A Virtuous Woman- The Strange Woman Part 3

For the lips of a strange woman drop as

an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother

than oil:

But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp

as a twoedged sword.

Her feet go down to death; her steps take

hold on hell.

Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of

life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst

not know them.

Hear me now therefore, O ye children,

and depart not from the words of my

mouth.

Remove thy way far from her, and come

not nigh the door of her house:

Lest thou give thine honour unto others,

and thy years unto the cruel:

Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth;

and thy labours be in the house of a 

stranger;

And thou mourn at the last, when thy

flesh and thy body are consumed,

And say, How have I hated instruction,

and my heart despised reproof;

And have not obeyed the voice of my

teachers, nor inclined mine ear o them

that instructed me!
Proverbs 5:3-13

Someone once asked me what the point of the book of Revelation is. Why tell us the ending?

It's so we know who wins. God is very open with us. He gives us more than enough information to help us make informed decisions.

He does the same thing here with the strange woman. He tells us her end:

Her end is bitter as wormwood

Word study: Bitter

Mentioned 38 times in 36 verses

First mention: Genesis 37:34-

And when Esau heard the words of his

father, he cried with a great and exceeding

bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless

me, even me also, O my father.

Bitter here has to do with deep unhappiness and torment (see Exodus 1:14 for second witness)

Word study: Wormwood

Mentioned 9 times in 8 verses

First mentioned: Deuteronomy 29:18-

Lest there should be among you man, or

woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart

turneth away this day from the LORD our

God, to go and serve the gods of these

nations; lest there should be among you a

root that beareth gall and wormwood;

Clearly, whatever wormwood is, it is not good.

Last mention: Revelation 8:11-

And the name of the star is called

Wormwood: and the third part of the

waters became wormwood; and many men

died of the waters, because they were

made bitter.

These waters become poisonous because of wormwood.

Since wormwood makes water bitter I looked into bitter water in the scripture.

The law of jealousies in Numbers 5 came up. If a woman is suspected of adultery, her husband must bring her to the priest who will make her drink bitter water. If she is guilty her belly will swell and her thigh will rot. If she is innocent then she is free and can bear children.

I think it's interesting that bitter water is connected to adultery.

Sharp as a twoedged sword:
Phrase study: Twoedged sword
Mentioned: 4 times in 4 verses
First mentioned: Psalm 149:6-

Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them

sing aloud upon their beds.

Let the high praises of God be in their

mouth, and a twoedged sword in their

hand;

To execute vengeance upon the heathen,

and punishments upon the people;

To bind their kings with chains, and their

nobles with fetters of iron;

To execute upon them the judgment

written: this honour have all his saints.

Praise ye the LORD.

Psalm 149:5-9

God likes twoedged swords- they are his weapon of choice and connected to judgement. There is nothing sharper than a twoedged sword except God's Word:

For the word of God is quick, and

powerful, and sharper than any twoedged

sword, piercing even to the dividing

asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints

and marrow, and is a discerner of the

thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

Lastly, Jesus' tongue is described as a twoedged sword:

And he had in his right hand seven

stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp

twoedged sword: and his countenance was

as the sun shineth in his strength.

The end of this woman is bitter and sharp- like Jezebel. Read 2 Kings 9 for that story.
God's judgement on her was to be eaten by dogs- who return to their vomit (Proverbs 26:11)- and her remains were as dung upon the earth (2 Kings 9:37). Not only that- her name went from meaning 'purity' to meaning 'whore'. The name has such terrible associations, no one gives it to their daughters.
A bitter ending for a woman judged by the Lord.

Her feet go down to death; her steps take

hold on hell.

This passage is the second passage in Proverbs that mentions the strange woman. It is also the second time God points out this woman's connection with death.

First mention: Proverbs 2:18

For her house inclineth unto death, and

her paths unto the dead.

This woman makes her life in death.

What does that mean?

Word study: Death (in the book of Proverbs)

Mentioned: 18 times in 18 verses (6 times 3)

First mentioned: the verse above

I will not go into every mention of this word but I will hit the ones most relevant to our study:

Treasures of wickedness profit nothing:

but righteousness delivereth from death.

Proverbs 10:2

Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but

righteousness delivereth from death.

