Solomon As a Football Commentator

(Proverbs 5:5 KJV)  Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

I think Solomon must have been thinking of a football game he watched on TV when he wrote this verse.  He is thinking about all of the gyrations that some people take to make sure they end up in Hell.  When you “take hold” (lay hold NASB77) (8551) picture the way in which the spikes on the shoes of a football running back dig into the grass when he dodges to evade a defender.  This has the idea of purpose in it.  How often have you planned your week so you will not “be able” to make it to a social event you want to avoid?  How often have you tried that with God?

Hell usually does not happen in one evening.  It is the result of a lifetime of rejection and dodging.  God is continually reaching out to us, sending people our way, bringing our sin to mind.  He is patient.  He is not willing that any should perish, as it says in II Peter 3:9.

So?  This is the negative side of the promise.  Just as we have the promise of forgiveness and regeneration as a result of confession and repentance, we also have the promise of Sheol if we keep bobbing and weaving.