Strange

(Pro 7:5 KJV)  That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

What I want to think about today is the concept of foreigner/stranger as opposed to one who is part of your world.  I noticed a difference as I read through this chapter.  The different words used to translate this woman’s relationship to the community have the idea of someone who does not belong.  For our understanding that would be someone who was non-Jewish or a non-believer.  Okay.  Avoid those kinds of people.

If you keep reading you find that she says she had just offered her peace offerings, which is a Jewish thing.  It is keeping the law.  It is living in obedience.  Make whatever parallels you want for today.  That means that she was not actually a foreigner or stranger.  She was part of the official religious community of the day.

And we are warned to be alert.

So?  It would be nice if we could assume anyone who is in church on a regular basis could be trusted.  It would seem that is not the case.  Again we see that our judgements and decisions need to be rooted in the unchanging word of God, not the personalities and gurus around us.