Avoid this deep ditch!
Proverbs 23:27
For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
The greatest threat to men, especially young men, is whores and adulteresses. An attractive, bold, and immoral woman is their most dangerous enemy. Solomon asked his son for his heart and his eyes, so he might warn him to avoid the fatal snare of these sexual destroyers (Pr 23:26). With the cold and calculating heart of a beast of prey, they use any means of enticement to capture and destroy noble men (Pr 5:6; 6:26; 23:28).
Hunters once trapped wild animals by covering pits with thin branches and grass; the animals would fall through the deceptive cover and be captured (I Chr 11:22). The hole or pit was deep to keep them from leaping out, and/or it was narrow to prohibit running or movement. The depth was too great to escape upward, and/or the width too narrow for moving or speed. They were designed to prevent escape. Capture or death was certain.
The metaphors are powerful! Sexual sins can destroy you. Escape from the temptation, the obsession, and her manipulation is rare. Once a man gives in to a woman, he is trapped by his lusts, her selfish demands, and/or the revenge of an angry father, husband, wife, populace, or magistrate (Pr 22:14; 5:20-23; 7:25-27). Men are seldom recovered.
Solomon had read about Joseph’s trouble with Potiphar’s wife and Samson’s ruin by Delilah, and he had clearly seen the great pain of his father for adultery with Bathsheba. Only Joseph survived, and he spent years in prison due to the revenge of his spurned seductress. Samson was finally ruined, and David suffered greatly for the rest of his life.
Young man, avoid company or communication with loose women. Reject their advances. They are liars. The very short pleasure they offer is nothing in comparison to the long suffering here and hereafter. They are a deep ditch and narrow pit. You should marry a woman that fears the Lord and enjoy her and children by her (Pr 5:15-19; I Cor 7:1-5).
God named a popular church the great whore and mother of harlots (Rev 17:1-6). The Roman Catholic Church is the mother, and Protestant churches are her daughters – born in the Reformation. If you join them, you will be trapped in a deep ditch and narrow pit. Find a faithful and loyal church of Jesus Christ that follows the simplicity of the gospel, and save yourself from spiritual adultery (II Cor 11:1-4; I Tim 4:1-6; Jas 4:4).
