Proverbs 7

It seems rather ironic that Solomon wrote so much about women. Since he ended up with 700 wives and/or concubines, it would seem he either didn’t take his own wise advice… or he gained some of his wisdom through unfortunate experience! Either way, I think we can learn something very important about God by comparing Him with the women Solomon has been referencing in the last few chapters of Proverbs:

God is not seductive.

To be seductive means to be alluring or have tempting qualities, to attempt to entice or seduce someone into doing what you want—usually something they shouldn’t be doing.

The woman in this chapter is described thus: “Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent… With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk.” (vs 10, 21) What Solomon is warning against here is buying into something just because it sounds good. As we all know, talk is cheap, and things are not always what they seem.

What sounds so good can end up so bad.

In contrast to this type of person, God is not seductive. He has never wanted us to believe anything just because it sounds good—even just because He said it! Instead, He operates on the basis of demonstration. He doesn’t just make claims; He provides evidence.

Compare the description of the seductive woman to the description of Jesus given in Isaiah: “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him… He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth… He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” (Isa 53:2, 7, 9)

God never operates with a crafty agenda. Instead of dressing to get attention, He purposely downplayed His physical appearance so that the only thing that would draw us to Him was the beauty of truth. Never did He open His mouth in a dishonest or enticing way.

God is not seductive. Everything about Him is transparent. What you see is what you get. He does not line a path to death with slick and smooth words. Instead, what He says and does—although it may sound harsh at times—is designed to put our feet on the path to life.

With God, there is no hidden agenda. The only agenda He has is loving you.