Proverbs
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 23
Proverbs 23:1-3
Feasting with a Ruler
Introduction:
1. This proverb is the sixth of thirty wise sayings.
2. This section of Proverbs is different in that the sayings are longer and usually consist of more than one verse. Thus, there is a bit of a context to be found.
3. Verses 1-3 is really one proverbial thought.
4. In the previous proverb (22:29) he stated that a diligent man might find himself before kings and rulers.
5. The man who is “diligent in his business” is a man who is experienced in his field; he does not procrastinate, is quick to get the job done, and is therefore able to accomplish much and to do so at a high level of craftsmanship.
6. He will be promoted for his diligence. And he may find himself at a royal feast, seated with the aristocracy and even kings!
7. Proverbs 23 gives advice to such a man as to how to conduct himself in such situations.
8. The theme of this proverb is often considered to be gluttony. That certainly is alluded to, but the main point seems to be HOW to conduct oneself at a state dinner or at a feast with rulers.
9. We will probably never find ourselves invited to a royal feast or a state dinner at the White House (but from what I hear, you don’t need an invitation!), but certainly the principles described here could be applied to various other settings.
10. If Solomon wrote this, these words are words of advice from a King to perhaps ordinary citizens, who because of their diligence, competence, and skill, find themselves in a setting with the upper class.
11. The point is that “commoners” don’t always know how to behave themselves before the upper crust of society and sometimes make a fool of themselves.
12. Here’s some advice on how to avoid making a fool of yourself.
1 When thou sitteth to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
1. The setting:
a. An ordinary person is sitting to eat with a ruler.
b. Ruler: Rule; govern; control; be in charge; i.e., have a person or entity exercise authority over persons or governments.
c. The ruler could be anyone in a superior position of authority or leadership.
d. It could be your boss at work; it could be the CEO of a global mega-company.
e. It could be a state senator or governor. It could be the royal monarch of Yap.
f. It could be special even at the home of a billionaire who is interested in your company… or perhaps your skills have come to his attention.
g. The term used (ruler) is broad enough to include any sort of setting where you find yourself “out of your class.”
2. The exhortation:
a. Consider what is before you.
b. “What is before you” is one word.
• The word literally means “face.”
• The term is used in Psalm 13:1 – “How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?”
• The term is used in Psalm 42:2 – “When shall I come and appear before God?” (Appearing in the FACE of God or before His face.)
• It means: In front of; before; to the front of; in the presence of; in the face of; at the face or front of; from the presence of; from before; from before the face of.
• Perhaps a better way of saying this is “consider WHO is facing you” or in whose presence you are.
c. The exhortation to the man who finds himself before the upper class is this: consider WHO is before you…
• Consider: look closely; perceive; understand; consider with attention; be discerning.
• The exhortation is for the commoner who finds himself at a feast with the upper class should pay attention to the setting.
• He should carefully consider WHO this ruler is.
• It is not that God is respecter of persons. He is not.
• However, in different settings, different behavior may be expected.
• Rulers and the aristocracy have a different protocol and different rules of etiquette that the commoner would be wise to consider.
• Consider where you are… in whose company you are… what the occasion and the setting are… be aware of your surroundings.
• Consider WHO you are with, and don’t pay so much attention to the gourmet food, the elegant table, and luxurious surroundings. Pay attention to the ruler.
• You’re not at McDonald’s with your friends.
d. The host will have a careful eye for his guests and will notice.
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
1. The first part of the exhortation was to “consider whose presence you are in.”
2. The second part of the exhortation is to curb your appetite.
3. You may really LOVE to eat. The food and the presentation may be fabulous…like you’ve never seen or tasted before.
4. But before you ask for your third plateful, you might want to consider this proverb.
5. “Put a knife to your throat” before you go for thirds.
a. Obviously, this is a figure of speech – an idiom.
b. The author is not suggesting you commit suicide. This is hyperbole.
c. But in a very graphic way, he gets his point across.
d. Matt.18:8 – “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off.” The Lord also used hyperbole to make His point. The point is not “cut your hand off,” but get to the root of the problem and deal with the problem.
e. In the setting of Proverbs 23—before the ruler—you want to demonstrate restraint, self control, moderation, and self discipline.
f. This goes for eating, but could also be applied to the conversation. Don’t eat too much. Don’t talk too much. Know your place. Keep things under check… under control. Restrain yourself.
6. Back in the 1960’s, Hollywood TV writers came up with a comedy about this sort of setting called the Beverly Hillbillies.
a. Some low-class, uncultured Hillbillies suddenly became the nouveau riche and were thrust into the upper crust of society in Beverly Hills.
b. Jethro always made a fool of himself when they sat down to eat with the wealthy upper class of Beverly Hills.
c. It was funny in the TV show, but it is not funny in real life.
d. Thus, Solomon warns commoners here to allow the situation and the setting to affect your behavior. Make adjustments when necessary.
7. Keep in mind, that this man from the lower class, who finds himself in the presence of a king or rulers, has been promoted there for a reason.
a. This could be a golden opportunity for his career.
b. This could be an opportunity for him to be promoted by the king or ruler.
c. It may be a test to see if the invited guest could “fit in” to the company.
d. I’m told that Henry Ford took out potential employees for a meal before hiring them to an important position. He watched how they ate. If they salted their food before eating it, he would not hire them. He didn’t want people who acted on assumptions.
e. A man’s behavior at the feast could mean the difference between his family business getting the break of a lifetime before the aristocracy OR turning the rulers off and losing the potential for prosperity and promotion.
f. With all that hanging in the balance, making a fool of himself through gluttony and a lack of self-control at the feast would be sort of like taking a knife to his throat. It would be like suicide to his career and business.
1. The third exhortation is “be not desirous of his dainties.”
a. Don’t be desirous: don’t covet or crave after… don’t have a strong yearning for…
b. A relative poor man in that setting might think to himself, “I’ll never see food this good again. I’m going to eat as much as I can.”
c. Dainties: Tasty or savory food; delectable food; gourmet food; delicacies.
d. If you find yourself seated at a royal banquet, a feast fit for a King, surrounded by important, wealthy, powerful, leaders and rulers—AVOID indulging all your cravings.
e. Consider where you are. Consider in whose presence you are seated. Consider the protocol and the rule of etiquette in that setting.
f. And after considering, restrain your appetite… no matter how tempting the food may be.
g. “Be not desirous of dainties.’’
• There is good application to many areas of life here.
• A love for money, a love for the delicacies that money can buy, and a love to please the flesh has been the downfall of many a man.
• The warning here is BEWARE! Be on guard not to allow fleshly appetites of any sort cause us to make a fool of ourselves… or damage our walk with God.
• Take a knife to your throat. For the Christian, reckon yourself to be dead indeed to sin and crucified to the world and by faith experience victory.
2. The reason for the third exhortation: “they are deceitful meat.”
a. The word “meat” here is the word for grain or bread. (We saw this term with the meat offerings in Leviticus which were grain offerings.)
b. The term was used commonly for food in general.
c. The point here is that the food (though so appealing to the senses) is deceptive.
d. There is something false and phony about the setting.
e. This is the WARNING the author gives to guests at such a meal.
• Beware of what the host is up to.
• You MAY be befriended by the host who has ulterior motives.
• Solomon knew enough about the rulers and aristocracy to know that they very rarely hold a feast for a person (especially a lower class person) without ulterior motives.
• They are often attempting to butter up a person in order to get something… or perhaps to get the person to do some dirty work for them.
• This is a warning to the average citizen to have a little bit of sanctified suspicion in such a setting.
• Rulers don’t normally call nobodies to a feast unless they have something up their sleeve… unless they want something in return.
• So don’t be fooled by all the gourmet foods being offered to you. There is often a string attached.
• Don’t let the situation go to your head or to your stomach. Maintain self control AND a healthy dose of skepticism.
• Verses 6-7 deal with this aspect of the warning in more detail. (He offers you great dainties, but his heart is not with thee.)
f. The invitation to the feast might at first seem like a wonderful opportunity for advancement and promotion (and it may be)… but don’t be so sure.
• The ruler may have something sinister in mind.
• The royal feast that Haman was invited to didn’t turn out so well for him.
Proverbs 23:4-5
Labor Not to be Rich
Introduction:
1. Verses 4-5 constitute the seventh of thirty wise sayings in this section.
2. The theme of this proverb is money, and in particular, a warning against a desire to “make it rich in the world.”
3. It is a warning against making materialism our driving force in life.
4. This is a problem not only for the rich, but for poor and rich alike.
5. This is a problem not only for Americans and Saudi Arabians, but for Americans, Saudis as well as people in Somalia and Mongolia.
6. It is a universal message.
1. Labor: The term means: To toil; labor; grow weary; be weary; worn out.
a. The author commands his readers NOT to wear themselves out trying to become rich.
b. The proverb speaks of the man who is so determined to become rich, that he wears himself out in the process. This man is a workaholic.
c. He is focused only on obtaining wealth, and therefore, he works himself to the bone. It is his priority in life. Everything is put on hold… on the back burner.
d. Very often, this kind of greedy ambition leads to a ruined home life; a failed marriage or two, and health issues.
2. This command is not a contradiction to other proverbs that deal with the importance and the good consequences of diligence:
a. Prov. 10:4 – “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.”
b. Prov. 13:4 – “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.”
c. These passages indicate that diligence and hard work lead to prosperity.
d. Prosperity and obtaining riches are seen in a GOOD light in these passages.
3. However, in our present proverb, it appears that laboring to be rich is something to avoid. It appears in a BAD light.
a. This is not a contradiction to the proverbs just mentioned.
b. The difference is one of MOTIVE.
c. In the above passages, the emphasis is on DILIGENCE.
• Diligence is a good quality. It is a quality God would have for each one of His children.
• Diligence is a matter of good stewardship with our time, talents, energy, and priorities.
• In the above proverbs, the emphasis is on being diligent, not on being rich.
• Obtaining wealth and riches is a byproduct of diligence, but it is not the goal.
• It is the natural consequence of obeying God and using our time and talents wisely, but it is not our motivation.
• Our motivation for being diligent in our work ought to be that we please, honor, and glorify God, by being a good steward of His gifts.
4. The point of Proverbs 23:4 is NOT that laboring is bad; or that obtaining riches is bad. They are not. But laboring in order to BECOME rich and hoard stockpiles of goods for “me, myself, and I” is wrong.
a. I Tim. 6:9-10 – Paul speaks of the same motive: “they that WILL be rich.”
• The WILL to become rich is the wrong desire that Paul exposes here.
• It is not money, but the love of money; the insane desire to pursue money at the sacrifice of all else; to put obtaining money above all else.
b. Motive and intention of heart are the subject matters here.
c. Good old fashioned hard work and diligence are commendable; but greedy ambition is not.
d. The two should not be confused.
e. And of course, when we are dealing with motives, we are not to judge others. This is recorded for each of us as individuals to look at our OWN lives.
f. We should not automatically assume that because a brother works hard and is rich that he is laboring TO BE rich and is in violation of this proverb.
g. How do you know what his motives and intentions are?
h. Today, there is a whole sector of Christendom that abuses certain portions of Scripture and teaches that God WANTS us all to be rich.
• They abuse the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament about “blessings for obedience” which to Israel were primarily earthly, physical blessings—including riches. (A good course on dispensational theology would cure that!)
• They also abuse the proverbs that speak of riches as the reward for hard labor… and wrongly assume that we should work hard IN ORDER TO BECOME rich.
• They err on the issue of motive.
5. Prov. 23:4 warns us against the wrong motive in our labors.
a. The term “labor” used here means not just to work, but to toil and thus wear oneself out.
b. It speaks of work that is all consuming.
c. It speaks of a greedy ambition to be rich… even if it “wears out” and causes harm to the individual… and his family.
d. Becoming rich ought not to be our motive in work.
e. Good motives in our labors include:
• First and foremost, glorifying God.
• That is accomplished by being a good steward.
• Being a good testimony by paying our bills on time and paying our taxes.
• Also, providing for our family needs.
• And having enough to give to others and support the Lord’s work.
f. Becoming rich for the sake of becoming rich is not on the list of good motives in our labors.
1. Cease is defined as: To stop; cease; desist; forego; refrain; refuse; give up.
2. Thine own wisdom:
a. This is a very common term for wisdom in the book of Proverbs.
b. Normally, the book of Proverbs challenges its readers to seek wisdom, employ wisdom in everyday life, and to obtain wisdom with all your heart.
c. However, here, the author calls upon his readers to CEASE wisdom.
d. The key to understanding this command are the words, “thine own.”
e. He is obviously not calling for his readers to abandon wisdom in general. He is calling for his readers to put aside their OWN wisdom.
3. This command is virtually the same as is found in Proverbs 3:5-6:
a. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
b. It is not a call to abandon wisdom in general.
c. Nor is it a call to abandon our own earthly wisdom.
d. But it IS a call to cease from TRUSTING in our own wisdom or from LEANING ON our own wisdom.
4. Our OWN understanding sees nothing but good in riches.
a. Our own understanding sees seeking earthly riches to be a good means of providing security for the future.
b. Our own understanding thinks it’s worth it to wear ourselves out as a workaholic in order to obtain riches.
c. Our own understanding assumes that having the big house on the hill would make us happy; or having a summer home and a winter chalet would make us happy; that having just a little more would make us happy.
d. But our OWN understanding easily forgets about the dangers of being rich.
• Forgetting the Lord; pride; (Deut. 8:10-14)
• Seeing no need for God – (Proverbs 30:8-9)
5. Ceasing from our own understanding is quite the challenge and is often a big TEST of our faith.
a. It is a reminder that SOMETIMES that which seems best for us financially, as citizens of the earth, is not always the best thing for us spiritually, as citizens of heaven.
b. It has almost become the NORM for believers to move around the country on the basis of where they can get the best job, the best pay, and experience the greatest standard of living rather than on what is best for them spiritually.
c. It is a matter of priorities.
d. If spiritual and heavenly things are really our priority, then we will be willing to make choices that seem to run contrary to our OWN understanding… but are truly wise in God’s sight.
• We may be led to pass up a well paying job offer because there is no good church that area.
• Abraham, who was the elder and had the right to choose the land first, chose to allow Lot choose the lush valley around Sodom and Abraham took what was left.
• That decision may have run contrary to his own earthly wisdom (me first). But it proved to be a truly wise move in the end.
e. Too often today, believers choose house, job, and income over the local church.
f. Earthly wisdom might tell them to relocate and revolve their new life around that house, job, and income… rather than making the local church the focal point and seeking a way to earn a living secondarily.
g. These kinds of decisions may seem wise, but are upside down. The earthly and the physical is on top and the spiritual and heavenly is on the bottom.
h. Earthly wisdom says that that is the right priority, but spiritual and godly wisdom says the opposite.
i. Solomon warns: Labor not to be rich (don’t make that your priority); and CEASE from leaning on your own wisdom… which is very often out of sync with the wisdom that is from above.
j. This can prove to be a real TEST of our faith.
k. Faith and motives are invisible, but sometimes they can be “seen” by the choices we make in life.
l. John 6:27 – The Lord Jesus taught the same principle when He said, “labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.”
6. Another form this TEST takes also has to do with our motives.
a. It is easy to convince ourselves that we are laboring to be rich for a good END.
• We want to provide well for our family.
• We want our kids to go to the best schools.
• I want my wife and kids to have good things in life and not to have to go without like I did growing up.
• I want to have security in retirement.
• We want to be able to support the local church and missions.
• There is nothing wrong with these goals.
b. But there IS something wrong with becoming a workaholic in order to obtain them!
• That’s the warning here. Don’t wear yourself out trying to become rich.
• When a man (or a woman) wears themselves out in the pursuit of wealth, they are not much good in the service of Jesus Christ.
• They are not much good to their family. They will be too tired to spend time with their family.
• There is no such thing as being “so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good.” If you are truly heavenly minded, then you will be walking with God and serving Him in practical ways on earth.
• However, there is such a thing as being so “earthly minded that you are no heavenly good!”
• A life dedicated to the pursuit of wealth and material things is a wasted life. It is a life spent storing up treasures on earth… and storing precious little in heaven.
• Our proverb is warning about misguided priorities.
• We can easily convince ourselves (by leaning on our OWN understanding) that our motives are good… when in reality, they are not.
7. Ceasing from our own wisdom is incredibly difficult.
a. The world tells us that we are fools for forsaking earthly things for a “pie in the sky by and by.”
b. Friends and family—and sometimes even worldly believers—tell us that we are crazy for making such decisions.
c. But God says CEASE from your own wisdom… and from the wisdom of the world.
d. Make wise decisions and TRUST in the Lord to work out all the details… He is the One who leads and provides.
e. God can provide food for Elijah at a brook that was drying up.
f. God led the Jews into a wilderness. They wondered if He could furnish a table in the wilderness.
g. Faith follows the leading of the Lord and trusts God every step along the way.
h. It doesn’t always make sense to our own wisdom to remain by a brook that is drying up or to march into a dry, wilderness area.
i. It may seem safer and wiser to march into a lush, green valley as Lot did in Sodom.
j. God says the wisdom from above is always superior.
Proverbs 23:5
Temporal Riches
Introduction:
1. Verses 4-5 constitute the seventh of thirty wise sayings in this section.
2. Last week we considered the first half of this proverbial thought in verse 4 where the author commanded his readers not to labor for the purpose of becoming rich.
a. His point was not that laboring is bad, or that riches are bad. The proverb spoke of MOTIVES. “Don’t wear yourself trying to become rich.” This occurs only when greedy ambition and covetousness reigns in the heart.
b. Solomon was dealing with the workaholic in this passage.
c. He then commanded the workaholic to cease from his own wisdom. Man’s natural, earthly wisdom tells him to forsake all else (even one’s spiritual life) in pursuit of earthly riches. The wisdom that is from above teaches us that pursuing riches in heaven is far more valuable.
3. In verse five, Solomon states one reason why we should not labor to be rich: because of the transitory nature of riches.
1. The author presents a rhetorical question to drive home a point.
2. “Set your eyes”
a. This expression is literally to cause to fly; to cause to dart about by flying.
b. In our proverb it means “to cause your eyes to fly upon…”
c. It may imply the quick motion of the eyes; for example, eyes that fly from one thing to the next, like birds that fly and flutter from one branch to the next.
d. It speaks of eyes that quickly dart from one thing to the next.
