31 Days of Wisdom · Day 7 of 31
Day 7 — Proverbs 7
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1 My son, keep my words. Lay up my commandments within you.
2 Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Tell wisdom, “You are my sister.” Call understanding your relative,
5 that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.
6 For at the window of my house, I looked out through my lattice.
7 I saw among the simple ones. I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding,
8 passing through the street near her corner, he went the way to her house,
9 in the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the middle of the night and in the darkness.
10 Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent.
11 She is loud and defiant. Her feet don’t stay in her house.
12 Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner.
13 So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him:
14 “Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me. This day I have paid my vows.
15 Therefore I came out to meet you, to diligently seek your face, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let’s take our fill of loving until the morning. Let’s solace ourselves with loving.
19 For my husband isn’t at home. He has gone on a long journey.
20 He has taken a bag of money with him. He will come home at the full moon.”
21 With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.
22 He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.
23 Until an arrow strikes through his liver, as a bird hurries to the snare, and doesn’t know that it will cost his life.
24 Now therefore, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Don’t let your heart turn to her ways. Don’t go astray in her paths,
26 for she has thrown down many wounded. Yes, all her slain are a mighty army.
27 Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the rooms of death.
The Lesson
Temptation doesn't knock on the front door; it whispers from the shadows and dresses up to look safe — even using religious excuses. The young man in this chapter didn't plan to fall; he just wandered too close. Decide your "no" ahead of time, and tell God your decision — and tell one trusted person too. Jesus was tempted and said no, and God always provides a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). One more thing, plainly: this chapter is about grown-up unfaithfulness. If anyone ever pressures you or touches you in a way that feels wrong, tell a trusted adult right away. That is never your fault.
Live It
Decide right now one thing you will say no to this week — cheating, gossip, an unsafe click — and tell God. Keep the details private if you want; the decision is what matters.