Proverbs 7:24-27. 24And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. 25Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, 26for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. 27Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.
Often we see those who fall into sin as the primary culprit. Someone who made their choice fully aware of what they were doing at the time. The sinner is the oppressor, the victimizer.
But the sinner is also the victim. That’s how these final verses of Proverbs 7 paint the fool that is seduced by the adulteress. He is a victim that she has laid low.
This view of sin is not new to Proverbs. In Genesis 4, God, speaking to Cain personified sin as an almost demonic creature that sought to devour him. “Sin is crouching at your door,” God said, “desiring to rule over you, but you must rule over it.”
The Apostle Paul too will see sin as a force that seeks to control and destroy us. Just like the sinful woman of Proverbs 7 lives on the path to Sheol, the grave, so Paul says that the sting of death is sin. Sin wants to kill us all.
But praise God that in Christ we have victory over sin and death.
1 Corinthians 15:56-57. 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Christ, we are no longer victims, we are victors! Sin can no longer lead us into her chamber of death for we have died with Christ to sin and its condemnation. We are no longer ruled by sin, rather we rule over it by faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And yet, this side of Heaven we still find ourselves often in the wilderness of temptation. How does the Christian withstand the daily onslaught of sin’s seduction? The answer is three-fold in Proverbs 7.
First, the wise one guards their heart (v.25a), not allowing it to be turned away from a focus on Christ and his love for us on the cross.
Next, the wise one literally stays away from sin’s path (v. 25b), even fleeing like Joseph from Potipher’s wife when necessary, from situations that would draw us away from faithfulness to God.
Finally, the wise one looks past the present pleasures of sin to see the future that sin has prepared for us. To see themselves amongst the many victims that sin has destroyed (v.26), the mighty throng that she has slain.
These are the actions of the victor. Of those who refuse to be victim any longer. Of those who are the sons and daughters of the Most High. Of those who know to live is Christ.
You: Do you live more like a victim or a victor in your Christian life?
You in Christ: Victim is no longer your final identity, victor is. Do you believe that you have victory over sin? How might your perspective change if you truly believed this?
Christ in you: How can you actively use the gospel to stay off the path of sin?
Pray: Father, your redemption has freed me from sin’s death grip. I know I was once a victim but am now a victor in Christ your Son. Amen.
To Live is Christ 