3. Why would a person set his eyes upon something? Because his HEART is set on that object!
a. Eyes rotate and focus only on that which they are directed to focus.
b. The eye doesn’t choose the object on which to focus—the heart does… the person does.
c. This the expression speaks of a person whose heart quickly darts from one thing to the next—whatever catches the eye.
d. In verse 4, Solomon spoke of “working oneself to the bone” in order to obtain riches. He was speaking of priorities and motives. He spoke of a man who was greedy for earthly gain.
e. Thus, in this context, “setting one’s eyes” upon riches speaks of a covetous, materialistic heart, manifested by wandering eyes that set themselves on one earthly treasure after another.
f. He speaks of a man (or woman or child) who sets his eyes on one toy after another… “I want one of these… I want one of those…”
g. His eyes are constantly looking at all the THINGS of the world and his heart is constantly desiring them.
h. His eyes LOOK at these things because his heart directed them to; his heart directed them to because his heart secretly covets them.
i. Setting one’s eyes on something can be very dangerous. Remember that first Eve LOOKED at the fruit and saw that it was good and pleasant; it was very appealing. The next step was eating the forbidden fruit… and we all know how that turned out!
4. “That which is not”
a. In light of the second part of this proverb, it is clear that Solomon meant the transitory nature of earthly riches.
b. Earthly riches “are not.”
• This doesn’t mean that they do not exist in the natural realm.
• This is not a denial of reality.
• They do have a real existence and in fact are often gifts of Divine Providence.
• But in the spiritual realm, they “are not.” They are nothing; they have no value from eternity’s perspective.
• What we DO with earthly riches and how we USE earthly riches does have eternal, spiritual value, but that’s not the point here.
• All by themselves, earthly riches are (in a sense) nothing… they are an illusion…
• They are not what we expect them to be; they don’t bring the happiness we hoped they would bring; when it comes to satisfying the soul, they are nothing.
c. Prov. 27:24 – The author of these proverbs understood well the transitory and temporal nature of earthly riches—and he had a lot of earthly riches!
d. I Tim. 6:17 – They are called “uncertain” riches because one never knows if they will be around tomorrow or not. (Uncertain = untrustworthy, unreliable.)
e. Matt. 13:22 – The Lord called riches “deceitful” because they deceive people into believing that with riches they have all they need. They deceive people into thinking that riches will last forever, when they do not. They deceive people into believing that they will make them happy—and they do not.
f. Psalm 49:10 – And even if they last your entire earthly life, you can’t take them with you. You have to leave them behind to others…
g. Ecc. 1:2 – Solomon learned the hard way that earthly riches are “vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” (emptiness; nothing)
5. The point of the rhetorical question is this: “How foolish for a believer to constantly cause his eyes to focus on and fly towards one air bubble after another!
a. Will you do something so foolish?
b. Will you cast your eyes upon air bubbles that disappear as soon as you touch them?
c. The folly is not so much LOOKING at the things of the world. The real point is the covetous heart that causes the eyes to focus on those things.
d. The folly lies in setting ones HEART on something that isn’t going last…
e. Will you be so foolish as to admire the passing fashions of the world as if they were better than true treasures which endure forever?
f. Or as Matthew Henry wrote, “Wilt thou dote upon shadows?”
g. The folly lies in LABORING (working oneself to exhaustion) to obtain something which when grasped, disappears like an air bubble.
h. Will you set your eyes on such lowly, earthly things?
i. Or, as the hymn writer wrote, “Things that higher, things that are nobler, these have allured my eyes!”
j. For the apostle Paul, getting a glimpse of the glory of the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus was all he needed to have his eyes refocused: from the things of the earth, to the glory of the Lord! Once focused on Christ. All the other “things” that had previously allured his eyes were now like dung.
1. Not only are earthly riches “nothing,” but now we are told that riches make themselves wings and fly away like an eagle soaring into the skies.
2. It is likely that the author intended a play on words that is missed in the translation.
a. The first part of the proverb questions, “will your eyes FLY to things that are nothing?”
b. Now he states that the “nothings” themselves FLY away.
c. The figurative meaning is roughly that of a man whose eyes fly from one thing to the next. Why? Because as soon as his eyes fly towards one treasure, it flies away. Then his eyes fly towards another treasure, and it too flies away.
d. The idea is that riches are elusive… they are uncertain… they are unreliable… they are unstable.
e. “The more we cause our eyes to fly upon them the more likely they are to fly away from us.” (Matthew Henry)
3. Note that the riches “make themselves wings.”
a. Riches of this world have in themselves the seed of corruption.
b. They all begin to corrupt, fade, to lose value, to be eaten by moths, to rust, to corrode, to decay, or to crumble as soon as they are purchased or obtained.
c. They don’t last forever. And even those that last for centuries, will ultimately be melted with a fervent heat before the New Heavens and the New Earth.
d. Riches often fly away without notice… suddenly and unexpectedly… like an eagle that just takes off and soars into heaven—completely out of reach.
e. When riches fly away, they often leave those they left behind grieved, disillusioned, distraught, and even depressed.
f. Some have been driven to suicide after losing their wealth, for they felt they have nothing left to live for.
g. Rev. 18:17 – “In one hour so great riches are come to naught!” They set their hearts on these riches and in one hour they are all gone. No wonder they are weeping.
h. Our proverb also implies the weeping and grieving that belongs to those who set their eyes (heart) on riches only to see them fly away.
• When your life revolves around accumulating wealth, and it disappears, your life is diminished.
• When you set your affections on things of the earth, it is a sad life… because the things of earth are continually corrupting, rusting, fading away, and losing value… or perhaps thieves break through and steal them… or moths eat them.
• If our affection is on things that are transitory, then our joy and happiness will also be transitory… uncertain… unstable.
4. The believer is warned here not to labor to be rich; not to set one eyes (and thus one’s heart) upon riches.
a. I John 2:15 – This is tantamount to what John wrote in his first epistle: “LOVE not the world, neither the things in the world.”
b. I John 2:17 – The world (and thus all of its “things”) is passing away. It isn’t going to last forever.
c. If we LOVE the things of the world and set our eyes (and thus affections) upon them, God may have to deal with us.
d. He may have to take them away from us… or take us away from them.
e. God KNOWS our heart attitudes. He knows where our true affections lie.
5. Col. 3:1-2 – We are to set our affections on things above, not on the things of the earth. We can do that because we are DEAD.
a. The only successful way to separate the believer from the THINGS of the world is death.
b. We must “reckon ourselves to be dead” with Christ.
c. We have been crucified to the world and the world to us. That includes the things in the world.
d. Death is the only thing that will separate us.
e. One way or the other, God will use death to separate us from the earthly riches. He wants us to LIVE a separated life now.
Proverbs 23:6-8
As He Thinketh… So Is He
Introduction:
1. This is the 8th of 30 wise sayings in this section.
2. Verses 1 and 2 in this chapter have been about eating, at least indirectly.
a. Vs. 1 – When you eat with a ruler of the people, consider who is before you. Don’t make a fool of yourself gorging yourself with the dainties.
b. Vs. 2 – Exhibit self restraint. And beware of the motives of the host. He may be just buttering you up to GET something from you. Beware.
3. Verses 6-8 also give a warning concerning eating—only in a different setting.
The Command: Do not eat! (vs.6)
1. The command is twofold:
a. Don’t eat his dainties!
b. Don’t desire his dainties!
2. Dainties
a. Tasty or savory food; delectable food; gourmet food; expensive food; a delicacy.
b. Food that is very pleasant to the taste.
c. Gen. 27:4 – Isaac used this word when he asked Esau to go make him some food. (“And make me savoury meat, such as I love…”)
3. The setting
a. In verses 1-2, the author warned about gorging oneself with food in the presence of a ruler of the people.
b. Here the setting is different. It may be a ruler, but in particular, he mentioned a man with an “evil eye.”
c. The question is, what does “evil eye” mean in this context?
4. Evil eye…
a. This term for evil eye occurs only twice in the Old Testament: here and in Prov. 22:9.
b. Prov. 28:22 – Here the evil speaks of a greedy man… a man who covets material things.
• He is in a hurry to get rich and to accumulate “things.”
• When you are in a haste to accumulate wealth, you often cut corners and do whatever it takes to get rich.
• This kind of man is often dishonest.
c. The evil eye is contrasted in Proverbs with its opposite: the good eye.
• Prov. 22:9 – the “good eye.”
» Bountiful is a very general term for GOOD.
→ It has MANY shades of meaning which are to be determined by the context.
» In that sense it is very much like our word “good.”
→ A good pie could mean tasty or healthy.
→ A good man could mean kind or honest.
→ A good grade could mean superior grade—A+
→ A good job could mean a well paying job; a job well done; a desirable job; etc.
→ A good day could mean your candidate won the election; no rain; pleasant day; things are going well.
→ The context really has to determine the exact meaning.
» In Prov. 22:9, good clearly means “generous” or “bountiful” because the next phrase explains what he means: he gives of his bread to the poor.
» The man with a “good eye” is the man who is generous, considerate of others, and DELIGHTS in sharing what he has.
• The opposite of a good eye is an “evil eye.”
» This man is not generous and considerate of others.
» This man loves his material goods. He doesn’t like to share with others. He would rather hoard it all and keep it for himself.
d. For this reason, many translations have translated “evil eye” as stingy.
• ESV: Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy
• Holman: Don’t eat a stingy person’s bread
• NET: Do not eat the food of a stingy person
• NASB: Do not eat the bread of a selfish man
• NIV: Do not eat the food of a stingy man
• NKJV: Do not eat the bread of a miser
• In each case, the translators did seem to capture the meaning of the author. However, their translation went beyond translation and interpreted it for you.
• Out of 18 translations I consulted, the only texts that translated rather than interpreted were the KJV, Young’s, and Darby’s.
• The text SAYS, “evil eye.” I prefer to interpret the text myself.
• Handling the text this way might not seem so bad if you agree with their interpretation, but what if you don’t? You would have no way of knowing from the translation whether you agreed or not. It was predetermined by the translators.
The Reason: His heart is not with you! (vs. 7)
1. What he SAYS:
a. “Eat and drink!” “Take as much as you like!”
b. He puts on a front as if he was a generous man and as if he truly delighted in sharing his dainties with others.
2. What he IS:
a. He is a man with an evil eye.
b. That means (in this setting) that he is covetous. He loves his material goods. He is selfish and stingy.
c. He doesn’t really like to share… he would much prefer to keep all his dainty foods (delicacies) to himself.
d. But he is not only selfish and stingy, he is also DISHONEST.
e. He is dishonest because what he says on the outside and what he thinks on the inside are two different things. That is hypocrisy.
f. Of course a man with an evil eye doesn’t want anyone to KNOW that he has an evil eye. He doesn’t want anyone to KNOW that he is stingy and cheap.
g. Thus, he puts on a big front – pretending to be generous and have a good or a bountiful eye, when in reality he does not.
h. This man is a stingy, self centered, dishonest hypocrite.
3. “His heart is not with you.”
a. He SAYS, “eat up… enjoy yourself. Take as much as you like.”
b. But he doesn’t mean it. His heart is not in what he says.
c. His mouth tells you to eat up and enjoy yourself at his expense.
d. But inwardly, his heart is saying something very different.
• His heart is saying something like, “Look at how much he took! Doesn’t he know how much that costs? There will be nothing left when these people are done. Why did I put out such good food for these animals… these ingrates?”
e. He says pleasant things to his guests, but inwardly he begrudges their being there… and eating up his expensive food.
f. Perhaps there were some folks who came to his feast that he hoped would not come… but they did.
g. He may not mind spending lavishly on his close friends (his inner clique) but didn’t expect others outside that inner circle to come.
h. He is forced to be nice… but he doesn’t mean it.
4. “As he thinketh in his heart… so IS he.”
a. “Thinketh” = to calculate; to estimate; reasons; thinks.
b. In other words, this man is NOT as he says. What he says is good and generous… but that is not an accurate assessment of what kind of a person he is.
c. A more accurate assessment of the kind of person we are dealing with here comes from what is NOT said… what he is thinking in his heart or soul… on the inside.
d. We as mere mortals, are unable to know what goes on in a man’s heart—so God tells us here.
e. God through Solomon warns us that this kind of person EXISTS, so be warned: some people are not as they appear… or as they sound…
f. And this is the GREATER principle to be gleaned from this passage.
• This principle applies to much more than stingy men at feasts.
• In all walks of life there are men (women and children too) who say one thing, but inwardly THINK something very different.
• People (all of us) have the tendency to put on a good front because we don’t want to “look bad” before others.
• Nobody WANTS others to think that we have an “evil eye” – that we are selfish and stingy.
• As Christians, nobody wants others to think that we are carnal and worldly. We like to put up a good front in hopes that others will think that we are spiritual.
• Maintaining that good “front” (good eye) often requires dishonesty… saying things we don’t mean… or pretending to BE something that we aren’t…
• That good front is usually a phony façade.
• That is pure hypocrisy—and it afflicts us all—if we’re honest.
g. Men judge by what a person does and what he says.
• But that is often just a front to LOOK good.
• God judges us by a deeper measuring stick… by what we THINK.
• God knows our hearts. He knows WHY we do what we do and WHY we say the things that we say.
• We may fool men, but never the Lord!
The Reaction: Vomit it up! (vs. 8)
1. Once the guest realizes what the host is thinking, it makes him sick.
2. He feels like vomiting.
a. He is insulted… humiliated.
b. To think that he has been watching how much I eat. How repulsive!
c. To realize that he didn’t really want you there… that you were not part of his inner circle—even though he pretends that you are.
d. To realize that he thinks that you are a sponge… or a parasite, it is hurtful.
e. The utter hypocrisy of it all makes you sick. The wonderful words “eat as much as you like” were phony… and he was thinking evil of you.
f. This is nauseating to the guest once he discovers what the host was thinking.
3. You lose the sweet words…
a. The conversation and fellowship is over.
b. The joy of the feast is over. The whole atmosphere changed—for the worse.
c. The sweet morsels are no longer sweet. They make you sick.
d. The conversation is no longer sweet either. It too makes you sick.
4. This proverb serves as a warning:
a. Be aware of the fact that people are not always as they appear.
b. It is part of human nature to project a phony image – what we WANT others to think of us… even though it may not be true.
c. Some men say nice things… and invite you to enjoy a feast with them—but it does not necessarily mean that their heart is with you.
d. In some cases, they are as phony as a three dollar bill.
e. So be careful… be discerning… These are words of wisdom.
f. Certainly, God does not want US to be like the man described here!
Proverbs 23:9
The Fool Will Not Listen
Introduction:
1. This is the 9th of 30 wise sayings in this section of Proverbs.
2. Unlike most of the rest of this section, this proverb stands alone. The other wise sayings appear in clusters of two or three verses.
3. The theme of this proverb is simple: fools don’t listen.
4. There is nothing ambiguous, nuanced, or mysterious about this proverb.
5. It is straight forward and simple: fools don’t listen to advice! Even a fool could understand this proverb if he wanted to.
6. This theme has been mentioned several times before in this book. Evidently God felt it was a truth worth repeating – something we need to be reminded of.
7. The proverb consists of two parts: (1) the command and (2) the reason.
1. The command is addressed to the reader in the form of a warning.
a. Assuming Solomon wrote this section of the book, this proverb comes from the wisest man who ever lived.
b. No doubt he encountered many fools in his day.
c. People from the kingdom would come before the king with their requests and suggestions… many of which were probably quite foolish.
d. As King and judge he would also have had opportunity to discuss issues with many people.
e. Solomon learned from experience, that there are some people who just don’t listen. It is a waste of time to give words of wisdom to a fool.
f. 22:17 – Solomon was giving words of wisdom to his son. He encouraged his son to (1) bow down his ear, (2) hear the words, (3) and apply it to his heart.
g. 23:9 – Now he states that there are some people who will NOT (1) bow down their ears, (2) hear the words, (3) and apply words of wisdom to their hearts.
h. This is given as a “heads up” or a warning to young men who are learning to become wise.
i. The warning is this: “Don’t assume that everyone you talk to will have the same desire for wisdom as you do!”
j. In fact, the warning here is “Don’t waste your time even talking to such people!”
k. Don’t bother speaking in the ear of a fool. It is a waste of time and energy.
l. Nothing good will come of it.
2. FOOL:
a. Strong’s: Stupid fellow; dullard; simpleton; arrogant one.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: The state of being in complete lack of understanding, implying rebellion.
c. This Hebrew term appears 71 times in the Old Testament; 3 times in the Psalms and the rest are found in the writings of Solomon – Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. (mostly in Proverbs)
d. Solomon wants his readers to be wise. One of the ways of obtaining wisdom is to be able recognize and deal with fools and folly in a right and sensible way.
3. Speak not in the ears of a fool.
a. The wording implies more than just talking TO a fool in ordinary conversation.
b. The second part of the proverb tells us that the words spoken in the ear were words of wisdom… words which a foolish person OUGHT to want to hear!
c. Yet, this proverb says, “Don’t bother speaking words of wisdom in the ear of a fool.”
d. Perhaps you work with a fool in the office. Perhaps you work FOR a fool!
e. It is not always possible to avoid talking TO a fool.
f. The wording implies offering him personal advice and counsel… quietly whispering it in his ears.
1. The point of the command is not that it is sinful to speak words of wisdom to a fool. It’s just that it is a waste of time.
a. There is a time to speak and a time to keep silent.
b. Commands in the Bible addressed to us are to be obeyed—always. Normally, to disobey a command is sin.
c. Remember, this is a Proverb. It is a short, concise nugget of truth. Proverbs do not cover every possible situation. They are generalities of truth. There are exceptions to some of the proverbs.
d. This is not a command to NEVER speak words of wisdom to a fool. On some rare occasions, the fool may be in the process of reconsidering his folly. He may be willing to listen.
e. Prov. 28:23 – We say that it is not always wrong to speak words of wisdom to a fool, because in Proverbs 28:23, Solomon speaks highly of reproving a man who needs reproof. This man may not like it at first, but afterwards will appreciate it.
f. But with determined fools, that is very rare. Normally, fools will NOT listen—hence, the command: Don’t waste your time giving him advice. He won’t follow it.
g. Plato believed that if a person only knew the good, he would invariably choose it. He believed in an innate goodness in man.
h. The Bible says just the opposite – there are fools who might HEAR with their ears words of wisdom, but choose NOT to follow it. The Bible speaks of the innate sinfulness of man.
i. The heart that is hardened against God will also be hardened against God’s wisdom.
