear: Don’t be foolish. Don’t be led astray by the lust and lies of the forbidden woman, no matter what form she takes. Be very careful; it will be a form that you will find attractive.
The disciplined training described in scripture is not something that we can do in our own strength. It must be done by faith, directed by scripture, and empowered by God’s Spirit.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6.10-12)
