And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.

 Proverbs 7:10

Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
do not stray into her paths. 

Proverbs 7:25

Two different hearts are described in the passage. The first heart (inner person) is a naïve young man who lacks sense and has not listened to wisdom allowing his heart (inner person) to turn aside to sexual sin. The second heart is a harlot (inner person) who is very good at hiding what is her ultimate sinful goal; she is cunning (in her inner person). [See Day 1]

This section of Proverbs is a frank and detailed warning from Solomon to his sons about sexual lust; not the sexual act itself, but rather the mental, emotional and behavioral stages leading up to this destructive sin. This is not a specific account Solomon is recalling, but rather a narrative representing the culmination of what Solomon has witnessed happening when youthful males allow their God-given sexuality to succumb to lustful sexual sin. A big difference between these two choices.

And I saw among the naïve, and discerned among the youths a young man lacking sense.

 Proverbs 7:7

Solomon takes the next 15 verses to describes a harlot; in this case, a female, lurking about at night searching for someone she can seduce. Her seductions are provocative and relentless and these verses describe the many different tactics and enticements she uses to wear down the young man’s defenses until he sets aside his God-given wisdom and participates in sexual sin. 

In my own youthful Christianity, I used to think that this female represented an actual ruthless harlot, married or not, that spends her time looking for her next conquest. And I thought it was a warning to me, as a female, to not be this person. I still believe this is a valuable warning for me and all females. As I’ve grown in actual years of womanhood and in years of Christian growth and understanding, I believe this passage is much deeper than warning me against street walking. 

Now I believe that the ‘harlot’ in this passage is not an actual physical female. But rather the ‘harlot’ in this passage represents the sexual lust of the world that bombards each of us and seduces us over and over again to lay aside godly wisdom and even the Holy Spirit’s convictions until sexual lust overpowers us and we make the choice to participate in sexual immorality. And how much more in these days of social media and its 24/7…365 day access. 

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life,
is not from the Father, but is from the world. 

1 John 2:15-16

This narrative is not just a warning to males! Oh no! It can just as easily be a naïve female who lacks sense and, in this day in age the ‘harlot’ can be male or female enticing us females through the screens we hold in our hands every waking hour. And just like in this passage, the enticements seem innocent enough in the beginning: movies we watch (not R-rated of course)…books we read (ever hear of ‘mommy porn’?)…songs we listen to…celebrities we idolize and follow their every move on TikTok or Instagram…and on and on! Before we know it, we are rationalizing a host of behaviors and time-stealers. We spend even more time on our ‘private’ screens and less and less time with real people who love us and who need us. Our screens move us, slowly but surely, away from reality and deeper and deeper into the world’s fake and yet very destructive lusts and allurements. 

Our only hope, as is always the case, is to cling to Jesus and to obey His commands. Remember, Jesus, Himself, tells us that if we truly love Him, we will obey His commands. (Just saying) And we have to pay attention to the prodding of the Holy Spirit that lives within every born-again believer. 

And we absolutely must stay in the Bible and stay inside God’s Wisdom so that our hearts, our very inner being, will stay in reality and combat the fake world we hold in our hands!!