Shownotes
*This episode is for mom ears only!
Don't miss our conversation with Protect Young Eyes Creator, Chris McKenna, on today's episode of the Again podcast!
Do you want someone to take you by the hand and lead you through The Bible to explain what God says about parenting--while you get to know other moms? Entrusted with a Child's Heart is for you! This quick episode explains how this biblical parenting study can guide moms, bless your church, and actually help the leaders! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-again-podcast-for-christian-moms-encouragement-in/id1700555502
How do we raise children who can recognize temptation, walk in wisdom, and remain faithful to God's design in a culture filled with distractions and deception?
In this episode of The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries, Stephanie Hickox continues through Proverbs 5–7, exploring some of the Bible's most practical warnings about temptation, purity, marriage, and wise decision-making.
While these chapters contain mature themes and this episode is intended for moms, the wisdom found in Proverbs is essential for Christian parents seeking to prepare their children for the challenges they will face in today's world.
Through Solomon's warnings against the adulterous woman, we discover timeless principles about guarding our hearts, protecting our marriages, discipling our children, and staying close to the Lord—the only One who can truly satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts.
In This Episode:
- Biblical wisdom for protecting your marriage and family
- Why temptation often begins in the heart long before it becomes an action
- How Christian parents can prepare children for cultural pressures
- Practical lessons from Proverbs 5–7 for modern families
- Guarding our hearts, minds, and technology habits
- Teaching children biblical purity in age-appropriate ways
- The importance of vigilance in a digital world
- Why God's design for marriage is worth protecting
- Finding healing, restoration, and hope after failure
- How Scripture helps us recognize and avoid destructive paths
Key Scriptures:
- Proverbs 5
- Proverbs 6:6–8
- Proverbs 6:20–35
- Proverbs 7
Biblical Parenting and Family Discipleship
As Christian moms, we're called to do more than manage behavior—we're called to help our children develop wisdom and discernment. Proverbs reminds us that every choice leads somewhere, and that one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is teaching them how to recognize truth, avoid temptation, and walk closely with Christ.
This episode also explores how parents can begin conversations about purity, technology, relationships, and wisdom in ways that are both biblical and age-appropriate.
Encouragement for Christian Mothers
If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the culture your children are growing up in, this episode offers both practical wisdom and hope.
God's Word does not leave families defenseless. Through Scripture, prayer, and intentional discipleship, we can help our children learn to ponder the path of their feet—and the clicks of their fingers.
Most importantly, we are reminded that our hope is not in our own strength but in Jesus Christ, whose mercy is greater than our failures and whose wisdom is sufficient for every challenge we face.
Prayer Focus
In this episode, we pray for:
- Protection over marriages and families
- Wisdom for parents raising children in a digital age
- Courage to have difficult but necessary conversations
- Freedom from temptation and destructive habits
- Healing for those affected by unfaithfulness
- A deeper fear of the Lord and devotion to Christ
Whether you're studying Proverbs, seeking help with biblical parenting, learning to pray Scripture, or looking for encouragement in Christian motherhood, this episode offers practical biblical wisdom for everyday life.
#BiblicalParenting #ChristianParenting #BiblicalMotherhood #FaithAndFamily #BibleForMoms #ChristianMom #ProverbsStudy #FamilyDiscipleship #MarriageAndFaith #PrayingScripture #ChristianMotherhood #ParentingWithPurpose #ChristianFamily #EntrustedMinistries #TheDwellingPlacePodcast
Learn more about Entrusted Ministries and discover additional resources for Christian families at Entrusted Ministries.
Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary, Spurgeon's Treasury of David
Transcripts
This is The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.
2
:I'm Stephanie Hickox.
3
:As we continue through the Book
of Proverbs, I wanna say thank
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:you for being my guinea pigs.
5
:Sometimes I need to make a tweak
here or there, and I appreciate
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:your permission to be spirit-led.
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:Today,
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:I had listed that we would talk
about Proverbs 5 through 8, but I'm
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:adjusting it to be Proverbs 5 through 7.
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:Heads up that this episode
will be for mom ears alone.
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:My experience in teaching my kids
about the Book of Proverbs is, " Oh my
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:goodness, this book has so much wisdom.
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:Guys, let's read it together"
then we start reading, and
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:I'm thinking, "It's so good."
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:And then all of a sudden, "Uh-oh.
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:Um, guys.
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:Oh, look, a squirrel" because all
of a sudden it's talking about the
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:adulteress or the prostitute, and it's
just been a little much for their ages.