2. The fool will DESPISE your words of wisdom.
a. Despise: To despise; hold in contempt; hold as insignificant; scorn; deride; ridicule; mock.
b. Generally speaking fools despise words of wisdom… because wisdom exposes their folly, as light exposes the darkness.
c. John’s gospel tells us that darkness hates the light.
d. Prov. 1:7 – fools despise wisdom and instruction.
e. Because he does not fear God, he does not listen to godly counsel or to the Word of God. Hence, he reaps the awful fruit of such rejection of truth. (Prov.1:30-31)
f. If you think there is some glimmer of hope that he might listen, then give him advice, as led of the Lord. No one wants to see a fool end up being filled with his own devices!
3. Prov.13:1 – A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
a. That scorner is doomed to a life of failure and faults that NEVER get corrected… because he won’t listen to correction.
b. If the person refuses correction and instruction, then he will never correct those faults… they are his for life.
c. That means serious lifelong consequences for not hearing rebuke and not listening to the words of wisdom.
d. Prov. 13:18 – Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction…
e. Very often those bad behaviors that lead to poverty and shame could have been easily corrected, if nipped at the bud. Instead, they develop into life dominating habits.
f. Refusing to hear instruction is a serious issue.
g. Young people sometimes HATE being rebuked by their parents.
h. Older folks sometimes despise the chastening of the Lord.
i. This is the same heart problem… despising authority… self rule… stubbornness… pride… a terrible heart attitude towards God Himself.
j. But no matter how uncomfortable it FEELS… no matter how embarrassing… humbling… the right response is to listen to the rebuke and to submit! Make corrections where necessary.
k. It is our nature to despise correction. But as Christians, we are not to live according to our old nature. The new man in Christ delights in the law of God after the inward man; he delights in light, truth, and wisdom from God and His Word… even when it convicts, reproves, and corrects.
4. Prov. 18:2 – A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.
a. The fool does not delight in understanding. He takes no pleasure in it… even in the words of wisdom.
b. Don’t assume that everyone you seek to give good advice to will enjoy truth and wisdom as much as you do. Don’t assume that once he hears the truth that he will delight in it. You will be very disappointed with the fool.
c. This fool has no delight in understanding.
• He is not fond of learning;
• He is not eager to obtain true knowledge;
• Wisdom is not the object of his inward affection;
• He has no inner hunger for learning; no drive for wisdom; no taste for good reason or even common sense.
d. Prov. 17:16 – He has no heart for wisdom.
e. Prov. 18:2b – “That his heart may discover itself.”
• BUT — Solomon’s point: this kind of fool has no DELIGHT in learning.
• BUT he DOES delight in discovering (lit = exposing; revealing; making known) his OWN inner thoughts and opinions.
• He delights in telling others his own views and opinions, but he does not delight in learning FROM others.
• Prov. 29:11 – The fool “uttereth all his mind.”
• He’s not interested in listening and learning. He thinks he’s too smart to listen. He knows everything already.
• One commentator summarized the folly of this fool this way: He has a “closed mind” and “open mouth.”
5. Prov. 9:7-8 – Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee
a. Vs. 7 – Solomon warns here that when you TRY to reprove a scorning fool, you might end up shaming (disgracing) yourself—or getting a blot.
b. By constantly trying to reprove fools and speak words of wisdom to them, we very well may be provoking an argument… stirring up trouble unnecessarily…
c. Vs. 8 – The fool will hate you for it.
d. Others will begin to think of us as a troublemaker, agitator, or argumentative.
e. It is an art knowing when to speak and when not to speak.
f. There are times when rebuke will be helpful and necessary.
g. There will be times when rebuke does more harm than good.
h. His point: avoid irritations. Wait for a favorable circumstances to reprove. Be discerning—not everyone can handle reproof. Some men are hardened fools! Don’t speak in his ears.
6. Prov. 16:22 – the instruction of fools is folly.
a. Some take this to mean the instruction FROM a fool is folly. (Which is certainly true…)
b. But it is more likely Solomon had in mind instruction FOR fools is folly… trying to teach and instruct a fool is a foolish endeavor!
c. You may have words of wisdom to share; but in some cases, it is not wise to share words of wisdom.
d. Jesus explained WHY it is foolish to do so in some situations.
7. Matt. 7: 6 – Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine.
a. Pearls of sacred wisdom are not appreciated by dogs or pigs.
b. They care not for those pearls.
c. They might bite into it and then spit it out—and come after you—bite you out of anger for not giving them what they want… namely, pig slop!
1. Learn to discern when to speak and when not to speak.
2. Oftentimes, the fool will despise what you have to say—and he may hate you and get angry at you.
3. When you sense a man has no heart to listen or learn, don’t waste your time—or your reputation. It could backfire on you.
Proverbs 23:10-11
A Good Reason to be Honest
Introduction:
1. The first part of this proverb is very similar to Prov. 22:28.
a. In 22:28 Solomon spoke of the ancient landmark. The command was the same: don’t remove them.
2. This proverb builds on that theme and then gives a good reason NOT to do it: because God will stand against you!
3. This proverb gives two commands and two reasons to obey.
THE TWO COMMANDS
1. This part of the command is identical to the wording in Proverbs 22:28.
a. Prov. 22:28 says “ancient” landmark and 23:10 says “ancient landmark,” but the Hebrew words are identical.
b. A landmark was defined as a border barrier; a wall or a stone that marked off a geographical region and served as a boundary line.
c. The fact that these landmarks were old (ancient) means that they had been set in place many years ago.
d. They had been honored and respected for many generations.
e. They had for many generations served their purpose of separating one man’s property from his neighbor’s property.
f. The landmarks were all they had to distinguish which land belonged to whom.
g. If it was moved, you wouldn’t know whose territory you were standing on. You wouldn’t know where you stood.
2. Thus, they were NOT to be removed… or pushed back.
a. And there is only ONE reason for moving them—to lie, steal, and cheat.
b. A dishonest man in those days who moved the landmarks would accomplish two things:
• He would diminish the size of his neighbor’s property
• He would increase the size of his own property
c. A dishonest man could not move a landmark a long distance all at once.
d. That would be instantly noticed and he would be caught.
e. However, you could move a landmark gradually… inch by inch… little by little. That way it would go unnoticed.
3. This was a real problem in ancient times.
a. It was a way of stealing from your neighbor… little by little without being noticed.
b. In principle, it was sort of like the dishonest gas dealer who tweaks his gas pumps so that his customers pay for a gallon, but get a tiny fraction under a gallon. It is so slight, no one notices. But over time, it is very profitable to the dishonest gas dealer.
c. Other businesses use this dishonest method of “skimming” their customers.
d. Rather than robbing a bank and stealing a lot of money from one place in a short amount of time, skimming steals a tiny amount of money, from many people, and over a long period of time. In the end he ends up with a lot of money—just like the bank robber… but his theft often goes unnoticed.
4. However, removing the ancient landmarks in Israel included an addition insult to the injury that does not happen so much in modern “skimming” practices: it was theft from your actual neighbor!
a. Removing the landmark (pushing it back little by little) was an act of theft against your abutters.
b. This was stealing from a Jewish brother.
c. It meant a life of phoniness too. For you were often likely to see that brother when working your fields or at the local market in town.
d. You would have to talk to him and appear to be friendly, all the while you were stealing from him—little by little.
e. You would worship together with this Jewish brother at the sanctuary. You would attend the Jewish feasts and festivals together… all the while you were stealing from him.
f. It meant a life of total hypocrisy.
g. And to make matters worse, you were stealing land from him that the Jewish forefathers of the faith had established in Israel in the days of Joshua!
h. Deut. 19:14 – Moses speaks of boundary lines that were to be set on the land when the Jews went into the Promised Land and divided it among the tribes.
• The boundary lines were drawn up and stones were set in place to mark those borders.
• These had been the agreed upon boundary lines set by Joshua and others.
• Keeping the land of one’s inheritance in the ownership of the tribes and families to whom it was given originally was important to Israel.
• The Mosaic Law went to great lengths to preserve these divisions in the land.
• Removing the ancient landmark was sin against God and a serious crime against the nation.
• Thus, it was FORBIDDEN.
1. This command was not found in Prov. 22:28.
2. The first command forbade them from stealing land from their neighbor.
3. Now he commands them not to steal from the fields of the fatherless!
a. Obviously he means entering their land with evil intent.
b. This might be to steal crops… to rob… or in some other way to enter on to their property in order to take advantage of them.
c. Perhaps more likely those who enter their fields could refer to those who deal in real estate and see an opportunity to make a fast shekel… by offering to buy her deceased husband’s inheritance land from the poor widow and her son for a tiny fraction of what the land is actually worth.
d. If she had no kinsman redeemer to preserve the land for her, a small amount of money is very tempting when you’re hungry and you have hungry kids to feed and no income.
4. The fatherless could either be an outright orphan (no living parents) or the child of a widow.
a. Either way, it refers to someone in a very difficult situation.
b. Remember that in ancient times before Social Security, there was what was called “widows indeed.”
• That referred to a woman whose husband died who had no living family to help provide for her needs.
• This was a woman who was destitute… penniless…
• They were reduced to abject poverty.
c. Thus, stealing from the fatherless would leave both the child and his widowed mother in dire straits.
5. Widows and fatherless (young children) are helpless to defend against such invasions into their fields.
a. They have no one on earth to stand up for them.
b. The woman and her children are not physically able to defend themselves against such invaders.
c. An invader might choose this field to invade because he considers it “easy pickins.”
d. This is pretty cowardly action—grown men stealing from helpless women and children.
THE TWO REASONS
1. Their Redeemer: Goel
a. Goël, means to redeem or to act as “kinsman redeemer.”
b. This term was used to describe God’s act of redeeming Israel from bondage in Egypt.
c. It is also used of a kinsman redeemer preserving the family land for a relative by paying the redemption price.
d. Lev. 25:25-28 – If a man had to sell his land to pay off debts, a wealthy relative could redeem it for him. (Kinsman redeemer). (redeem vs.26 = same word)
e. Boaz referred to this law when he offered the relatives of Naomi’s husband to buy back his land.
2. Their Redeemer is Mighty
a. Mighty: Strong; stout; mighty; severe; firm.
b. The implication in this proverb is clear:
• The widow and her children are weak and helpless.
• They are no match for the invaders on their property seeking to take advantage of them.
• And evidently, they have no earthly relatives able to help them financially.
• They have no kinsman redeemer (like a rich Uncle Boaz) to step forward to defend them and preserve their family farm.
• But although they have no EARTHLY kinsman redeemer, they DO have a Mighty Redeemer in God.
• God is their true Kinsman Redeemer.
• God is their next of kin who will step forward to defend them against the invaders.
• And note how easily the tables are turned.
» Before, the widow and her son were no match for the invaders.
» Now the invaders are no match for the MIGHTY Redeemer, the Lord!
1. HE refers to God – the Mighty Redeemer of the widow and her fatherless children.
2. Prov. 22:22, 23 – Don’t rob or take advantage of the poor or the afflicted, those who are unable to defend themselves.
a. Why? Because God will plead their cause. He will be their defense attorney.
b. And He will SPOIL those who sought to spoil the helpless.
c. It is God’s nature to act this way.
3. It is God’s nature to side with the widows and fatherless too.
a. Deut. 10:18 – He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
b. Ps. 10:14 – “Thou art the helper of the fatherless.”
c. Ps. 68:5 – “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.”
d. Ps. 82:3 – the prayer of David: “Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.”
e. Ps. 146:9 – “The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.”
f. He is their father, their helper, their defender, He relieves them, and He pleads their cause.
4. The Lord will defend their rights and avenge those who harm them.
5. And recall that He is MIGHTY.
a. He is in fact ALL-mighty – omnipotent.
b. Omnipotence is on the side of the fatherless and widows.
c. That’s a good reason not to pick a fight with the fatherless.
d. He may not have an earthly father but he has a heavenly Father.
e. The point is that when you seek to take advantage of the helpless, the fatherless and widows, you do so at your own peril. You are no match for God. He is Mighty.
6. If conscience, a sense of right and wrong does not cause the man to rethink taking advantage of the fatherless, perhaps a sense of honor should. But if that doesn’t work—a healthy fear of God ought to restrain this despicable type of behavior.
7. While the exact situations described here may not be something we are confronted with on a daily basis, the principle is certainly applicable in all ages: don’t take advantage of the weak and helpless… and those who cannot defend themselves.
8. God’s care for the fatherless—
a. We have lots of them today! Many children grow up with no father in the home.
b. There should be a special place in our hearts for them… to help…
c. The local church ought to be willing to help such children…
9. The widow and the fatherless children were to commit their situation into the hands of the Lord and trust the One who is MIGHTY on their behalf.
a. If we are being taken advantage of, we should remember this aspect of God’s character. He pleads the cause of those who are being taken advantage of… of the weak and the helpless.
b. I Pet. 4:19 – “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”
c. Ps. 35:1-2 – Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. 2Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.”
d. Ps. 35:10 – “All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?”
Proverbs 23:12
Apply Your Heart
1. Apply:
a. The most basic meaning of the term: Come/go, enter; i.e., make linear movement of a general kind.
b. It has a wide range of meaning depending upon the context.
c. In this passage, the term means learn information and correlate to other ideas or facts.
2. Heart:
a. This term CAN refer to the literal blood pumping organ.
b. But here it speaks of the mind, emotions, and will; the immaterial inner self, the inner man.
c. Solomon is speaking of making application to one’s own personal heart… to our inner life.
3. Instruction:
a. Strong’s: Discipline; chastening; correction.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Correction that is a minor punishment for teaching which may include a rebuke.
c. Punishment; i.e., an infliction of a judicial penalty based on a standard.
d. The “instruction” mentioned here can either be oral or it can come with a rod.
e. It is broad enough to include teaching, instruction, warning, rebuke, or punishment.
f. The context has to determine the precise nuance.
• Prov. 1:8 – it stands parallel to the mother’s “law.” (teaching)
• Prov. 13:1 – it stands parallel to a “rebuke.”
• Prov. 13:24 – it stands parallel to “the rod.”
g. However, in our proverb, the context does not settle the precise meaning for us.
• If we understand this to be a synonymous parallelism, then the instruction is parallel to knowledge, namely, teaching information.
• If it is an antithetical parallelism, then it stands in contrast to “words of knowledge” and may well be chastening or a rod.
• This proverb was very likely worded in such a way purposely to be applicable for ALL kinds of instruction – verbal, teaching, warning, rebuke, or a rod.
4. Applying the instruction to the heart:
a. Remember, the basic meaning of this Hebrew word is to “make a linear movement towards something.”
b. In other words, the instruction should ENTER IN to our hearts… sink in… there should be a coming together of the instruction and the inner life of the person.
c. ALLOW the lesson to sink in. Allow the Spirit of God to make application in your own life…
d. Apply the lesson to your thought life… to the way you express your emotions… to your will—to the whole inner man.
5. If the lesson is oral and comes in the form of teaching:
a. Don’t just store the information in your head. Let it sink down deep into your heart and do its work of changing and transforming.
b. Allow the instruction to RENEW your mind. (Rom. 12:2) Let it transform your thinking so that your thought life is not being conformed to the attitude of the world, but rather conformed to Christ.
c. Allow the lesson to change your BEHAVIOR. (Jas. 1:22-25)
• vs. 22 – BE ye (????µa?) = Become… doers.
» Hearing is good and necessary, but not sufficient.
» Hearing MUST be accompanied by DOING.
» When there is no action taken, the end result is deception.
» We deceive ourselves by THINKING that all is well, when all is not well.
» If we think that listening to the Word is all that is required, we are deceived.
» If we think that simply reading the Bible, or listening to sermons is all that God expects, we are deceived.
» We then must BECOME doers… or deception is our lot in life.
• Vs. 23-24 – The illustration of a man looking at his face in the mirror.
» The man who SEES the dirt on his face is like the man who HEARS what the Word of God has to say. The Word points out areas in our lives that need changing. So far so good.
» The man who sees the dirt and then goes his way is like the man who hears the Word but does not instantly respond in obedience. He hears but does not DO anything about it.
» He instantly FORGETS about the dirt on his face. This is what happens when we read the Word or hear a sermon, or sit through a Sunday school class, and have sin or error pointed out in our lives, but we don’t DO anything about it right away. We forget!
» This man thus walks around with egg on his face… or drool… or who knows what!
» James’ point here is that hearing DEMANDS an instant response or else we will forget.
» The man who looked in the mirror and saw the dirt and then walked away without doing anything made a willful decision to walk away… and that’s why he forgot about it.
» “I forgot” is no excuse in God’s books.
» That man forgot and became ignorant of the dirt; but he is willfully ignorant of the dirt because he chose to walk away… he choose to put it off till later… he chose to ignore it.
• If the truth or light we receive from the Word is not applied to the heart and acted upon right away, they are soon forgotten… and we are held accountable for that light—even though we forgot.
• Vs. 25 – There is a great blessing in DEALING with sin in our lives right away… behavior, attitudes, speech, desires, motives, etc.
6. If the lesson comes in the form of a rod:
a. God expects us to let the real lesson sink in and soften our heart… and ultimately, change our attitude and behavior…
b. If we consistently respond to God’s instruction and allow it to change our attitude, eventually, it will change our character.
c. Heb. 12:5-7 – chastening
• God chastens His sons as a Father… for our good… in love.
• He wants us to endure chastening.
» Endure = to abide under (?p?µ???); persevere; be patient.
→ Don’t try to escape; don’t fight it; don’t kick and scream.
→ Abide in the place of “child-training” your Father has designed for you.
» This is related to APPLYING that kind of instruction (with a rod) to one’s heart.
→ Seek to learn the lessons that God wants you to learn during that trial…
→ Allow God to work in your heart… soften your heart to the hands of the Master Potter…
→ Don’t rebel and quit before the lessons are truly learned.
7. Apply your heart to instruction: Oral instruction (whether through a teacher, a parent, a brother, a pastor) and also instruction that comes in the form of a rod (from your heavenly Father).