Proverbs 11:4

There is NO righteousness in this woman's life.  Think there may be an itty bitty bit of righteousness in her life?

In the way of righteousness is life; and

in the pathway thereof there is no death.

Proverbs 12:28

Those two paths: righteousness and evil do not mingle. They go opposite directions: one to life, the other to death.

The strange woman's path is very plain.

As righteousness tendeth to life: so he

that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own

death.

Proverbs 11:19

Do you realize that things we do are either evil or righteous?

For example: I love shopping

I will shop for anything

I am always in the mood to shop

I will spend all the money I have on things, clothes, yarn, books, toys, gifts, you name it

For me to pursue shopping is me pursuing death. I would be giving myself over to my flesh and spending my husband's hard earned money on fripperies.

That's right. Fripperies.

Of course, I'm a housekeeper and a caretaker: I need to shop. There is a very fine line, however, that I need to watch so that I do not fall into sin.

The end of me pursing shopping would be bitter unhappiness for my family.

What about you?

Maybe it's food- like chocolate.

Maybe it's gossipy magazines.

Maybe it's television.

Maybe it's social media.

Maybe it's a person who is a bad influence.

No matter how innocent something may be, pursuing anything to much will lead into apostasy and death. Be careful how much time and effort you put into your hobbies. Not only that, what thoughts do they produce? Are they edifying?

There is a way which seemeth right unto

a man, but the end thereof are the ways of

death.

Proverbs 14:12

Her steps take hold on hell.
Proverbs 5:5b

This reminds me of skis. You put the boots on then step into the boot binding and click them into place.

The boot binding takes hold of your ski boot- where the ski goes, your boot goes, you go. The strange woman clicked her ski boots onto hell bound skis.

Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of

life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst

not know them.

Proverbs 5:6

This is the only time the word 'moveable' is mentioned in scriptures.

This verse is incredibly straight forward- she is inconsistent. There is no rhyme or reason to her ways- habits, decisions, thought process- she has no foundation to guide her.

Which forsaketh the guide of her youth,

and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

Proverbs 2:17

I was reading Proverbs on the 24th and came across the following passage:

Fret not thyself because of evil men,

neither be thou envious at the wicked;

For there shall be no reward to the evil

man; the candle of the wicked shall be put

out.

My son, fear thou the LORD and the king:

and meddle not with them that are given

to change:
For their calamity shall rise suddenly;
and who knoweth the ruin of them both?

Proverbs 24:19-22

As I read this I was immediately reminded of this study.

God tells us not to fret because of evil men but to fear the Lord and the King. He then, in the same vein, tells us not to meddle with them that are given to change.

Word study: Meddle

Mentioned: six times in six verses

First mentioned Deuteronomy 2:5

And command thou the people, saying,

Ye are to pass through the coast of your

brethren the children of Esau, which dwell

in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take

ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:

Meddle not with them; for I will not gie

you of their land, no, not so much as a foot

breadth; because I have given mount Seir

unto Esau for a possession.

And when thou comest nigh over

against the children of Ammon, distress

them not, nor meddle with them: for I will

not give thee of the land of the children of

Ammon any possession; because I have

given it unto the children of Lot for a

possession.
Deuteronomy 2:19

Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and

thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of

this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest

thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou 

shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee?
2 Kings 14:10

You can find the rest of this story here and in 2 Chronicles 25. What winds up happening is the king who was given the above warning, Amaziah, does not listen. All the gold, silver and vessels found in the house of the Lord and the treasures of the King were taken to Samaria because of Amaziah's meddling.

He that goeth about as a talebearer

revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not

with him that flattereth with his lips.

Proverbs 20:19

Proverbs tells us to not meddle with two kinds of people: talebearers (who are also flatterers), and those that are given to change. The bible never uses 'meddle' positively.

Do not place yourself in other people's issues. Unless it directly affects you and your family, it is none of your business.

Pray for them and shut up.

We know the strange woman is a flatterer and her ways are moveable. Moveable as in never the same as in ever changing.

Here is God's relationship with change:

For I am the LORD, I change not;

Malachi 3:6a

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to

day, forever.

Hebrews 13:8

Did you know we can rely on God to be the exact way He describes himself in His Word?

It does not matter that it's 2015 and the world is changing.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAME.

