The Crafty Harlot — Chuck Smith

Welcome to the Word for Today, featuring the Bible teaching of the late Pastor Chuck Smith, founder of the Calvary Chapel Movement. This radio program is a verse-by-verse study through the entire Bible.

And on today's edition of the Word for Today, Pastor Chuck continues with a crafty harmony. We pick up in Proverbs chapter 7, verse 1. And now with today's message, here's Pastor Chuck.

Solomon's Instruction to Young Men

These first early Proverbs Solomon has been addressing to my son, or to my children, and it's really not necessarily literally his sons, but just to young men, imparting wisdom that he has gained through the years.

And 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. And 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.

God's Commands Protect Human Life and Society

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. And 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 breakdown 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 once 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 the 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. And we think that the thing that God has forbidden is something that is very desirable and will tend towards a good life on our part.

And 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.

And I've heard it over and over and over and over again. But I've seen the consequences of it. And they're always sad. They're always tragic. And so write the commandments on 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 kin's woman, that they may keep thee from the strange woman and from the stranger that flatters with her words. 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. And there are those who just aren't satisfied within their home on the prowl. And that goes for men and women.

Marriage as God's Design for Family and Social Order

And 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 too 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.

And when this breaks down, it breaks down the whole social order. And 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 latchkey kids, and all of the social disorder that has come because we have forsaken the law of the Lord.

So he said, I was looking out of 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 subtle 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 impotent face, she said to 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. Flattery, oh, you know, waiting all my life for you, you know. You're surely the one I've found. And I've 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 soulless or drown ourselves with love. An interesting thing, how that we are unable so often to discern the difference between love and lust.

And 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 men. And it's their way of sort of taking advantage of men. And yet they call it love. It's not love. It's lust. And yet, and a lot of you 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.

You find out how much love there is when you discover that you're pregnant. And 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. And you're foolish to give in. She said, for the good man of the house is not at home.

He's gone on a long journey. He's taken bag of money with him. He will be home on an appointed day. He's not going to be home for a month. And so, he's been enticed. He's been 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 haste to the snare, he knows not that it is for his life. The disobedience to the command of God cost you, cost you dearly. Hearken unto me now, therefore, 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.

Sexual Temptation and the Need for Pastoral Boundaries

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 from these things. We're still living in these bodies.

We still have our own physical drives and temptations. And many, many a pastor has fallen as the result of sexual problems with their secretaries or with a counselee. The thing about Christianity is that it is based upon love, God's love, our loving God and our loving each other.

And 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. They're at home. They have the kids.

And 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. And 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. And pretty soon she thinks, I'm not in love with my husband.

This is the man I really am 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. And how many have fallen? How many have fallen?

She's cast down many a man. Strong men have been slain by her. Paul, writing to Timothy, said, flee, youthful lust. 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.

Joseph's Flight from Sexual Immorality

Working there in Potiphar's house. Potiphar was one of those workaholics, always away. His wife, lonely. There's this handsome young Hebrew boy working in the house. She seeks to seduce him. But Joseph steadfastly refused her seductious ways.

Finally, one day, all of the servants are out. Joseph is there by himself. And again, she comes along and says, go to bed with me. And he said, oh, no. She had hold of his coat, wouldn't let go. He just slipped out of it and ran.

And I think sometimes that's the best thing you can do. Run. Paul said to Timothy, flee, youthful lust. And so the warning in Proverbs. And this is not the last, but I think it's the last of the warnings that Solomon gives concerning illicit kind of sexual relationships.

Wisdom as a Personification of Christ

Now, as we get into chapter eight, he begins to speak about wisdom and 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. So 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 at the doors. Unto you, O men, 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.

Here, 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. 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 intelligentsia of Orange County.

These people got together once a week just to talk, just to intellectually try to challenge each other and in a quest for truth or understanding or whatever, I don't know. And 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, I might as well tell you that we're searchers and we've been searching through all of the religions.

I'm a Buddhist priest and we've studied Buddhism. We've all taken LSD and we're searchers for truth. And here they were, doctors, lawyers, college professors, all of them having taken LSD. And 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 of the words of my mouth are in righteousness.

There's nothing forward or perverse in them. And they are all plain to him that understands and write 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.

As Pastor Chuck continues his study through the book of Proverbs, and we do hope you'll make plans to join us. Now, for those of you that would like to secure a copy of today's message, simply order Proverbs chapter seven, verse one, when visiting the wordfortoday .org.

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That's right here on the next edition of The Word for Today. Now, once again, here's Pastor Chuck with today's closing comments.

Committing Our Ways to the Lord

God bless you. And may the Lord guide you in His plan for your life. And may you learn as David to just commit your ways unto the Lord, knowing that the Lord will take care of things as you just submit your life, its facets unto Him.

And may God just continue to use you as His instrument in bringing His love to a needy world.

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