There is a sexually explicit story written by Solomon in Proverbs 7 which stars a naive young man and a prostitute. I don’t remember this one being told in my Children’s Bible Story Book. The story goes something like this. There was a young man who lacked common sense (7:7), so he decided to walk down a street known to house a prostitute (7:8-9). Dressed in a seductive outfit (7:10), the woman came out to meet the young man and greeted him with an embrace and a kiss (7:13). I’m sure he liked it. The woman flattered the youth by saying that she had been trying to find him and that he was the ONE for whom she had been looking (7:15). She was lying. She begins to describe in detail the bed that was awaiting them, how they could “drink their fill of love until morning,” and enjoy each others’ caresses (7:16-18). The immoral woman even put the young man at ease by assuring him that her husband had gone away on a long trip and would not return until later in the month (7:19-20). He couldn’t resist her scintillating words, so he gave into her advances (7:21). Solomon writes, “He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life” (7:22-23). Although these words were written thousands of years ago, this same scenario plays itself out in lives everyday. The characters may be different and the story may vary, but the process of temptation is the same for all. Temptation leads to lust. Lust leads to sin. Sin eventually leads to death (James 1:14-15).
In my mind, this young man made an avoidable mistake, which ultimately led to his sin. His mistake is found in Proverbs 7:8, “He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house.” He knew she lived there. Everyone knew where she lived.
If you want to keep yourself from walking into sin, you might want to quit frequenting the road of temptation.