What He wrote before, he means now. His Word is complete, He is complete, and He is holy. That means perfectly whole.

God is not one way today and a different way tomorrow. He is always the same.
Despite 6000 years of sin, tragedy, and death, He is still merciful, forgiving, and loving.
That is a huge blessing.

Back to Proverbs 5-

The Lord warns us:

Hear me now therefore, O ye children,

and depart not from the words of my

mouth.

Remove thy way far from her, and come

not nigh the door of her house:

Proverbs 5:7&8

God tells us to stay far from her, don't even come close, don't do business with her, don't stop by for a chat, don't hang out with people who hang out with her, just stay far far away. Clearly this woman is powerfully attractive. It is not physical attraction, it is her lips, mouth and words.

To deliver thee from the strange woman,

even from the stranger which flattereth

with her words.

Proverbs 2:16

For the lips of a strange woman drop as

an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother

than oil:

Proverbs 5:3

With her much fair speech she caused

him to yield, with the flattering of her lips

she forced him.

Proverbs 7:21

The mouth of strange women is a deep

pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall

fall therein.

Proverbs 22: 14

Men seem to be most susceptible to this woman but in Proverbs 5 God addresses the warning to 'ye children'. That means women and children can be taken in by her too. I do not mean in a perverted sexual way, but in friendships and influences.
Hollywood is full of beautiful strange women who can influence you without saying a word to you.

Notice what happens when you ignore and depart from God's words:

Lest thou give thine honour unto others,

and thy years unto the cruel:

Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth;

and thy labours be in the house of a 

stranger;
Proverbs 5:9&10

It occurs to me that this could be you if your wife or husband leaves you because of foolish meddling with a strange woman. You could lose your children, money, home, and all you hold dear. Your children could grow up in the house of a stranger. Your 'wealth' doesn't have to be money or precious items. It can be the life God blessed you with before you became entangled with the world.

My husband and I are not wealthy people but I consider myself richly blessed.

I have a home, a husband, a son. That is my wealth. I would hate to lose it because of foolishness.

And thou mourn at the last, when thy

flesh and thy body are consumed,

And say, How have I hated instruction,

and my heart despised reproof;

And have not obeyed the voice of my

teachers, nor inclined mine ear o them

that instructed me!

Proverbs 5:11-13

That is a sharp end, bitter as wormwood.

To be in torment as you die wishing you had done everything differently.

That is a terrible thing.

Word study: Instruction:
Mentioned: Thirty-three times in thirty-three verses
First mentioned: Job 33:16
Here are some verses more relevant to our study:

The proverbs of Solomon the son of

David, king of Israel;

To know wisdom and instruction; to

perceive the words of understanding;

To receive the instruction of wisdom,

justice, and judgement, and equity;

Proverbs 1:1-3

The proverbs were written to give instruction- it's obviously important.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of

knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and

instruction.

Proverbs 1:7

Take fast hold of instruction; let her not

go: keep her; for she is thy life.
Proverbs 4:13

versus

Her feet go down to death; her steps take

hold on hell.

Proverbs 5:5

Receive my instruction, and not silver;

and knowledge rather than choice gold.

Proverbs 4:13

Poverty and shame shall be to him that

refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth

reproof shall be honoured.
Proverbs 13:18

Hear counsel, and receive instruction,

that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
Proverbs 19:20

versus:

Proverbs 5:11

And thou mourn at the last, when thy

flesh and thy body are consumed,

For the commandment is a lamp; and

the law is light; and reproofs of instruction

are the way of life:

To keep thee from the evil woman, from

the flattery of the tongue of a strange

woman.

Proverbs 6:23&24

God says it over and over again, the way of instruction is life. The way of the strange woman is death. If you want to avoid this woman, if you do not want to become this woman: take fast hold of instruction.

All scripture is given by inspiration of

God and is profitable for doctrine, for

reproof, for correction, for instruction in

righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect,

throughly furnished unto all good works

II Timothy 3:16&17

Fools despise scripture. Fools mock it, take it lightly, and cast it behind them.

My favourite preacher once said:

 'Christian's who do not take the Bible seriously should not be taken seriously as Christians 

and that's the truth.

One of the most frustrating things is trying to talk to a 'believer' who does not take the Bible as the pure Word of God. You can't see eye to eye on anything! 

