'Like a Bull to the Slaughter'

"All of  sudden he is going after her," reports Solomon, "like a bull that comes even to the slaughter, and just as if fettered for the discipline of a foolish man, until an arrow cleaves open his liver, just as a bird hastens into the trap, and he has not known that it involves his very soul." -Proverbs 7:22, 23.

The invitation proves to be irresistible to the young man.  Throwing all good sense to the wind, he goes after her 'like a bull to the slaughter.'  As a man in fetters cannot escape his punishment, so the young man is drawn into sin.  He does not see the danger  of it all until "an arrow cleaves open his liver," that is, until he receives a wound that can cause his death.  The death may be physical in that he exposes himself to death-dealing sexually transmitted diseases.  The wound can also cause his spiritual death;  "it involves his very soul."  His entire being and his life are seriously affected and he has gravely sinned against God.  He thus hastens into the grip of death like a bird into a trap!

Next time: "Do Not Wander Into Her Roadways"

The Watchtower, 2000