The Road to Hell.

We talk a lot at church about the road to Heaven, or the “Roman Road,” or following God’s path. But is there a path that leads the other direction? Is there a road to hell? Or, if you have been born again, is there a path that will lead you to the hell of a ruined life? Proverbs 7 tells a great story about a man on that road.

“At the window of my house

I looked out through my lattice,

And I saw among the naive,

And discerned among the youths

A young man lacking sense,

Passing through the street near her corner;

And he takes the way to her house,

In the twilight, in the evening,

In the middle of the night and in the darkness.

And behold, a woman comes to meet him,

Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart.

She is boisterous and rebellious,

Her feet do not remain at home;

She is now in the streets, now in the squares,

And lurks by every corner.

So she seizes him and kisses him

And with a brazen face she says to him:

“I was due to offer peace offerings;

Today I have paid my vows.

Therefore I have come out to meet you,

To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you.

I have spread my couch with coverings,

With colored linens of Egypt.

I have sprinkled my bed

With myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;

Let us delight ourselves with caresses.

For my husband is not at home,

He has gone on a long journey;

He has taken a bag of money with him,

At the full moon he will come home.”

With her many persuasions she entices him;

With her flattering lips she seduces him.

Suddenly he follows her

As an ox goes to the slaughter,

Or as one in chains about to be whipped for his crimes,

Until an arrow pierces through his liver;

As a bird hastens to the snare,

So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

Now therefore, my sons, listen to me,

And pay attention to the words of my mouth.

Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,

Do not stray into her paths.

For many are the victims she has cast down,

And numerous are all her slain.

Her house is the way to hell,

Descending to the chambers of death.”

Proverbs 7:6-27.

This is an excellent dramatization of a young man stumbling into temptation. But it is more—this is the way any man, woman, or youth lets himself be blindly led along like a bull with a ring in his nose, until he finds himself at the slaughterhouse. We all sin the way this young man sins. When we are tempted, we wander down the path to hell, ignoring the dangers.

What did this young man do when he found himself tempted?

1. He went out looking for the sin. The young man lacking sense took a walk, and “passing through the street near her corner, … he takes the way to her house.” He made the choice to go looking for the thing that tempted him.
2. He let himself be seduced by an enemy far more powerful and experienced than he is.
3. He believes her seductive lies; he believes that there will be no consequences because her husband is allegedly not coming home for days.
4. Still, he hesitated. He had one last chance to escape. You do too, right? We have all been there. There is a way out. God always provides a way of escape.
5. Then suddenly, he jumps. He decides to go for it, and ignores all the consequences.

The writer compares the naïve youth—or any of us when surrendering to temptation—to:

1. An ox being led to the slaughter, and
2. A prisoner being led to a flogging, and
3. A game animal being shot with an arrow, and
4. A bird racing into a snare, or
5. Any other ignorant person too naïve to realize this sin will COST HIM HIS LIFE.

Solomon concludes: “Son, listen to me. Do not go looking for the thing that tempts you. It will destroy you the way it has destroyed thousands before you. That road is the road to hell.”

Years ago I memorized part of this. It has been a powerful weapon to defend me from many temptations. You should memorize it too:

Suddenly he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, until an arrow pierces through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, so he does not know that it will cost him his life. Proverbs 7: 22-23.

Pray with me. Dear God, teach us to love your word. To read it, study it, ask questions about it, and memorize it. Help us to hate evil. Help us to flee lust and to fear consequences. Please change us. Make us take it seriously. Help us realize what’s going on, and who our enemy is. Help us to see that toying with sin and letting it seduce us is the path to hell. Please stop us before we destroy our lives with sin. Don’t let it trap us like an animal in a snare. Protect us and change us. Protect us even from ourselves. We need your help every day. Give us a passionate love for your word and the power it gives us to withstand temptation. We love you.

ΑΩ