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:I heard a dad refer to this
woman as the bad lady before
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:And that might be a way that you kind of
segue for your kids when they do encounter
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:these passages of scripture but this is
not a topic we can ignore, and when it
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:is age-appropriate, we need to warn them
to not fall into the seduction of evil.
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:We just studied Song of Solomon and
saw that sex is a gift from God.
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:It's entirely natural for us to
want to engage in it, and that's
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:why we have to be so careful about
the situations we allow ourselves in
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:I so appreciated this MacArthur
quote I read this morning.
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:" It's not just weak people that fall,
but strong people in the wrong place
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:at the wrong time with the wrong
thoughts for the wrong reasons."
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:If you're going gluten-free or
beginning a diet plan, don't
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:set up camp in a bakery, right?
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:In the last episode, we discussed
pondering the paths of our feet,
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:and that warning will be woven
throughout today's reading as well.
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:But I loved this quote for another
reason, because as women, our thought
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:life and our hearts are often the problem
way before our feet start to move.
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:We harbor bitterness, loneliness,
rejection, abandonment, insecurities,
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:and whenever I've seen a woman
enter a compromising situation, it's
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:because she's trying to fulfill a
need that may not have been wrong
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:in itself, but it's being met in the
wrong place and by the wrong source.
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:And that's why it's so important
for us to dwell with the Lord.
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:As we embrace the greatest love we could
experience, we'll find ourselves less
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:vulnerable to the temptations that come
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:I have to confess that these
passages hit hard for me.
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:I watched someone I cared deeply
about fall into temptation
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:And this temptress didn't go
about getting her prey by a slinky
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:dress and a plunging neckline.
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:She did it by being compassionate and
having a listening ear, showing some
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:vulnerability, and then ensnaring the man.
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:After a devastating amount of
wreckage and destruction, it came
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:to light that this same woman had
broken apart about 30 marriages
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:Our generation and our kids
are facing new temptations.
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:Instead of just pondering the paths
of our feet the very scroll of our
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:thumbs can lead to devastation.
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:We need to be praying about when the
Holy Spirit would have us begin these
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:conversations with our kids, and
we must be vigilant to protect them
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:As I already mentioned to you, I
got to interview Chris McKenna,
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:the creator of Protect Young Eyes.
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:The first part of our conversation
was released on our Again podcast
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:today, and it highlights his new book,
Five Habits of the Tech-Ready Family.
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:If you feel overwhelmed by this
issue at all, or if you need to be
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:reminded why it's so important to
protect your kids, read this book.
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:It takes you by the hand and shows
you just what you need to do Because
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:even when we are overwhelmed,
we're called to be steadfast and
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:persevere in the things that matter
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:So before we get to the really
hard and heavy passages of today
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:I wanted to read my favorite verses
from Proverbs that encourage diligence
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:Steph: Chapter six, verses six through
eight tell us, "Go to the ant, O sluggard.
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:Consider her ways and be wise.
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:Without having any chief, officer, or
ruler, she prepares her bread in summer
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:and gathers her food in harvest."
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:This is perfect timing for us
to land on this verse, isn't it?
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:It's great inspiration to talk to our
kids about what are our goals this summer.
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:At the end, what do we want to
say we've become more faithful in?
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:Hopefully we're growing in our
pursuit of the Lord, but maybe we're
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:also trying to improve on math facts
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:or maintaining a clean room.
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:Figure out what it is and take initiative
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:It's a good reminder for the whole
family to be growing in godly character.
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:Now we'll read through some of
these passages that specifically
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:warn us about temptation.
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:They might be hard to hear, but we need
this caution more than ever before.
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:Beginning in chapter five
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:My son, be attentive to my wisdom.
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:Incline your ear to my understanding,
that you may keep discretion, and
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:your lips may guard knowledge.
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:For the lips of a forbidden woman drip
honey, And her speech is smoother than
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:oil, but in the end she is bitter as
wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
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:Her feet go down to death, her
steps follow the path to Sheol.
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:She does not ponder the path of life.
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:Her ways wander, and she does not know it
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:Wormwood is a symbol of
suffering, and the two-edged
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:sword obviously represents death.
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:This woman doesn't even realize
what she's doing herself
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:Solomon continues, " And now,
O sons, listen to me, and do not
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:depart from the words of my mouth.
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:Keep your way far from her, and do
not go near the door of her house."
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:drink water from your own cistern,
flowing water from your own well.
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:Should your springs be scattered
abroad, streams of water in the streets?
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:Let them be for yourself alone
and not for strangers with you.
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:Let your fountain be blessed and
rejoice in the wife of your youth,
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:a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
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:Let her breasts fill you
at all times with delight.
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:Be intoxicated always in her love.