Apply Your Ears to Words of Knowledge
1. Solomon now states that we are to also apply our ears to words of wisdom.
a. Though the verb “apply” is not mentioned in the second part of the proverb, it does need to be inserted.
b. This means that we are to LISTEN to words of wisdom.
c. It implies that those words should “enter in.”
d. We should allow the words of wisdom to continue making that linear motion right into our ears… and to settle down in our heart.
e. The point is that words of knowledge communicated to us should be RECEIVED with all readiness of mind (Acts 17:11).
f. It doesn’t really matter whether these words are spoken and we hear them, or whether they are written and we read them—we are to pay attention to what was communicated.
2. Word of knowledge:
a. “Words” refers to words spoken or written.
b. “Words of knowledge” refers to understanding; information; learning; insight; discernment; sometimes it speaks of experiential knowledge.
c. God seeks to communicate this to us – through His Word, or through a Bible teacher, or through one on one counseling from a spiritually mature believer.
d. Our responsibility is to LISTEN.
• We should be eager to hear… anxious to know more about God and His Word… hungry for more truth and light…
• All of that is implied when Solomon speaks of “applying our ears to words of knowledge.”
• This implies ATTITUDE in listening.
• Prov. 2:1-6 – Applying the ear to words of wisdom is to be associated with SEEKING that wisdom with your whole heart… as you would for hidden treasure…
» Only THEN will you truly understand what God is trying to communicate to you.
» God knows when we are listening half heartedly.
» Obtaining wisdom and knowledge from the Lord is not so much about the head as it is the heart.
» Average or below average intelligence is rewarded with spiritual wisdom and knowledge if it is accompanied by a spiritually hungry and diligent heart.
» Above average intelligence will never discover spiritual wisdom and knowledge through the head only—UNLESS it is accompanied by a spiritually hungry and diligent heart.
• For example, it is possible to literally hear the words with your ears while maintaining a grumbling attitude—but the heart is not really listening. Truth, light, and wisdom are not sinking in.
• Obviously, the point is for the hearing to go BEYOND the ear drums.
• In fact, in both Testaments, the word “hear” in many contexts is virtually synonymous with “obey.”
e. You cannot APPLY truth to your heart if you don’t LISTEN with your ears.
f. Prov. 22:17 –
• Bow down thine ear (bow = incline in the direction of).
» It speaks of an inward heart INCLINATION to listen…
» We should ALL be inclined to listen to God’s Word.
• Hear the words
» To hear = to obey.
» The readers should pay attention to the words they read… and then, obey!
• Apply thine heart –
» Just as the present proverb, one part is addressed to the “ear” and the other to the “heart.”
• Note the progression in the three exhortations in 22:17:
» Bow down thine ear (bend the ear; incline the ear; turn it towards the sound).
» Hear the words (heart with great interest; paying attention to so as to understand).
» Apply thine heart (set the mind and heart to an attitude of devotion, with corresponding action).
» Perhaps we could paraphrase:
→ Listen to the words of the wise.
→ Pay attention so that you understand what you hear.
→ Then respond in obedience: DO it… turn it into action.
Proverbs 23:13-14
Withhold Not Correction
Introduction:
1. Here Solomon gives some advice to his sons as they begin to raise their families.
2. This proverb is directed to those parents who might be a bit timid about spanking their child… or perhaps intimidated by today’s culture which looks upon with great suspicion and even contempt, those parents who do spank children.
3. In light of the increasingly strong pressure that our secular culture puts on parents today, this reminder is needed more than ever.
4. Unfortunately, most of the young families with kids aren’t here tonight—nor have they been for the last nine years going through the book of Proverbs as we have studied principles so necessary for raising families.
5. For the most part it has been you grandparents who are hearing these things taught… and you already know this. You’ve already raised your families.
6. This should be a matter of prayer for us all.
7. Twenty years ago in this church young parents with their kids had time to come out to evening service and prayer meeting each week—but not today.
a. And it’s not because parents had MORE time twenty years ago, it’s because they MADE time to come out and pray.
b. It is not a “time” issue, and never has been; it is a “priority” issue.
c. If young parents today think that their families and their kids don’t need as much prayer as families did 20 years ago, they are sadly mistaken.
d. I hate to break the news to you, but the environment for families has NOT been improving in the last few decades. Our culture is in decline—and that has been taking its toll on the churches too… including this one.
e. We thank God for the few young people that see this as a priority and DO come out to prayer meeting faithfully.
f. There is always that glimmer of hope that maybe prayer meeting will not die of attrition… and might even last yet another generation. Let’s pray for that.
13a Withhold not correction…
A. Correction
1. The term used here means discipline, punishment, rebuke, warning, instruction, etc.
a. It appears 51 times in the Old Testament, but most of them occur in the book of Proverbs.
b. It appears four times in the first 8 verses of the book.
c. This term for correction includes both verbal correction and corporal punishment.
d. By far, it is most often translated “instruction,” but in this passage, it is clear that the author had corporal punishment in mind because he mentions the rod.
e. Correction in this passage comes in the form of words of rebuke and then the rod.
2. The Bible is pretty clear on this issue: the rod is a good teacher and it corrects behavior. In other words, corporal punishment works.
3. The book of Proverbs deals with this subject from two angles: from the perspective of the one receiving the “correction” and the one giving it.
a. Those giving correction desire a proper response to it:
• My son, hear the instruction of thy father (1:8)
• My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction (3:11)
• Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father (4:1)
• Take fast hold of instruction; (4:13)
• Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. (8:33)
• A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke. (13:1)
• Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. (19:20)
b. Those receiving correction usually don’t like it.
• How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof (5:12)
• A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: (15:5)
• Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die. (15:10)
• He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul. (15:33)
• Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction.
c. In the book of Proverbs, there is an ongoing tension between the one giving the correction (instruction) and the one receiving the instruction.
d. The father giving the correction desperately wants his son to respond in obedience and submission. The father knows the long lasting consequences of NOT following such correction.
e. The son hearing the correction often rebels, grumbles, and resists correction. (What does he know anyway? He’s old! Life is different in our generation! All my friends do it so it must be ok!)
f. The reason is obvious: because it reflects reality.
g. It is the nature of children to NOT want to listen when they are being rebuked or corrected.
h. It is also human nature for those who have learned the lessons the hard way to want to impart those instructions to their children.
i. So the tension continues from Solomon’s days to ours. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
B. Withhold Not
1. Withhold: Defined: hold back; keep back; refrain; restrain.
2. Solomon’s command to parents is that they NOT hold back the correction—especially the kind that comes in the form of a rod—corporal punishment.
3. There are several reasons for this command:
4. First of all, there is human nature.
a. It is human nature for a parent to want to hold back on spanking their kids. They hate to see their child suffer or be in pain.
b. This is universal and it has not changed over the centuries.
c. It is human nature for parents to try to shelter their children from anything that is hurtful to them.
d. It hurts parent to see their child cry. It is painful for parents to have to use the rod.
e. It is much easier to hold back.
f. But Solomon warns such parents NOT to hold back because of their crying… and the emotional effect their crying has on you.
• “Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.” (Prov.19:18)
• Parents are reluctant to spank their children. They need to be told—and reminded of how needful it is.
• Too often parents let sentiment rule over reason in this matter.
g. To correct the issue of parental sentiment causing discipline to be withheld, Solomon reminds his readers about the nature of true, Biblical LOVE:
• He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. (Prov. 13:24)
• Thus, don’t use sentimental “love” as an excuse NOT to spank your child.
• True, Biblical love ought to be the motivation FOR spanking your child!
• True love for a child will look beyond the immediate and see the long range good that results from discipline.
• Withholding the rod is not love. It is called “hatred” in this passage.
• Some parents withhold spanking because they think it is cruel. God charges the one who does NOT spank with cruelty. It is hatred NOT to spank.
• Think about that, parents.
• If a parent withholds spanking because it hurts the parents too much to hear his son cry, that is not love—it’s cruelty.
• That is the ultimate in selfishness. You are only thinking of yourself: it hurts ME to spank him… it’s too hard for ME to spank him… it breaks MY heart to hear him cry. That is the opposite of Biblical love. (It is called hatred here.)
• If you really love your child, you will chasten him “betimes” (early—right when he needs it.)
h. It is also human nature to excuse their child’s behavior.
• For example, a cute little child demonstrates rebellion and talks back to his parents. What kind of a response does he get? His parents laugh or try to hide their smiles… and say, “Isn’t he cute?” The child learns that rebellion is cute and he can get away with it.
• Other forms of rebellion are excused by saying, “It’s not that bad. All kids do that.”
• Other parents might excuse it by saying, “Just leave him alone and he’ll grow out of that phase.”
i. Solomon reminds parents to spank their children when needed because it is human nature to allow sentiment to rule out spanking when spanking is needed.
5. Secondly, there is culture.
a. Corporal punishment used to be part of the culture in this country.
b. There was a time when the Bible was studied—even in public schools.
c. Nobody questioned the validity and need for parents to spank their children.
d. It was an integral part of our culture and fully supported by society at large. Society encouraged parents to spank their children in order to improve their behavior.
e. But today, it is increasingly being considered to be barbaric and medieval by our secular society. It is a throwback to the dark ages in their minds.
f. The world sees spanking as cruel. Their studies say that spanking is harmful to children. It will damage them for life and make them violent. (Actually the opposite is true.)
g. This works AGAINST young parents today.
h. That is why young parents need to get their teaching on such matters not from the most recent study from Harvard, but rather from the good old-fashioned Bible.
i. If you are feeding your minds with the information from the latest study on human behavior from Harvard or Yale, or from the latest book on humanistic psychology, then your minds are being conformed to the world… and the world is enmity with God.
j. Another problem related to this is that young families don’t have to hear this kind of anti-spanking sentiment from humanistic psychology. It has been popular in the last few decades to merge together humanistic psychology with the Bible. Be careful what you read. Christian psychology isn’t always purely Christian.
k. It seems that the whole world system is working against this important Biblical principle on child rearing.
l. And this too works against young parents today.
m. To correct the issue of parents withholding correction because their minds have been conformed to the thinking of the world, Solomon reminds his readers of the VALUE of such correction:
• Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. (Prov. 22:15)
» No, spanking will not harm your son. It is GOOD for him.
» It will correct bad behavior. It will drive folly from him.
» Thus, the issue for parents today is this: who do you believe? The latest study from Yale or the Word of God?
» Who are you going to believe, Solomon or Dr. Phil?
» What a parent believes will affect how he behaves and how he brings up his children.
• “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” (Prov.29:15)
» Spanking is not bad for your children. It is good for them. It brings wisdom.
» Also, perhaps mothers who are too tender to spank their child and allow their sentiments to cause them to withhold correction should consider what emotions they might be feeling down the road a piece when their child is a teenager: SHAME!
» In that day, the undisciplined child may have to be corrected by a correctional institution—the county jail. That brings shame to the mother.
» Solomon brings it up here not to shame the mother, but to warn her lest be BECOME ashamed later on.
» This is designed to be preventative medicine for parents.
• “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.” (Prov. 29:17)
» The emotion driven mother who is too tender to spank little Jr. for bad behavior, might withhold the rod because of her emotions can’t bear it.
» You have a choice: spare your emotions in the immediate, withhold correction and experience SHAME later on.
» Or, you pray for temperance (fruit of the Spirit) get your emotions under control, and spank your child today, knowing that later on in life—you can experience rest and a delight to your soul the rest of your life.
» That is a choice parents need to make.
• Sadly, I have heard even Christian parents speak against spanking as if it were bad for their children. Some Christian parents don’t spank.
• They bought the lie presented to them by the world. Their minds were conformed to the world.
• That parent cannot possibly say that he or she is bringing up their child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord if they refuse to follow the admonition of the Lord.
• The Bible clearly FORBIDS parents from withholding the rod.
• Just because some people go overboard in one direction and engage in child brutality is no excuse for going overboard in the other direction and withholding the rod.
• Don’t worry that spanking is harming them or making them violent. Spanking is good for them and will teach them self discipline so that later on in life they DON’T become violent.
6. Thus, the temptation to withhold correction comes from within (human nature) and without (the world system).
a. Parents have always been tempted to let sentiment rule… and avoid spanking.
b. But years ago, even though parents were tempted from within to withhold spanking, there was at least the outward support and approval for it from society.
c. Parents today need to hear this warning more than ever.
d. And they need to be reminded that it is a “thus saith the Lord” and I hope that carries more weight with the Christian parent than a “thus saith Oprah or Dr. Phil.”
7. Next, Solomon gives two reasons not to withhold correction—both a negative and a positive reason.
Proverbs 23:13b-14
The Benefits of Corporal Punishment
Introduction:
1. Last week we looked at the first part of this proverb, which contains the main COMMAND in the proverb: Do not withhold correction from the child.
2. We know that the kind of correction Solomon had in mind here is corporal punishment because he speaks of the rod… an instrument for spanking.
3. Tonight we want to look at two REASONS to obey this command:
a. He won’t die.
b. You might just deliver his soul from hell.
He Shall Not Die
A. Beat Him With a Rod
1. The terminology used here is often misunderstood and misapplied.
a. Both the verb (beat) and the instrument described (rod) are subject to wide variation in meaning.
b. It is important to define more clearly what those terms mean in this context… what the author meant.
2. Beat:
a. Defined: Make physical contact with a blow; to strike; smite; hit; to cause one to become ill or sick; slay; kill; defeat; conquer; i.e., have a military victory over an opponent or enemy.
b. That is quite a variation in the shades of meaning!
c. Ex. 5:16 – The term is used for the BEATING of the slaves in Egypt. No doubt that was a pretty severe beating or whipping… not recommended for spanking children.
d. Josh. 10:10 – and he SLEW them (same word) with a great slaughter.
e. II Sam. 11:15 – Uriah was put in the front of the battle that he might be SMITTEN (same word) and die.
f. Obvious, this is not recommended with our children.
g. Isa. 58:4 – Here is it used of punching someone with the fist. Certainly this is NOT what Solomon had in mind. (We know that because Solomon spoke of smiting with a rod, not a fist.)
h. Ex. 9:31 – the flax and barley were SMITTEN. (This might be a little closer to how it is used by Solomon… though not for the purpose of crushing, but the idea of striking with a stick or fan.)
i. II Kings 11:12 – “And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they CLAPPED (same word) their hands, and said, God save the king.”
• This usage of the term is perhaps the closest in meaning to the way Solomon used it in Proverbs 23:13.
• The only difference is the object that is being “clapped”—not the hand, but the rear end of the child.
j. Because of the wild variations in the usage and connotation of this term, it is not surprising that there is not unanimity concerning just how aggressive a parent should BE with spanking.
k. A couple of things ARE clear:
• Solomon is speaking about corporal punishment (striking or hitting) and not a “time out” or “going to bed early” or “no dessert tonight.”
• That corporal punishment (smiting) is supposed to hurt.
• That corporal punishment can be misapplied:
» Either so lightly that it does not hurt and thus is ineffective.
» So hard and brutal that it physically damages the child and is thus ineffective—because you have “provoked your child to anger.”
» It can also be misapplied when not used consistently—so that the child never knows what the limits really are.
» It can be misapplied when the parent is angry and out of control. (wrong spirit)
» It can be misapplied when the child is never told what it is for… or when the child is never told what the rules are.
» It can be misapplied when a child is spanked for an unintentional accident.
» It is also misapplied when the rod is continually threatened, but not used.
l. The spanking (“beating”) must be done correctly to be effective and God honoring.
3. Rod: This term is also open to wild variations.
a. Defined: Rod; staff; branch; offshoot; club; scepter; staff; stick; i.e., a wooden stick of various lengths and thicknesses
b. II Sam. 18:14 – Three DARTS (same word) were thrust through the heart of Absalom as he was hanging in the oak tree.
c. Again, note the wide range of meaning.
d. The Hebrew term for rod used here could refer to anything from a thin switch off a willow tree to a massive club used to crush someone’s skull… to a dart or javelin used to kill someone.
e. Obviously, a little common sense needs to be applied in choosing the kind of “rod” to use in spanking your child.
f. I recommend the small flexible “rod” that comes with the mini blinds. It won’t do any damage, (as a wooden spoon could do if it hit a bone accidently) but it sure does sting. It communicates the message that needs to be communicated.
4. I would prefer to translate “beat him with the rod” as “strike him with a thin, flexible switch.”
a. Or as others have said, “Apply the board of knowledge to the seat of understanding.”
b. It is not a beating in the sense that we use the term today.
c. It is a striking of the rear end (where you are unlikely to do any real harm).
d. It is a striking that inflicts enough pain to get the point across.
e. Common sense needs to be applied on the part of the parent—and the parent needs to be under the control of the Holy Spirit.
f. And as a side note, corporal punishment should not be applied for each and every tiny infraction. Other forms of punishment might well be applied in those situations.
g. Corporal punishment ought to be applied in cases of direct rebellion and disobedience… when that disobedience is done with full knowledge that they were breaking the rules.
h. One man wrote, “It is medicine, not food.” (For an occasional sickness that needs fixing; not for daily ingestion.)
i. It should also be balanced with encouragement, praise, and even rewards for good behavior.
j. Parents are to be to their children as God is to us: gracious, longsuffering, and loving, but firm and just. Parents are to be more like a loving father than a drill sergeant.
B. He Shall Not Die
1. The proper use of the rod will not KILL the child.
a. Solomon is not talking about child abuse or brutality.
b. He is talking about sane and sensible corporal punishment that is age appropriate.
c. When punishment is applied properly, the child will not die.
d. Nor should they end up with cuts, wounds, or bruises.
e. It will sting, but it shouldn’t do any lasting damage to his body.
2. Why do you suppose Solomon had to tell parents that their children will not die if they experience the “rod”?
a. Perhaps (today at least) because our culture tells us that spanking IS damaging to a child.
b. Or perhaps because the child’s pitiful cries and pleas might cause a parent to THINK that he is seriously harming the child.
c. Bob Schaffer – One time Bob shared how when spanking his cute little red headed daughter that in the middle of the spanking the girl shrieked out in a pitiful cry, “Daddy, you’re killing me!”
d. She was mistaken. Dad—don’t let a three year old convince you that she knows more than Solomon.
e. The three year old might THINK she is dying, but Solomon said, “She shall not die!”
f. Therefore, continue to use corporal punishment… and don’t let your emotions or the cries of the child cause you to change your methodology from that which is recorded in the Word of God.
