23:1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what [1] 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; [2]
do not desire his delicacies,
7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. [3]
“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 [4] 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.
observe carefully what [1] 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; [2]
do not desire his delicacies,
7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. [3]
“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 [4] 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 [5]
or among gluttonous eaters of meat,
21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and slumber will clothe them with rags.
and direct your heart in the way.
20 Be not among drunkards [5]
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.
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 [6] my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a deep pit;
an adulteress [7] is a narrow well.
28 She lies in wait like a robber
and increases the traitors among mankind.
and let your eyes observe [6] my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a deep pit;
an adulteress [7] 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. [8]
35 “They struck me,” you will say, [9] “but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I must have another drink.”
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. [8]
35 “They struck me,” you will say, [9] “but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I must have another drink.”
Footnotes
[1] 23:1 Or who
[2] 23:6 Hebrew whose eye is evil
[3] 23:7 Or for as he calculates in his soul, so is he
[4] 23:16 Hebrew My kidneys
[5] 23:20 Hebrew those who drink too much wine
[6] 23:26 Or delight in
[7] 23:27 Hebrew a foreign woman
[8] 23:34 Or of the rigging
[9] 23:35 Hebrew lacks you will say
[2] 23:6 Hebrew whose eye is evil
[3] 23:7 Or for as he calculates in his soul, so is he
[4] 23:16 Hebrew My kidneys
[5] 23:20 Hebrew those who drink too much wine
[6] 23:26 Or delight in
[7] 23:27 Hebrew a foreign woman
[8] 23:34 Or of the rigging
[9] 23:35 Hebrew lacks you will say
4 comments:
v 17-18 "Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off."
We envy because our hearts have still not in awe of God. We have yet to trust Him and His word.
We are in awe of the prosperity of the sinners. Trusting the momentary present than the eternal future.
Has He not illustrated that what is required of us is faithfullness? (Luke 19, parable of minas). And that this life on earth is a test and only a test. The true reward, the true riches (Luke 16:11) will come later?
He is good and He do good.
He is not man that He should lie.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him..
Why are you envy? Have you still not trust in this awesome God? My soul, do not envy.
v4-5 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings,flying like an eagle toward heaven.
Another reminder of not seeking (toil) after earthly riches.
The problem is that the word 'suddenly' will usually make sense only to those who 'suddenly' lost their wealth due to some kind of unfortunate circumstances or on his deathbed.
Have you heard of any sensible fellow on his deadthbed is concern about his property or bank account?
Naked we come naked we go. Not a single cents can be taken..
What he (suddenly) cares and treasures now will be his love ones that surrounded him, his friends, those lifes he has somehow come to know and create an impact...
Do not toil..
Let not your heart envy.. (v17)
Do we belong to this world and therefore need to subject ourself to the pattern of this world? (john 17:14)
Do we need to learn it the hard way and regret for eternity or do we want to trust the word of God for that wisdom?
Discern my soul..and desist.
This Chapter starts in an interesting manner
1When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
Many times when I read this Chapter, I did not give these 2 verses more than a passing thought, I will probably never sit to dien with a ruler. I took the meaning of the word, 'ruler' literally.
Rulers aren't necessarily kings. They could be anyone who rules over us or has authority over us. Many times I have been in a position of authority myself. They way a person eats says a lot about them. They could be given in to gluttony, they could be 'picky eaters' or they could be 'complainers', ie, complain that everything set before them is not up to mark. They could also be very thankful people, who graciously sit down for a meal, eat enough for themselves and be blessing to those who share a table with them.
The way eat also tells us a lot about our upbringing and values in life. Do we waste food? Are we considerate of others who share the table with us? Are we selfish - making sure we get the biggest and best portions of the serving. What kind of people are we? Our table manners say a lot about us, are we aware of this? Or do we go through life wearing blinkers, unaware of how we portray ourselves to others. Do I eat the way, I live want to live my life - giving, serving and sharing.
Would be like to hear what people think about us? We may be shocked.
I often forget that I will one day be dining with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Am I fit to share the table with Him?
V23a Buy truth, and do not sell it ..
Four observations:
1) To buy something, we need to pay the price.
In the parable of the hidden treasure, the man sells everything he has to buy the land with the hidden treasure.
.. he goes and sells all that he has and buy that fields (Luke 13:44b)
It costs him dearly to buy the land with the hidden treasure. Likewise at times it will cost us dearly to buy truth:
For example imagine that if our medical examination result has shown that our health is going downhill and we are at great risk of getting certain kind of disease. It will be a terrible truth but nevertheless it is still a truth. We can ignore this truth or making presumption that all will be okay, all this certainly to our folly and peril or we can buy this truth and pay the price associated with it. The buying price may cost us dearly, it may cause us to forfeit (or sell) whatever we have or enjoy now for example to drastically change our life style and diet. We can not run away from the cost of buying this truth, be it to exercise more or to avoid many ‘delicious’ but unhealthy food etc. It short, it takes great effort and determination to buy the truth, to do the many things you don’t quite like or to sell/let go those things you hold dearly to.
Or we may have done a mistake or committed certain sin. To buy the truth may mean we have to confess it and to repent from it. This may cause us financially, or our ego to suffer tremendously or may cause our reputation dearly but there is truly no other way about it. To buy the truth, we must pay the price.
2) Since the purchase cost is high, this will only work if we treasure the truth higher than the cost we pay for it. In the parable of the hidden treasure, the man sell all his belongings with joy
And in his joy.. (Luke 13:44)
He is happy because he know the hidden treasure is far better and more valuable than the price he paid for it even though it costed him everything he has.
To buy truth, we have to value truth highly and worthy of all the cost we need to pay for it.
3) Jesus declared “I am the way, the truth and life..” (John 14:6)
We sing “Lord you are more precious than silver….more costly than gold.. and nothing I desire compare with you.”
But are we ready to sell everything to get Him? To love Him, to spend time with Him and to obey Him? Is He and His word the precious truth and treasure in our life? Are our lives and actions reflecting that?
What’s more, what we are to pay is truly nothing compare with what Jesus had paid on the cross to purchase us. Like the returning prodigal son, knowing very well our weakness, He only expect us to arise and turn our heart toward him, He will run a great distance to meet us!
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him (Luke 15:20)
What a scene..He embraced and kissed him..which I was totally unable to bring it up in our recent play in children church :(
4) . . do not sell it (v23)
One of the great investor Warren Buffet has this philosophy of holding his investment forever irrespective of the short term price performance. In other words, he will not sell it. This only work because he only invested in the biz that he understand and has strong fundamental and long term good prospects
The word of God is much better than any investment you can find in this world.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.Matthew 24:35
We are to hold on to the truth of God and God’s word irrespective of how the short term outcome. Don't ever sell it or exchange it with other inferior things that the world offered. Rest and trust in the Lord, the truth you purchased will surely return to you many folds ,if not in this world, it will be in the next to come.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"--1 Corinthian 2:9
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