By Randy Dillon
Proverbs 5:3-5
“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 two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.”
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Proverbs is a book of wisdom. Part of that wisdom is keeping oneself from the wiles of evil women.
Once again the writer turns to the impact of words on the unaware man. The lips are sweet and they drop words like a honeycomb drops honey. She says what the man wants to hear, not the truth. And her mouth is smooth in her delivery to the man. It is like oil in that it is slick and does not tolerate any rejection. She can lie with impunity, In the end however, her slick words will be her destruction. It will
be bitter and will cut her like a two-edged sword. This means that she will be cut down from the front which she will see and also from the back which she will not be able to see Ultimately, she will die and her works will take her to hell.
This passage is one that men, young men in particular, should take to heart. Do not judge a woman by her words but rather by her deeds. Sweet words will lead one to accept what lies behind the words. A man should pay strict attention to the kind of woman that is speaking to him. He should be careful not to be misled by word s which are hollow, It is implied that an evil woman will lees. ad a man to death and hell if he follows her words. This admonition to men is one which is often repeated in Proverbs.
And King Solomon should very well understand this caution since he had hundreds of wives and even more concubines. With so many examples, it should not be strange that Solomon very well understood how women could lead a man astray. In fact, he was led astray by some of his wives to worship the Canaanite gods.
When a woman leads a man astray, she leads herself to death and hell. When a man allows himself to be so misled by such a woman, he leaves off his first love, his wife, to follow after sweet and slick words which lead ultimately to destruction. Far better to be prepared for such a woman and give strict guidance to ones own heart.”