She, the Man-Slayer
This section is a brief extension of the previous section “The Beguilement of Eve”, for there is a terrible evil which occurs upon the earth. We have seen a glimpse of the terror that overwhelms the heart that considers the consequences of the woman’s transgression of the LORD’s created order for the woman to be subject to the man and to bear a meek and quiet spirit before him. For such a transgression has resulted in the downfall of humanity. But dear sisters, there is an added element that will be described in this section, an added evil. This evil is the succumbing of the man to the woman’s transgression. For in the passage in Romans 5 which describes the falling of humanity’s nature, we behold that the text says, “by one MAN sin entered the world” (Rom 5:12), “through the offense one ONE many be dead” (Rom 5:15), “by one MAN’s offense death reign by one” (Rom 5:17), “by the offense of ONE judgment came upon all men to condemnation” (Rom 5:18), and “by the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners” (Rom 5:19).
Yes, beloved sisters, surely Eve was the first to be beguiled, but the LORD has attributed the entry of sin into the world to the MAN. For the man Adam made errors: briefly 1)he did not protect Eve from sin, 2)he did not reprove Eve’s sin, and 3)he fell into Eve’s sin. We are not going to go into detail into these errors of the man. Rather in this section may the LORD open our eyes to the reality of the effect of our insubjection and pride upon the man who succumbs to our evil! For it was no insignificant thing that King Lemuel records his mother saying “give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings” (Prov 31:3)! Oh sisters, do call to remembrance the behaviors of Delilah, who was used to destroy Samson’s strength before the LORD through her carnal emotional appeals and seduction, the despite of Michal upon David for his wholehearted and whole-bodied worship before the LORD, the temptation of Potiphar’s wife upon Joseph (who by God’s grace was able to resist her in his fear of God), Sapphira;s support of Annanias’s lie to the Holy Spirit, the idolatry of countless strange woman who turned the heart of the wise King Solomon’s aside from the LORD, the evil Jezebel who held the soul of the wicked King Ahab in her grip…
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. (Prov 5:3-7)
The Strange Woman (see Prov 3:5-13, Prov 7:5-21)
Her Behavior
- her lips drop as a honeycomb
- her mouth is smoother than oil
- her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them
- flatters with her words
- attire of a harlot
- subtil of heart
- loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house
- she is without (outside), now in the streets, lieth in wait at every corner
- catches the man, kisses him
- impudently speaks to him saying “14 I have peace offerings with me; tis day have I payed my vows.15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:20 He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.” (Prov 7:14-20)
- with her much fair speech she causes him to yield
- with flattering lips she forces him
Her Outcome
- her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword
- her feet go down to death
- her steps take hold on hell
- he that goeth after her straightway is as an ox going to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks till a dart strike his liver, as a bird hasteth to the snare, knowing not that it is for his life
8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! (Prov 5:8-13)
24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. 25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. (Prov 7:24-27)
Beloved sisters, this brief section was written for our warning, that we might consider and fear the outcome of our yielding to the flesh. For not only will our transgressions destroy our souls but they have the potential to destroy our dear precious God-given husbands, lest they remain steadfast in spite of our wickedness. It is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and angry woman and a continual dropping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike (Prov 21:19, 27:15). A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, to call passengers who go right on their ways: whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell! (Prov 9:13-18) Oh sisters, it is true that strong men have been slain by her! Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death! (Prov 7:26-27)
To receive the end of her faith, the salvation of her soul
She sought grace that teaches her to remain humble, meek, quiet, and subject before her lord to fulfill her role
Great was the internal fight within her to remain faithful to him
Initially she sought to keep herself that she might be saved from her own destructive sin
But there lurking behind the potential for her own damnation were she to fall
Was the potential for her mighty husband to be slain were she to in her beguilement to him call
For oft have men been simple and foolish yielding to the deceptions of ignorant woman
Indeed to protect, preserve, wash, and, lead, to him, not her, was this position given
When the order of subjection is broken, the woman is deceived and transgresses
For she was to be covered by the man; she is his glory with her long tresses
And it so follows that when her transgression is committed
Her husband must perform righteous judgment upon her with the fiery SWORD lest he the battle of faith have forfeited
Go to Chapter 8 Holy Dependence
This section is a brief extension of the previous section “The Beguilement of Eve”, for there is a terrible evil which occurs upon the earth. We have seen a glimpse of the terror that overwhelms the heart that considers the consequences of the woman’s transgression of the LORD’s created order for the woman to be subject to the man and to bear a meek and quiet spirit before him. For such a transgression has resulted in the downfall of humanity. But dear sisters, there is an added element that will be described in this section, an added evil. This evil is the succumbing of the man to the woman’s transgression. For in the passage in Romans 5 which describes the falling of humanity’s nature, we behold that the text says, “by one MAN sin entered the world” (Rom 5:12), “through the offense one ONE many be dead” (Rom 5:15), “by one MAN’s offense death reign by one” (Rom 5:17), “by the offense of ONE judgment came upon all men to condemnation” (Rom 5:18), and “by the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners” (Rom 5:19).
