A Recipe for Feminine Disaster . . . Proverbs 7:11

She is boisterous and rebellious, Her feet do not remain at home; Proverbs 7:11

What kind of lady do you want to be drawn to in life?  For the women who are reading this - What kind of woman do you want to be - or do you want your daughters to become?  Hopefully, this passage in Proverbs 7 will have a little bit of wisdom for you today.

The woman described here in this verse is the one mentioned in verse 10.  This is the adulteress - the woman who dresses as a harlot - and who has her sights set on a very foolish young man who has decided to stray into her web.

She is described in three ways in this passage - and I would dare say that these are traits that woman would do well to avoid.  First of all we read that she is boisterous.  The word for boisterous means to growl, roar, or howl.  It means someone who is loud - who is very tumultuous.  This is interesting to read because Peter encourages the women in the New Testament to be women whose beauty if from the "inner man of their hearts" (a reference to the fullness of Christ within them) - and adds - a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth to God.  (from 1 Peter 3:4)  This woman is not either of these things.  She is neither quiet or gentle.  Her boisterousness manifests itself by the fact that she is out confronting young men - initiating to them.  She is out seeking sex and as she does - she is loud and bold in her actions and words. 

Here we come to an interesting thought.  God desires women to be the gentler sex.  He sees great worth in a quiet and gentle spirit in a woman.  We are not stating that women should never speak - that is a over statement of this principle.  It also does not mean a woman cannot laugh or enjoy herself - but that she must be stoic and quiet as a mouse.  The passage here and in 1 Peter is saying that a woman ought to have a tranquil heart - and not have to be the center of attention and the life of the party.  There is another thing we need to see here.  She is not just boisterous - but boisterous and rebellious.  Her loudness comes packaged with a rebellious heart as well.  She doesn't want to submit to her husband -or to the proper way to carry herself in public.  This is evident by the fact that she is seeking an adulterous partner in the streets at night.  Most of all she is not willing to submit her life to God and His Word.  She desires to run her own life - do her own thing - and say and act however she wants.  Men, such a woman is NOT a good woman to marry.  Ladies, such a character is NOT wise for you to adopt - and neither is it wise to allow your daughters to be influenced by such women.

The third and final description of the adulteress in this verse is that "her feet do not remain at home."  This is literal first of all as we watch her leave home and seek out a sexual partner other than her husband.  But it is also evident in other aspects of her life.  Titus speaks of having the older women teach the younger women to be "workers at home."  I'm sure I'll hear about this - but I do not think it is the wisest choice to have women out in the workplace.  That will most likely be received as a statement made from the dark ages - but actually it is made from Scripture.  The more women have been liberated from this Scriptural principle - the more they have actually been enslaved to the problems that come from it.  Women's liberation movements have tried to tell us that a woman should abandon her maternal instincts and leave home to do what men do.  The results of this social experimentation have been nothing short of disastrous.  As women have embraced being like men - they have also encountered the sins of men as well.  It has helped to disintigrate the family and the institution of marriage.  When a woman's feet do not remain at home - the protection the Scripture speaks of will be lost to them. 

I know that I've said some pretty controversial things today.  Most likely I'll get some pretty negative comments from this posting.  But the facts of Scripture are the facts.  Boisterousness, rebelliousness, and women who leave home to pursue their own agenda are not those who are held up and honored in Scripture.  I'm not saying that all women who are this way will end up in adultery.  But I am saying that the wise woman reads such a passage and leans heavily to the opposite of such things.  May God grant to all those who read this His wisdom to see the role that He has for women in this world.  Contrary to what the NOW and other feminist organizations will say, such a role is not demeaning to women.  It exalts them to the place of their greatest effectiveness and power.  Women who have lived out such lives know this.  They know that being a women of godly character, graciousness, and sacrificial love - will bless them - and will bless the many generations that will know the love of a godly mother - a godly wife - a godly woman.  May God multiply their number in the church once again in our day!