Proverbs 23

PROVERBS 23

"Do not eat the bread of a selfish man,
Or desire his delicacies;
For as he thinks within himself, so he is.
He says to you, "Eat and drink!"
But his heart is not with you."
(vs 6-7)

There is a worldly spirit that can come upon a man, even one who is a Christian. A party spirit that is selfish and contains no Eternal Life. It was said of some of God’s people Israel -

"Yes, they are greedy dogs
Which never have enough.
And they are shepherds
Who cannot understand;
They all look to their own way,
Every one for his own gain,
From his own territory.
“Come,” one says, “I will bring wine,
And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink;
Tomorrow will be as today,
And much more abundant.”- Is 56:11-12

That is the party spirit that brings only death. There are those who would entice us to partake of that spirit with them, but it is to satisfy their own selfishness for truly their "heart is not with you."

Paul wrote this warning, and promise, to the Christian church -

"The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." - Gal 6:8


Continuing this thought... skipping down a bit in this Proverb we read -

"Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
Those who tarry long over wine,
those who go to try mixed wine."
(vs 29-30)

Passages like these speak volumes to me. Because I’ve been there. I know the sorrow and the strife I brought upon myself. I can recall the complaining I used to do. I know the wounds I afflicted upon others without cause. I was walking that selfish path that leads to death. Praise God I am no longer on that path.

Ten years ago God showed me the destruction I was reaping, caused by many years of excessive drinking. He opened my eyes through the Scripture and made real to me the damage I was doing to my life and those around me, and the consequences that would occur if I continued in that way.

"Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
That they may follow intoxicating drink;
Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!
The harp and the strings,
The tambourine and flute,
And wine are in their feasts;
But they do not regard the work of the LORD,
Nor consider the operation of His hands.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight!
Woe to men mighty at drinking wine,
Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink."
(Isaiah 5:11-12, 21-22)

And had I not obeyed the voice of the Lord, those consequences would have been Eternal.

"Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble,
And the flame consumes the chaff,
So their root will be as rottenness,
And their blossom will ascend like dust;
Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts,
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel."
(Isaiah 5:24)


Now we know from the Bible our Lord Jesus drank wine, and indeed His first miracle at Cana in Galilee was turning water into wine (John 2:1-11). And we can read Jesus repeating what many were saying of Him, in Matthew’s Gospel -

"The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ’Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds." - Matt 11:19

Those saying this were judging by external standards, for they had not ears to hear what He was saying, they had not spiritual eyes to discern the Truth. Jesus was not a drunkard. He did not desire the selfish things of man. For His heart is with us.

"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." - John 7:24


Jesus invites us to come to the Truth. To get for ourselves as much wisdom, and understanding as we can, and not squander it or take it lightly. He warns us not to trade it for earthly pleasures or to become weary in seeking it.

"Listen, my son, and be wise,
And direct your heart in the way.
Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.
Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.
Buy Truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom and instruction and understanding."
(vs 19-23)

"What is Truth?", Pilate asked. (John 18:38)

Jesus would say to us - "I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me’." - John 14:6

My friends, all that our Lord Jesus told His disciples, all His instruction to the crowds, all the warnings He gave to those who believed Him not, and all His promises throughout Scripture are True. All He spoke about the Kingdom is True. He cannot speak anything but the Truth, for He is Truth. He is called "Faithful and True" (Rev 3:14, 19:11)

This Truth is available to us... for a price. It is not merely handed to us, lest we abuse it. As Adam and Eve experienced: wisdom and knowledge, without The Truth, without Christ, will only get us into trouble. There was another who desired greatly to obtain all wisdom apart from the Lord, one who desired to be equal to God on his own terms. His destruction was eternal (Isaiah 14:12-15)

God will not grant us all understanding if we were not subject to the Lord Jesus. He cannot allow us to partake of the Tree of Knowledge, unless we first partake of the Tree of Life. The price we pay to buy Truth is in setting aside our earthly desires to spend time with Jesus, and learn from Him. We purchase His wisdom and understanding not with money, but with our time. It is in prayer, in seeking Him, in crying out to Him that He opens our eyes that we may see, and our ears that we may truly hear. When we give up our selfish desires to follow Him, we exchange our human knowledge for His Truth.

"Therefore I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see." - Rev 3:18

Drunkenness is a sin. Partaking of the fruit of the vine as Jesus did is not. Disobeying a personal commandment from the Lord to abstain from certain activities that may be fine for others is a sin. Acting in faith, with a clear conscience before God is not. Causing your brother or sister in the Lord to stumble by your behavior is a sin. Exhorting them, and pursuing righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, is not.

"So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.

Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another." - Rom 14:12-19


May we first judge ourselves, that we be found in right standing with God. And let us "judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment."


Dear saints, I didn’t realize this post would get this long! I pray that what I’ve shared here is faithful to the Word of God, and that it may be a blessing and minister Life to those who managed to read it all the way through.

God’s peace and love to you & your families,

Michael