God's Protection from Lust

The choice is always ours when it comes to wisdom. And that's really good news. Put it this way, if you are struggling to understand what to do in a situation, there's only one person to blame: you. God longs to give you wisdom but you MUST long to receive it. 

Proverbs 2:1–5 (ESV) My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 3 yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs continues with advice from a father to his son. And notice how the stage is set for wisdom:

There are three "if" statements in this passage. 

1. The "if" of receiving and treasuring God's commands. 

2. The "if" of asking for instruction and questioning what to know.

3. The "if" of making wisdom valuable to your life. 

Verse 5 THEN guarantees that the seeker will FIND the knowledge of God. What a promise! But even more, the seeker will gain something greater - a taste for God's ways and righteousness, which no earthly pleasure can surpass. 

Proverbs 2:9–15 (ESV) Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; 10 for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; 11 discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, 12 delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, 13 who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, 14 who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, 15 men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.

I love those promises of desires being transformed. For this world has no shortage of evil options. 

Remember in Proverbs 1 the temptation was to join with the unruly men of the city and create violence and steal. This is the temptation of young men for sure. But eventually, the passions take the place of violence and women become his focus. So the Proverb writer cautions far more in this chapter against the fornicating woman. 

Proverbs 2:16–19 (ESV) So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, 17 who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; 18 for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; 19 none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life.

Thirty years ago, this passage was obeyed far easier than today. The forbidden woman is a "click" away on your PHONE! In many ways, every man with a smartphone can have a virtual "Solomon" experience - ordering food at a click and engaging in illicit sexual activity in a snap. But this woman is dangerous to the fool as he has no taste for good and stupidly falls for evil. Wisdom will guard you against her ways. 

The epidemic of pornography enslaves a man who lacks wisdom. Proverbs makes clear here in just the second chapter (it will again later), that the battle over sexual addiction is won in the wisdom God provides. He gives you a sense of what is wrong and right and a deeper understanding of Himself so that the allure of lust loses its flavor. 

If you hear God's Word, if you ask for the instruction, if you value what He says, KNOWLEDGE of HIM will guard your heart and mind, steering your life away from the trap of the forbidden woman.