Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path: Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Proverbs 23:19-21
Again, the father appeals for the son to be “wise”. Remember, it is a “wise” son that makes a glad father (Proverbs 1O:1). Proverbs 4:23 speaks of the necessity of one keeping his heart with all diligence. It is important to note that one is not to let his heart wander wherever society, trends, fads, or friends may lead it, for one is responsible to “guide” his heart in the way it should go. Failure to do this has been a great weakness of humanity.
The Bible has many warnings against taking up with wine and drunkenness ( cf. Isaiah 5:22; Matthew 24:48-51; Luke 21:34; Romans 13:13; Ephesians 5:18). Gluttony is also noted here as wrong, Jesus’ enemies tried to down Him by calling him a gluttonous man (Matthew 11:19). In affluent times many are guilty of both eating and drinking to excess.
It costs money to eat like a glutton and drink like a drunkard. Many have devoured and destroyed a small fortune in this way. They are also brought to poverty by not showing up for work or by not being able to hold a job. The “drowsiness” has to do with someone sleeping off his drunkenness. What our author is really trying to tell us is that this ends in a very sad life.
About 20 years ago, I heard a man say to his brother, “F*** you! And I mean that in love” It struck me at the time that his definition of love might be an unusual one. Other people almost hide the truth so that they are speaking in love; is that really love?
Paul made an interesting comment:
f I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:1
Love is clearly a big deal for the Christian because Jesus has commanded that we love one another. (John 13:34). In the next chapter, Jesus tells His disciples that if they love Him, they must obey His commands. (14:15); therefore, since He commanded that we love one another, and if we love Him we must obey, we must love one another if we love Jesus. If we don’t love one another then we don’t love Jesus: Tough spot!
Love in the Biblical sense is not an emotion; it has nothing to do with feelings or romance. It is a commitment to put others ahead of ourselves in service to God. If we love God and we are His servants, then we must put others ahead of ourselves: this is what godly love looks like.
As love relates to speech, it looks like someone who will tell the truth, never speak rashly or in anger, and someone who always speaks in a manner that is uplifting, empowering and in truth. If our brother has fallen into sin, then love requires that we speak to that brother in a manner that helps him to see his error and that brings him back to God. Of course this is not done as a rebuke, but as an encouragement. Speech that is not in love is just noise; speech that is in love is a life-giving thing.
Funny isn’t it… Biblical love always seems to come back to self. Serving God and serving self just don’t go together very well.
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
Proverbs 23:17-18
To envy sinners is not to be fearing the Lord properly. Other passages that warn against envying sinners : Psalm 37:l; Proverbs 3:31; 24:1,19. Yet people at times do envy sinners (Psalm 73:3-7). If one truly fears God, he will have no temptation to envy His enemies (sinners) upon whom God’s wrath will ultimately fall.
Yes, a godly person’s reward is coming, and how great it will be! Such hope will be fulfilled and not cut off: I Peter 1:3-5; Psalm 37:37. If the poor man of Luke 16 were tempted to envy the rich man, it would have been a mistake because he himself ended up so much better off (Luke 16:25).
When things are going along well, we are able to take of routine maintenance and keep up with the necessary repairs, but in rough times these things can get away from us. When it comes to a house, we might end up with peeling paint, a sagging roof or floors and even a few broken windows. If this trend continues unchecked, a house can become a ruin.
Houses are not the only things that can suffer when the owners don’t keep up with regular maintenance. Spiritually the same thing can take place.
When things are right, we spend time in God’s Word, we have time each day for prayer; time to spend with the Lord. When we are doing this, we will probably have no problem serving others, giving or going to classes or small groups at church… These kinds of things are the regular maintenance of a spiritual life. Every so often, however, we might let some aspect of spiritual maintenance slip, and then another area, then another. Before we know it, our spiritual lives become ruins…
Houses can be renovated and restored and so can we. Don’t skip church! Take time for God every day and get back into His Word; better yet don’t let any of these things slip in the first place.
I know, sometimes these things require some effort, but that’s normal enough, for Jesus told us to “make every effort to enter through the narrow door…” (Luke 13:24)
A little effort can go a very long way in keeping our spiritual houses in order.
My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed; my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
Proverbs 23:15-16
It is hard to conceive of a parent whose heart would not be glad for a child with a wise heart. You probably noticed the play on words here: your heart and my heart and then wise and glad.
Again, v. 16 also gives a universal sentiment that a parent’s rejoicing when their child speak “what is right.” Now, the next step: Everything said about a parent in these two verses is doubly true if we speak of our heavenly Father. (See also Psalm 37:l; Proverbs 3:31; 24:1,19.)