But unto the wicked God saith, What

hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or

that thou shouldest take my covenant in

thy mouth?

Seeing thou hatest instruction, and 

castest my words behind thee.

Psalm 50:16&17

Right there God is telling us that people who hate his Word and pay no heed to them have no business even speaking God's words.

In conclusion:
It took me a long time to finish this study. I kept learning and adding to it. I think I could have written more but I'd like to move on.
This particular part focused a lot on the end of this woman. It is not pleasant. It is destitute, poor, and shameful. Her life may look glamorous and happy but it will come crashing down.
She has no foundation, everything she has, is, does is for her own pleasure and purpose.
It is superficial and vain.

A Virtuous Woman- The Strange Woman part two

Now that we've met the strange woman, let's look into all the times she's mentioned in the bible.

The strange woman:

This term is mentioned 9 times in 9 verses

It is first mentioned in Judges 11:2-

(starting in verse 1) Now Jepthah the Gileadite was a mighty

man of valour, and he was the son of an

harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah

And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his

wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out

Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt

not inherit in our father's house; for thou

art the son of a strange woman.

Strange woman= Harlot

Word study: Harlot
Mentioned 42 times in 40 verses.
This word is interesting- it's not commonly used today like 'whore' is. 'Harlot' is found many times before the word 'whore' appears and God uses 'harlot' more than 'whore'. I will note that words containing 'whore'- whoredom, whoredoms, whores- combined mentions are more than 'harlot'.
First mentioned: Genesis 34:31-

And they said, Should he deal with our

sister as with an harlot?

This is actually an interesting story.

Jacob has a daughter named Dinah. She goes into the city one day and attracts Shechem, a prince of the city. He rapes her, falls in love with her, then asks his father to get her for him 'to wife'.

Jacob and his sons find out and aren't happy. Shechem's father tries to pacify them and make a deal to 'make marriages' between their family and the people of the town.

And the sons of Jacob answered

Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully,

and said, because he had defiled Dinah

their sister:

And they said unto them, we cannot do

this thing, to give our sister to one that is

uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:

But in this will we consent unto you: if

ye will be as we be, that every male of you

be circumcised;

Genesis 34:13-15

So the men of the city all get circumcised and while they are recuperating Jacob's two sons Simeon and Levi 'came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.' They then wasted the city, taking the women and little ones as slaves, hoarding the wealth of the land and animals of the field for themselves.

Jacob is not happy about that at all and the verse above is Simeon's and Levi's response to their father's father's anger.

Harlot= defiled

Second mention: Genesis 38:15

When Judah saw her, he thought her to

be an harlot; because she had covered her

face.

And he turned unto her by the way, and

said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto

thee; (for he knew not that she was his

daughter in law.) And she said, what wilt

thou give me, that thou mayest come in

unto me?

This story gives us a definite example of what a harlot is: a woman who makes a living by selling her body. It is shameful- why else would she cover her face: Genesis 38:24

And it came to pass about three months

after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar

thy daughter in law hath played the harlot;

and also, behold, she is with child by

whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth,

and let her be burnt.

Being a harlot meant death

In conclusion: the first time the strange woman is mentioned, she is known as a harlot- a shameful, defiling trade worthy of death.

The next mention of the strange woman is analyzed in detail in my previous post found here

Third mention is in Proverbs chapter 5:

Proverbs 5:1-3

My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow

thine ear to my understanding:

That thou mayest regard discretion, and

that thy lips may keep knowledge.

For the lips of a strange woman drop as

an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother

than oil:

In case you haven't noticed, God keeps telling us to listen. He tells us over and over again to listen to his wisdom. It must be important.

God does not just put things in His bible to mess with us. He uses the exact perfect words in perfect sequence to give us the perfect way of doing things.

It is not a joke.

So He says to attend unto His wisdom- attend means to listen. If you look at all the times 'attend' is mentioned, you'll find that it is always in context of hearing. Think about it though, it's not just listening, it's being present. Have you ever, while reading, got to the end of a page and realize you haven't the faintest idea what you just read? I do that a lot. I get lost in my own thoughts while my eyes keep reading. God wants our attention- all of it.

