All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose. – Proverbs 7:22

Today's Scripture Reading (November 4, 2022): Proverbs 7

I find the story of Adam and Eve fascinating, but sometimes the misunderstandings about the story are the most interesting. One of the fascinating aspects of the story is found in the first creation story. The words of God, as recorded in Genesis 1, is that God made Adam “male and female” (Genesis 1:27). The importance of the statement is that mankind, or peoplekind if you prefer (yes, that is a joke that maybe only Canadians will understand), is created with radical equality. Man, perhaps we should say the male, and the woman or female were created from the very beginning as equals with each other. With the development of our human cultures, we prioritized males over females, likely because the males were stronger and provided the protection that the female part of the race needed. But in the eyes of God, there is no priority of one sex over the other.

The other interesting aspect is the sin of Eve. Yes, it seems that Eve was the one who first ate the forbidden fruit, but I think it could have just as easily been Adam. And proof of that is that the story contains no protestations from Adam about the consumption of the forbidden fruit, just acquiescence. Adam eats the forbidden fruit along with Eve; the sin belongs to both.

I live in a world that appears to be currently dominated by the “me too” movement, which is challenging the things that we think that we believe. We are being strongly encouraged by our culture to accept the radical equality between men and women, something that I think the Bible supports. But that also means that we need to read the Bible just a little differently.

At first glance, this advice from Solomon to his son seems to blame the woman for the sexual missteps of the situation. This is especially true in our society, when it appears that men have misused power to force women into a sexual relationship “like an ox going to the slaughter,” and “like a deer stepping into a noose,” more often than women. Does all of this make this statement unacceptable in our society? Is it just another example of men blaming women for their own misbehavior? And the question that our culture wants us to ask is, “is that fair.”

I think the statement is acceptable, but we need to interpret it more broadly. Some women will use what they possess to entice men into their trap. And if a woman wants to do that, it is often easier to force a male into an inappropriate situation than it is the other way around. But the most significant thing we, as the biblical reader, need to realize is that Solomon is talking to his son. I strongly believe that if Solomon addressed this statement to his daughter, he would warn her about the men who want to use their power to get sexual favors from her. The process might change with a male or female predator, but the endpoint is very similar.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 8