You Might Save His Life
1. Verse 13 states that won’t KILL him.
2. Verse 14 states that corporal punishment might even save his life.
3. “Delivering his soul from hell.”
a. This expression sounds very much like Solomon had salvation from condemnation in the Lake of Fire in mind.
b. To understand what Solomon meant, it is necessary to consider the terms that he used.
c. Deliver: Rescue; saved; plucked out of; spared; safe from danger.
• The term itself has no theological connection (like being saved from sin.)
• The context has to determine the nature of the deliverance.
d. Soul: Soul; self; life; creature; person; that which breathes and is alive.
• I Sam. 19:11 – The term is often used of one’s physical life. Here saving David’s life clearly meant his physical life. He was in danger of being murdered.
e. Hell: Sheol; underworld; grave; hell; pit; the underworld; Sheol—the Old Testament designation for the abode of the dead.
• I Sam. 2:6 – “The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the GRAVE, (same word) and bringeth up.”
f. I understand Solomon to be saying here that by applying the rod, the parent might save his child from a premature, untimely death.
• In vs. 13 the author says, “He won’t die.”
• In the next verse he says, “You might deliver his life from the grave” or “You might save his life.”
• Understanding this expression to mean “save his life” completes the contrast between life and death.
• Understanding it to mean salvation from sin confuses the contrast in my opinion.
4. The point is that (in spite of what the child might think or say) the spanking won’t kill him. BUT it might just teach him to control his temper, turn from his rebellion, and change his behavior… which down the road, if left unchecked could result in a premature death.
a. Spanking him won’t kill him, but allowing that rebellious wayward spirit to grow might just kill him down the road!
b. There are a number of other proverbs that speak to this very issue. Correction drives folly OUT OF a child… the kind of folly that can lead to his destruction and even death.
c. Prov. 6:32 – Adultery could destroy your soul—ruin your life. It could even lead to disease that cuts short your life.
d. Prov. 16:17 – The one who departs from evil and stays on the right highway (straight and narrow way) guards or preserves his own soul – protects his life from being cut short.
e. Prov. 15:32 – Refusing instruction destroys one’s soul – Refusing instruction is self destructive behavior. It could lead to death.
f. Prov. 29:1 – He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
• Destruction comes to the one who is unteachable… in many forms… even death.
g. Corporal punishment (as hard as it is for a parent to deal with on their cute little toddlers) is actually much EASIER to deal with than not applying corporal punishment and down the road having to deal with a drug overdose… or getting the call at 2:00 in the morning that your son and his five buddies were all drunk and died in a head on collision on route 93…
h. Spanking won’t kill them. But not correcting their behavior via corporal punishment when they are young could set them off on a life of rebellion, sin, and violence that ends in a tragic death.
i. That’s Solomon’s point in this proverb. Beware!
5. Of course, making an application from this passage to salvation is perfectly legitimate.
a. Teaching a child to respect authority… teaching a child personal responsibility… teaching a child to follow the example of his Christian parents… may very well lead a young child to put his faith in Christ too.
b. A parent who neglects his responsibility to discipline his son can expect an undisciplined son… one who does as he pleases… one who has no respect for any authority… and one whose rebellion has never been kept in check.
c. Don’t be surprised if this child lives in rebellion against God too and ends up in the Lake of Fire.
Proverbs 23:15-16
A Father’s Joy
Introduction:
1. Here we have the 12th of 30 wise sayings in this section of Proverbs.
2. Solomon appeals to his son several times in this chapter.
a. vs. 15 – My son…
b. vs. 19 – Hear thou, my son…
c. vs. 26 – My son, give me thine heart…
3. This is a pretty common desire – fathers desire to see their sons do well… to be wise… to make good decisions… to walk with God.
4. The previous verses (13-14) the author addressed the parents and spoke of the value of disciplining a son.
a. It won’t kill him. (vs.13a)
b. It might even save his life. (vs.13b-14)
5. This duo of proverbs (vs.15-16) speaks to the fact that a father’s joy (in an earthly sense) is tied to his son’s lifestyle.
6. Verses 15 and 16 are tied together as a unit… as a parallelism… a synthetic parallelism – one that builds upon the previous.
1. In the first part of the parallelism, the father makes a simple statement to his son: if your heart is wise, then my heart will rejoice.
2. In other words, in an earthly sense, the joy of a father is linked to his son. This is a positive theme Solomon mentions two more times in Proverbs.
a. Prov. 27:11 – “My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.”
b. Prov. 23:24-25 – “The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. 25Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.”
c. These proverbs are entirely positive – speaking of the fact that a wise son brings JOY to his father and mother.
3. Of course, this implies that the reverse is true also: son, if you have a foolish heart, my heart will be grieved.
a. There other proverbs which speak of the joy a wise son brings to his father, but also includes the other side of the coin – the grief that a foolish son brings to his parents.
b. Prov. 10:1 – “A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.”
c. Prov. 15:20 – “A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.”
d. Prov. 29:3 – “Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.”
4. Solomon seems to emphasize the positive side—since it is mentioned in all six of these passages, while the negative side is mentioned only three times.
5. Note that these are issues of the HEART.
a. Heart refers to our innermost being.
b. It involves our mind, emotions, and will.
c. It is the whole inner man… the whole inner person.
d. It is the inner LIFE of a person.
6. Thus, Solomon is saying that a wise son brings JOY to the whole inner life of a father.
a. It is a joy of mind.
• Thoughts of his son bring joy.
• It affects his attitude.
• Naturally parent’s minds constantly go to their children.
• And when your mind is continually drawn to a wise child, your mind is continually drawn to a source of joy to one’s inner thought life.
b. It is a joy of heart – it affects the inner emotions.
• Though we are not to live BY our feelings, yet feelings are a part of life… the way God made us.
• We are made in HIS image—and God feels.
• There are many influences that affect our feelings and emotions, but one very strong influence is our children.
• Solomon’s point here is that
c. It affects the father’s will too.
• If your son is wise and makes good decisions, that will affect in a good way the choices you make concerning him.
• If your son is wise, then you will give him more liberties that he might grow and mature.
• If your son is wise you can trust him in carrying out chores and responsibilities.
• That too brings joy to a father.
7. III John 3-4 – Of course there is great application here to the spiritual life.
a. “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
b. This is certainly true of those you have led to the Lord… or those you have taught in the Lord… or your own flesh and blood sons and daughters!
c. It is a real joy to see children demonstrating wisdom by walking in the truth. In fact, there is no greater joy.
d. I’m not sure if John meant that literally or if it is hyperbole or if it was intended to be limited to the human and earthly realm.
• I tend to think it was meant as hyperbole.
• Consider verse two. “I wish above all things that you mayest prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.”
• We often make greetings like that even today.
• I think it is fair to say that John was not MORE concerned for his physical health and well being than he was for his spiritual health and well being.
• However, that is a common way to greet folks… and the precise meaning should not be pressed too much.
• The literal method of interpretation allows for such expressions.
e. One might well argue that the joy of the Lord is an even greater joy than the joy of seeing our son walk in the truth.
• In fact the joy of the Lord trumps all earthly joys… and it even trumps and supersedes all earthly circumstances… good and bad!
• But either way, his point is well taken: there is nothing like this kind of joy!
» It brings much greater joy than to see your son be at the top of his class at Harvard.
» It brings much great joy than to see your son become a millionaire or a billionaire.
» It brings greater joy than to see your son become president of the United States.
• The joy of the Lord is a much deeper joy, unlike any other.
• It is deeper and richer than any joy we receive from earthly circumstances.
• Of course when our son walks in the truth—that earthly joy can actually BE an expression of the joy of the Lord.
f. However we understand John’s words here, one thing is clear: the father’s joy is connected to the son’s walk.
• That is true of a father with his son in the flesh.
• It is also true of a son in the faith.
1. The second part of this proverb is found in the next verse.
a. This part of the proverb BUILDS on the first section.
b. Vs. 15 said that a father’s joy is linked to his son’s wisdom.
c. Vs. 16 says that a father’s joy is linked to his son’s speech… or the wisdom expressed verbally.
d. Thus, this parallelism is building on the thought of the previous thought. This is called a synthetic parallelism.
2. The father rejoices.
a. Reins defined: kidney
• This organ was poetically used to represent the inner man much in the same way we use the heart (another organ) to represent the inner life of a person.
• Reins is used as a virtual synonym for “heart” in verse 15.
• So far, the proverbs are parallel.
b. Rejoice: Solomon uses a different word for “rejoice” in this verse than in the previous passage, but probably just for variety. The terms are synonyms.
c. Thus, the RESULT is the same in both verses – the father rejoices… the father has joy.
3. The CAUSE of the joy is where the author builds upon verse 15.
a. A wise heart causes the father to rejoice.
b. Right speech also causes the father to rejoice.
c. “Right things” defined: (One word) = evenness, uprightness, straightness, fair, level.
d. It is sometimes translated “equity” in Proverbs.
e. A son who speaks honestly causes his father to rejoice.
f. A son who speaks with fairness and level and even in his speech causes a father to rejoice.
g. Solomon seemed to be speaking about good, old fashioned honesty in speech. You can trust what his son says—and that delights the father.
4. Matt. 15:18 – Of course, what comes out of a person’s MOUTH is connected to what is in his heart.
a. Thus, putting the two points of this proverbial thought together, the father rejoices when he sees inward integrity of heart manifesting itself as outward integrity of life.
b. That causes the father to rejoice.
5. Of course there is great application to our relationship to God our heavenly Father in all of this.
a. How much must GOD rejoice when our heart is full of His wisdom?
b. How much JOY do we bring to our Father in heaven when we study proverbs and apply them to our lives?
c. How much rejoicing does God do when sees spiritual wisdom and discernment practiced in the lives of His children?
d. How much joy do we bring to God when we SPEAK right things? When our mouths are filled with His Word? When our mouths are used in sharing the gospel? When our mouths are used in teaching His Word or encouraging others in the faith?
e. Yes, we can bring joy to God in some very simple ways: storing wisdom in our hearts and speaking wisdom with our mouths.
6. There is also great application to those we lead to the Lord… our “sons in the faith.”
a. I Thess. 3:8 – “For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.”
• Paul’s LIFE was linked to the spiritual well being of the Thessalonians.
• His life was complete… full of joy IF they stood fast in the Lord.
b. I Thess. 2:19 – “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.”
• The believers in Thessalonica were a source of JOY to Paul.
• When they walked with God—Paul had joy.
c. This is just a fact of life – in both the natural and the spiritual realm. In some ways, the life and joy of a parent is linked to the well being of their children.
Proverbs 23:17-18
Let Not Thine Heart Envy Sinners
Introduction:
1. This is the 13th of 30 wise sayings in this section of Proverbs.
2. The proverbial thought consists of verses 17-18, as with most of the proverbial thoughts in this section.
3. Solomon tells us what not to do; what to do; and why.
WHAT NOT TO DO:
1. This is the main command of the proverb.
2. Envy defined:
a. To envy; be jealous; to be zealous for.
b. A feeling of ill will ranging even to anger, based on a perceived advantage.
3. Solomon’s command is that his readers NOT be envious for what others have.
a. When a person is envious for what others have, it indicates that he is not content with what he has.
b. It also indicates that his focus is not on the Lord, but is on “things of the world”… and in particular, things that others possess that he does not possess.
4. Envy is a common trait of fallen man. We have all been envious. Perhaps we still are!
a. It is SIN to be envious. The Bible clearly commands us NOT to:
• Rom. 13:13 – “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.”
b. It is a proof of carnality to be envious:
• Gal. 5:19, 21 – “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these… envying…”
• I Cor. 3:3 – For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”
c. Before we were saved we LIVED in envy:
• Titus 3:3 – “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.”
• Rom. 1:29 – “Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers.”
d. As a believer, if we don’t “lay aside” envy, we will not grow spiritually. It hinders spiritual growth.
• I Pet. 2:1-2 – “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”
e. It leads to many other forms of sin.
• Jas. 3:16 – “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”
5. This proverb (23:27) speaks of a particular KIND of envy: being envious of sinners.
a. This implies that it is also possible to be envious of saints!
• We can envy one another.
• That was a problem in Corinth. They were envious of those with the flashy gifts and they all coveted after those gifts.
• We can be envious of the earthly blessings of other saints too… envious of their wealth, their popularity, their material goods, their family, their looks, their job, their ministries, etc.
• Envy knows no bounds.
b. But here Solomon is speaking about being envious of sinners… of wicked men who know not God and are under His wrath.
• However, those very people often seem to prosper in the world… which creates great angst for many believers.
• This is a common theme, especially in the Old Testament.
6. Commands NOT to be envious of sinners:
a. Psalm 73:2-3 – Asaph was envious of the wicked when he saw them prosper in the world.
• Vs 3-4 – They appeared to be firm and strong and not have the troubles that others have… others who played by the rules and thus did not prosper as the wicked did by cheating.
• Vs. 7 – They seemed to have all their hearts could desire.
• Vs. 12 – They continued to increase in wealth.
• Vs. 8 – Yet they were evil men… ungodly.
• Vs. 13 – At times it made godly Asaph feel like he was living a godly life for nothing. He did NOT prosper. God didn’t seem to bless him. He wondered if perhaps he should go the route of the ungodly and cheat to get ahead.
• Watching the ungodly prosper in the world seems to bring out the worst in all of us as believers.
• It is an age old problem for God’s people.
b. Ps. 37:1, 35 – David warns of the same internal struggle.
• Fret: To be angry; to be zealous; to burn in zeal (being zealous and jealous are very closely related. Sometimes it is the same underlying word.)
• Neither be envious of the workers of iniquity: (same word as in Prov. 23:17)
• This is a common problem that ALL believers struggle with at some point.
• Vs. 35 – David gives his own personal testimony.
» He saw wicked men in positions of great power who spread themselves out like a bay tree (fat and flourishing).
» Evidently, this really stuck out in his mind. It evidently bothered him.
» It doesn’t seem fair… it doesn’t seem right or just.
» It evokes some wrong thoughts in us: “Why does God allow this? It isn’t fair!”
» It is not wrong to notice this phenomenon. But it certainly IS wrong to blame God and question God’s justice—as if our sense of justice was superior to His!
c. The first part of this proverbial thought simply makes one simple command: don’t envy sinners—even though such thoughts might pop into our minds and hearts.
• To do so is sin.
WHAT TO DO:
1. Instead of envying sinners, we are commanded to be in the fear of God all day long!
a. This is an interesting counterpart to the command.
b. One would think that the opposite of “envying a sinner” would be to have a better attitude towards the sinner.
c. To the author, the opposite of “envying the sinner” was “fearing God.”
d. It might not seem like a direct opposite, but it actually is.
e. To the author, the opposite of “focusing attention on the sinner” was focusing attention on the Lord… which means in practical terms, FEARING HIM.
f. In other words, the REASON we envy sinners who prosper in the world, is because we are focusing our attention on them… and what they have… and how well off they are.
g. What we OUGHT to focus on is the Lord. Keep Him in the forefront of our thinking… and that means walking in godly fear of who He is.
h. When our eyes are upon the Lord, we will not be so concerned about the wicked and how they live. We will be much more concerned about the Lord the Lord and how He would have US to live!
WHY:
1. This expression is variously translated.
a. ASV: For surely there is a reward (but this interprets it as a good end—which connotation is not found in the word).
b. NIV: There is surely a future hope for you (same).
c. NKJV: For surely there is a hereafter (this leaves it generic enough to be interpreted as a good or evil future).
2. The problem lies with the meaning of the word “end.”
a. Defined: End; issue; event; latter time (prophetic for future time); the last point of a period of time; point in time future; an event in the future.
b. The term simply speaks of a future day… a future event… the last time… the end time…
3. The author’s point seems to be that the antidote for envying the wicked is to keep in mind that there is a future to be considered.
a. There is coming a “last day”… a future event that which (if understood) will mitigate AGAINST envy today.
b. Solomon doesn’t say WHAT that future day is, but seems to leave it to the imagination of the readers.
c. It was probably pretty obvious to his readers too—as it should be to us.
4. Other passages dealing with this same issue (envying the wicked) point to a future event that should serve as an antidote for envying.
a. Psalm 73:16-17 –
• The thought of the wicked prospering caused him much inner turmoil and pain.
• That pain continued UNTIL he went into the sanctuary of God.
• Note the change here: He was pained when his eyes were upon the wicked living in their luxury.
• But the pain LEFT when he went to the sanctuary and focused his attention on the Lord!
• It’s amazing how quickly our heart attitude can change when we change our focus!
• It changed when he considered their END (same word as in Prov. 23:18).
• The Lord brought to Asaph’s mind the fact that in the future, all the crooked things will be made straight.
• In that future day, all the wrongs will be made right.
• That future day here (end) referred to the day of Judgment. In a future day, the wicked will be judged… and so will the godly.
• In that future time, the wicked will be punished… and that will last for all eternity.
• Hence, there is no cause for envying that person—even though he may be living a life of luxury today.
• When our minds are on eternity, and view life from eternity’s values, all that angst, trouble, confusion, and envy will have no place.
b. Psalm 37:1 – Don’t fret yourself because of evildoers and the workers of iniquity.
• Vs. 2 – Here’s why: Because they will one day be cut down—in the “end.”
• vs. 3 – Trust in the Lord instead. Fear God instead… and you will be blessed. Your needs will be met.
• vs. 35 – David saw the wicked prosper and sit in position of power and privilege.
• vs. 36 – Yet David realized that their position of earthly power was temporal.
» There is coming a day in the future when God will judge.
» But sometimes it doesn’t even last very long in earthly terms.
» All too often they are sitting on a house of cards about to collapse.
» They may even experience some judgment in THIS life.
» They could be caught for their wickedness and cheating and jailed.
» They could make enemies who seek to kill them.
» The life of the wicked is NOT to be envied.
WHY:
1. “Thine expectation”
a. Defined: Hope; expectation; things hoped for; ground of hope; a confidence in regard to a good and beneficial future; anticipation of good in the future.
b. Solomon warns that the wicked have their day coming… but the godly also have a future day coming.
c. The godly can anticipate that future day with great anticipation and joy!
d. Jer. 29:11 – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. (end = same word as “end” in Prov. 23:18)
2. “Thine expectation shall not be cut off.”
a. The wicked lived in luxury in this life and perhaps expected that it would continue forever.
b. However, the “end” for the wicked will be a horrible experience. Their prosperity and luxury will all be “cut off”—it will come to an end and will be exchanged for eternal judgment.
c. Prov. 24:20 – “For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.”
d. But the godly have a glorious expectation in the future and that will NOT be cut off!
e. This thought is an antidote for envying the wicked who prosper in the here and now… those who like Esau enjoy their porridge in this life and yet have made no plans for the hereafter.
f. Don’t ever wish you were in their shoes.
g. They are not to be envied but pitied.
h. Considering their end and our end (if we are faithful) will help us to maintain a right focus… and will help us deal with things such as envy today.
i. Viewing life from eternity’s vantage point will enable us to handle all the troubles and inequities of the here and now.