Then He tells us to bow our ears to His understanding- bowing is a sign of humbleness and submission.    Submit to God's understanding, accept that when you disagree with it, you are wrong and need to make a change.

If you attend and bow you will regard discretion. I've looked at all the mentions of regard and I finally came up with a biblical definition: give place or give importance.
God is saying here that by listening and submitting to wisdom and understanding we will give importance to discretion and our lips 'may keep knowledge'.
That's an interesting thought- our lips keep things. That explains why we just blurt out things we have no business saying. Be careful what your lips keep.

Back to the strange woman: we already know that wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and discretion keep us from this woman. God contrasts the lips of those who heed him with the lips of a strange woman- they drop as an honeycomb.
Her lips are sticky. If you're not careful you get caught in them. She uses flattery, remember?
He goes on- her mouth is smoother than oil.
Oil is hard to wash off. Most things wash out with water but honey and oil- you need hot water and soap to get those off. The other thing about oil- it does not just wash out of clothing. (I rub chalk on the spot and wash as usual but do not tumble dry) My point is, unless you take special steps to get the oil stain out, it's not coming out.
This woman knows what to say and how to say it.

The interesting thing about the words God has chosen is that they are body parts. He does not say why she does these things- they appear to be in her flesh. When we say things, what is saying them? I tell my husband that I love him- I am speaking from the heart. My tongue, lips, and mouth are the vessels I use to convey this to my husband, but my words originate from my heart.
When talking about those who heed Him, God says if we attend, bow, and regard, our flesh will follow by keeping knowledge. The lack of these things in the strange woman result in flattery and all manner of evil kept in her lips.

Word study: Honeycomb
Mentioned 9 times in 9 verses
First mentioned: 1 Samuel 14:27

But Jonathan heard not when his father

charged the people with the oath:

wherefore he put forth the end of the rod

that was in his hand, and dipped it in an

honeycomb, and put his hand to his

mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.

Honeycombs are a good thing. 

More to be desired are they than gold,

yea than much fine gold: sweeter also

than honey and the honeycomb

Psalm 19:10

Honeycombs are separate from honey. God's Word is the only thing on this earth that is sweeter than honey and the honeycomb

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb,

sweet to the soul, and health to the bones

Proverbs 16:24

This verse explains why Jonathan was enlightened by the honeycomb in 1 Samuel- honeycombs are not only sweet but healthy.

Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the 

honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:

Song of Solomon 4:11

Now that verse is interesting.

I haven't studied the Song Of Solomon nor listened to anyone go over it in detail. From what I gather it is a book about Christ and His bride- the church.

This is a good woman- without spot (Song of Solomon 4:7)- and her lips are described exactly as a strange woman's are.

So it is possible to be sweet without using flattery. 

The strange woman uses good things to her own advantage. 

Word study: Smoother
Mentioned 2 times in 2 verses
First mention: Psalm 55:21

The words of his mouth were smoother

than butter, but war was in his heart: his

words were softer than oil, yet were they

drawn swords.

A person with smooth words is not to be trusted. 

The second mention of this word is in our text.

Word study: Smooth

Mentioned 6 times in 6 verses

First mention: Genesis 27:11

And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother,

behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, 

and I am a smooth man:

A few verses down is the second mention: Genesis 27:16

And she put the skins of the kids of the

goats upon his hands, and upon the

smooth of his neck:

The first time this word is used in the bible, Rebekah is scheming to promote her favourite son. The first time it is used it is used for deceit.

This word is bad.

And he took his staff in his hand, and

chose him five smooth stones out of the

brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag

which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling

was in his hand: and he drew near to the

Philistine.

1 Samuel 17:40

The third time smooth is used, it is used to kill. Sure it's the enemy of the Lord that is dead, but God makes a point of telling us that a smooth stone killed Goliath.

Which say to the seers, See not; and to the

prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things,

speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

Isaiah 30:10

Smooth is associated with deceit. Instead of 'right things', they wanted 'smooth things'.

Among the smooth stones of the stream is

thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to

them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou

hast offered a meat offering. Should I 

receive comfort in these?

Isaiah 57:6

The people were worshipping smooth stones and making offerings to them.
The last mention:

As it is written in the book of the words of

Esaias the prophet, saying, the voice of one

crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the

way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled, and every

mountain and hill shall be brought low;

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

And all flesh shall see the salvation of

God.