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:Why should you be intoxicated, my
son, with a forbidden woman and
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:embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
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:For a man's ways are before the eyes of
the Lord, and he ponders all his paths
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:A cistern is a place where
we can draw refreshment.
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:We wait for the Lord to give us the gift
of marriage, and that alone is where we
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:should seek fulfillment in this area.
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:Diligence is required to remain
pure before marriage and to remain
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:steadfastly devoted after marriage.
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:Scripture gives us permission to be
lightheaded, delighting in the embrace of
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:our spouse, and that enjoyment protects
us from being tempted by anyone else That
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:section concluded reminding us that God
is omniscient, and even if we don't ponder
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:all of our paths, the Lord sees, and we
will face the consequences of our choices
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:Continuing in chapter 6 my son,
keep your father's commandment, and
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:forsake not your mother's teaching.
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:Bind them on your heart always,
tie them around your neck.
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:When you walk, they will lead you.
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:When you lie down, they will watch
over you, and when you awake, they will
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:talk with you For the commandment is a
lamp and the teaching a light, and the
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:reproofs of discipline are the way of
life to preserve you from the evil woman,
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:from the smooth tongue of the adulteress
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:Do not desire her beauty in
your heart and do not let her
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:capture you with her eyelashes.
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:For the price of a prostitute is
only a loaf of bread But a married
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:man hunts down a precious life.
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:Can a man carry fire next to his
chest and his clothes not be burned?
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:He who commits adultery lacks sense.
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:He who does it destroys himself
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:As I continue in chapter seven,
listen how premeditated the sin is.
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:My son, keep my words and treasure
up my commandments with you.
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:Keep my commandments and live.
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:Keep my teaching as the apple of your eye.
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:Bind them on your fingers.
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:Write them on the tablet of your heart.
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:Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and
call insight your intimate friend, to
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:keep you from the forbidden woman, from
the adulteress with her smooth words.
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:For at the window of my house, I have
looked out through my lattice, and I have
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:seen among the simple, I have perceived
among the youths, a young man lacking
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:sense, passing along the street near her
corner, taking the road to her house.
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:In the twilight and the evening,
at the time of night and darkness.
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:And behold, the woman meets him,
dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.
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:She is loud and wayward.
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:Her feet do not stay at home.
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:Now in the street, now in the market,
and at every corner, she lies in wait.
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:She seizes him and kisses him,
and with bold face she says to
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:him, " I had to offer sacrifices,
and today I have paid my vows.
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:So now I have come out to meet you, to
seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
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:I have spread my couch with coverings,
colored linens from Egyptian linen.
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:I have perfumed my bed with
myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
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:Come, let us take our
fill of love till morning.
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:Let us delight ourselves with love,
for my husband is not at home.
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:He has gone on a long journey.
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:He took a bag of money with him.
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:At full moon he will come home."
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:With much seductive speech she persuades
him; with her smooth talk she compels him.
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:All at once he follows her, as an ox goes
to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught
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:fast till an arrow pierces its liver, as
a bird rushes into a snare He does not
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:realize that it will cost him his life
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:The consequences for this type of
sin are far-reaching and devastating
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:This temptress ensnares a simple young
man who lacked sense, but she conspired
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:against him even while pretending
to honor sacrificial ceremonial law.
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:When a peace offering was given,
it was required that you would
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:eat the food before the morning.
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:She's pretending to be righteous while
absolutely throwing off God's moral law
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:let's pray for protection for
our marriages, for our children,
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:for freedom and restoration
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:Because with Christ there is hope
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:Speaker 12: Heavenly Father, we thank
you that you are aware that we are
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:dust and so vulnerable to temptation
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:We're grateful that your word warns us
so thoroughly and powerfully, and we
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:humbly ask that you lead us in paths
of righteousness for your namesake
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:I pray we would ponder the
paths of our feet and the clicks
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:of our fingers on our devices
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:Help us to walk in vigilance
to protect our families.
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:I pray for a special blessing of
satisfaction in our marriages, that you
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:would help us to experience the delight of
drinking from our own cisterns lead us
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:in wisdom about how to instruct our kids
on these issues in an age-appropriate way.
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:And give us courage when we're
intimidated or uncomfortable
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:For the marriages that have
experienced the pain of unfaithfulness
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:We hope in you to do a healing
work that only you could do
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:Jesus, as you said to the woman caught in
adultery, "Go and sin no more," we thank
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:you that you are a God of abundant mercy
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:But we ask that you'd protect us
and our families from engaging in
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:anything that would put a breach
in our relationship with you
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:May we walk in devotion to you
and also in the fear of you
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:In Jesus' name we pray, amen
