Commentary - Proverbs 22:14

Bird's-eye view

This proverb presents a stark and solemn reality concerning sexual sin and divine sovereignty. It is not simply a warning about the dangers of an adulterous woman, though it is certainly that. More profoundly, it is a theological statement about the nature of temptation and judgment. The proverb is structured in two parallel clauses. The first gives us a vivid metaphor: the mouth of a seductive, forbidden woman is a deep pit. It is a trap, easy to fall into and exceedingly difficult to escape. The second clause provides the divine commentary on who gets trapped. It is not the unlucky, the unwary, or the unfortunate. The one who falls is the man who is under God's specific and active displeasure, the one "cursed of Yahweh." This proverb forces us to reckon with the fact that God's judgment is not merely a future event, but is actively present in the moral ordering of the world, sometimes expressed by Him removing restraints and giving a man over to the ruin he is chasing.

The central lesson is a reversal of our ordinary way of thinking about sin and consequence. We tend to think that a man falls into adultery, and then God is angry with him. Solomon teaches us here that God's abhorrence of a man precedes his fall, and is in fact the judicial reason for it. This is a terrifying and sobering truth. The protection from such a fall, therefore, is not found in a man's own strength or cleverness in avoiding pits, but rather in walking in the favor and fear of the Lord. It is a call to covenant faithfulness as the only true safeguard against utter ruin.

Outline

Context In Proverbs

Proverbs 22:14 is part of a larger collection of "the words of the wise" (Prov. 22:17). This section of Proverbs contains numerous warnings directed to a young man, instructing him in the path of wisdom and righteousness. A recurring and central theme throughout the entire book is the danger posed by the "strange woman" or the adulteress (cf. Prov. 2:16-19; 5:3-14; 6:24-35; 7:5-27). She is the personification of Folly, just as Lady Wisdom is the personification of the righteous path. The strange woman offers fleeting pleasure that leads to death, Sheol, and destruction. This proverb fits squarely within that established theme, but it adds a crucial theological layer. It moves beyond describing the external danger and explains the internal, spiritual condition of the one who succumbs to it. It connects the horizontal temptation with the vertical reality of God's covenant pleasure or displeasure.

Key Issues

God's Control is Not Just at the End

The beating heart of the sinful attitude is the conviction that somehow, some way, God is not really in charge of the here and now. The standard, natural assumption tries to give God His due, but it relegates His authority to the end of the line. We acknowledge there is such a thing as the Last Judgment. Okay, we say, at the end of the whole program, God will come in, break out His grade book, and tell everybody how they did. He is in control at the very last, when He tells us how sinful we were being. In short, we think we control events by our sinning, and then God seizes control back at the very last moment by judging us for that sinning.

But Scripture teaches that God's control is much more profound and immediate than this. This proverb is a prime example. It doesn't say that a man falls into the pit and, as a consequence, God will be angry with him. It says the reverse. The man who is cursed, the man with whom Yahweh is already displeased, is the one who will fall in. God's judgment is not just the sentence read at the end of the trial; it is also the process of giving the fool enough rope to hang himself. The fall is the judgment, not just the cause of a future judgment. This is a heterosexual version of what Paul teaches in Romans 1, where God "gave them up" to their lusts as a form of judgment. The sin itself is the sentence being carried out.

Verse by Verse Commentary

14a The mouth of strange women is a deep pit;

The first clause sets the scene and defines the danger. The agent of this danger is the strange woman. In Proverbs, this is not a foreigner in the ethnic sense, but rather a woman who is "strange" to the covenant of marriage. She is another man's wife, an adulteress, and she operates outside the God-ordained boundaries of fidelity. The specific instrument of her danger highlighted here is her mouth. This refers to her seductive words, her flattery, her promises of pleasure, her lies (Prov. 2:16; 5:3; 7:21). Her speech is the bait on the hook. And the nature of the trap is a deep pit. This is not a puddle you can easily step out of. A deep pit is a snare. It is easy to fall into, the sides are steep, and it is nearly impossible to climb out of on your own. It speaks of entrapment, ruin, and a final destruction. The affair that begins with a few flattering words ends in a place of utter desperation and darkness.

14b he who is cursed of Yahweh will fall into it.

This second clause is the theological core of the proverb, and it is absolutely crucial that we get the sequence right. Who is the victim of this trap? It is the man who is cursed of Yahweh. The old King James says "he that is abhorred of the LORD." This is a man who, because of his own prior foolishness, pride, and covenant rebellion, has come under the active judicial displeasure of God. He has been walking in folly, perhaps secretly nursing lust in his heart, and God has determined to judge him.

And how does this judgment manifest? He will fall into it. Notice the certainty. This is not a "might fall" or "is in danger of falling." The verb indicates what will happen. The fall is not an accident that provokes God's curse; the fall is the execution of a curse already incurred. God's judgment here is to remove His hand of restraint. He lets the fool have what his heart has been craving. He lets the man who has been window shopping for adultery finally walk through the door. The adulterous woman and her seductive words are the deep pit, but the man's own sin and God's resultant curse are what push him in. An adulterer should certainly be concerned about the final judgment God will bring upon his sin (1 Cor. 6:9), but he must first recognize that the act of falling itself is an earlier judgment from a holy God.

Application

The application of this proverb is deeply sobering. If you are a man tempted by sexual sin, your first prayer should not be, "Lord, help me be strong enough to resist this woman." Your first prayer should be, "Lord, have mercy on me. Do not be angry with me. Let me not be one whom You have determined to judge." The ultimate protection from the deep pit is not your own willpower, but rather walking in the favor of the Lord. It is to live a life of such open-faced honesty and repentance before God that He is pleased with you. A man who delights in God's law, who loves his wife, who walks in humility, and who confesses his sin quickly is not a man God is looking to throw into a pit.

The man who is in danger is the one who is double-minded. He goes to church, but he surfs for porn at night. He praises his wife in public, but resents her in his heart. He entertains lustful thoughts and justifies them. He is the man who is already abhorred of the Lord, and the strange woman is simply the pit God has prepared for his judgment. This proverb is a call to radical, whole-hearted fidelity to God as our only true security.

And for the one who has already fallen, the news is not without hope, but the way out is not easy. The pit is deep. You cannot get out by your own efforts. The only way out is to cry out to the one who was thrown into the ultimate pit for us. Jesus Christ went into the pit of death and judgment, bearing the full curse of Yahweh that we deserved. He did this so that He could be the rescuer of those who are trapped. Repentance for the one in the pit means abandoning all attempts to climb out on your own and crying out for a grace that can reach down into the depths and pull you out. It is a grace that not only forgives, but also restores you to the favor of the Lord, which is the only safe place to be.