#928 Proverbs 23 Like A Boss

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what is before you,

2 and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite.

3 Do not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food.

4 Do not toil to acquire wealth;

be discerning enough to desist.

5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone,

for suddenly it sprouts wings,

flying like an eagle toward heaven.

6 Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;

do not desire his delicacies,

7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

but his heart is not with you.

8 You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,

and waste your pleasant words.

9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,

for he will despise the good sense of your words.

10 Do not move an ancient landmark

or enter the fields of the fatherless,

11 for their Redeemer is strong;

he will plead their cause against you.

12 Apply your heart to instruction

and your ear to words of knowledge.

13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;

if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.

14 If you strike him with the rod,

you will save his soul from Sheol.

15 My son, if your heart is wise,

my heart too will be glad.

16 My inmost being will exult

when your lips speak what is right.

17 Let not your heart envy sinners,

but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.

18 Surely there is a future,

and your hope will not be cut off.

19 Hear, my son, and be wise,

and direct your heart in the way.

20 Be not among drunkards

or among gluttonous eaters of meat,

21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

and slumber will clothe them with rags.

22 Listen to your father who gave you life,

and do not despise your mother when she is old.

23 Buy truth, and do not sell it;

buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;

he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

25 Let your father and mother be glad;

let her who bore you rejoice.

26 My son, give me your heart,

and let your eyes observe my ways.

27 For a prostitute is a deep pit;

an adulteress is a narrow well.

28 She lies in wait like a robber

and increases the traitors among mankind.

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow?

Who has strife? Who has complaining?

Who has wounds without cause?

Who has redness of eyes?

30 Those who tarry long over wine;

those who go to try mixed wine.

31 Do not look at wine when it is red,

when it sparkles in the cup

and goes down smoothly.

32 In the end it bites like a serpent

and stings like an adder.

33 Your eyes will see strange things,

and your heart utter perverse things.

34 You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,

like one who lies on the top of a mast.

35 “They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt;

they beat me, but I did not feel it.

When shall I awake?

I must have another drink.” Proverbs 23 ESV

Proverbs 23

When you sit down to eat with a ruler - Just like in a past passage where those that gave give to the rich, if you are here at this table it is usually not just for your company. Daniel and a few of his friends were not so easily drawn into this trap as most of us would be. I have seen pastors swoon over rich members, over attention from politicians, but like bait in a trap, so is this spread. What will you give or give up in return? The Jews were also under dietary restrictions.

Made clean

Food for thought

8 But Daniel resolved in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself. 9 Now God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,… Daniel 1: 8-9

And put a knife to your throat, if you are given to appetite - This is like "bite your tongue" for those who can't seem to control their mouth. If you indulge then he knows what your weakness is and what strings he may pull. Do not give up your integrity. Do not grow accustomed to what you can't afford.

Do not toil to acquire wealth - Proverbs has addressed the sluggard, but will now address the overly ambitious, the workaholic. Greed is a robber of time, and a man is also expected, beyond the financial provision of his house, to be a father, teacher, husband. Consumerism, materialism, these should not be our drive, and should not take away from our duty to study God's word, pray, love our neighbor. The aim of work is doing it as unto the Lord, not to get rich, but to do it well and help others to do well also. 

…7 Give these instructions to the believers, so that they will be above reproach. 8 If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 9 A widow should be enrolled if she is at least sixty years old, the wife of one man,… 1 Timothy 5: 7-9

…9 Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 11 But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.… 1 Timothy 6: 9-11

Do not eat the bread of a stingy man - He is like the man who tells you, "call me if you need anything", but these are words that make him feel righteous in the saying, when you call he will despise you for it. "How dare he take me up on my offer." It is the same at his table, the more you eat, the less he sees for himself. It is the thought that counts for him, his heart will not be in the giving. It is a lesson for us as well, not to promise beyond what we are capable or willing. 

…6 And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve with good will, as to the Lord and not to men, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.… Ephesians 6: 6-8

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool -

…5 You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. 7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.… Matthew 7: 5-7

Or enter the fields of the fatherless - Do not take advantage of the orphan's weakened state, that he has not protector. In the end, he will have a Redeemer, and He will avenge. Thinking that you may look upon another's misfortune to gain property or to slight him in a deal, when you have done it to the least of these, you have done so to Christ.

…26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1: 26-27

Do not withhold discipline from a child - I don't care what the culture says, for the same will lock them up in jail, wonder at why their is such an opioid problem, abortion, ignorance, lying and disrespect. They shouldn't wonder; they should read what God says and provide loving discipline, consequences. 

“However, the cleansing rod must be applied with the warmth, affection and respect for the youth. Warmth and affection, not steely discipline, characterize the father’s lectures (cf. Proverbs 4:1-9). Parents who brutalize their children cannot hide behind the rod-doctrine of Proverbs.” (Waltke)

ii. “This text does not justify brutalizing children. Parents who find it only too easy to apply the rod, and especially those who lose their tempers when doing so, should consider Ephesians 6:4.” (Garrett)

iii. “An intemperate use of this scriptural ordinance brings discredit on its efficacy and sows the seed of much bitter fruit. Children become hardened under an iron rod. Sternness and severity close up their hearts. It is very dangerous to make our children afraid of us.” (Bridges)

My son, if your heart is wise - Oh glorious day, how great when we hear and see wisdom in the lives of our children. God, that they would follow you, and not waste the days or thoughts like I did in my youth.

Let not your heart envy sinners - It is always a matter of the heart for God, spirit and truth, and this is where we part ways, for this heart He gave me is leading me towards Him. I cannot worry about what you have, much less get it the way you did.

And do not despise your mother when she is old - Now that you know everything, don't think it opportunity to look down on those who raised you. We see the old as cumbersome in my culture. The children now perch like vultures waiting for their parents to die.

And increases the traitors among mankind - God made two become one, a holy bond, His own institution, male and female. Your relationship with your spouse tells much of your relationship to God. Are you divided, spread out among many? Do you hold up the same idols as the culture? 

17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;… 1 Corinthians 6: 17-19

In the end it bites like a serpent - Drunkenness gives way to stupidity, gives confidence to violent hands, leaves way for youthful lust. It becomes the excuse for poor actions, and so for those that know no moderation it is best to know abstinence.