He tempts himself (vv. 6-9). You get the impression that this young man is either terribly dumb or very proud, convinced that he can play with sin and get away with it. But he’s only tempting himself and heading for trouble. To begin with, he’s out at night (“walking in darkness,” see 2:13; John 3:19-21; 1 John 1:5-7), and he’s deliberately walking near the place of temptation and danger. He didn’t heed the wise counsel of the Lord: “Remove your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house” (5:8 nkjv). God’s Word wasn’t controlling his feet (3:26; 4:27).

During more than forty years of ministry, I’ve listened to many sad stories from people who have indulged in sexual sin and suffered greatly; in almost every instance, the people deliberately put themselves into the place of temptation and danger. Unlike Job, they didn’t make “a covenant with [their] eyes not to look lustfully at a girl” (Job 31:1 niv), nor did they follow the example of Joseph and flee from temptation (Gen. 39:7ff.; 2 Tim. 2:22). We can’t help being tempted, but we can certainly help tempting ourselves.