Lessons

The lesson taught on September 24, 2023 was part 6 of the “Wisdom” study.  This lesson is based in chapter 5 and that is about the foreign woman.  As usual, Wayne quickly reviewed what we learned last time, and then dived into point out the repeated alternation that brings into focus again the foreign woman and her call or enticement to those are in leadership roles or rulers.  When the rulers go bad, man it is bad for the people.  The progression from the instruction of a father (Prov. 4:1-4 to Prov. 5:1-2) where a leader is grown and now possibly influenced by the strange woman (compare Prov. 6:20; 7:1).  We learned that the strange woman has two words that describe her.  “Strange” Heb. “zur” is an apostate Israelite woman gone over to idolatrous impurities of heathen religion.  The other is “Stranger” Heb. “nakar” is a purely foreign woman of similar character. The danger is religious rather than moral (hence here it is “zur“).  (You will find “nakar” in these passages: Prov. 2:16; 5:10, 20; 6:24; 7:5; 20:16; 23:27; 27:2, 13.  You will find “zur” in these passages: Prov. 2:16; 5:3, 10, 17, 20; 6:1; 7:5; 11:15; 14:10; 20:16; 22:14; 23:33; 27:2, 13.)  We also learned of the three translations of “SHEOL” which are grave, pit, or hell. A list of “sheol” in Proverbs was provided (Prov. 1:12; 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; 15:11; 15:24; 23:14; 27:20; 30:16).  We reviewed “sheol” where David was speaking in Psalms 16:8-11.  It was also quoted in Acts 2:25-27 KJV.

The scripture reading was from Proverbs 5:1-6 KJV “1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: 2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. 3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: 4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. 6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.”