THE ATTIRE OF A HARLOT

MEMORY VERSE: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. Proverbs 7:10

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 119:19-24, Proverbs 31:4, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

The words in the Bible are not the words of drunken men or someone hallucinating. 2 Peter 1:21 says this: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (One of these days, if the Lord permits, we will discuss about how the Bible was written and you will see the process involved. God told the prophets when to start writing, when to stop writing, what they should write, etc. However, for the purpose of our studies today, I want you to know that “all scriptures is given by the inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16),” even the book of Songs of Solomon. Every single word was given by God’s inspiration. There is a reason for every illustration, example, parable, etc, used in the Scriptures. Because it was given by the inspiration of God, it “is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

In Proverbs 7: 6-23 is the story of a young boy who lost his life on his way to fornicate with a woman. Today, I want us to focus on a thing or two about this woman. Proverbs 7:10 says this: “And, behold, there met him a woman.............”There met him a woman implies that she was not a girl but an adult. The author did not tell us her name which meant that she could have been anyone - someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s wife, someone’s aunt, etc. The author was silent about her background, which meant that she could have come from any background. The author also did not talk about her race or the church that she attends, which meant that she could have come from any part of the world.The Bible says, "a woman" which meant that she could be single or married. It is safe to assume at this point that the bible could have been talking about any woman.

The bible then proceeded to tell us that she had the attire of a harlot. Proverbs 7:10 says, “And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot....” I believe this woman was not a harlot. If she were a harlot, the Bible would have said so. Although she was not a harlot, she wore the attire of a harlot. This implies that clothes do not make a person but they speak for the person or they ascribe an identity to the person. I thought the next thing after “there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot” would be a detailed description of what she wore. Although the bible did not tell us what she wore, we were told of the condition of her heart – “and subtle of heart” I.e. crafty heart. What she wore was a reflection of what was inside of her. She put on the "attire of a harlot" to get the attention of the opposite sex. She presented herself in a way that recommended her for sex. Am I advocating that women should wear drab clothes? NO! Actually, the virtuous women in Proverbs dressed nicely and dressed their family well too (Proverbs 31:21-22). Despite the fact that this woman was married (Proverbs 7:19-20), her clothes revealed her heart. Outward beauty does not always equate inward beauty.

QUESTION: What does your attire say about you?

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.