Written October 19, 2026

Formation Edition · Ophel

“And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.” — Ecclesiastes 7:26

Solomon has been searching out both wisdom and the wickedness of folly. Here he shows us one of folly’s most dangerous forms: something attractive that becomes a trap. The woman he describes is not a statement about women generally, but a picture of seductive evil whose appeal conceals captivity. What begins by promising pleasure can end by taking hold of the heart.

That is one of sin’s recurring deceptions. It rarely presents itself honestly. It does not announce, “I will bind you.” It offers relief, pleasure, attention, excitement, or a sense of freedom. Yet Scripture says, “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins” (Proverbs 5:22). The cords may be invisible at first, but repeated surrender can make them increasingly difficult to break.

Wisdom therefore learns to look beyond the first moment. The strange woman of Proverbs speaks sweetly, but “her end is bitter as wormwood” (Proverbs 5:4). That is the difference between desire and wisdom. Desire sees what is offered now. Wisdom asks what this choice is becoming and where it will lead if the heart keeps following it.

This exposes the danger of overestimating ourselves. We often think we can remain near temptation without being shaped by it. We may believe we can keep returning to the same influence, the same conversation, the same screen, the same fantasy, or the same environment without eventually weakening. Yet Scripture warns, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). Self-confidence can keep us standing too close to what wisdom would tell us to flee.

Solomon says that the one who pleases God escapes. That does not mean the believer earns protection by becoming morally superior. Only a few verses earlier Solomon had already reminded us that no man lives without sin. The point is that the heart turned toward God begins to see evil differently. “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13). As God becomes more precious, the thing competing for the heart begins to lose some of its appeal.

God is also faithful to provide a way out. “God is faithful… who will with the temptation also make a way to escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Sometimes that escape is very practical: leaving, confessing, blocking access, changing a habit, asking for help, or refusing to remain where desire is repeatedly fed. The way of escape may seem small, but taking it can be an act of worship.

Still, removing the outward opportunity does not by itself heal the inward desire. James tells us that a man is tempted “when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:14). The snare matters, but so does the heart that finds the snare attractive. That is why Christian formation must reach deeper than behavior management. We need God to reshape what we love.

That need leads naturally to Christ. He was tempted, yet remained entirely faithful to the Father. Scripture says He was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Where we have been drawn away, He stood firm. Where our desires have wandered, His remained perfectly ordered beneath the Father’s will.

And He did not remain at a distance from those who had already been caught. Christ died for sinners, shed His blood, was buried, and rose bodily from the dead. Jesus said, “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin,” and then declared, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:34, 36). The gospel is not merely forgiveness after bondage. It is the beginning of a new life in which sin no longer has the right to rule.

Formation therefore looks like more than avoiding a trap. It is learning to love Christ more than what the trap promises. It is becoming quicker to flee what would bind, more willing to confess weakness, and more ready to choose obedience before desire has time to make its case. Freedom is not proving how close we can stand to the old chains. It is learning to walk away because Christ has become more precious than what once held us.

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And Christ is formed in us.