June 7

Jun 7 - Today from Proverbs 7 we look at verses 19 & 20
"My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon."

Because Proverbs chapter seven is a story, we need to place this section within its context before we discuss the principle. As the story unfolds we see a simple young man, with no direction or intention, walking down the street. He encounters a seductress - a married woman looking for some sexual adventure. She approaches him and gives him a kiss, and tells him she has been waiting for him. His ego engages. Then she describes how inviting her bedroom is. He is all but hooked. There is one possible obstruction left; "What if your husband catches us?" This brings us to the passage for today.
Solomon had just taught his son (chapter 6), that there is little hope of calming the fury of a jealous husband who discovered that someone had been sleeping with his wife. Now Solomon sets up a scenario for his son in order to teach him all of the tricks of the seductress, and the chronological order of moving from aimlessness to being ensnared in the fatality of sin. The last hurdle to be crossed is the fear of being caught. The seductress covers that issue well. She assures the young man that he cannot possibly be caught; her husband is nowhere around, and he won't be for at least a month. She even throws in a little evidence, telling the young man that her husband took a full purse with him. In those days you didn't take any more money than needed when traveling, and to take a full purse meant that you are committed to be gone for awhile because you will need that much to cover traveling expenses.
Well, the narrative begins by describing the young man as simple (verse 7). This would indicate that the young man does not process well. He is satisfied that because the husband is not around, and it is a sure bet that he won't be around for quite some time, that he will not be caught. Verse 22 confirms that the young man has crossed the last mental hurdle and states, "All at once he followed her." Had he really thought through the situation, he would have pondered the fact that they were in the street, in full view of anyone watching. The husband didn't need to walk in on them to discover the evil deed. There are other eyes -- all around. There is also the matter of the loose tongue. Her tongue. His tongue. The tongue of any who may have seen them entering her house together. There is no guarantee that the woman does not have close friends with whom she shares her deepest and darkest secrets. She has already proved that she is untrustworthy by intentionally violating her marriage vows. How can the young man possibly trust that this will be 'just their little secret'? Or, how about the young man himself? He has proven that he is simple just by stopping to consider her invitation. Is he going to be able to contain his ego when he's among his comrades? Won't there be a weak moment when he is going to want to boast about his libido to make his fellow-adventurers jealous?
The world we live in is a veritable sieve. It is virtually impossible to contain truth. It leaks and seeps out from places we cannot even imagine. Even when the truth is damning, it is forever. You can count on the fact that somehow, somewhere, the truths that are intended to be kept hidden will seep out and the world will know. Jesus teaches us in Luke 12:2 & 3, "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs."
The principle in this lesson is broader than application for the adulterer. It applies to all situations of temptation. The seducer (Satan and whatever instrument he may be using to seduce with), will do his best to convince us that we will not be caught. He will give the best evidence he can find and then stir it with the prospect of the pleasure of the act. But he withholds some critical information. Instead of telling us, "Be sure your sin will find you out;" he tells us, "This is the exception - it's foolproof." He lies. It was tailor-made for the simple. Whether it is adultery, stealing, lying, gossip, conspiring against others, or whatever -- it will not remain hidden. If you cannot take the lesson from thousands of years of history, you can take the word of the Lord. "There is nothing hidden that will not be made known." Even in those very, very rare instances where it appears that a perpetrator went to their grave with their secret, there will come a day of reckoning. We will all stand before God one day and give an account. The Bible says that to Him, even the darkness is light - there is no hiding the truth from Him.
I cannot end our meditation without sharing a message of hope. The blood of Jesus removes our record of guilt - but only that for which we confess and repent of. Even as believers, there will be a day of accounting for the sins that we failed to confess and repent of. There will be loss of eternal rewards - although not our eternal salvation; "He will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Cor. 3:15) God has graciously provided a way for us to have our sins removed as far as the east is from the west. He clearly teaches throughout the Bible the act of confession and repentance - and even recompense when the situation calls for it. If we will learn and follow His teaching in these matters, we will be able to stand confidently in that day. Confident in the blood of Jesus, and confident that by it our record is clean.
Wisdom does not entertain the idea of sin without consequences. It is a lie of the tempter. And wisdom knows that the pain of the consequence will always be greater than the pleasure of the sin.