Have you ever seen the movie “The Jungle Book”? One of the characters in the story is a snake and throughout the movie when he wants to attract someone to him he comes out from his hiding, looks them in the eyes and seduces them into a trance-like state. The characters would do what the snake wanted to as long as their eyes were focused on him. At times that is how we become seduced by sin and our deceitful natures. The snake represents Satan, and he comes along in our lives trying to seduce us into sin. Notice I said trying, not making. We ultimately make the choice to sin, but Satan plays a huge part in doing everything he can to seduce us into the act of sin. You don’t have to look that far outside your door to see how hard he is at work in our world drawing God’s people into all sorts of sin, particularly sexual sin.

We are living in a time that if we don’t watch where we plant ourselves and are unaware of seduction, we can become attracted to the sin at hand. Before we know it, we can fall into a full blown act of sin that we never fathomed we were capable of doing. There are all kinds of seductions going on in the world, but we are going to focus on sexual seduction for this study. Let’s begin with looking at how choosing unwise “habitats” can make us vulnerable. We are going to look at a story in Genesis and personalize it to our lives today. Put on your hiking boots, we are going to need them as we take a hike back in time to the land of Canaan. We are going to be a fly on Abram’s wall. Today’s study will require a bit more reading then usual but I promise the events that unfold are nothing short of boring. Are you ready? Let’s get moving!

Please read Genesis 13:12-13. “Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.”

Do you think Lot’s decision to make camp near Sodom was dangerous based on what little knowledge we have from these two scriptures? Why or why not?
 
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For background knowledge, Abram and Lot lived together on the same land. Scripture tells us that their possessions had gotten very large. Quarreling broke out between the two family’s herdsmen which caused them to separate. Abram sacrificed his own right to the best land and gave Lot the option to choose which part of the land he wanted first. Genesis 13:10 says that, “Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD.”

Why did Lot choose this part of the land? _____________________________________________________________

Lot selfishly chose the better area to pitch his tents and herds based on the way the land appeared. As we see from our key scripture up top, Lot ended up pitching his tents near Sodom. If you know the history behind Sodom, you know that God destroyed it because of its detestable wickedness.

Please read all of Genesis 18-19 to get an idea of all that was taking place. What are some things mentioned?

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We see that Lot pitched his tent near Sodom, not actually inside the city gates. There is something significant to see here. Sometimes we can “pitch” our tents or choose unwise habitats near things that look good on the outside; yet, once settled in things are not as they appeared. Have you ever known someone who seemed totally incapable of having an adulterous affair but somewhere along the way you heard she had fallen into one? Oftentimes, the person is not aware they are flirting with seduction until after the fact. When we are caught off guard and not walking in the spirit, Satan uses all he has and all we have to give him to bring us closer and closer to the sin. Remember, our flesh naturally craves sinful things. Our fleshly nature will enjoy seduction, particularly sexual seduction because it feels good. Think about this for a moment. Have you ever watched an R-rated movie with a heavy sexual scene in it? Can you remember how your body began to be sexually stimulated through what you were watching on the screen? If so, that is how seduction feels. You were being stimulated by watching two random people have sex. Seduction overcame you if you were stimulated. Seduction appeals to our flesh. You don’t hear many people say that sinning feels bad at first! That is part of Satan’s scheme. He wouldn’t tempt you with something that felt horrible. He tempts you with something that feels good so you will take the bait. Once you bite the bait, you are lured in and at some point the sin does not feel good anymore.

Describe a time that Satan lured you in to his scheme. Were you able to resist or did you fall into his plan?

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We sometimes choose our “habitats” based on things that make us feel good. For instance, you may choose a group of friends based on their popularity and how they make you feel like you are a part of something good, yet you know they are involved in worldly things that God has called you away from. Or, you may become close friends with someone who is involved in an affair. Because you spend a lot time together, your “tent” is pitched near hers. At some point, the seduction she is under flows over into your life. Seduction begins when you find yourself wishing you could be in her shoes just once. Seduction is not something that we tend to notice right away.

Lot chose that area to settle down in based on the appearance of things. He was drawn towards it because it looked like it was a good choice, regardless that it was located right next to Sodom. We have got to become aware of where we are pitching our tents. We need to be wise and not assume that we are resilient to everything that goes on around us.

Please read the following scripture and write your interpretation next to it. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says, “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” What do you think that means?

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I believe that if Satan masquerades as an angel of light then he probably doesn’t come dressed in his red Halloween costume with his pitchfork. Think about it, if he did that, he would stick out like a sore thumb and you would see him a mile away. Scripture gives us this warning so we don’t go by appearances alone. My point is that I don’t believe Satan wants to stand out in a crowd. I don’t think he or his hosts are going to appear to be scary or we would more than likely run the other way. As scripture tells us, he appears to be an “angel of light.” He masquerades through enticing us with things that appeal to our flesh.

There are some scriptures in Ezekiel that some scholars believe Ezekiel is describing Lucifer (who is now called Satan) as “perfect in beauty.” Believing that it’s possible that the enemy was very striking in appearance we are wise to know that he is not going to come across to us as something unattractive or undesirable. In your life it might look like this: You are a married nurse who works at a hospital. You work closely with a doctor who is attractive. He is funny and he always seems to want to know what is going on in your life. He spends time asking personal questions and seems to really care about you as a person. It’s been a long time since your husband or significant other actually seemed to care that much about you to ask you such things. You begin to compare your husband to this other man and before long you begin wondering what he really thinks of you. Things go through your mind such as, “I wonder if he finds me as attractive as I think he is.” “I wonder why he asks me such personal questions. That must means he cares for me more than an acquaintance.” “ I wonder if he thinks about me as much as I think about him.” “I wonder what it would be like to be married to him. His wife is so lucky.” You soon begin to form an emotional attachment to him. Before long, he begins confessing to you that he has an attraction for you. The seduction continues and the next thing you know you are sharing your feelings with him. Now that you have spoken your feelings into existence you have really opened the door even wider for Satan to tempt you into a sexual affair.

This is how Satan masquerades himself. Its not that the doctor was Satan, it’s that he is allowing himself to be a vessel for the enemy’s plan of destruction. Ladies, Satan is working so furiously in this area that he is convincing women that these types of scenarios are from God. They are being seduced by spirits that actually try to convince them that this is what God would want for them. They buy the lie that God would rather they be “happy” and leave their marriage for another man, than stay in an unhappy marriage. If you are being tempted with thoughts such as these, know they are coming from your enemy!

Look back at the time you were drawn to sin. Can you see any lies you might have believed at the time? Perhaps you fell into a particular sin because you believed lies from the evil one. Was there ever a period of time after that you “woke up” and saw the lies the enemy fed you to tempt you into that sin? If so, what did those lies look like?
 
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Many women use the excuse that their marriage has been “dead” for years and they believe God would not want them to live in a relationship like that. Please understand that an unhappy marriage is not the same as an abusive one. If you are living in an abusive marriage I highly encourage you to seek help. If God calls you out of a relationship because of abuse, he is NOT going to use another man to entice you away! God is not the author of seduction, Satan is. Let’s end today’s lesson with a prayer.

Heavenly Father, we humbly come before you and ask you to show us any area that we are unaware of where we might be camping ourselves next to sin. Please open our eyes to any place in our lives where seduction is lurking about and show us how to go in the opposite direction. Begin to make us keenly aware of the enemy’s schemes in our lives when it comes to sexual seduction. Expose him and his traps set for us so that we will not stumble. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.