January 23, 2008

Today's Reading - Proverbs 23
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Following Scripture Verses

1. When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
2. And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
3. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.
4. Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
5. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
6. Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
7. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
9. Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10. Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11. For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.
12. Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13. Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
14. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
15. My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
16. Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
17. Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
18. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
19. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
20. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
21. For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
22. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23. Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24. The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
25. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
26. My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
27. For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28. She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.
29. Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30. They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
31. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
32. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
34. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
35. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

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They have stricken me, [shalt thou say, and] I was not sick; they have beaten me, [and] I felt [it] not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. - Proverbs 23:35

The final seven verses of Proverbs 23 deal with alcohol. They give insight to the effect that consuming beer, wine, and liquor can have on an individual. Today's verse reveals the addictive power that strong drink can have, as well as the foolishness of those who imbibe. The last phrase of verse 35 is truly tragic, for this drinker, after all the pain and discomfort that he has gone through, can hardly wait to wake up in the morning so that he can return to the booze.

Alcohol is addictive. Once a man begins to drink he develops not only a taste for it but also a dependence on it. Of course, the alcohol industry never portrays this in their advertising. They don't show the man who has lost his job, his family, and his home in his pursuit of strong drink. They show only the supposed "fun" that alcohol produces, and sinful men foolishly fall for it. Since our minds are to be stayed upon God, and since we are to be given wholly to Him, there is no place in our lives for any addictive behaviors, alcoholic or otherwise.

Sin, in this instance alcohol, also makes a fool out of a man. Proverbs 20:1 tells us that the drinker is deceived and "is not wise". In today's passage we see that this individual, despite the physical pain he has gone through, the sickness he is enduring, and the memory that he has lost, is desirous of going back to the source of his anguish. This shows us how insidious sin can be. We know from both the Bible and experience that it will harm us, yet we keep on doing it. How foolish we are!

May God help us to abstain from all iniquity, including alcohol, so that we can be servants of only the Most High God.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery