Noah…had been with lots of women. They seemed to fling themselves at him. But his experience with this particular woman was entirely different from all of the others. For one thing, she was nice. There would definitely be no fooling around, he’d known that the moment he’d laid eyes upon her. And she wouldn’t settle for some drunk biker. He’d have to really clean up his act, possibly even have to finish that GED program she had talked about at dinner, before she’d really spend much more time with him…
excerpt — The Pretender: A Blackguard in Disguise
Tillie Caselli and Noah Hansen’s first “date.” When Tillie’s mother finds out about it, she’s horrified — and rightly so. Noah Hansen has the worst reputation, and it’s reported by Tillie’s own father that, “Noah is in desperate straits…visits the county jail on a regular basis…drinking…womanizing.” No wonder Noah is the last man on earth that Tillie’s mother wants her going out with!
But, the real clincher here is that Noah behaved differently with Tillie than he’d ever behaved with any other woman before — and Tillie noticed. A woman with a higher standard will always notice a man who elevates his own behavior, if only for her sake.
The wise man, Agur said, “There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden.” Proverbs 30:18-19. [emphasis mine]
Love those verses. Agur saw in his time that air travel must be extremely complicated, and yet the eagle effortlessly floats along with seemingly nothing beneath it! A snake that is capable of slithering along a rock without the arms and legs that humans and other animals require for movement was quite an astonishing thing. The way of a ship as it floats (much like the eagle) through treacherous waters that sustain only aquatic life must have been too amazing for Agur to comprehend.
And then Agur comes to the way of a man with a maiden. Now Agur isn’t talking about just any woman, he is talking about a specific woman because he uses the word “maiden.”
The word “maiden” (or Hebrew ʿalmâ—Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary) is the feminine version of the Hebrew word “ ʿelem “. The masculine version means “to be kept out of sight,” and the feminine version means “damsel, maid or virgin.” So we put those two concise definitions together and that’s how we come up with the word “maiden” in the NIV, which is the version I quote above.
When Noah is in the presence of Tillie, he knows he’s with a maiden. Please understand this: he is not assuming her virginity, he assumes she’s “different…nice…and that he will have to clean up his act.” He can tell that this young lady lives by a higher standard than the women he’s used to being with. She has kept all the indulgences of her flagrant society (1975) “out of sight,” meaning she doesn’t put that stuff in her head, therefore keeping herself away from unnecessary temptations. For instance, in 1975 eighteen-year-olds could go into bars and drink beer in South Dakota. Tillie chooses not to do this because she knows the riff-raff that hangs around in bars. As a young woman (or an older woman for that matter) why put yourself in that kind of a position? Because drinking alcohol is sin? No. I do not believe drinking alcohol is sin, unless you consume enough to be drunk — and that’s another can of worms for another post. Being in a bar can be extremely dangerous. Check the news reports on this. Lots of ladies wind up missing after they’re seen leaving a bar.
Does that mean Tillie’s perfect? No way! A maiden will still make many mistakes along the way, but it’s important to set an extremely high standard for yourself. This weeds out a whole lot of other problems.
What’s a high standard even look like anymore? Try this short list on for size: no racy, dirty movies, books, or magazines (and especially none that defame our Lord), no excessive drinking, no sex before marriage, no gossip, no slander, no greed or coarse joking — and that’s just a short list. If you get into your Scriptures, you’ll find a whole bunch more to add to this one.
A man that is really interested will respect that standard and rise to the occasion. It’s truly an amazing thing. I’ve seen it happen. But if you have not one standard, and you don’t keep your mind and your own person “out of sight” so to speak, you’ll be easily tempted by your own “evil desire, dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” Those are the words of our Savior’s own brother, James. And that “death” he is talking about is our “spiritual death.”
And this partying and sexual immorality is constantly being overlooked within the Church. I keep hearing this phrase: “We are no longer under the Old Covenant,” in order to pour grace over rampant sinfulness. It’s true we don’t have to make sacrifices anymore because Christ was our ultimate sacrifice. Our complete forgiveness of sin. But, beloved, we can’t have a New Covenant without an Old Covenant. They go hand-in-hand. And this “teaching” is as wrong as wrong can be, and Paul warned his young disciple, Timothy, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” 1st Timothy 4:1-2
Don’t let your consciences be seared in this way. I’m no scholar, but that doesn’t sound good to me.
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2
Ladies, set the bar high! And praise the Lord for your worthiness. He created you with a specific purpose, and what a fine job He accomplished in that! When you accept the truth of the Almighty’s perfection, and wear it on yourself, others will notice. I guarantee it.
The Caselli Family Series is published by Reata Publishing of Sioux City, Iowa.
Reata Publishing:
Where there are never any vampires, no sex, and no vulgar language. Simply just the best in Christian fiction
© 2012 by Reata Publishing. All Rights Reserved.
