Welcome to this daily PBJ devotional. Read Exodus 20, Job 38, and Proverbs 7 today. This devotional is about Proverbs 7. My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live. Guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Tie them to your fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, you are my sister, and call understanding your kinsmen, that they may keep you from the adulteress, from the stranger with seductive words. For at the window of my house I looked through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment, crossing the street near her corner, strolling down the road to her house, at twilight, as the day was fading into the dark of the night. Then a woman came out to meet him, with the attire of a harlot, and cunning of heart. She is loud and defiant, her feet do not remain at home. Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner. She seizes him, and kisses him, she brazenly says to him, I have made my peace-offerings, today I have paid my vows. So I came out to meet you, I sought you, and I have found you. I have decked my bed with coverings, with colored linen from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, with aloes, and with cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love till morning. Let us delight in loving caresses. For my husband is not at home. He has gone on a long journey. He took with him a bag of money, and will not return till the moon is full. With her great persuasion she entices him, With her flattering lips she lures him. He follows her on impulse, Like an ox going to the slaughter, Like a deer bounding into a trap, Until an arrow pierces his liver, Like a bird darting into a snare, Not knowing it will cost him his life. Now, my sons, listen to me, And attend to the words of my mouth. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray into her paths, for she has brought many down to death. Her slain are many in number. Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death. This is God's word. Proverbs 5 was entirely about sexual sin. Proverbs 6, 20 through 35 discussed that subject again. And now here we are in Proverbs 7, reading another chapter, another whole chapter about adultery. This time the focus is on the person who is unprepared for the temptation to adultery. Verse 7 said that he was among the simple, a youth that had no sense. Those are the words of the NIV in verse 7. Verse 8 told us that he was going down the street near her corner, walking along in the direction of her house. Those phrases suggest, maybe, that he was curious. And so does verse 25, which says, do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. He'd seen this woman before, maybe. and found her attractive, and so he went near her place, just to see if he might by chance walk by her and get a better look. The tone of this chapter implies that he did not expect anything to happen, but she expected something to happen. Verses 10 through 20 described her approach to this sin. It says that she seduced him with persuasive words. Those are both from verse 21 in the NIV. Although Solomon described the price he paid for his adultery in verses 22 and 23 and verses 26 and 27, the focus of this chapter is on preparing you to be tempted without sinning. This is done by fortifying your mind and heart against temptation, according to verses 1 through 5 and verse 24, and being ready to say no when the temptation comes. Are you flirting with sexual sin? Are you drawn to someone in your mind, in your heart, someone at work, or in your neighborhood, or somewhere else? Like the young man in our story, you might be unprepared for temptation. A wise person will understand just how much temptation is available out there, and how deceitful our own hearts are. So listen to the warnings in this chapter. Learn how to spot the signs of someone who wants to sin with you. Then put that person at arm's length at all times. These things will help you resist temptation when it arrives in your life. If you found this devotional helpful, Please go to my website, dailypbj.com slash subscribe, and enter your email address there. Then every day for free, you'll receive an email from me containing the devotional for the day in audio, video, and written form, as well as a link to the daily Bible readings so you can read through the Bible and be in God's word every day. Please consider becoming part of my financial support network so I can keep developing more content and reach more people with God's word in this way. Please share this with someone who might be helped in their Christian life by it. And I'll see you next time. May God bless you. I hope you have a great day today.