Proverbs 23:19-21
A Father Warning His Son
Introduction:
1. This trilogy of verses is the 14th of 30 wise sayings in this section of Proverbs.
2. It is an exhortation from a father to his son.
1. First Solomon encourages his son to LISTEN to what he has to say, be WISE, and then to GUIDE his heart.
2. Hear defined:
a. To hear; listen to; obey; to hear with attention and interest; to receive information; to hear and to heed what is heard.
b. Solomon speaks to his son and advises him to hear, to listen to, and to take heed to the advice of a godly father.
c. He says the same thing in vs. 22. The one who begot him certainly has no ill will against him. He wants only the best for his son. A son should consider that as the advice is given.
d. This has been an oft repeated theme in the book of Proverbs.
3. Be wise defined:
a. BE wise; become wise; show oneself to be wise; demonstrate wisdom; to make wise decisions.
b. Prov. 6:6 – It speaks of observing life, learning lessons, and putting them into practice.
c. It is the wisdom that is gained from hearing and observing. Pay attention, and put it into practice.
d. Consider God’s heart towards His wayward son, Israel: “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” (Deut. 32:29)
e. Here we learn that wisdom (like faith) cometh by hearing. The one who has ears to hear will learn and become wise.
f. This is another common theme in Proverbs: be wise! The book is all about becoming wise.
4. Guide defined:
a. Now he gets a little more specific:
b. Guide means: To go straight; make progress; to step forward; to advance.
c. Solomon urges his son to guide his HEART… to make progress on the inside—in his heart.
• That includes his thoughts, emotions—the whole inner man.
• This is good advice for ALL of us. We all have a lot of progress to make in the development of our inner man – our inner character.
• This is what Solomon urged his son to do: to walk the straight and narrow path, to step forward, to make progress—to advance in the development of his heart – his inner man.
• This would involve his thoughts – his mind. Progress is to be made intellectually and spiritually.
» This would include education.
» It would include reading the Scriptures and thinking on things that are true, lovely, full of virtue, and of good report…
» Prov. 24:9 – “The thought of foolishness is sin.”
• This would also include one’s emotions—getting a handle on them… controlling them.
» Prov. 25:28 – “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”
» Emotions are good, but they are to be under the control of the Holy Spirit or they will lead us astray.
d. Solomon encouraged his son to guide his heart… to grow as a man… to mature… to develop… to make progress in every way: mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
e. Prov. 4:10-13 – When a son listens to the counsel of his father, his steps WILL make progress.
• This is a command not to stagnate… not to just slide by, but rather to take steps forward and to progress in these areas.
f. Prov. 4:23-27 – If we guide our heart, our steps will be headed in a good direction. The feet will take us where the heart orders.
• If the heart is right, the life will be right… and progress will be made. Thus, keep your heart with all diligence… and keep on advancing.
g. Peter warns us all to “Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (II Pet. 3:18)
h. Peter also challenges us: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” (I Pet. 2:2)
i. Paul also commands us to grow up: “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” (Eph. 4:15)
1. First Solomon encouraged his son to listen, be wise, and to guide his heart… make progress intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.
2. Secondly, Solomon delivers the CONTENT of his warning: watch your company! He gives some particular examples of “guiding one’s heart.”
3. Be not among winebibbers: (one word)
a. Prov. 20:1 – He has already warned about the dangers of alcohol.
b. Prov. 23:29-35 – He has MUCH more to say about alcohol, later in this chapter.
c. This is still a major parental fear in today’s world—that one’s child would become involved in drugs or alcohol… they are so available and so addictive and destructive.
d. Here the advice is to avoid company with those who indulge in alcohol. Their attitude towards alcohol might rub off on you.
e. Everybody who starts drinking THINKS he can handle it.
f. One in ten drinkers becomes a problem drinker. It’s dangerous. It’s sort of like playing Russian roulette.
4. Riotous eaters of flesh (one word)
a. The term here means: Vile; frivolous; gluttonous; worthless. The term means to over-eat… but implies the lifestyle that goes along with it.
b. Prov. 23:2 – He has also already warned about gluttony in this chapter.
c. Associating with those who over-eat and over-drink WILL affect you—even if you think you are strong enough to resist.
• Paul warns, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” (I Cor. 10:12)
• I Cor. 15:33 – “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” (communications = communion or companionship)
• Prov. 13:20 – “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
• Birds of a feather flock together. Those you associate with WILL have an effect on you whether we want to admit it or not.
• Hence, Solomon warns his sons about certain groups NOT to associate with: those who are given to lustful living.
d. The believer today is to be filled with the Spirit and thus, he will exhibit self control – temperance – the fruit of the Spirit.
e. Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh – indulging in eating and drinking.
5. Deut. 21:20-21 – The rebellious son who was a glutton and drunkard could be stoned to death by the elders of the city. They did not tolerate this kind of behavior in those days. They wanted all the other young people to “hear and fear.”
REVIEW:
This is the final verse of a trilogy of verses (19-21) which constitutes the 14th wise saying of this section of Proverbs.
– Solomon gives advice to his son: (1) hear (2) be wise (3) guide – make progress in your heart.
– The content of the advice is found in vs. 20 – be not among winebibbers or riotous eaters of flesh. He advises his son to avoid their company.
– In verse 21, Solomon concludes this trilogy of advice.
Now Solomon gives some practical REASONS WHY his son should take heed to his advice to avoid the company of winebibbers and riotous eaters of flesh: you will end up poor, lazy, and dressed in rags.
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty
1. The drunkard and glutton
a. The drunkard and glutton speak of the kind of men who have no control over their appetites.
b. They are controlled by lust… and lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth sin.
c. They think only of themselves, satisfying every lust and desire.
d. Such a man lives to eat and drink… gorging himself.
e. This is the classic hedonist – one who lives only for pleasure.
f. II Tim. 3:4 – This attitude is destructive of one’s spiritual life.
• Love can mean to have a preference for one thing over another.
• Paul writes of men who are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.
• Often there is a choice between ENJOYING something appealing OR putting God first.
• By repeatedly choosing to do things that WE ENJOY before serving God or worshipping God, we are developing hedonist habits… becoming lovers of pleasure MORE THAN lovers of God.
• Love is a choice we make. We can choose to love God or we can choose to love pleasure…
• John put it this way: We can choose to love God or we can choose to love the things of this world. (I John 2:15)
• The Lord Jesus put it this way: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matt. 6:24)
g. We can either LOVE God, or LUST after earthly things.
• Solomon mentioned two types of earthly lusts (eating and drinking) because they are so common to man.
• But there are MANY other things that we can lust after: material goods; the big house on the hill; boats; money; prestige; fame; fancy cars; fancy clothes; sex; drugs; pleasure; etc.
• Just as food and drink are CONSUMED by the drunkard and the glutton, so all kinds of earthly things can be consumed by us with just as much lust and excesses.
• This proverb is just as applicable to those who lust after “other things” as it is to those who lust after food and wine.
2. They shall come to poverty:
a. Shall come: to take possession of; to inherit.
b. Solomon warns his son that the drunkard and the glutton shall inherit poverty… they shall come in to the possession of poverty.
c. The end of that road is poverty.
d. Prov. 21:17 – “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.”
e. Choosing to please self and live for pleasure eventually leads to poverty.
• Living for selfish pleasure leads to poverty because lust is expensive.
• Drugs and alcohol are expensive.
• Going out to eat all the time in fancy restaurants is expensive.
• Developing expensive tastes can bring a man to poverty. The one who loves oil and wine will not be rich.
• Prov. 21:20 – There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.”
• Of course there is application to things other than food and drink. This applies just as well to clothing, shopping, buying cars, houses, and 1001 other things.
• In so many ways, we CONSUME more than we should… more than we can afford…
• One of the problems with our economy right now is the millions of people who bought homes they could not afford—and the banks helped them do it!
• Lusting for the nicer things in life… lusting for a life of luxury and pleasure is very expensive and often results in poverty.
• Luke 15:13-16 – Like the prodigal son who wasted his substance in riotous living… feasting and drinking… (A glutton and drunkard).
» As a result, he came to poverty. He ended up eating with the swine.
» He went from eating the finest cuisine to eating pig slop.
» What happened to that young man in an accelerated pace happens to most gluttons and drunkards over a longer period of time… but it’s the same END.
» If this young man was more sensible as a youth, he could have inherited his father’s wealth at the proper time. Instead, he inherited poverty.
3. Gluttony and drunkenness leads to drowsiness:
a. Drowsiness:
• This term is used only in Prov. 23:21.
• It means: Laziness; indolence; formally; drowsiness; i.e., the willful refusal of making effort or work as a life-style, as a moral failure.
• One dictionary defined drowsiness here as a figurative extension of slumber as a state of inactivity.
b. Everyone knows what it feels like to be tired and drowsy – sleepy.
c. Of course over eating and drinking can make you physically tired and drowsy.
d. This can become a lifestyle…
• “I’d love to go to work, but I’m just too tired.” That too can lead to poverty.
• And in the spiritual realm, “I’d love to read the Bible and go to church, but I’m just too tired.” That can lead to spiritual poverty.
e. One can develop a mental lethargy… drowsiness that can ruin a life. It can become a deep-seated laziness that leads to destruction.
f. Prov. 6:9-11 – The lustful man or woman who lives to eat and drink and live it up usually becomes lazy.
• You can’t go to work with a hangover… you need to stay in bed.
• You can’t stay late at work when the boss needs you… you have to go to that party tonight.
• You don’t feel like mowing the lawn—you just ate a big meal and need a nap… nor can you paint the house, fix the fence, work in the garden or do anything. You’re just too tired.
• All you need after all that eating and drinking (or after all that shopping… or whatever else it is that you were so busy consuming that you are now exhausted to work) all you need now is just a little slumber… a little folding of the hands, and you’ll be fine.
• vs. 11 – And so shall your poverty come! That’s a sure road to poverty.
» Here Solomon warns that laziness is usually followed by poverty.
» This does not mean that ALL poor people are poor because they are lazy. That is not the case.
» But it does mean that lazy people usually become poor… or poorer.
» His “want” (desire to have goods) shall come like an armed man—like a bandit… like a thief in the night. It will come upon him very swiftly…
g. Prov. 19:15 – “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.”
• The one who loves to eat and drink becomes drowsy and lazy… and he ends up hungry because he is too poor to afford food any more.
• If you are too lazy to go to work… then you won’t have any money. If you don’t have money, you can’t buy food.
• It’s as simple as that.
4. It will clothe a man with rags.
a. This is picturesque way of saying that it leads to poverty.
b. This was quite a warning in light of the fact that Solomon was addressing his sons, who were princes – part of the royal family!
c. The young man being addressed was the son of the wealthiest man in the world – Solomon; yet he was warned that he might end up in poverty and dressed in rags!
d. That would be quite a culture shock for a son brought up in the lap of luxury in the royal palace, and dressed in royal velvet and gold all his life.
e. It would be quite humbling for him to end up wearing rags.
5. The underlying problem Solomon highlights in this passage is much deeper and broader than food and drink. It is a lack of self control.
a. If a person lacks self control in eating and drinking—it is likely that this character flaw will manifest itself in other areas too.
b. It is the fruit of the flesh. The flesh loves to indulge itself in all kinds of things—both good and bad.
c. We all used to live in the lusts of our flesh – fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. (Eph. 2:3)
d. Walking in the flesh will manifest itself in many different forms of the same sin of intemperance.
e. The answer to a lack of self control is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit who produces in us the fruit of temperance… self control.
f. A lack of self control can lead to drunkenness, gluttony, and then to laziness… and from there to poverty.
6. Rom. 13:13-14 – “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”
a. Not only should we avoid association with those who engage in such things, we should make no provision even for the temptation!
b. Don’t put yourself in a place where you will be tempted.
c. This passage says not just don’t be one OF them, but don’t even be AMONGST them.
d. This is the same advice Solomon gave in Prov. 23:20 – Be not AMONG winebibbers and riotous eaters of flesh.
7. Eph.5:14 – Awake thou that sleepest and Christ will give thee light!
a. If you find yourself lazy because of over eating and drinking… or lusting for the things of this world…
b. If you find yourself poor because of drowsiness…
c. The answer is to wake up. Be aware of your condition and DO something about it.
d. Read the Bible.
• The Word teaches us how to control our appetites.
• It teaches us about the power of the Spirit to produce the fruit of temperance or self control in us.
• It teaches us not to love the things of this world.
• It teaches us be diligent, hard workers… and to ponder the path of our feet.
• As we follow the Scriptures, we can return to the place of self control and get our life back on track.
Proverbs 23:22-23
Buy the Truth
Introduction:
1. Verses 22-23 constitute the 15th of 30 wise sayings. (Although I might have joined vs. 24-25 together with this saying—since all speak about parental advice.)
1. Hearken:
a. This term is used 1,159 times in the Old Testament and at least 30 times in Proverbs.
b. It means to hear… but also implies to listen and obey.
c. It means to hear with attention or interest, listen to for the purpose of obeying.
2. The son is commanded to hearken to his father.
a. Here the term father is amplified by the expression, “who begat thee.” (your biological father)
b. The expression was added not so much to distinguish “which” father, but to emphasize an important fact: the father who begat you… your biological father more than anyone else wants the BEST for you.
c. Your father wants his son to turn out well… to become a man or a woman that he could be proud of…
d. Thus, your father wants you to hearken to his words of wisdom so that the son doesn’t have to make the same mistakes in life that he made.
e. Generally speaking, nobody wants for a son to succeed in life more than his dad.
3. We have heard this before in this book:
a. Prov. 1:8 – My son, hear the instruction of thy father.
b. Prov. 6:8 – My son, keep thy father’s commandment.
c. Solomon wanted his son to hear his instructions and to KEEP them.
d. He then wrote this book so that his sons would be able to pass this on to the next generation AND so that all other families in his kingdom would benefit from this truth.
e. In a sense, this is the theme of the book of Proverbs: hearken to the words of wisdom and obey!
1. Despise not:
a. To despise; hold in contempt; hold as insignificant; scorn; deride; i.e., have contempt for; to belittle; to show disrespect.
2. Solomon does not seem to be using the term here in the sense of “hating” one’s mother, but rather showing disrespect for her and her counsel and words of wisdom.
3. Note also that he speaks of a mother who is OLD.
a. This means that the child is either an older child or perhaps more likely, a young adult.
b. In other places in Proverbs the emphasis was on young children listening to their parents.
c. Here the children are older. But regardless of their age, the woman is still their mother.
d. We should never think of ourselves (regardless of how old we are) as beyond learning… beyond the need for advice and counsel.
e. No matter how old you are, your mother and father will always be older than you, except in my case…. my mother got stuck on 39 for decades.
f. Ex. 20:12 – And the command to HONOR thy mother and father still stands.
4. It seems likely that Solomon observed this in real life… as perhaps we all have.
a. Sometimes the elderly are treated quite poorly.
b. Sometimes they are treated poorly even by their own children! This should never be.
c. Some adult children show disrespect for their parents.
d. I had a friend one time who always used to say jokingly, “Everybody says their parents are crazy, but I can prove it!” (He was kidding.)
e. Solomon wasn’t talking about someone joking—he was talking about the real thing… adults who had no respect for their parents.
f. They belittled them and talk scornfully about them. They made jest of the advice from aged parents. (What do they know?)
g. Perhaps they mistreated them.
h. Some even refused to help provide for the needs of their elderly parents by claiming that all their material goods were “corban” (dedicated in a vow to God).
i. Deut. 27:16 – “Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother.” The Law put a curse on such behavior.
j. Prov. 1:7 – Fools despise wisdom and knowledge… even when their own parents are seeking to help them.
1. If we understand this passage to be connected in context to the previous one (as is the case in virtually all the passages in this section of Proverbs), then the TRUTH is to be connected to the advice of one’s aging parents.
a. Listen to your father… and do not belittle the counsel of your mother when she is old.
b. And when they speak, BUY the truth and sell it not!
c. Solomon links wisdom, instruction, and understanding to truth.
2. Buy and sell not.
a. Solomon’s point is that when truth (along with wisdom, instruction, and understanding) are being offered, BUY it!
• Though Solomon had a slightly different setting in mind, there is good application here to getting a good education.
• Education may be costly, but in most cases, it is worth buying.
• It’s worth sacrificing for.
• This is true of gaining truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding in so MANY realms or fields: in gaining an education for your career… and in gaining an education for your spiritual growth.
• It’s worth the price… it’s worth the sacrifice involved.
• And it does require sacrifice to be educated in the things of the Lord: it takes time, energy, sacrifice, effort… but it is worth it. It pays a great dividend from eternity’s perspective.
• Prov. 4:5-8 – Get wisdom and understanding. Of all the things you seek to GET in life, make sure you get this prize! It will do you well for the rest of your days.
b. Solomon’s point in context is that TRUTH (wisdom, instruction, etc.) should be received… take it in… HEARKEN to the words of wisdom and truth.
c. Buying also implies paying a price.
• Even if it is COSTLY to take in the truth… it is well worth it in the end.
• Prov. 2:2-4 – Here Solomon speaks about paying a price to pursue wisdom, knowledge, and truth: the kind of price paid by those seeking gold.
• In the gold rush here in the US, obtaining that gold required leaving all behind in order to obtain it… it involved great sacrifice… paying a price to “buy” it.
• Prov. 16:16 – “How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!”
• Sometimes when truth, wisdom, and understanding are presented to us, it requires paying a price – making some costly CHANGES in our lives.
• Then BUY the truth—and make the changes!
• Pay the price whatever it costs to get the truth.
• Jesus warned that the price for following the truth might include friends, reputation, possessions, a job, and even one’s life!
• Phil. 3:7-8 – Paul had truth presented to him and he discovered that the excellency of the knowledge of Christ was worth far more than earthly things: prestige, power, riches, etc.
