Mitch Albom’s Five People You Meet in Heaven has now been on the New York Times bestseller list for one-hundred-twenty weeks. To date, it has sold over five million copies.

This is a lesson about those you won’t meet in heaven. The Bible often compares people to animals. Jesus said Herod was a “fox” (Luke 13:32). Jacob said Judah was a “lion’s whelp” (Genesis 49:9), Issachar was a “strong ass” (49:14), Dan was a “serpent” (49:17), Naphtali was a “hind (deer) let loose” (49:21), and Benjamin was a “wolf” (49:27). The righteous are “as bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).
We make animal comparisons, too. What mother hasn’t said to a son who just had a meeting with a mud puddle, “You’re as dirty as a pig”? A businessman may say, “Watch out for him—he’s as slippery as an eel!” When a husband can’t persuade his wife to let him go golfing with his friends, he says, “You’re as stubborn as a mule!” And she may reply, “And you’re as dumb as an ox!”

There are some “animals” mentioned in the Scriptures that will never make it to heaven.

No Ox Goes to Heaven (Proverbs 7:22-23). Solomon used an animal illustration to show the foolishness of immoral living. He told his son of a young man whom he saw make the fatal choice of following the voice of temptation. Perhaps he was a lad from the country who was visiting the city for the first time. He felt free as a bird because nobody knew who he was and nobody cared what he did. He wandered into the red-light district where a prostitute propositioned him. “I have decked my couch with coverings,” she says. “I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love” (Proverbs 7:16-18). The young man listened and started to weaken. He knew he probably shouldn’t, but . . . who would know?

Then “straightway”—inconsiderately, giving himself no time to think of what would be the sad consequences of it—he “goeth after her . . . as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life” (Proverbs 7:22).

As Solomon watched the loose woman lead away the young man he was reminded of three things:

• An ox being led by the butcher to the slaughter house, as happy as if it were going to a pasture. The ox was unaware of what was about to happen. With equal abandon of his danger, the young man rushed to soon-coming misery. He went blindfolded—even laughing—to his ruin. We live in a society that enjoys “sexual freedom,” but few realize that unfettered sexual fulfillment turns people into animals—and animals ready for slaughter at that.
• A foolish man who was insensible to the shame of being led to the stocks. Such persons as are caught by immoral partners follow them in for pleasure, but end in the loss of freedom and honor. The problems come in a variety of ways—disease, injury or death by the revengeful husband; add to this the destruction of their immortal souls.² Those who violate God’s law are often unaware of the consequences.³ The lust-drunken, infatuated adulterer, especially, is oblivious to his serious mistake.
• A bird that saw the bait and rushed to beat other birds to it, not knowing that it was about to be someone else’s meal. The poor fellow came to the city to enjoy life and ended up “going down to the chambers of death.” Solomon is saying that we must pay attention to wisdom/understanding (5:1, 7, 12; 6:23, 32; 7:1ff; 8:1-3). We are to keep God’s law “as the apple of thine eye” (Proverbs 7:2) and count wisdom as a “kinswoman.” Bulwark No. 1 is to give heed to wisdom.

When Solomon said “many strong men have been slain by her” (Proverbs 7:26) perhaps he had in mind Samson, who was hunted and ultimately slain by the adulterous Delilah. Perhaps he also thought of his own father, David, too, who by adultery brought a sword upon his house and cost Solomon four brothers. Paul’s admonition is always appropriate: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

This principle needs to be taught by parents, grandparents, preachers, and Bible teachers to

• Teen daughters AND sons (2 Timothy 2:22; 1 Corinthians 6:18). There is an implied double-standard when we expect daughters to be “good girls” but excuse sons behavior with a “boys will be boys” attitude. Regardless of gender, God expects teens to live morally pure lives.
• Singles—college age and older (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4). Single life is hard. The truth is that most dating couples are “doing it,” and they will assume Christian couples are immoral, too. But society’s view and God’s are different. We cannot let the world press us into its mold (Romans 12:1-2).
• Husbands and wives (Proverbs 5:15-21). It’s not your grandfather’s world. Today’s married couples live in a sex-saturated, affair-filled world. What church has not lost members, and standing in the community, because a prominent member chose to throw away a lifetime marriage for a fling. We need to be preaching morality to our married couples.
• Those who are “single again” (divorced/widowed) (Hebrews 13:4). This overlooked group in our churches has gained members in the last few years. Those who have been in marriages and then find themselves without sexual partners are in a vulnerable position (Matthew 5:32; 1 Corinthians 7:5).

Part 2 Here

Footnotes

¹Warren Weirsbe. If I had Only One Sermon to Preach, Edited by Richard Allen Bodey, Excerpts taken from pages 239-245
²Gill
³The Septuagint, followed by the Syriac Version, has another reading, and interprets the clause: “As a dog, enticed by food, goes to the chain that is to bind him, so does the youth go to the temptress.”