Posted by Jeff Short on May 3, 2018 · Leave a Comment
My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
– Proverbs 23:26
The word for
heart means the cardiac muscle in a person’s chest. It has a wide range of figurative uses in the Hebrew Old Testament. It can refer to the whole inner being of man, the immaterial being. It can refer to the mind and understanding. It can refer to the will. It can refer to the feelings, or emotions, and more. Modern day westerners presuppose a reference to the heart being about affection and feelings. The word appears over 90 times in Proverbs and could seldom be thought to refer to emotions. When you couple this verse with similar calls to wisdom, particularly in the fatherly addresses, it is plainly an admonition to give thoughtful attention (Proverbs 1:8, 33; 2:1-2; 3:1, 21; 4:1-2, 4-5, 10, 10; 5:1, 7; 6:20-21; 7:1-3, 24; 8:1-6, 10-11, 32-33). The second phrase seals that understanding by calling for observation.
The word for observe means to be pleased with, or to accept. The word is translated, delighteth, in Proverbs 3:12. The call is clearly a call to hearken to wisdom and to recognize and embrace the rightness of the ways of the teacher. The picture of instructing in and imparting wisdom to another is a picture of master and apprentice, or discipling (Proverbs 13:20).
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 2, 2018 · Leave a Comment
Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
– Proverbs 23:25
This verse finishes the saying on honoring parents. The good outcome of children acquiring wisdom is the rejoicing of the parents. Both father and mother rejoice as opposed to grieving a foolish child (Proverbs 17:25).
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Posted by Jeff Short on May 1, 2018 · Leave a Comment
The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
– Proverbs 23:24
The word for
righteous means just in conduct and character. Such a child brings joy and rejoicing to his parents. Joy and rejoicing in children, as well as the grim alternative, is a steady encouragement and exhortation to parental wisdom in raising children throughout Proverbs (Proverbs 10:1; 15:20; 23:15-16). Children who come to maturity with wisdom are a great delight to parents. The delight is also reciprocal, mature and wise children glory in their parents (Proverbs 17:6). Wise parents lovingly, patiently, and persistently teach their “law” to their children as they grow for the purpose of equipping them to walk in wisdom securely and honorably (Proverbs 1:9; 3:1, 23; 4:8-9, 12; 7:2-3). It is only a foolish and rebellious child who wants his parents to get out of his way (Proverbs 19:26; 30:11, 17; Luke 15:12-13).
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 30, 2018 · Leave a Comment
Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
– Proverbs 23:23
This verse gives a fatherly saying that is be hearkened to. The word for
truth means certainty, and so it points to reality, what is truly true. To
buy and not
sell means to labor to acquire wisdom and to retain it. The word for
wisdom means skill, like that of a craftsman or tradesman, and can be put for shrewdness. The word for
instruction means discipline, and can range from teaching to correcting, or even chastisement. The word for
understanding means discernment and indicates the ability to distinguish between. The four words here represent the necessary equipment for going in the right way, or living a godly life. Proverbs consistently urges the necessity of seeking, cost of acquiring, and value of having wisdom (Proverbs 2:2-4; 4:5-7; 16:16).
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 28, 2018 · Leave a Comment
Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
– Proverbs 23:22
Verses 22-25 form a saying on honoring parents, or being a wise son. The word for
hearken means to listen, to understand. The exhortation to listen extends even to when the
mother is
old. The word for
despise means to disrespect, or hold in contempt. The warning here is against quickly dismissing the counsel of parents (Deuteronomy 27:16; Proverbs 30:11). Honoring parents is a lifelong command (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:2).
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 27, 2018 · Leave a Comment
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
– Proverbs 23:21
The word for
poverty means dispossessed, which can be inheritance but at least denotes impoverishing loss. Wisdom here looks to the end of the way of drunkards and gluttons. The word for
drowsiness means sleepiness, and is put for indolence. The saying likely includes a third form of excess, indulging in sleep and rest. This is a feature of the sluggard, with the same consequences (Proverbs 6:9-11; 19:15; 24:30-34). All could be generally characterized as lovers of pleasure, and their fate is the same (Proverbs 21:17).
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 26, 2018 · Leave a Comment
Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
– Proverbs 23:20
The saying continues with warning against companionship with two types of over indulgers. The word for
wine means an intoxicating drink from grapes. The word for
bibbers means to quaff, or to drink heartily. The phrase describes a drunkard, one who drinks excessively. Elsewhere, Proverbs warns against those who “tarry long at the wine” (Proverbs 23:29-35). The word for
riotous eaters means to quake, be vile, or loose morally. Here it describes a glutton, an overeater. Both qualities describe those who have no self-control or self-discipline. Excessive eating and drinking are often symptoms of larger root problems. Wisdom teaches to walk with wise men and avoid companionship with fools of all sorts (Proverbs 2:20; 13:20; 28:7; 29:3).
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 25, 2018 · Leave a Comment
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
– Proverbs 23:19
Verses 19-21 warn against excess. The saying begins with the exhortation to
hear, which the word means to listen with intelligence. This common exhortation in Proverbs emphasizes the necessity of deliberate listening and paying attention to the instructions of wisdom in order to be wise (Proverbs 4:10-23). Proverbs teaches true wisdom is alien to us and must be acquired. Wisdom requires keeping our
heart, or mind, straight in the
way of wisdom.
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Posted by Jeff Short on April 24, 2018 · Leave a Comment
For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
– Proverbs 23:18
The word for
end refers to the last, or future time. There is an end to the way sinners are going. Wisdom understands the snapshot of a moment isn’t the whole picture. The word for
expectation literally means a cord. It is put figuratively for hope. We see the idea of connection in the saying. Sinners are in a way that is connected to an end and likewise with the wise (Proverbs 1:29-33). Wisdom, regardless of momentary circumstances, has a good expectation and will be rewarded (Proverbs 24:14).
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Proverbs 23:26
Posted by Jeff Short on May 3, 2018 · Leave a Comment
My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
The word for heart means the cardiac muscle in a person’s chest. It has a wide range of figurative uses in the Hebrew Old Testament. It can refer to the whole inner being of man, the immaterial being. It can refer to the mind and understanding. It can refer to the will. It can refer to the feelings, or emotions, and more. Modern day westerners presuppose a reference to the heart being about affection and feelings. The word appears over 90 times in Proverbs and could seldom be thought to refer to emotions. When you couple this verse with similar calls to wisdom, particularly in the fatherly addresses, it is plainly an admonition to give thoughtful attention (Proverbs 1:8, 33; 2:1-2; 3:1, 21; 4:1-2, 4-5, 10, 10; 5:1, 7; 6:20-21; 7:1-3, 24; 8:1-6, 10-11, 32-33). The second phrase seals that understanding by calling for observation.– Proverbs 23:26
The word for observe means to be pleased with, or to accept. The word is translated, delighteth, in Proverbs 3:12. The call is clearly a call to hearken to wisdom and to recognize and embrace the rightness of the ways of the teacher. The picture of instructing in and imparting wisdom to another is a picture of master and apprentice, or discipling (Proverbs 13:20).
Listen to the Proverbs sermon series
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