• But it is still MORE valuable than all that. Buy it regardless of the price.
d. And once you get it, don’t ever SELL it.
• Don’t throw it away…
• Don’t sell it out… don’t turn your back on it.
• Don’t sell it for fear of losing friends or fortune or any earthly thing.
• Don’t let it slip through your fingers through neglect either.
• Don’t let it be snatched away through careless living.
• Keep it… guard it… just like you protect your property—items that you paid a hefty price to buy, you will take care of… protect…
• Items that you buy and realize the VALUE of, the need for, the usefulness of… you won’t sell. You will want to keep them.
• The same is true with truth, wisdom, and understanding.
• When Paul discovered the truth of Christ and the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, he wasn’t about to sell it. He continued to pay a price throughout his ministry.
• Good parents—even aging godly parents—want nothing more than for their children (even grown children) to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. They will continue to desire their kids to “buy the truth.”
3. The point here is that aging parents still have valuable advice and counsel to give.
a. And when they give that advice and counsel, BUY it—and don’t sell it.
b. Young adults should not consider the old age of their parents as a reason NOT to listen to their advice—but just the opposite.
c. Aging parents may not wear the latest styles. They may not be up on all the latest fads or technology.
d. But in the areas of life that really matter—they have valuable advice to give.
e. HEARKEN unto thy father… and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
Proverbs 23:24-28
A Whore is a Deep Ditch
Introduction:
1. We are going to look at TWO of the 30 wise sayings here (vs.24-25 = # 16th wise saying; vs. 26-28 = 17th wise saying)
2. We are going to combine them:
a. Because they all belong to the same context.
b. Because the theme in vs. 24-25 we have seen many times already in the book of Proverbs.
3. In this section of chapter 23, we have a father giving advice to his son—and pleading with his son to listen to what he says.
a. The advice includes warnings against over-eating, greed, associating with winebibbers, being lazy, child-rearing, and now avoiding contact with prostitutes… avoiding sexual immorality…
b. He ends the chapter with a lengthy section on the dangers of alcohol (vs.29-35).
Wise Children Make Joyful Parents
1. This is a theme we have seen repeated often in the book of Proverbs.
2. In verse 24, Solomon speaks of two things that cause a father to rejoice:
a. If his children are righteous
b. If his children are wise
3. This results in a father:
a. “Greatly rejoicing” –
b. “Having joy”
c. These two thoughts are synonyms… added for emphasis.
d. The character and lifestyle of the children affects the joy of the father.
4. The character of the child (righteous and wise) could have two different applications – earthly and spiritual.
a. In the earthly realm
• Parents can instill in their children many of the qualities emphasized in the Bible and in Proverbs in particular.
• This would include a strong work ethic, being diligent, doing one’s best, saving and not wasting money, good use of one’s time, the importance of learning, the importance of obeying the law of the land, careful use of one’s tongue, being a good citizen, being a good neighbor, honesty, integrity, etc.
• Even an unsaved son can be wise—at least in the ways of the world. And in that realm too, wisdom exceeds folly.
» Ecc. 2:13-14a – “Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. 14The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness.”
• An unsaved son can also be “righteous” before the law – blameless before the Law, as Saul was before his conversion.
» An unsaved son can make RIGHT decisions.
» He can do that which is right before the law = a law abiding citizen.
» He can be right in that he is moral and of high integrity.
» There are lots of unsaved people who are moral and do that which is right—at least before the eyes and law of man.
• A father who has instilled these good virtues into his children can have JOY as a result—if the son demonstrates these qualities in his life.
• Solomon mentioned this earlier in this chapter: vs. 15-16.
• On an earthly level, a father can have a certain amount of joy in his children, even if they don’t get saved.
• At least they learned something… at least they learned to be wise in an earthly sense.
b. In the spiritual realm
• The principles we have seen in Proverbs 23:24 (though most were given to be applied in the earthly sense), also have great spiritual application.
• If the child applies these principles of wisdom and righteousness to entering into a relationship with God by faith, then he has elevated these principles to a whole new level.
• And he has elevated the JOY of a godly father to a whole new level.
• A father whose son listens and obeys and demonstrates wisdom in earthly things AND applies it to his relationship to God will have even GREATER joy!
• II John 4 – “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth.”
• III John 4 – “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
5. In verse 25, Solomon adds the mother and her feelings.
a. Only the father is mentioned in the previous verse.
b. Now Solomon states that the father AND the mother shall be glad and rejoice in a wise and righteous son.
c. Everything said in the previous passage is now applied to the mother too.
d. Prov. 10:1 – “A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.”
e. BOTH parents feel it when their child becomes wise OR if he or she becomes a fool.
f. It is a shared joy or grief between the two parents.
1. Now Solomon speaks to his son again and tells his son “GIVE me your heart in the following matter.”
2. This exhortation may imply that the son had NOT YET GIVEN his father his heart on this matter of sexual immorality—mentioned in the next verse.
3. Hence, the father is pleading with his son to change his heart… to give his heart to his father in this matter… to be in agreement with his father.
4. OR, it may simply be a plea for a POTENTIAL sin – a hypothetical.
5. The father wants his son’s heart—or his daughter’s heart.
6. The father wants his son to observe his ways (the ways of the father).
a. The meaning of the word translated “observe” here is disputed.
• Some have defined it as “to watch carefully.”
• Others have defined it as “to be well pleasing; to be favorable, to delight in.”
• Whichever meaning is given to this term, the meaning of the proverb as a whole is clear: the father wants his son to be on the same page as the father on this issue—to observe his ways… and/or to be favorable towards his ways.
b. Either way, the father wants his son to follow his example in this matter.
c. Again, this could imply that the son was NOT following the example of his father in this area, but had strayed away.
7. If this is an exhortation to a wayward son, then consider the connection with the previous verses:
a. Son, your immoral behavior is killing your mother and me. It is causing us great grief.
b. If you change, and demonstrate wisdom and righteousness we will greatly rejoice!
c. Please give me your heart! Change your ways!
8. The good news in this proverb is the fact that a son who is presently involved in immorality and who is presently causing his parents great grief CAN repent.
a. He CAN change his behavior.
b. And repentance followed by a change of behavior can turn a parent’s grief into JOY!
9. Of course this exhortation illustrates for us the desire of the heart of our heavenly Father—that we would give Him our hearts!
a. God seeks continually for us to surrender our heart, mind, and will to Him…
b. God seeks that we walk with Him in wholehearted allegiance and love… such that His will is our will… (Rom. 12:1-2 – living sacrifice)
Warnings Against Sexual Immorality
1. FOR – This word indicates that this warning is part of the previous context.
a. The son is to give his father his heart FOR (because) a whore is a deep ditch!
b. Take heed to my warning because failure to listen is dangerous. You could get seriously hurt.
c. Sexual immorality is something you can fall into but not easily get yourself out of.
d. It’s easy to start and hard to stop.
e. That’s why the son should give his father his heart.
f. It’s best NOT to fall in to that ditch in the first place.
g. But if you have already fallen in, GET OUT right away.
h. It is really an issue of the heart.
i. Of course, in the spiritual realm, in order to be preserved from such immorality requires that we give our hearts to the Lord first and foremost.
2. Verse 27 is a synonymous parallelism.
a. Both parts of the verse say the same thing using different words.
• The whore and the strange woman are both prostitutes
• The deep ditch and the narrow pit refer to the same kind of trap a person can fall into.
b. The warning is clear: this is dangerous! Stay away! It’s a trap.
c. We continually hear of politicians, sports stars, movie stars, and other celebrities in the lime light falling into this trap.
d. And countless other men and women—who are just average Joes—have fallen into the same trap… and have ruined their families, their reputation, their careers, and even their lives.
3. Verse 28 – The whore is dangerous on another level too.
a. She lies in wait as for a prey…
• The Hebrew word for prey here means BANDIT.
• Note that the word “for” is italicized. It should be rejected.
• Thus, this whore is lying in wait as a bandit hides in the bushes before robbing someone.
• The picture is not of a wild animal waiting for prey (tiger waiting for an antelope) but a bandit waiting to rob someone.
• She robs men in various ways: she robs men of their decency, of their integrity, of their purity, of their family life.
• Prostitutes who get men “hooked” also rob men of their finances. It can be an expensive hobby.
• Proverbs 6:26-28 – “For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. 27Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? 28Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?”
• Visiting prostitutes brings a man to ruin financially and every other way.
• How many millions in endorsements did Tiger Woods lose for his well publicized immorality?
b. She increases the transgressors.
• Transgressors:
» Be unfaithful; be faithless; break faith; i.e., not trustworthy or reliable to a person or standard.
» To betray; to act treacherously; deceitfully.
» Jer. 3:20 – “Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.” (In this passage, the term is used to describe the concept of being unfaithful—to a husband or God.)
• Solomon’s point is that one whore, one harlot, one prostitute results in increasing the number of men who become unfaithful.
» They become unfaithful to the teachings of their godly parents.
» They become unfaithful to their wife.
» They become unfaithful to God!
• She increases the number of unfaithful men.
• Thus, she ruins many homes, many families, many relationships…
• And she even helps ruin a nation by attacking its most basic building block – the home.
Proverbs 23:29-30
Who Hath Woe?
Introduction:
1. The final verses of Proverbs 23 deal with the dangers of alcohol.
2. This was a problem in Solomon’s day and has been ever since.
3. Actually, the Bible mentions the abuse of wine ever since the days of Noah and probably much before.
4. Verses 29-35 are counted as the 18th wise saying in this section.
5. This section is WISDOM warning his readers against using alcohol.
The Rhetorical Questions (vs.29)
Six rhetorical questions are asked and they all have the same answer. In every case, the answer is they that tarry long at the wine. (vs.30)
a. Woe: This is a passionate cry of grief or despair; it speaks of intense hardship and distress;
b. What kind of a person will end up crying out in grief and despair? The one who uses alcohol.
c. What kind of person will end up living a life of intense hardship and despair? The one who uses alcohol.
d. With these three words (who hath woe) we have been given sufficient warning to stay away from alcohol.
e. This warning is coming from God’s book of wisdom.
f. The warning is clear and unambiguous.
g. The response is up to us. We can take heed to God’s words of wisdom OR we can ignore it or reject it and decide to experiment with alcohol.
h. Why would a believer try to do that? To prove God wrong? To prove how strong you are? To prove that while others may fall victim to alcohol, it will never happen to me?
i. When the Bible warns us that the use of a product results in grief, despair, hardship, and distress, clearly that is a warning to stay away and NOT to experiment with it.
a. Sorrow: Like the word “woe,” this is also an exclamation: it is an exclamation of pain or anxiety; sadness; remorse;
b. It is not a common word for sorrow. The term is used only here in the Bible.
c. So the question is asked: who will experience pain, anxiety, sadness and remorse?
d. You guessed it—the one who is tricked by alcohol.
e. Prov. 20:1 – Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
f. Wine truly is a mocker. It promises happiness, (just watch how happy the people are on the Budweiser commercials) but in the end it produces sorrow and woe. (You never see that on the commercials.)
g. Note that the first two questions (woe and sorrow) deal with emotional problems related to alcohol.
a. Contentions: Strife; arguing; quarreling; disputes; fights;
b. Who ends up leading a life of strife, arguing, and fighting? The one who tarries at the wine.
c. God’s wisdom warns us that drinking leads to arguments and fights.
d. This is a multiple choice question: Where do you think you are more likely to hear of a brawl occurring? (a) the supermarket; (b) the local barroom; (c) the library?
e. Children who grew up in a home where their parents abused alcohol know all about arguing and fighting. They had to endure 18 years or so of arguing and fighting. It is the environment in which they lived. They probably grow up thinking it is normal.
f. How many marriages have been destroyed because of alcohol? How many families broken up? How many kids have had their youth ruined because of alcoholic parents?
g. How many MORE will there be?
h. Why would a Christian drink something that he KNOWS leads to arguing and fighting?
i. We’ve been warned.
a. Babbling: Complaint; lament; foolish talk; empty-talk; i.e., speech which makes no sense.
b. It is not certain which meaning is intended here. Both fit the context.
c. It may mean complaining or lamenting. Those who are full of alcohol do a fair amount of complaining. That is what often leads to the arguments and the fights.
d. It may mean foolish talk, empty talk, or speech that makes no sense. Certainly this is true.
e. People who are under the influence of alcohol say very foolish things. They ramble on and often make no sense.
f. They can be quite obnoxious.
g. As believers, we are to be extra careful about our speech. Every idle word we speak will be judged one day.
h. Why would a Christian drink something that he KNOWS will cause him to say foolish things… senseless things?
i. Very often the foolish things that a drunkard says are vulgar, immoral, and indecent.
j. Such talk has resulted in fights too—in which a drunk doesn’t fare very well.
k. The first two questions dealt with emotional problems created by alcohol.
l. The next two questions (contentions and babbling) have to do with social problems… interpersonal relationships that are ruined as a result of drinking.
a. This too speaks of the danger of alcohol… only this speaks of physical problems that result from wine and strong drink.
b. Wounds without a cause: this is a bodily wound or bruise that is in vain… without a purpose… pointless.
c. In other words, the drunkard also ends up getting hurt physically… for no good reason.
d. There are lots of ways a drunk gets hurt:
• He can’t walk right and often falls.
• They fall down stairs… and off cliffs.
• They are impaired and cannot drive—though they think they can. They often get in auto accidents which result in physically to themselves and others.
• They have a big mouth and get in fights—and rarely win the fight. They end up severely bruised.
• Drunks think they can do things that they are unable to do. Alcohol gives a false sense of bravery—which results in pointless injury: they think the thin ice will hold them up; they think that they can fight a guy much bigger than they are; they think that they operate machinery.
e. Because they were drunk, they don’t feel the pain until they wake up the next day.
f. Because they were drunk they often don’t even remember how they got hurt.
g. This is a terrible way to live. We have been warned.
a. This speaks of the typical bloodshot eyes of a drunk.
b. He cannot see well and he cannot walk well.
c. He is an accident waiting to happen.
d. These last two questions dealt with the issue of physical suffering related to the use of alcohol.
e. Alcohol results in emotional problems (woe and sorrow); interpersonal relationship problems (contention and babbling); and physical problems (wounds and bloodshot eyes).
One Answer: (vs.30)
Solomon lists six rhetorical questions and there is but one answer to them all: the drunkard—that’s who! The drunkard is described in two ways here.
a. Tarry long: (one word in Hebrew) To delay; remain; slow down; linger.
b. This speaks of a person who lingers at the spot where the alcohol is served.
c. Prov. 23:20 – Earlier in this chapter Solomon warned his readers (his son) not even to associate with winebibbers. Don’t hang around with them… don’t linger with them.
a. Seek: Seek for; search out; explore in order to discover or find something.
b. The English words “mixed wine” are a translation of one Hebrew word. That word means wine that is mixed with something else… usually water. (Although sometimes they also added spices to give it more flavor.)
c. Here Solomon speaks of the person who actively seeks out mixed wine… alcohol.
d. Perhaps Solomon used this term for wine to highlight the fact that in ancient times, the Jews did not drink wine straight. That was forbidden.
e. The Jews mixed between 3-10 parts water to one part wine. Thus, the wine they drank had a negligible amount of alcohol in it.
f. Thus, the wine in the Bible was NOT the same as wine that is drunk today. Today people drink it unmixed. That is what the Bible writers called “strong drink.”
g. This is another term easily misunderstood by the modern reader today. In the Bible, “strong drink” does not refer to what WE call strong drink: whiskey or bourbon. Distilled alcohol had not yet been invented!
h. Strong drink in the Bible was unmixed wine and was forbidden.
i. The only way to get drunk drinking wine mixed with 3-10 parts of water would be to “tarry long” at the wine… to linger where it was served.
j. Thus, the person who tarried long at the wine WANTED to become intoxicated.
k. The Bible did not forbid drinking alcohol altogether, because in those days the water was stagnant and needed to be purified.
l. Adding acidic wine to their alkaline water neutralized the water and prevented them from getting sick – with stomach problems.
m. Thus, they HAD to use wine in those days to purify their water.
n. Hence, all the WARNINGS in the Bible associated with wine.
o. They had to USE wine to purify their water, but they were warned not to LINGER at it. Be careful.
p. It results in emotional problems (distress, grief and sorrow), interpersonal relationship problems (arguments; fights; divorce; ruined homes) and physical problems (wounds; red eye… not to mention cirrhosis of the liver, auto accidents; etc.)
q. The rest of this chapter gives us more reason to beware of the danger of alcohol.
Proverbs 23:31-35
Look Not Upon the Wine
Introduction:
1. This chapter has much to say about the use of alcohol.
2. In verse 20, Solomon warns against keeping company with those who are winebibbers and gluttons. (Why? It results in laziness and poverty.)
3. In verses 29-30, Solomon continued his warnings against alcohol with six questions and one answer.
4. Now we want to look at one command concerning alcohol, and five reasons.
ONE COMMAND: LOOK NOT
1. LOOK defined:
a. To look at; to observe; to pay attention to; to gaze at.
b. To look at with pleasure; to find delight in.
c. To experience something (Cf. Jer. 20:18 – “Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?” (The meaning here is to experience labor and sorrow. It is used several times in Jeremiah with that meaning.)
2. The command is pretty simple: Don’t look at wine; don’t gaze at it longingly wishing you could have some; don’t look at it with pleasure; don’t experience it.
3. The particular situation: When the wine is red and gives its color in the cup; when it moveth itself aright.
a. This speaks of the alluring temptation of wine.
b. The author is speaking about the attractive color of wine; its bouquet or appealing smell; the way it swirls in the glass.
c. Have you ever seen a connoisseur of fine wine smell the wine and swirl it in the cup? They are judging the quality of the wine… its appeal… the way it looks, tastes, smells, and moves in the cup.
d. In other words, Solomon is telling his sons (and his readers) that they should not experience this temptation. Don’t put yourself through this, for you might fall victim. It is VERY appealing.
e. Don’t gaze at the wine longingly, wishing you had some.
f. Don’t be drawn to its alluring color, smell, and the appealing way it moves in the cup.
g. Remember, Eve’s sin in the Garden began by LOOKING at the forbidden fruit.
h. Gen. 3:6 – “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat.”
i. This is what Solomon is forbidding here: Don’t LOOK at the wine because you will discover its appeal. It will seem like a GOOD drink. It will be PLEASANT—an alluring smell. It will then be DESIRED. And the final step is, you will TAKE some.
j. The way to avoid TAKING wine is to avoid LOOKING at it. Don’t gaze upon it longingly. Don’t allow yourself to be brought under its alluring power.
k. Look not upon the wine = don’t be ruled by your senses and feelings (taste, appearance, smell, etc.)
l. We are to not to walk by sight, or smell, or taste. We walk by faith – a faith that rests upon the Word of God.
