In Proverbs 29:25, Solomon says,
"The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.In Ecclesiastes 7:26, Solomon says,
"And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her."KEY STATEMENT
BRETHREN, TODAY ASK YOURSELF THOSE QUESTIONS
- "Is “peace” at any cost a good thing? Is it really peace?
- Being ready to hurt God in order to please God, does it make sense?
- Putting the approval of others above the approval of God, is it godly?
NO. BEING PEOPLE-PLEASER IS A SNARE OF THE DEVIL LET THIS SNARE BE BROKEN THIS SEASON IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST!
DESCRIPTION OF THE STRANGE WOMAN
Throughout his writtings, Solomon speaks abundantly about the strange woman. Specifically in today's text, Solomon describes her as "A woman whose heart is snares and nets" and "A woman whose hands are bands".
A) "A woman whose heart is snares and nets"
Throughout his writtings, Solomon speaks abundantly about the strange woman. Specifically in today's text, Solomon describes her as "A woman whose heart is snares and nets" and "A woman whose hands are bands".
At the end of the verse, he reveals that the only way to escape such woman is TO PLEASE GOD. In the other side, he reveals that the sinner shall be taken by her.
Who is this sinner who will fall into the trap of the strange woman? The sinner is the man who choses to please men instead of pleasing God.
Who is this sinner who will fall into the trap of the strange woman? The sinner is the man who choses to please men instead of pleasing God.
A) "A woman whose heart is snares and nets"
The radical corruption of human nature is clearly
taught in Scripture and brought into connection with the heart. Talking about
snares and nets in the heart is simply refering to the sinful nature of men
and the hidden wickedness of human's heart.
The heart of men is clearly described in Scriptures as
:
- “uncircumcised” (Jer_9:26; Eze_44:7;
compare Act_7:51);
- “hardened” (Exo_4:21);
- “wicked” (Pro_26:23);
- “perverse” (Pro_11:20);
- “godless” (Job_36:13);
- “deceitful and desperately wicked” (Jer_17:9 the King James Version).
- It defiles the whole man (Mat_15:19, Mat_15:20);
- resists, as in the case of Pharaoh, the repeated
call of God (Exo_7:13).
- is the seat of sin (Gen_6:5;
Gen_8:21).
B) "A woman whose hands are bands"
Hand refers to action; deed; performance; external action; that is,
the effect for the cause, the hand being the instrument of action.
When Solomon describes
the strange woman as having hand as bands, the picture refers to the bands tying the
yoke to the neck of a beast of burden. It is the image of the captivity to
Satan and to his demons.
The message behind this
picture is to show that being in relationship with any person whose heart is a
snare and whose hands are bands, it equals putting yourself under the yoke of
the devil. Why ? Because the same way a yoke is used to tie, to control, to
manipulate and to limit, the same way that person wil tie you, will control
you, will manipulate you and will limit you.
Spritually speaking,
being in such place is being ensnared and what will happen is that :
- you wil never go far in
life
- you will stagnate in
life
- you will be bound to
fruitless efforts
- your life will be
miserable
To confirm this fact, we
find in the Bible the case of Samson who was a man of God chosen before he was
born to serve as a judge and a deliverer of his people. Unfortunately, because
of the flawness in his character, he fell into the trap of those strange women
and ended his race with his eyes plucked off by the enemies.
HOW TO ESCAPE FROM THE SNARE OF THE HEART AND THE BANDS OF THE HANDS ?
We all know that the heart is the hidded part of men. According to Dr. Alex Loyd "the heart is the inner person that contains all the unconscious, subconscious, conscious thoughts, images, beliefs, and feelings, plus the will and conscience. It’s the whole person, but it’s more than what we are conscious of."
In the “heart” are stored all the images and beliefs we have encountered and adopted. And these images and beliefs literally reverberate through the cells of our bodies, influencing how we feel, how we act, our relationships, our success, and even our physical health.
Now the question is how to escape from the snare of hidden wickedness in the heart of men?
Solomon gives the answer and reveals that PLEASING GOD IS THE WAY OUT. He says it very clearly in the same verse of Ecclesiastes 7:26 "... whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her."
WHAT IS IT TO PLEASE GOD?
From the Webster dictionnary, to please God is to love his character and law and perform his will, so as to become the object of his approbation.
From Scriptures, to please God is threefold:
- To have faith in God
Hebrews 11:6 "No one can please God without faith. Whoever goes to God must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him."
- To be spiritual i.e. to
live and walk in and by the Spirit
Romans 8:8-9 "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."
- To do good
Hebrews 13:16 "Don’t forget to do good things for others and to share what you have with them. These are the kinds of sacrifices that please God."
CONCLUSION
Commit yourself to please God. God will be committed to spare you from the wickedness of the heart of men. Being a man pleaser is to put yourself under the snare of the devil.
MY CONFESSION TODAY
IT IS WRITTEN IN Galatians 1:10 "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ."
# I declare today that the Lord God empowers me to be God-pleaser always not man-pleaser.
# I am who God says I am. I declare today that my life is free from people's validation and opinion in the Name of Jesus Christ.
# The same way Shadrac, Meschad and Abed Nego preferred to please God by facing the furnace rather than pleasing the king by bowing before his statue, I declare today that the Lord God is enabling me by his grace to never hurt God to please people in Jesus Name.
SO SHALL IT BE!
JESUS IS LORD!
JESUS IS LORD!
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