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21
The author of Hebrews is in the final part of the letter, and he opens it with a prayer of purpose. Let’s take a closer look, for it is quite instructive.
Our God is identified as the God of peace, something we might want to keep in mind, and then goes on to an interesting statement that has a way of summarizing everything. “The blood of the eternal covenant” is a reminder that God has committed Himself to the New Covenant and its promises. Notice that it was through the blood of the covenant, the superior sacrifice of our superior high priest, that brought Jesus back from the dead; you don’t see that spelled out very often, for usually we see God’s power cited for this. Think about it: Jesus arose from the grave by the power of an indestructible life; He was raised by the power of God… and now He is brought back by the blood of the covenant. What does that tell you about His blood?
I don’t know about you, but it strikes me as powerful stuff. It is the same stuff that all our hopes are based upon… so what does that tell you about our hope and God’s promise?
“Powerful” is one word I can think of.
Next, Jesus is called “the great shepherd of the sheep,” reminding us that He is our Lord, our Master. Here we come into the “what” that the author is praying for: May God “equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him”. Notice that the author is asking only for things that accomplish God’s will and that please Him. He is not asking anything for himself. This, dear reader, is a prayer of power and purpose. Jesus told us many times that whatever we ask for in His name will be given to us, but each time He said this, the context was clearly upon doing God’s will. I have no doubt whatsoever that God answered this prayer directly. Obviously, praying in Jesus’ name is what follows when the author adds, “through Jesus Christ…”
I wonder how often we pray like this: Boldly for God’s purposes to be done and not our own. In power for God’s will in our lives, as opposed for our list of goodies.
Yes indeed, this is a prayer of purpose and power, may all of us pray such prayers!
Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from death.
Proverbs 23:13-14
These verses, by using the term “rod”, make unmistakable reference to corporal punishment in disciplining children. Consequently, this saying is a tough one for many today for several reasons. Society seems to have changed its attitudes about corporal punishment since I was a child. When I was young, my parents, as did most other parents, used corporal punishment when they felt it was necessary, as did the public schools I attended. Everyone understood that it shouldn’t be done to excess or extremes. Now, for better or for worse, many, possibly most, jurisdictions consider corporal punishment to be child abuse and will prosecute parents who use it.
I will let others debate this issue if they like, all I will say about it is that it seems ironic to me in light of some other things that are sometimes encouraged, that deal with raising child ren.
It seems to me that there is a principle here that is more important than the argument, and that is that parents need to take such reasonable steps as may be required to teach young people how to behave and operate in the world around us. To do so will save them many tears, and even an early death in extreme cases. To fall short will bring about serious social consequences, which are in the news reports every day, and even imprisonment or death.
I will exalt you,my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.
Psalm 145:1-2
Have you ever just sat back and considered everything God has done in your life? For most of us, we don’t take the time to do this often enough; I know I don’t. It may be hard to get started, as thoughts about the here and now rush though our minds, as the distractions and demands of everyday life make so much noise that it’s hard to think. Yet as we continue to ponder, as we begin to relax, God’s doings begin to enter our thoughts, and before too long, they push the distractions away.
We might even move on to ponder and reflect upon what God has done in His Creation; the wonder of all of it, its grandeur so magnificent.
When we invest a little time and attention in this way, it isn’t easy to remain silent, is it?
Our God is so amazing, so awesome, so powerful, so loving; how can we think on such things and not enthusiastically give Him praise?
Funny thing about exaltation; once you get started, it’s hard to stop. Imagine what it would be like if we did this every day; don’t you suppose that every day would be as amazing as the things God does in our lives? Oh yes, I bet they would be; can you guess why?
If we began each day reflecting upon all that God is and does in our lives, we would be seeing all that He does each day as we go along, and each day we would be giving Him enthusiastic praise, and when you do that, it’s hard to stop… and each day would then become a day of praise.
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
Proverbs 23:12
They say that knowledge is power, and to a certain extent, this is correct in our world. The ancients had an ethic that went beyond just knowledge, for as we see in this verse, and in a great many before in Proverbs, instruction is equally emphasized. The thought is that to obtain knowledge, we must be instructed in the things we seek to learn. By extension then, we also must put all our effort into learning the thing on which we are being instructed.
I remember back in my college days, there were a great many students, first-year Freshmen, to be exact, who managed to gain admission on this or that waiver, either with a free ride, or well off parents covering their bills, who were not there as Sophomores because they partied through their first year and were no longer students in the University.
We must apply our hearts to learning, for it doesn’t just happen by osmosis.
Those wise ones back in the day who generated these sayings were wise indeed.
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