Yes, beloved sisters, surely Eve was the first to be beguiled, but the LORD has attributed the entry of sin into the world to the MAN. For the man Adam made errors: briefly 1)he did not protect Eve from sin, 2)he did not reprove Eve’s sin, and 3)he fell into Eve’s sin. We are not going to go into detail into these errors of the man. Rather in this section may the LORD open our eyes to the reality of the effect of our insubjection and pride upon the man who succumbs to our evil! For it was no insignificant thing that King Lemuel records his mother saying “give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings” (Prov 31:3)! Oh sisters, do call to remembrance the behaviors of Delilah, who was used to destroy Samson’s strength before the LORD through her carnal emotional appeals and seduction, the despite of Michal upon David for his wholehearted and whole-bodied worship before the LORD, the temptation of Potiphar’s wife upon Joseph (who by God’s grace was able to resist her in his fear of God), Sapphira;s support of Annanias’s lie to the Holy Spirit, the idolatry of countless strange woman who turned the heart of the wise King Solomon’s aside from the LORD, the evil Jezebel who held the soul of the wicked King Ahab in her grip…
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. (Prov 5:3-7)
The Strange Woman (see Prov 3:5-13, Prov 7:5-21)
Her Behavior
- her lips drop as a honeycomb
- her mouth is smoother than oil
- her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them
- flatters with her words
- attire of a harlot
- subtil of heart
- loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house
- she is without (outside), now in the streets, lieth in wait at every corner
- catches the man, kisses him
- impudently speaks to him saying “14 I have peace offerings with me; tis day have I payed my vows.15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.16 I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:20 He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.” (Prov 7:14-20)
- with her much fair speech she causes him to yield
- with flattering lips she forces him
Her Outcome
- her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword
- her feet go down to death
- her steps take hold on hell
- he that goeth after her straightway is as an ox going to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks till a dart strike his liver, as a bird hasteth to the snare, knowing not that it is for his life
8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! (Prov 5:8-13)
24 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. 25 Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.26 For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her.27 Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. (Prov 7:24-27)
Beloved sisters, this brief section was written for our warning, that we might consider and fear the outcome of our yielding to the flesh. For not only will our transgressions destroy our souls but they have the potential to destroy our dear precious God-given husbands, lest they remain steadfast in spite of our wickedness. It is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and angry woman and a continual dropping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike (Prov 21:19, 27:15). A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, to call passengers who go right on their ways: whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell! (Prov 9:13-18) Oh sisters, it is true that strong men have been slain by her! Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death! (Prov 7:26-27)
To receive the end of her faith, the salvation of her soul
She sought grace that teaches her to remain humble, meek, quiet, and subject before her lord to fulfill her role
Great was the internal fight within her to remain faithful to him
Initially she sought to keep herself that she might be saved from her own destructive sin
But there lurking behind the potential for her own damnation were she to fall
Was the potential for her mighty husband to be slain were she to in her beguilement to him call
For oft have men been simple and foolish yielding to the deceptions of ignorant woman
Indeed to protect, preserve, wash, and, lead, to him, not her, was this position given
When the order of subjection is broken, the woman is deceived and transgresses
For she was to be covered by the man; she is his glory with her long tresses
And it so follows that when her transgression is committed
Her husband must perform righteous judgment upon her with the fiery SWORD lest he the battle of faith have forfeited
Go to Chapter 8 Holy Dependence