Proverbs 5:8
“Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:”
If I told you that behind a certain door was death, I would imagine you would do everything in your power to avoid that door. If death were behind a certain door, you would avoid it, set up danger signs around that door and warn every person not to get near that door. It would not matter how pretty the door would be for you would understand that death will occur if you open that door.
The father in the Book of Proverbs warns his son of such a door. He said in the verse above, “…come not nigh the door of her house:” This father was warning his son about the door of the strange woman. He warned his son that the door of the strange woman was dangerous. He said in verse 5, “Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.” This father was warning his son that though the strange woman would try to lure him that he was to avoid going through the door to her house, because behind her door were the steps to death.
Friend, this warning is still true today. The door of the strange woman still leads to death. It is sad that we know this to be true, but many open that door only to find the death this father warned about. Though the warning of this door has been trumpeted for hundreds of years, many never learn the lesson and the danger of entering this door.
If the door of the strange woman is so deadly, then who is this strange woman? The word “strange” means foreigner. When God used this word, he is warning us that any person who is not your spouse is strange. Of course, this was a father talking to his son, and that is why he used the phrase “strange woman,” but for the lady any man who is not her husband is a strange man. This “strange” person is not a person of the streets, but it is anyone to whom you are not married.
You must be very careful about how you conduct yourself with the opposite gender. Most people do not commit adultery or fornication with someone they do not know, but it is with someone they know that they commit these wicked sins. It is the person with whom you work or go to church of whom you must be careful. It is the person whom you call your friend of whom you must be careful. It is the person with whom you are closely associated of whom you must be careful. Always be polite and courteous to the opposite gender, but be careful to keep your distance.
The warnings God gives are grave. He says, “her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.” The bitterness this act will bring on your life is great. The pain it brings to you will be hard to heal. The honor you once had will be forever tarnished. The labors over which you toiled will all be in vain.
Friend, don’t be the next casualty! Be careful with your interactions with the opposite gender. Certainly, you can interact, but don’t cross the line and live a life of regret. God gives us the final warning of the door of death in the final two verses of this chapter when He says, “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.” Don’t be so foolish to think that you can handle the door of death. Avoid it with all of your being!