Luke 3:4-6

This is the only positive mention of smooth. The only thing I can note is that this is God's doing.

Note these verses:

That which is crooked cannot be made straight:

Ecclesiastes 1:15a

Consider the work of God: for who can

make that straight, which he hath made

crooked?

Ecclesiastes 7:13

The verse in Luke references Isaiah 40:4-

Every valley shall be exalted, and every

mountain and hill shall be made low: and

the crooked shall be made straight, and the

rough places plain:

Taking both verses into account- God flattens, straightens, and smoothes everything out. Likely the way the earth was before the flood.

From what we've read, the words smooth and smoother are associated with deceit, lies, and death. The positive mention is when God comes back and fixes everything Himself.

Word study: oil

Mentioned 202 times in 187 verses

First mentioned: Genesis 28:16-18-

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and

he said, Surely the Lord is in this place;

and I knew it not.

And he was afraid, and said, How

dreadful is this place! this is none other

but the house of God, and this is the gate

of heaven.

And Jacob rose up early in the morning,

and took the stone that he had put for his

pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and

poured oil upon the top of it.

Oil is clearly a good thing. I would hazard a guess that the majority of the mentions have to to with anointing (like in the first mention), sacrificing, and offering. It is also used in lamps for light (Exodus 39:27) and baking (Exodus 29:2).
Oil is associated with wealth:

There is treasure to be desired and oil

in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish

man spendeth it up.

Proverbs 21:20

I will not delve deep into the word 'oil'- just as far as our study takes us.

The words of his mouth were smoother 

than butter, but war was in his heart: his

words were softer than oil, yet were they

drawn swords.

Psalm 55:21

In conclusion: oil is soft, smooth, and rich people have lots.

Back to the verse we are studying:

For the lips of a strange woman drop as

an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother

than oil:

Proverbs 5:3

Based on our knowledge of oil I'd say this woman knows what to say: she's a charmer. She'll pull you in with her rich, smooth words.

There is a lot here. For me it taught me a lot about the bible. Since starting this I've paid closer attention to how God uses body parts in the bible. I've also been very interested in honeycombs and how healthy they are.

In all seriousness, though, what is our motivation for saying something? Are we using our words to gain an advantage or being sincere?
Do you know a man ensnared by a strange woman? Can you see right though her honey sweet words but he is blinded to it?

Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Proverbs 27:6

Remember, Judas kissed Jesus while he was betraying him. Real friends tell the truth, no matter how horrible, because they are faithful.

What a difference between a faithful friend and a strange woman.

Stay tuned for part three!

A Virtuous Woman- The Strange Woman Part One

Proverbs 2 begins the way chapter 1 began, encouraging you to listen.
Not simply listening though, applying your heart to it, crying after it, and searching for it.
God promises:

Yea if thou criest after knowledge and

liftest up thy voice for understanding;

if thou seekest her as silver, and

searchest for her as for hid treasures;

Then shalt thou understand the fear of

the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:3-5

The most encouraging thing about that passage is that you do not have to be smart to get wisdom.

You can be as dumb as a rock but if you earnestly and relentlessly seek God's knowledge, God will give it to you.

That's a wonderful promise.

To keep on track I'll jump down to verse 10:

When wisdom entereth into thine heart,

and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

Discretion shall preserve thee,

understanding shall keep thee:

Proverbs 2:10&11

Preserve and keep you from what?

To deliver thee from the strange woman,

from the stranger which flattereth

with her words;

Proverbs 2:16

And so we meet the first woman in this study (other than Wisdom): the strange woman.

Topic Study: Strange woman

Right away we can discern a few things from the passage:

-Wisdom, knowledge, discretion, and understanding keep us from this woman- she's bad.

-This woman entices with her words.

Let's continue in the passage:

Which forsaketh the guide of her youth,

and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

For her house inclineth unto death, and

her paths unto the dead.

None that go unto her return again,

neither take they hold of the paths of life.

Proverbs 2:17-19

Reading this reminds me of the last line in Proverbs 8:

All they that hate me love death.

This woman's house- where she makes her life- inclines unto death. Her life favours death. She is a deep pit- once you are in you cannot get out.

