Proverbs 7:10-13

Proverbs 7:10-13 (NIV) 10 Then out came a woman to meet him,
dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.
11 (She is unruly and defiant,
her feet never stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the squares,
at every corner she lurks.)
13 She took hold of him and kissed him
and with a brazen face she said:

Proverbs 7:10-13 (NLT) 10 The woman approached him,
seductively dressed and sly of heart.
11 She was the brash, rebellious type,
never content to stay at home.
12 She is often in the streets and markets,
soliciting at every corner.
13 She threw her arms around him and kissed him,
and with a brazen look she said,

Isaiah 3:16-24 (NIV) 16 The LORD also says:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty
walking with heads held high
and wanton eyes,
prancing and skipping as they go,
jingling the bracelets on their ankles
17 the Lord will bring sores
on the heads of the daughters of Zion,
and the LORD will make their foreheads bare.
18 In that day the Lord will take away their finery:
their anklets and headbands and crescents;
19 their pendants, bracelets, and veils;
20 their headdresses, ankle chains, and sashes;
their perfume bottles and charms;
21 their signet rings and nose rings;
22 their festive robes, capes, cloaks, and purses;
23 and their mirrors, linen garments, tiaras, and shawls.
24 Instead of fragrance
there will be a stench;
instead of a belt, a rope;
instead of styled hair, baldness;
instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;
instead of beauty, shame.

1 Timothy 2:7-10 (NIV) 7 For this reason I was appointed as a herald, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the Gentiles. I am telling the truth; I am not lying about anything. 8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension.
9 Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess to worship God.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
attire - (shith, ) - Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's Hebrew 7897: A garment

of a prostitute - (zanah, zwnh) - Noun - feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew 2181: To commit adultery, to commit idolatry
Brown-Driver-Briggs English and Hebrew Lexicon adds: acting as a prostitute

and cunning - (natsar, nura) - Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine singular construct
Strong's Hebrew 5341: To watch, guard, keep

of heart - (leb, l) - Noun - masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew 3820: The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre

is loud - (hamah, hmyh) - Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew 1993: To make a, loud sound, commotion, tumult, to rage, war, moan, clamor

and defiant - (sarar, wsrre) - Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew 5637: To turn away, be refractory

she lurks - (arab, er) - Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew 693: To lie in wait

She seizes - (chazaq, whezqh) - Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew 2388: To fasten upon, to seize, be strong, obstinate, to bind, restrain, conquer

she brazenly - (azaz, hzh) - Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew 5810: To be strong

If I were to re-write these verses in my own words:
The woman approached him intentionally to seduce him. She used all her tricks including dressing like a prostitute to beguile him. She was cunning and sly. She was loud, mouthy and spoke vulgarly. She was rebellious, stubborn, unmanageable and always resistant and hostile to authority. She is always on the move looking for fun and attention, she asks for sex from anyone. When she saw this young man, she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a come-on with her eyes. She brazenly kissed him and pushed herself against him.

This immediately made me think of the Super Bowl Halftime show. Most of these shows in the past couple of decades have been controversial. Whether it was Michael Jackson grabbing his crotch and humping around on the stage or the Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. I no longer watch the Super Bowl. It's a lot of hype and rarely lives up to the hype. I didn't watch it this year but I heard about it. So I found these photos of Shakira and J Lo doing the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll is a Colombian singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress.Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, dancer, fashion designer, producer, and businesswoman. J Balvin and Bad Bunny both popped up in the middle of the action at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show at the Hard Rock Stadium.

In the middle of I Like It, with Shak slithering about the stage, BB popped into the scene, dressed like a spaceman, rapping in Spanish. The native Puerto Rican did a mashup of his song Callaita while Shakira performed Chantaje, a hit with another Colombian reggaetonero, Maluma.
As for J Balvin, the Colombian rapper came out in streetwear and goggles, as JLo literally strutted her stuff, twerking all over the singer who did bits from Mi Gente and another hit, Que Calor. - By MADELEINE MARR 2/2/2020

I'm ashamed to show these pictures but you won't believe it unless you see it. I didn't. Remember these are savvy business women who have a plethora of experience in all kinds of genres and business skills. In their real life, they would want to be taken seriously and they would demand respect. And yet, they had no problem objectifying women as sex objects in the halftime show!