4. Of course, there will be always those who seek to justify drinking alcohol.
a. They will argue here, “But Solomon doesn’t say don’t drink it. He just says don’t look at it! Don’t be tempted by it.”
b. To those folks I would say, “Go ahead and drink it. You aren’t really interested in truth or God’s mind on this matter.”
c. Example: Sign at the Kennedy compound: “Don’t even think of parking here.”
• It didn’t actually say don’t park here. It just said don’t think about it. So I can park there as long as I don’t think about it right?
• What silly reasoning. It is obvious and apparent what the will of the owner was.
• You really have to parse to the point of twisting meanings to think he really wanted you to park there.
d. You have to parse to the point of twisting Scripture to miss the point in this passage too. God says, “Don’t even LOOK at wine in the cup!”
e. You don’t have to be a brilliant theologian to understand the meaning here. All you have to be is honest.
f. The command is clear: don’t look at it. This is followed by five reasons WHY you should not LOOK at it.
• Interestingly, the reasons given for not LOOKING imply that if you DO look, that you will take.
• If you look, you will see that it seems good, pleasant, desirable, appealing, and you will succumb to the temptation and take it.
• Thus, the reasons for not LOOKING have to do with what happens when you TAKE it… for if you look, you are likely to take.
• That’s the assumption here.
FIVE REASONS
1. This speaks of the consequences of not taking heed to Solomon’s command.
2. What a contrast:
a. The wine is so appealing, so alluring, it seems so good and pleasant and desirable.
b. The ends up biting like a poisonous snake and stinging like a serpent.
c. In other words, what seems to be so appealing up front is anything BUT appealing and pleasant in the end.
3. “At the last”
a. This is an important expression with respect to the subject of temptation and sin.
b. It is important because many different kinds of sins are different in the END than they seem in the beginning.
c. Prov. 5:3-4 – The immoral woman seems so sweet and appealing during the temptation, but is entirely different in the end… after the sin has been committed.
d. Prov. 25:8 – In the beginning of an argument or fight, it feels really good to push, shove, and shoot off your mouth. But the end does not feel so good.
e. The book of Hebrews tells us that there is an initial pleasure to sin. But it never ENDS in pleasure.
f. The initial pleasure is short lived, but the consequences can seem to last forever.
g. The point is, consider the END before you even begin to head down that road! Considering the END will cause a wise man to choose to stay away in the first place.
h. Prov. 16:28 – “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (It seems right; it feels right—but that doesn’t make it right.)
1. The expression “strange woman” is translated from ONE Hebrew word.
a. It simply means “strange.” Obviously, something needs to be filled in here for it to make sense in English.
b. Most translations fill in the word “things” instead of women.
• Of course it would not be wrong to use the word “things” here—for that is generic enough to cover anything!
• The meaning then would be that alcohol causes you to see strange things—like hallucinations—pink elephants, etc.
• That is a possible meaning.
c. But the KJV translators chose to translate it “strange women.”
• This is a more specific translation—some might even say an interpretation.
• But I think they had good reason behind their translation.
• In Prov. 22:14, Solomon just used this same word to describe the harlot, the immoral woman. There it is translated “strange woman” and it is obvious that that is the true meaning.
• Prov. 23:27 – Also, IMMEDIATELY before the discussion on alcohol, Solomon mentioned the strange or immoral woman.
• Also, in 23:33, it is clear that Solomon is warning about SIN (perverse or immoral things in the heart that are uttered).
• I think the KJV has it just right here.
2. Thus, the warning here is that alcohol causes a person’s fleshly nature to be uninhibited – which means that it can stir up sinful behavior and sexual promiscuity: wine, women, and song!
a. For centuries men have used wine and alcohol to cause a young woman to lose her inhibitions and impair her judgment so that she will agree to immorality… to cause her to agree to do something that normally she would NOT do.
b. Noah stood strong and opposed the whole world! But later he got drunk and lewd behavior followed. This was quite unexpected of Noah, one of the heroes of the faith!
c. Lot’s daughters knew that their father would never agree to their immoral plan to preserve their seed and sleep with them, so they got him drunk—and Lot did what he never would have done otherwise.
d. Gen. 19:35 – “And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.”
• He didn’t know what he was doing. He was not in his right mind.
• Once he had the alcohol in him, he had no control over what he was doing.
• But he DID have control over whether to drink it in the first place.
e. Alcohol has been the date rape drug of choice for centuries. It is used by men to lure women into sexual sin without their knowledge.
f. “Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.”
g. Alcohol causes us to lose control right away. The fruit of the Spirit is self control (temperance). Alcohol produces the opposite. A word to the wise should be enough.
1. Note the effect that alcohol has on the heart… the inner man.
2. It causes the heart to utter perverse things.
a. Perverse things refers to that which is twisted, immoral. The term is often translated “froward.”
b. Prov. 16:28 – “A froward man soweth strife.”
c. Prov. 8:13 – The fear of the LORD is to hate evil… and the froward mouth, do I hate.
d. Froward here is the same term translated “perverse.”
e. God hates every manifestation of it—whether it resides in the heart or comes out of the mouth.
3. Note that God hates this “perversity” and alcohol produces it!
a. That should tell us something—for those who have ears to hear.
b. If you don’t really want to hear, then no argument from the Scriptures will be convincing… not if your mind is already made up.
4. The word “utter” has two meanings.
a. It usually means to speak.
b. It also is used in an almost figurative way, of internal speaking.
c. Ecc. 2:15 – “Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.”
d. This is how Solomon uses the term in Proverbs 23:33.
5. Alcohol produces a perverse, immoral imagination and evil thoughts. Jesus said, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.”
a. Alcohol releases a person from his normal, healthy inhibitions and impairs his ability to think clearly.
b. II Cor. 10:5 – “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
c. Since we are commanded to submit EVERY thought to the obedience of Christ, why would a Christian ever drink something that causes him to do the very opposite?
d. If I gave you a pill and told you that it causes you to think evil thoughts, would you take it? Well, you have been warned. That is what alcohol does. God says so.
e. Alcohol releases us from healthy inhibitions, and causes us to think and do things we would never otherwise do.
f. Unfortunately, alcohol does NOT release a person from the consequences of poor reasoning and bad choices.
g. That’s why drunks so often get in fights—because they think, say, and do things that get other people angry.
It Will Make You Sick
It Will Become Addictive
F. Conclusions
1. Solomon did not beat around the bush in describing alcohol. No one should ever read this chapter and wonder what he thought about it!
a. Vs. 20 – Don’t associate with winebibbers.
b. Vs. 29 – It produces woe, contentions, babblings, wounds, bloodshot eyes.
c. Vs. 31 – Don’t even look at it!
d. Vs. 32 – It is appealing, but in the end, it bites like a poisonous snake.
e. Vs. 33 – It causes you to lust after immoral women and causes you to utter perverse things.
f. Next week we will look at two more results: it makes you sick and it is addicting.
2. It never ceases to amaze me how many believers CLAIM that the Bible does not forbid alcohol, and that it is a matter of liberty and choice.
3. However, it really doesn’t matter what people believe, even what many Christians believe. The only thing that ultimately matters is what the Bible SAYS. Everything else is irrelevant… a smokescreen… an excuse… or a cloak for maliciousness.
Proverbs 23:34-35
Look Not Upon the Wine (Part II)
Introduction:
1. This chapter deals with the use of alcohol.
2. In verse 20, Solomon warns against keeping company with those who are winebibbers and gluttons. (Why? It results in laziness and poverty.)
3. In verses 29-30, Solomon continued his warnings against alcohol.
4. In this final section of the chapter, Solomon makes one bold command: “look not on the wine.”
a. He commands his readers not even to LOOK at wine because it is tempting and alluring.
b. It has a beautiful amber in the glass, it has a wonderful aroma, and is so smooth going down.
5. Solomon also gives reasons WHY his sons (readers) should not look at wine—why we should refuse to allow ourselves to be tempted by it:
a. Vs. 32 – It is extremely appealing at first, but in the end, it bites and stings (there are painful, long term consequences)
b. Vs. 33 – Thine eyes shall behold strange women. (Alcohol causes a person’s fleshly nature to be uninhibited – which means that it can stir up sinful behavior and sexual promiscuity)
c. Vs. 33 – Thine heart shall utter perverse things. (Because alcohol causes our fleshly nature to be uninhibited, it produces a perverse, immoral imagination, evil thoughts and words.)
6. There are two more reasons why we should not even LOOK at wine in this section: (1) it will make you sick and (2) it is addictive.
It Will Make You Sick (vs.34-35a)
1. The author likens the effects of alcohol to the effects of lying down in the midst of the sea, or lying down on the top of a mast (crow’s nest).
2. What happens when you lie down on a boat in the midst of the sea, especially if it is choppy?
a. You get seasick… nauseated… queasy… sick to your stomach.
b. It is a horrible feeling.
c. Alcohol can do that to you. It makes you sick.
d. And by the way, this description is not hyperbole. Solomon is not exaggerating for effect. This is the truth!
3. Then he uses another illustration that emphasizes (perhaps more effectively) the same truth: alcohol makes you sick.
a. It is like being in the top of a mast of a boat out to sea.
b. The reference is to the lookout platform on the top of a mast.
c. From that place, every little motion on the sea is exaggerated. The top of the mast sways much more than does the deck of the ship.
d. Try lying down in a crow’s nest when out at sea. That will surely make you sick.
e. When you are standing, your sea legs can serve as shock absorbers to a degree. But when lying down, your whole body feels the motion.
f. This will REALLY make you sick!
4. The author could have used a dozen other illustrations, but this one drives the truth home in an unmistakable manner: alcohol makes you sick… almost like a severe case of being seasick.
a. It is a bit like motion sickness.
b. People who are seasick often vomit. So do people who are full of alcohol. (Your body is telling you something!)
c. To people who are seasick or who have motion sickness, it appears that the room is spinning… the ground is uneven… and it is hard to walk a straight line.
d. This is a good description of the hangover the next morning too.
e. Those who overdo it with alcohol always experience this kind of sickness.
f. Thankfully, once the alcohol wears off, so do these symptoms.
5. However, for those who abuse alcohol over a long period of time, their “sickness” does not go away.
a. They may experience drunken tremors and see pink elephants.
b. They may experience cirrhosis of the liver—which can kill you.
c. And what’s worse, they might get in a car, drive down route 93 and kill an innocent family of four on their way home from a Red Sox game.
6. Alcohol also leads to wounds on the body. (vs.35a)
a. “They have stricken me… they have beaten me…”
• Stricken: To strike a vicious blow; to afflict; to defeat.
• Beaten: To pound; to hammer; to smash; to trample.
• You get the idea—this speaks of some serious physical injuries and wounds to the body.
• The pronoun “they” may refer to repeated drunken experiences… not necessarily to a particular person.
• In other words, the drunken condition does damage to the body that is likened to being beaten, pounded, smashed, and hammered upon. It doesn’t sound good.
• These wounds could be inflicted by repeatedly falling on one’s face, falling down stairs, or other accidents that drunks frequently experience… operating a vehicle or machinery while drunk.
• The physical injuries of alcohol are also internal. It ruins the liver and that has a bad affect on the overall health of the body.
• What a stark contrast between the sensually pleasing appearance and aroma of the wine in the glass (the original temptation) and the final result on the body!
• This is clearly given as a warning: consider the end result before you take your first drink! Thinking people will stay away.
• Do we really have liberty to partake of that which will do such serious damage to our body, the Temple of the Holy Ghost… especially since God Himself has warned us?
b. “And I was not sick… I felt it not…”
• Now Solomon states another dangerous aspect of the effects of alcohol: the drunkard is insensitive to the injury.
• At first blush, one might think this to be a good thing. He doesn’t feel the pain!
• But is that really an advantage? Pain is good. It is like a warning light to let us know that something is wrong.
» If you put your hand on a hot stove, the pain causes you to remove it pronto! If you have no pain, then you hand will be severely burned!
» If you step on a piece of glass that goes into your foot, the pain will let you know what happened, and you will stop walking on it and remove the glass and let the foot heal. If you feel NO pain, then you will continue walking on it and do much more damage in the long run.
» It is NOT an advantage to feel no pain. Pain is (in a sense) a gift from God… a warning… like the oil light in your car.
• Solomon warns us that alcohol results in the body being “pounded”, but you don’t feel it.
» This is not a good thing, but is dangerous.
» If a drunk gets injured and doesn’t “feel” it until the next day, much more damage can be done than otherwise.
» Also, there is a lot of internal damage being done to the organs of the alcoholic which he doesn’t “feel”—but the damage is real nonetheless.
» The kind of damage alcohol does CAN kill you. That is a serious consequence.
• Again, this is another warning from God Himself about the danger of alcohol. We have been warned. What we do with the warning is up to the individual.
7. Remember one of the oft repeated descriptions of the FOOL in this book: he doesn’t take heed to warnings!
a. Prov. 14:9 – Fools make a mock at sin.
b. Prov. 1:7 – Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
c. Prov. 10:23 – It is as sport to a fool to do mischief:
d. Prov. 14:8 – The folly of fools is deceit.
It Will Become Addictive (vs.35b)
1. “When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.”
a. Even after all the sickness, the striking, and the beatings, the drunkard returns to his alcohol.
b. This is unreasonable and irrational. Why would anyone return to take another beating? But it happens every day in the lives of drunkards.
c. His thinking is irrational because alcohol affects the mind, the body and the will.
d. The alcoholic is a SLAVE to his alcohol… and alcohol is a vicious and cruel slave-master.
e. This is the same with drugs. They are cruel slave-masters… driving men and women to a lifestyle that would make them shudder if they were in their right minds.
f. They continue to return to that which (deep down inside) they know is killing them… ruining their lives… destroying their body, their marriage, their careers… yet they cannot stop.
g. Prov. 26:11 – As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
h. Of course we should show compassion to those who are slaves to alcohol, but the Bible WARNS us all to stay away.
i. It is addicting, and you could easily become addicted without realizing it. No drunk ever imagined he would end up as a drunkard living in an alley when he took his first drink.
j. They all assume, “I can handle this. I won’t affect me. I’m strong.”
k. We have been WARNED against assuming that we can handle things: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
l. Nobody is stronger than alcohol—or drugs. Nobody.
m. Vs. 32 – In the end it bites like a serpent—a subtle, deceptive, and destructive serpent.
n. It begins with great appeal… (color, aroma, taste)
o. It begins with great promises—you can be uninhibited… more social… makes you forget all your problems… takes away the pain… you can be the life of the party… more popular…
p. But it ends in sickness, suffering, ruined lives, ruined families, ruined careers, ruined relationships, ruined health…
q. And the final bite is the fact, than when all of this suffering sets in… you are no longer able to control your habit. It is addictive.
2. Go ahead and claim, “I have liberty to drink wine. Jesus drank wine.”
a. Actually, in a sense, you’re right. This is one of those issues that falls under the umbrella of “Christian liberty.”
b. However, if you’re honest, it is pretty clear that the principles of Christian liberty lead one AWAY from alcohol, and not towards it—that is if you are honest in your assessment.
c. I Cor. 6:12 – “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
• This is one of the principles of Christian liberty. We are forbidden to be brought under the POWER of anything.
• Anything that is addicting (especially if damaging—and bring you under its power) is to be rejected by the honest believer.
• Clearly alcohol brings you under its power. Therefore, it is not lawful for the honest believer.
• • We are to be walking under the influence of the Spirit of God, not under the influence of alcohol.
3. Consider Solomon’s statements about alcohol in this chapter:
a. Solomon did not beat around the bush in describing alcohol. No one should ever read this chapter and wonder what he thought about it!
a. Vs. 20 – Don’t associate with winebibbers.
b. Vs. 29 – It produces woe, contentions, babblings, wounds, bloodshot eyes.
c. Vs. 31 – Don’t even look at it!
d. Vs. 32 – It is appealing, but in the end, it bites like a poisonous snake.
e. Vs. 33 – It causes you to lust after immoral women and causes you to utter perverse things.
f. Vs. 34 – It makes you sick (and can kill you). Your body is the Temple of God.
g. Vs. 35 – It is addictive
h. NO believer would ever say that we have the liberty to fight, lust after immoral women, utter perverse things, or damage the body.
i. How can anyone therefore claim that they have liberty to partake of something that God says causes us to do such things?
2. It never ceases to amaze me how many believers CLAIM that the Bible does not forbid alcohol, and that it is a matter of liberty and choice.
a. The best we can say about those who make such claims is that they are ignorant of what the Scriptures actually SAY about alcohol.
b. Perhaps some are “willfully ignorant” which is far more serious.
c. I am convinced that in many cases, such claims are nothing more than a cloak for maliciousness. (Using liberty as an outward justification to hide evil intent within.) This is the most serious of all.
d. Wine is a MOCKER. I don’t know what more God could say to warn us. This chapter alone should be enough.
3. I Cor. 6:10-11 – The GOOD news is that there is victory over alcohol and alcoholism in Christ.
a. Getting saved makes a man a new creature. ALL things are become new.
b. Getting saved means that he is no longer a slave to sin.
c. His BODY may still be ravaged by alcohol abuse. His will may still FEEL like he is a slave. And the effects of years of abuse on his body do not change because he has received Christ as Savior. His liver is still diseased.
d. Rom. 6:7 – However, something HAS changed: His chains have been torn asunder. He has been FREED from bondage to his sin nature. He no longer HAS to sin…
e. I Cor. 10:13 – God has promised that in every temptation, He will provide the way of escape so that ye may be ABLE to bear it.
f. It might take him some time to learn about his freedom in Christ, and to learn how to experience victory, but the moment he is saved, he has been set free.
g. Such WERE some of you. Now (in Christ) they are positionally sanctified… cleansed.
h. The moment he believes in Christ, he becomes (positionally) an overcomer. (Every believer is an overcomer).
i. Over time, he can grow and begin to experience this victory more and more.
