THE AUDITORIUM SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS
JANUARY 21ST, 2007
THE STRANGE WOMAN
Introduction: Today, Solomon gives a real life example of a dangerous, worldly lure that his son is to avoid.
I. Wisdom and discretion will “deliver thee from the strange woman.....” (16)
A. A young man must be prepared for “the strange woman” who will cross his path.
B. The “strange woman” is a term referring to a morally loose woman, or a woman involved in prostitution or whoredom.
1. Solomon will refer to strange women other times in Proverbs as well.
- Proverbs 5: 3 and 20, and 23:27
2. Solomon also uses other terms to describe the loose woman.
- Proverbs 6:24 and 9:13
C. God’s original plan was for a man and woman to be devoted to each other in marriage.
1. Satan always provides alternatives to God’s design.
2. Solomon’s son is to be guided by wisdom and discretion when faced with Satan’s alternatives.
II. Notice the characteristics of the strange woman: (16-19)
A. She is a stranger to the young man. (16)
B. She “flattereth with her words.” (16)
1. To flatter means to verbally inflate the ego of another
2. She uses flattery to seduce the young man by creating a sense of false admiration.
C. She has forsaken the “guide of her youth.” (17)
- Any teaching on the good conduct of a woman has been rejected by her.
D. She “forgetteth the covenant of her God.” (17)
1. Somewhere in her past, this “strange woman” had God in her life.
2. Not all loose women are found in the world, but may come from religious backgrounds.
E. “Her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.” (18)
- There are many ways to die: physically, spiritually, emotionally, relationships, reputation
F. “None that go unto her return again.” (19)
- Her path is a one-way street.
G. “Neither take they hold of the paths of life.” (19)
- Whatever dies there will not see life again.
III. What are the benefits of following God’s original plan for marriage and relationships? (20)
A. “That thou mayest walk in the paths of good men.” (20)
B. “and keep the paths of the righteous.” (20)
C. The “upright” and “perfect” young man will live a stable and secure life in the world. (21)
D. The wicked son, by comparison, will “be cut off from the earth.” (22)
E. “Trangressors shall be rooted out of it.” (22)
Conclusion: Solomon’s advice to his son should be written in pocket size manuals, and handed out to all of our young men.