Thirty Wise Sayings- Those Who Hunger Text: Proverbs 23:1-34
When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you; 2 And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite. 3 Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food. 4 Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! 5 Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings;They fly away like an eagle toward heaven. 6 Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies; 7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “ Eat and drink!” he says to you,But his heart is not with you. 8 The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words. 9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words. 10 Do not remove the ancient landmark, Nor enter the fields of the fatherless; 11 For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you. 12 Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge. 13 Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. 14 You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell. 15 My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself; 16 Yes, my inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak right things. Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day; 18 For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off. 19 Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way. 20 Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; 21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags. 22 Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old. 23 Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. 24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. 25 Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice. 26 My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways. 27 For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well. 28 She also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men. 29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? 30 Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. 31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; 32 At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. 33 Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. 34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: "They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?"
Thirty wise sayings is given to those who desire to grow farther, those who hunger to incur wisdom and knowledge for their daily bread. Last week, you went through 1-5 wise sayings ,so now we will begin with the sixth wise saying.
Proverbs 23:1-3NLTWhile dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you.2 If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat; 3 don’t desire all the delicacies, for he might be trying to trick you.
This is a warning to exercise restraint when confronted with the luxuries of a wealthy ruler that has wrong motives.
Daniel is our example of one who refused to be trapped by a pagans luxuries. Listen to Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Daniel refused to compromise, he lived to please God, and to keep his standards high before his God.
Proverbs 23:4-5NLT Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. 5 In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.
As one seeks God, God will bless, with the prosperity as He chooses.
I Timothy 6: 6-10,17 NLTBut those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 17.Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
To those who obey and trust God, He is a living God. Many folks don’t know this because they’re not walking in Christ.
Proverbs 23:6-8NLT Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies. 7 They are always thinking about how much it costs.“Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it. 8 You will throw up what little you’ve eaten, and your compliments will be wasted.
This is an example of a greedy person who hoards his riches, withholding from the poor and needy. He invites a person to eat but he begrudges their acceptance. He’s filled with hypocrisy seeming to smile; however, he lives with a scheme to profit from you, some how.
Proverbs 23:9NLT Don’t waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice.
Fools hate wisdom, so they sure won’t take heed to wise advice.
Jesus said, in Matthew 7:6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Proverbs 23:10-11NLT Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers; don’t take the land of defenseless orphans.11 For their Redeemer is strong; he himself will bring their charges against you.
Verse 11 say’s their Redeemer, in the OT, this was the next to kin. He or she would rescue the one who had fallen upon hard times.
Never take advantage of the helpless. (the defenseless orphans)Remember, Christ became our redeemer. Gal. 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”
Wise Saying 11, Proverbs 23:12NLT Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge.
Learning is the way to improve ‘ones’ abilities. Sometimes, a person has to go back to college, or technical school. (Pay the price.)
Proverbs 23:13-14NLT Don’t fail to discipline your children. They won’t die if you spank them.14 Physical discipline may well save them from death.
Children will survive punishment and thus avoid untimely or premature death due to sinful conduct.
Remember the OT way of dealing with a rebellious child. Deut.21:18-21 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. 20 And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.
Early childhood training should include, parental discipline and corporal punishment. All discipline should always be mixed with a lot of love and gentleness.
Proverbs 23:15-16NLT My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice! 16 Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right.
The results of correction, is a child’s wise choices, and in return the parents will rejoice. Listen to verse 16 again, Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right.
Proverbs 23:17-18NLT Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord.18 You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed.
Never gloat over a fallen enemy because that can become more dangerous than the sin of the enemy. Verse 18 say’s, you will be rewarded. ( How many like the Lord’s rewards?)
Wise saying number 15, Proverbs 23:19-21NLT My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course. 20 Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons, 21 for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them in rags.
For the righteous, the way of wisdom is the only way. Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Listen to TM Bible Proverbs 4:23Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts.
Proverbs 23:22-25NLT Listen to your father, who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old. 23 Get the truth and never sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment. 24 The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise. 25 So give your father and mother joy! May she who gave you birth be happy.
Listen to your parents. Get or obtain the truth at all cost. Listen to Jesus as He talks about a hidden treasure. Matthew 13:44-46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Treasure Godliness, it’s worth everything.
Proverbs 23: 26-28NLT O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways. 27 A prostitute is a dangerous trap; a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well. 28 She hides and waits like a robber, eager to make more men unfaithful.
Falling into the clutches of an immoral woman should be as frightening as the prospects of falling into a deep pit or well, from which there is no escape.
Wise saying number 18, Proverbs 23:29-35NLT Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? 30 It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. 31 Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down. 32 For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake;it stings like a viper. 33 You will see hallucinations, and you will say crazy things. 34 You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea, clinging to a swaying mast. 35 And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t even know it when they beat me up. When will I wake up so I can look for another drink?”
The drunkard’s lack of sense is so severe that his first waking thought is to repeat it all over again.
