Proverbs 7:7 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Proverbs 7:7

Comments

He is looking out and sees a group of simple ones. The word simple there in the Hebrew literally means open ones. It does not mean that they are simple in the sense of being unintelligent, in the sense of having no mental capacities. It means they are open, they are susceptible, they are foolishly susceptible. It is a group of young people it turns out, wilfully open and highly seducible. That is what he is looking at – young people.Youth and simplicity need not automatically go together. Young people may, by the grace of God, be shrewd and careful, and ready to possess their vessels in honour and to guard themselves from all the temptations and lies of this present world, but equally they may be open and susceptible. They may set out to be seduced by the world: ‘I want to be open, I want to be seized and taken over by something’, whether it is sensual pleasure, or the pleasure of gathering possessions, or ambition. There is a wilful openness with which we may well go out onto the sea of life so that we hope that life will take hold of us and carry us away to some risky and questionable experience. ‘I want to find out, I want to experiment, I want to try out things that I have been forbidden from doing so far in life.’ That is the openness, the vulnerability, the simpleness which Solomon, or God, sees in this particular scene.

Application

It is in youth that the enemy of souls sets out to corrupt us first. If we can be corrupted in youth, in young manhood or womanhood, then the enemy will wreak havoc in our lives for many years. This is the one who is shown us in the picture, one particularly who is void of understanding, that is to say, he does not know what is out there. He does not know that there is a battle for his heart and for his mind. How many people sadly just don't realise that these days? They don't realise that in this world there is a great spiritual battle going on. There is an enemy of souls. There is a personal devil and there is temptation and there is every influence to drag down and to corrupt and to take over. If we are not even aware that there is a battle, how are we ever going to successfully resist the enemy?

There are young people – this is what we have got to try to help the younger generation to realise – there are young people who have no sense of danger, who absolutely believe everything this world tells them. They don't understand that there is such a thing as the rebellious years, when there is a natural urge to rebel.

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Proverbs 7:7 Commentary and Bible Study