Proverbs 7:14 (Mini Sermon)

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1.      Pro 7:14 – “I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.”

1. Having caught him and aggressively kissed him like a slut (Pro 7:13), the adulteress now tries to shamelessly feign religion to deceive the young man.
   1. Beware of those who try to hide sin under a cloak of religion.
   2. We must know people by their fruits (Mat 7:20; Mat 12:33-35) not merely their words (2Pe 2:3; 2Pe 2:18).
2. I have peace offerings with me;
   1. Peace offerings were part of the religious service of the Jews (Lev 7:11).
   2. She said this to convey two things.
      1. First of all it implied that she was religious.
      2. Secondly, it would have indicated that she was well off because she had the means to offer a beast as a peace offering (more on this below).
      3. These two things would make the young man think she was a decent woman, not a whore.

• She had peace offerings with her.
  1. It was night when they met (Pro 7:9).
  2. She had paid her vows that day (Pro 7:14) (more on this below).
  3. The peace offerings she had with her would have been what was left over from the sacrifice and would have been in her house.
  4. The reason for this is that only part of the sacrifice was given to the LORD (the fat, kidneys, caul, and rump of sheep) (Lev 7:31 c/w Lev 3:16; Lev 3:3-5; Lev 3:9-11) and the priests (the breast and the right shoulder) (Lev 7:14, 31-34), and the rest was sent home with the worshiper to be eaten (Lev 7:15-16).
  5. This might have been an excuse to welcome him into her house.
  6. Some whores, especially married ones, actually try to buy men with gifts (Eze 16:31-33).

1. this day have I payed my vows.
   1. Making and paying vows was also part of the religious service of the Jews.
      1. A vow sometimes accompanied the peace offering (Lev 7:16).
      2. A peace offering was sometimes made to accomplish (fulfill, perform, or carry out) a vow made to God (Lev 22:21).
      3. Paying a vow to God is a serious matter (Ecc 5:4-5).
      4. By telling the young man she had paid her vows she was trying to convince him that she was a godly, pious woman (Psa 116:12-19).
   2. She had paid her vows that day.
      1. She had been to worship at the temple earlier that day.
      2. This should remind us that it’s not only the people that profess to be Christians who are often deceivers, but also those who are regular church-goers.
      3. These types creep into churches unawares and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness (Jud 1:4).
      4. Lasciviousness n. – The quality of being lascivious.
      5. Lascivious adj. – 1. Inclined to lust, lewd, wanton.

If this young man had any discernment at all, he would have known that a woman dressed like a harlot standing on a street corner at night is not a godly, virtuous woman no matter how religious she sounds.