Proverbs 23

Proverbs 23:1

23:1-3 Here we are warned against gluttony and surfeiting. When we eat with an influential person, we should consider what or who (JND) is before us. Then we should put a knife to our throat, that is, exercise restraint in eating and drinking. Verse 3 suggests that someone might be wining and dining us in order to influence us in some way. It isn’t a case of unselfish hospitality but a means of using us for some subtle purpose. 23:4, 5 The ceaseless struggle to be rich is a form of “wisdom” to be avoided. It means that you are spending your life pursuing false values and putting your trust in what doesn’t last. Riches have a way of sprouting wings and flying away like an eagle. 23:6-8 Another social situation to avoid! Don’t be a guest of a man who has an evil eye, a miser who begrudges you every bite of the food you eat. It’s what he thinks, not what he says, that counts. For while he is saying, “Help yourself . . . Have some more, Eat and drink!” he is actually counting every spoonful you take. The LB paraphrases these verses as follows: Don’t associate with evil men; don’t long for their favors and gifts. Their kindness is a trick; they want to use you as their pawn. The delicious food they serve will turn sour in your stomach and you will vomit it, and have to take back your words of appreciation for their “kindness.” 23:9 Don’t try to teach a dull, stupid fool. You are wasting your time on him. He will despise your words of wisdom. 23:10, 11 Don’t dishonestly take the property of someone else by secretly moving the ancient boundary stones. Don’t take advantage of the defenseless by seizing their fields. For their Avenger is mighty. You will have to deal with Him! He will plead their cause against you.23:12 There is no easy way to gain instruction. It requires discipline and application. Disregard the ads that promise it in “three easy lessons.” 23:13, 14 It is not a kindness to a child to allow him to run wild. The Bible does not condone permissiveness but rather encourages correction with a rod, and promises that the child will not die. This may mean that the beating will not kill him, or that the beating will actually save him from premature and reckless death. It will deliver his soul from Sheol. Instead of disciplining his wicked sons, Eli rebuked them with a mild “Why do you do such things?” (1Sa_2:22-25). He fostered a permissiveness that brought ruin on his house, on the priesthood, and on the nation. David failed in the area of parental discipline too. He never displeased Adonijah by correcting him (1Ki_1:6). After making two treasonable attempts to seize the throne, Adonijah was killed by Solomon. 23:15, 16 A father rejoices when his son has a heart that is wise and lips that speak the truth. The teacher experiences this same joy when his pupil receives wisdom and shares it with others. In a similar vein Paul said, “For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord” (1Th_3:8). And John said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 4). 23:17, 18 There is something better than envying the prosperity of the wicked; that is to live in constant fellowship with the LORD. Occupation with the wicked brings discouragement; occupation with the Lord brings delight. So the lesson is to make communion with God the aim of our life. Also, to remember that there is a future day of reckoning for the wicked and a bright hope of reward for the righteous which shall never be disappointed. The hereafter looks past death and resurrection to a glorious future in heaven. 23:19 Whatever others may do, an obedient son should heed instruction, be wise, and guide his heart in the right way, that is, the way of God. 23:20, 21 There are two kinds of “drunkards"those who drink too much and those who eat too much. They both make bad company for anyone who wants the good life. Intemperance takes its toll. The drunkard and the glutton are headed for poverty. The stupor which results from surfeiting will clothe a man in rags. 23:22 Young people should welcome advice from their father, and not treat their mother with contempt. Old folks have years of experience behind them. Young people should recognize this and try to benefit as much as possible from their experience. 23:23 We should be willing to pay a great price for truth, but unwilling to sell it for any consideration. The same goes for wisdom and instruction and understanding. We should spare no pains to acquire them, but never surrender them for anything in this world. 23:24, 25 Modern custom says, “Give father a tie on Father’s Day, and give mother a box of chocolates on Mother’s Day.” But more rewarding to parents is a son who lives wisely and prudently. Hence, the exhortation: “Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her who bore you rejoice.“23:26-28 The earnest plea, “My son, give me your heart . . .” introduces solemn warnings against immorality and drunkenness. The writer is saying, “Listen to me carefully and observe the counsel I give you.” A prostitute is like a deep, concealed pit, forming a trap for the careless. She is a narrow welleasy to fall into but hard to get out of. She lies in wait like a robber. She may have a pathological hatred for men, and wreaks her revenge on them by entangling them through deception, like one hooks a fish with a lure. Daily she adds to the list of unfaithful men whose marriages and families are torn apart. 23:29, 30 The rest of chapter 23 is a classic description of a drunkard. He brings all kinds of woe upon himself and staggers from one sorrow to another. His life is marked by contentions, since he is forever trying to pick a fight. He grumbles and complains incessantly, but it never dawns on him that he is the cause of all his troubles! He has bruises, wounds, a black eyeall from fights that were unnecessary. His eyes are bleary and bloodshot. He sits in the tavern all night, consuming one mixed drink after another. 23:31, 32 He is warned against being fascinated by the clear red wine, by its brilliant sparkle, by the way it swirls around smoothly. But he doesn’t listen, and so he suffers the consequences, which are like the bite of a serpent and the sting of a viperpoisonous and painful. 23:33, 34 His eyes will see strange things, a possible reference to the horrors of delirium tremens, the violent mental disturbances caused by excessive and prolonged use of liquor. His conversation is thick, garbled, and vile. He reels to and fro unsteadily, as if he were bobbing back and forth in the sea, or perched on top of the mast as it rocks crazily from one side to the other. 23:35 Someone has clobbered him, but when he regains consciousness, he says that he was not hurt. They mauled him but he did not feel it. As soon as he is completely awake, he plans to go back to the bar for another drink.