Seduction
6 While I was at the window of my house,
looking through the curtain,
7 I saw some naive young men,
and one in particular who lacked common sense.
8 He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman,
strolling down the path by her house.
9 It was at twilight, in the evening,
as deep darkness fell.
Part of Solomon's teaching for his sons (Proverbs 7:1–5) is a reminder that he speaks from experience. The lessons he passes along come from things he has seen, heard, and done. Symbolizing that personal view, Solomon says he "looked out his window" and saw certain things. As Israel's king and magistrate, he was responsible for ruling well and deciding court cases. He was observant as well as wise. He observed life even from his window.
Believers gain wisdom not only from studying God's Word but also from observing the world. Although we should not be busybodies who spy on our neighbors (1 Timothy 5:13), neither should we refuse to face what is happening in the world (John 17:15–20; 1 Corinthians 5:9–11).
In His prayer to the Father in John chapter 17, Jesus did not pray that the Father would take us out of the world, but that the Father would keep us from the Devil (John 17:15). He told his Father: "As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" (John 17:18). He has commissioned us as His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) to the lost people of the world. Just as an ambassador needs to understand the culture of the people to whom his government has sent him, so we need to know the culture and thinking of the evil world system (Colossians 2:8; 1 Corinthians 9:19–23).
As part of explaining how his wisdom comes from experience, Solomon has been using the metaphor of looking out his window to observe the world (Proverbs 7:6). Among those observations are gullible youths, and especially those who lack good sense. This image of a reckless young man will be the basis of another warning about adultery, coming soon in this chapter (Proverbs 7:10–23).
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