We all know what a woman is so let's look into the very first thing we know about her:
Word Study: Strange
This word is mentioned 76 times in 73 verses.
First mentioned: Genesis 35:2

Then Jacob said unto his household, and

to all that were with him, Put away the

strange gods that are among you, and be

clean, and change your garments:

This word is first used negatively regarding gods. We are told that people will be made clean by putting away these gods.

Clearly God is showing us that strange is not a good description. 

The third mention gives us a clear definition of the word: Genesis 42:7

And Joseph saw his brethren, and he 

knew them, but made himself strange unto

them, and spake roughly unto them; and

he said unto them, whence come ye? And

they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.

Joseph, in making himself strange, made himself unrecognizable to his brethren.

I know this seems like a simplistic definition of a word we all know well but a good bible study is completely borne out of the bible. You define the bible with the bible.

Anyways, God shows us here that strange is something unfamiliar, unrecognizable.

I will not go into every mention of the word strange but a few things do need pointing out:

-Strange is used negatively every time (in keeping with the Law of First Mention).

-Ezra 10 gives an account of the Israel and the strange wives they took. In order for God to move for them they had to make a confession to God and separate themselves from those wives. 

Word study: Stranger

This word is mentioned 131 times in 125 verses

First mentioned: Genesis 15:13

And he said unto Abram, know of a

surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a

land that is not theirs, and shall serve

them; and they shall afflict them four

hundred years;

Right away we see: strangers are treated differently than non strangers, a stranger is in a place that does not belong to them.
A few key points about strangers:
-Israel was a stranger to the land they were promised- Genesis 17:8
-Abraham, Moses, and Ruth professed to be strangers- Genesis 23:4, Exodus 2:22, Ruth 2:10
-God protects strangers in Israel- Exodus 22:21, 23:9
-Strangers were required to keep the sabbath if they were in Israel- Exodus 23:12
-Strangers were not allowed to eat blood if they were in Israel- Leviticus 17:12
-Strangers were not allowed to eat of the 'holy thing'- Leviticus 22:10
-Strangers were required to keep the law- Numbers 15:16
-God called the Israelites to love the strangers- Deuteronomy 10:19
-Solomon asks God to hear the prayer of strangers if they pray from the temple- 2 Chronicles 6:32&33

I noted all that to say this: strangers aren't bad. They can be bad, it is not ideal to be a stranger, but generally it is not a bad thing.
Considering God's use of this word I think we can safely stick to this definition: someone you do not know.

Word study: Flattereth
For words like this I like to look into all forms to get the right definition. I'll start with the word in the verse:

This word is mentioned 6 times in 6 verses- One time in Psalms and five times in Proverbs.

It is first mentioned here:

The transgression of the wicked saith

within my heart, that there is no fear of

God before his eyes.

For he flattereth himself in his own eyes,

until his iniquity be found to be hateful.

Psalm 36:1&2

If you'd like to do an interesting word study, look up the wicked. You'll find it is actually referring to one person rather than a group of people.

Anyways, the first time 'flattereth' is mentioned, it is referring to 'the wicked'. Not just any wicked- THE wicked. 

There is no fear of God there so there is no knowledge and wisdom. Remember God's warning about rejecting wisdom in Proverbs 1?

The second time it is mentioned is the verse in Proverbs 2:16

The third time is in Proverbs 7:5 which is almost identical to the verse in Proverbs 2. It repeats the strange woman's talent for flattering with her words.

The fourth time warns about talebearers revealing secrets:

therefore meddle not with him that

flattereth with his lips

Proverbs 20:19

Another very self explanatory verse.

The fifth mention tells us that flattery will not make us more liked.

The sixth mention warns that:

A man that flattereth his neighbour

spreadeth a net for his feet.

Proverbs 29:5

From all six verses here is what we have on flattereth:

1. It is a tool of the wicked (Ps 36:1)
2. There is no fear of God when it is involved (Ps 36:1)
3. It is hateful (Ps 36:2)
4. Wisdom, knowledge, understanding, discretion will protect us from those who use it (Prov 2:16, 7:5)
5. We are warned against trusting those who flatter (Prov 20:19)
6. It is a trap (Prov 29:5)

Word study: Flatter
This word is mentioned 2 times in two verses:
First mentioned: Psalm 5:9

For there is no faithfulness in their

mouth; their inward part is very

wickedness; their throat is an open 

sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue

'Their' in the above verse is talking about the enemies of David.

