7/22/09

July 23, 2009: Proverbs Chapter 23

Posted by David Weir

Look at all the verses on the heart in this Chapter! As I read I realized the urgency that God is trying to convey to us about our lives.


"My son, Give Me your heart"!


We have 8 chapters left to get all we can from this Bible Study, and allow the light of God's Word to reveal shadows and secrets that we hold back from the Lord. The Word says He looks at our hearts. We are discovering the value of giving Him unhindered access!




Proverbs 23 (New King James Version)


1When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you;

2 And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite.

3 Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food.

4 Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!

5 Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.

6 Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies;

7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “ Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.

8 The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words.

9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.

10 Do not remove the ancient landmark, Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;

11 For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you.

12 Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge.

13 Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.

14 You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell.

15 My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;

16 Yes, my inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak right things. Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day;

18 For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off.

19 Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way.

20 Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

22 Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.

23 Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.

25 Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice.

26 My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways.

27 For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well.

28 She also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men.

29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?

30 Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine.

31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly;

32 At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper.

33 Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things.

34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: "They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?"

2 comments:

Anne Hopkins said...

5Will you set your eyes upon wealth, when [suddenly] it is gone? Amplified Bible

I randomly stop basketball practice sometimes to ask my girls if they are truly giving their best effort. Of course, they will answer with a resounding "YES!" for fear that they will have to run. I asked them one time: "If I told you that I would give each of you $1 million if you stopped the other team from scoring on the next possession, would anything change?" Of course, they admitted that they would play harder, communicate more, and be willing to do whatever it took to stop the other team. My point was made because they were not giving their best effort.

How motivated am I by riches? If someone were to tell me that they would give me $1000 for every person I shared the Gospel with, would I change anything? I think I would. And that grieves me, yet challenges me.

I want to give God my very best, motivated by a desire to please Him. For the riches I will obtain by chasing after Him will last!

Carlie Venkler said...

My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways.


My prayer... God take my heart so I can see Your ways!

** Anne...I enjoyed your post, it was challenging to me as well, Thanks.