Again, I'm sorry for the pictures but this was on national television during one of the most watched shows of the year in America. Both of these women didn't do good service to women. They are beautiful, they are well trained and skilled and I certainly couldn't do what they do. But they are using their God-given talents, skills and good health to degrade women everywhere as nothing but sex objects. They are teaching young girls that it's OK to act like that. And, it's not OK.

Our verses today are not portraying a good woman. They are portraying the worst kind of woman. A woman who deliberately sets out to entrap a young man to get what she wants from him. She's a user. Whether it's money, love, drugs, street cred (a reputation), a baby, protection or any other thing she perceives as a need, she's using tricks to get someone to provide it for her. There is no love involved. It's a business transaction to her. Just like Jennifer Lopez and Shakira Ripoll did. They did this obscene show and wore those skimpy costumes for the money. The more controversial they are, the more they get attention, the more money they think they will get. They don't love their fans. They don't love men slobbering over them. They just see dollar signs. So far it's worked for them. But it will hit the fan one day. Meanwhile, all the little girls and teenage girls idolize these women and think acting like that is OK. And little boys or teenage boys think all women should act that way.

These women degraded themselve in every way, even to simulating sex on stage. And they did it for money. So what is the difference between them and the Proverbs 7 woman? None that I can see. By their own choices and by their own actions they lowered themselves in such a public way as to be seen all over the world (via TV). You would think they would feel such shame but their hearts are so hardened that they laugh at shame. But it has it's effect. One day, it will come back on them. I think of Michael Jackson and how alone he was; how his mind was gone; how he couldn't sleep; how he got so twisted; how he had no one he could trust; how he was so unhappy with how he looked that he mutilated himself with all those cosmetic surgeries... And he virtually committed suicide. Now his Neverland is empty, crumbling, and his heirs have torn everything apart to get money. It's pitiful and pathetic. He made his choices and it was for the idol of money and fame. And he paid for his choices.

We must teach our young women that they do not have to degrade themselves and sell themselves short. We must teach our young men that women are not sex objects. They are human beings who deserve respect and honor. We must teach them God's ways concerning sex. We don't want them to fall into the same worldly filth that is being pushed on them from every direction. We want them to know there is a better way, a way of love and commitment. A way of purity and devotion. A way of blessing and honor. We don't have to lay down in the mud and manure with everyone else. We were made to be better than that.

But, if you have fallen into the gutter with the rest of the world, don't despair. Jesus loves you. Jesus wants to forgive you, cleanse you, and empower you to walk like the prince or princess He made you to be. You don't have to stay in the gutter, reach out to Him and let Him help you up.

What is the difference between the prostitute's outfit and shoes in the upper photo and the prom dress and shoes for the teenager in the lower photo? Nothing but price.

• The Bible teaches us not to be overly concerned with looking good on the outside but to be more concerned with beauty on the inside. What are your thoughts about that?
• Are you spending too much money and working too hard to look good on the outside and not enough time on making a beautiful heart?
• Are you compromising when it comes to your self respect, honor and self esteem in order to attract men (or women)? Why?
• Are you under pressure to give in and follow the crowd into the mud pits of sin? What is attractive about it that you want? What is missing in your life that makes you desperate to climb down in the manure and wallow in it?
• Maybe you've never had a better life presented to you. Maybe you didn't grow up in a good family or have parents that showed you a better way. Maybe you have surrounded yourself with a crowd that doesn't seem to want something better for themselves. Maybe you think that's all there is and you gotta take what you can get. Let me tell you that God has a better way of life for you. He loves you and will provide better for you than you could ever imagine if you will follow Him. There really is a better way to live.
• Are you teaching your children the better way of God? I know you are going against a tidal wave when you try to teach your children good morals, values and self esteem. But if you try to obey God and teach your children to obey God, God will supernaturally assist you and hold you above the tidal wave of this world. He will provide. He knows exactly how to help you and your children in whatever you are facing and He can provide the way. Pray about it and trust in Him.

For all my studies on Proverbs click HERE.