Second mention: Psalm 78:36

Nevertheless they did flatter him with

their mouth, and they lied to him with

their tongues.

'They' are the children of Israel and 'him' is God.

For their heart was not right with him,

neither were they stedfast in his covenant.

Psalm 78:37

They needed God but they did not want to turn their hearts towards him and repent.

Bad heart= flattery+lies+usery

From these two verses we glean:

1. wicked and faithless people flatter (Psalm 5:9)
2. flattery comes from the same place as dead things (Psalm 5:9)
3. flattery comes from the condition of one's heart (Psalm 78:36)
4. flattery is associated with lying (Psalm 78:36)

Word study: Flattering

This word is mentioned 8 times in 8 verses.

The first and second mention are in the same passage: Job 32:21&22

Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's

person, neither let me give flattering titles

unto man.

For I know not to give flattering titles; in

so doing my maker would soon take me away.

This is Elihu talking having waited for everyone to speak before he weighed in. He says this to convince the others that he is not biased in his evaluation of Job's situation.

Third and fourth mentions: Psalm 12:2&3

They speak vanity everyone with his

neighbour: with flattering lips and with a

double heart do they speak.

The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips,

and the tongue that speaketh proud things.

The fifth mention speaks of the strange woman- we will look into this passage in depth later

Sixth mention: Proverbs 26:28

A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted

by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin

I don't feel it necessary to go into the seventh mention so here is number eight: 1 Thessalonians 2:3-5

For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor

of uncleanness, nor in guile:

but as were were allowed of God to be put

in trust with the gospel, even so we speak;

not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth

our hearts.

For neither at any time used we flattering

words, as ye know, nor a cloke of

covetousness; God is witness:

From the verses mentioned above here is what we have on flattering:

1. God does not tolerate flattering (Job 32:22, Psalm 12:3)
2. Flattering comes from a double heart (Read 1 Chronicles 12:33-38) (Psalm 12:2)
3. Flattering another person ruins them (Proverbs 26:28)
4. God does not use flattery to bring people to him (1 Thess 2:3-5)

Flatter and all it's related words are interesting because I find no clear cut definition in the bible.

We can all easily agree that it is bad but what is it?

It seems to be that it is using lies and deceit to get what you want.

It seems to be making someone else feel good for your own benefit.

Since delving into this word I've been forced to evaluate the things I say to others.

I'm not a gushy, super positive, hug everyone, love everything kind of person but I've seen myself flatter others in very subtle ways.

At church the other day a four year old girl was sitting on the floor crying because her brother had accidentally hit her in the head.

I know fake crying when I hear it so I told her she was still pretty despite getting hit in the head.

She stopped crying immediately.

My actions in that situation were wrong for a few reasons:

1. She wasn't really hurt, she just wanted attention
2. I did not teach her anything- children need to know what is worth crying over and what isn't, also what is worth getting attention over and what isn't
3. I had no good reason to tell her she was pretty- just puffing her up
4. I did not strengthen her in any way- I weakened her by increasing her vanity

This happened before I started this study but God has used it to make me evaluate what I say and why.

If you have any doubts ask yourself why you want to say something. If your motivation is anything other that charity, strengthening, and edification then you probably shouldn't say it.

I have more to say on this but I will leave it here. I'm sure it will come up again in this study.

I hope this was as edifying to you as it was to me.

Conclusion:
Are you a strange woman? Even blood bought Christian women can go down the strange woman path if they are not careful.
Already I've seen that I flatter. That is a big deal- it is the first thing that God tells us this woman employs.
This study is not about learning the differences between Christian women and worldly women. It is about showing the potentials holes all women can fall into.
Please don't read this and dismiss the evil women like you have nothing in common with them. We all do. That's why it is written there: to give us discretion and help us avoid these wicked paths.

This is just the tip of the strange woman ice burg.

So far we know that this woman is bad.

To avoid becoming her we must seek God. We must run to his Word, pray diligently, and stop doing the things God hates.

Stay tuned for part two!