Proverbs – Introduction To WisdomSample

Protecting Your Spiritual Passion

Who inspires the harlot to seduce the burning lovers of God? The answer is Satan. Satan hates it when anyone leaves a life of slavery. He is a slave master and a slave driver. He will do anything to keep us in chains to sin, the law (a works-based religious life), or some oppressive social system.

This is the devil’s greatest fear—that people will be filled with the spirit of sonship and adoption, crying out, “Abba,” which means “Daddy” or “Papa” (see Romans 8:15–17). He will do anything to keep people in slavery and prevent them from entering their inheritance: intimate sonship.

And he will also go to any lengths to seduce those who have entered full sonship, into reverting back to the life of slavery. This is why the harlot entices the young man in Proverbs 7:16 TPT by saying that she has covered her bed with “lovely multicolored Egyptian linens.” The word 'Egyptian' is the clue.

Egypt was the land in which the Israelites were enslaved, the land from which they were rescued. God wanted his firstborn son, Israel, to himself. When Moses delivered the Israelites from Egypt, they moved from slavery into sonship.

See how important it is to guard our hearts? The enemy wants to lure us away from passionate sonship into religious servitude. He wants to take us from the land of abundance into Egypt, the land of slavery.

Let’s heed our Father’s call. He is compassionate toward us and will save us as we diligently guard our hearts.

The harlot lists her various enticements, but we are called to not forget our Father’s benefits. Write down God’s attributes and offers that draw you near to his embrace. Let these things captivate your imagination as you allow yourself to slip more deeply into his arms.