Feb 26 - The Religious Woman

Feb 26

The Religious Woman

Pr 7:14 I have peace offerings with me;

this day have I payed my vows

 Here is the portion of scripture we are considering today.

Pr 7:7 And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, 8 Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

 9 In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:
 10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. 11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: 12 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) 13 So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, 
14 I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. 15 Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
Pr 7:18 Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.
 19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

 

In Proverbs chapter 7 we have the account of a woman and a young man. The young man is without understanding. He is beguiled by a woman seeking a lover. Perhaps you have dismissed this woman as no more than a prostitute, but she does not seek payment.  Although she is attired as a harlot yet she is not a harlot.  She is on the street after dark seeking to satisfy her lust. Her “goodman” is gone and won’t return that night. She calls her husband her “goodman”  to avoid the thought of adultery.  It is easy to dismiss her as an unfaithful wife, a bad woman, without morals, without decency, and a terrible sinner.  But she is more than that.

She is a religious woman!  She had been to the temple that very day. Her purpose in going to the temple was to pay a vow she had made. We do not know the nature of her vow but it must have been related in some way to the temple, or the Jewish laws, or connected somehow to her religious nature. It must have been more serious than to promise herself to lose a few pounds or stop eating chocolate. At some time she had made a vow. She was faithful to that vow and had been to the temple in fulfillment of the requirements of her vow.  On the way to the temple, or in a portion of the temple where women were permitted, she would have had to order an animal for her sacrifice.  

“Good morning Mrs. Goldberg. On your way to the temple I see. A lamb? Yes we can have one sent over to the temple right away. Thank you. Peace be with you. (That Mrs. Goldberg is so faithful)”

She might have seen other people she knew at the temple and exchanged pleasantries with them. She certainly would have talked to one of the priests concerning her sacrifice. And then having faithfully discharged the requirements of her vow she headed for home.

What kind of sacrifice did she bring to the temple?  There were so many different sacrifices it is hard to keep them all straight. The text tells us it was a peace offering. There were three kinds of peace offerings, each with its own stipulations.  Rather than confuse you with all those details let me just say that with many of the peace offerings the priest and temple workers got to eat a part of it after the sacrifice. The remainder went to the person who had brought the sacrifice and they had to eat it that same day, or in some cases two days. Thus she was offering the young man a nice meal of lamb chops. 

Pr 7:14 I have peace offerings with me;

this day have I payed my vows.

Our description of this lady as an immoral religious woman is still not complete. She was even worse. She was  a hypocrite!  She went to church, appeared to be a fine faithful woman and then went to violate some of the most basic of the Jewish laws. Thou shalt not commit adultery!

Did she really think going to church made everything else OK? "OK God I did one for you, now you can do one for me and forgive this sin."  Are there people today who think they can have the same arrangement with God. “OK God, I teach Sunday school, sing in the choir, give my tithe faithfully and never miss prayer meeting.  Now don’t I deserve to have a little fun in life. Besides you have promised to forgive all our sins”

Paul addressed that issue in the book of Romans. That seems like a fitting ending for today.

Ro 6:1 ¶ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

 Ro 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
 Ro 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.