In Proverbs 2:16-19, the adulterous woman “forgets the covenant of her God” (Prov 2:17). In chapter 7, she’s someone who offers sacrifices at God’s temple (Prov 7:14), so we can see that in some sense she was indeed a member of the community of God’s people. Such people can be chief among those who offer temptations.

Last week we saw that wisdom delivers from evil people. Proverbs 2 moves on to yet another deliverance that occurs when we make different choices.

So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
From the adulteress with her smooth words,
Who forsakes the companion of her youth
And forgets the covenant of her God;
For her house sinks down to death,
And her paths to the departed;
None who go to her come back,
Nor do they regain the paths of life (Prov 2:16-19).

Deliverance FROM adulterous people. An understanding person will choose not to engage in sexual activity with anyone but a spouse. This lifestyle means avoiding even flirtatious speech (Prov 2:16) and emotional intimacy or companionship (Prov 2:17). God designed erotic activity to build oneness in marriage. Pursuing a sexual relationship outside of marriage results in a type of death (Prov 2:18) that leaves a lasting stain in one’s history and memory (Prov 2:19). A failure to repent of such a lifestyle will ultimately lead to everlasting death in hell.

We must understand that Solomon’s warning is not limited to sexual intercourse with a married person (one overly-literal way to interpret “going to” an “adulteress”). All sexual activity is, well, sexual. Thus, all sexual activity and flirtatious speech with someone other than a spouse is included in Solomon’s warning.

Read More