(Prov 23:1 NASB) When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you;
(Prov 23:2 NASB) And put a knife to your throat, If you are a man of great appetite.
(Prov 23:3 NASB) Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food.
Prov 23:3: The term “put a knife to your throat” means don’t eat much. It is a warning that a ruler probably invited you for a reason and you want to be on your guard.
When it speaks of not desiring his delicacies because it is deceptive is probably referring to the unclean things that are often in exotic foods (Psalm 141:4).
(Prov 23:4 NASB) Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it.
(Prov 23:5 NASB) When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings, Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
Prov 23:5: While wealth is is good and can be a blessing, wealth is fleeting. It should not be the sole and main objective in one’s life.
Yeshua spoke on this also (Matt. 6:19-34).
(Prov 23:6 NASB) Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies;
(Prov 23:7 NASB) For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink!” But his heart is not with you.
(Prov 23:8 NASB) You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten, And waste your compliments.
Prov 23:8: This is a warning against receiving the hospitality of a selfish man. His shared gifts are not sincere and he is only doing this to achieve a favor or something from you. His words and his food are filled with deceit.
(Prov 23:9 NASB) Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
Prov 23:9: The fool despises the wisdom of the Torah of the Father (Matt. 7:6, Prov. 9:7-8).
(Prov 23:10 NASB) Do not move the ancient boundary, Or go into the fields of the fatherless;
(Prov 23:11 NASB) For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.
Prov 23:11: Scripture warns against taking advantage of the poor and the fatherless and the widow. Israel did not heed this warning and they were severely punished (Zech 7:8-14).
(Prov 23:12 NASB) Apply your heart to discipline, And your ears to words of knowledge.
Prov 23:12: We must be attentive and obedient to the Torah of the Father (James 1:21-25).
(Prov 23:13 NASB) Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you beat him with the rod, he will not die.
(Prov 23:14 NASB) You shall beat him with the rod, And deliver his soul from Sheol.
Prov 23:14: A loving parent must discipline their children in a firm and consistent manner.
(Prov 23:15 NASB) My son, if your heart is wise, My own heart also will be glad;
(Prov 23:16 NASB) And my inmost being will rejoice, When your lips speak what is right.
Prov 23:16: Scripture encourages us to speak what is right and according to the will of the Father.
(Prov 23:17 NASB) Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always.
(Prov 23:18 NASB) Surely there is a future, And your hope will not be cut off.
(Prov 23:19 NASB) Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way.
Prov 23:19: “The way” spoken of here is the Torah. This is a common reference in Scripture (Deut. 31:29, Psalm 25:8-10, 119:1 (nkjv), Psalm 119:32-33, 139:24 (nkjv).
Paul knew of this reference very well (Acts 24:14).
(Prov 23:20 NASB) Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
(Prov 23:21 NASB) For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
Prov 23:21: Alcohol is a blessing from the Father just as many things are, but we are not to abuse our blessings of food, drink, wealth, etc.
(Prov 23:22 NASB) Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.
Prov 23:22: We are to honor our parents in their latter years also.
(Prov 23:23 NASB) Buy truth, and do not sell it, Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.
Prov 23:23: We are to obtain truth, wisdom, and understanding in any way we can (Isa. 55:1-3, Psalm 119:72, 127)
(Prov 23:24 NASB) The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise son will be glad in him.
(Prov 23:25 NASB) Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.
(Prov 23:26 NASB) Give me your heart, my son, And let your eyes delight in my ways.
Prov 23:26: A wise and righteous son gives great joy to his parents.
(Prov 23:27 NASB) For a harlot is a deep pit, And an adulterous woman is a narrow well.
(Prov 23:28 NASB) Surely she lurks as a robber, And increases the faithless among men.
Prov 23:28: This is another warning against the adulterous woman.
(Prov 23:29 NASB) Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
(Prov 23:30 NASB) Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine.
(Prov 23:31 NASB) Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly;
(Prov 23:32 NASB) At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper.
Prov 23:32: Scripture gives us a case study of a drunkard.
(Prov 23:33 NASB) Your eyes will see strange things, And your mind will utter perverse things.
(Prov 23:34 NASB) And you will be like one who lies down in the middle of the sea, Or like one who lies down on the top of a mast.
(Prov 23:35 NASB) “They struck me, but I did not become ill; They beat me, but I did not know it. When shall I awake? I will seek another drink.”
Prov 23:35: The drunkard was beaten in a fight and did not even know it. He just wants another drink after he wakes up.
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2014 Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly Fort Smith, Arkansas