Children who make their parents really happy (2)
[Proverbs 23:24-35]
During last Wednesday prayer meeting, we meditated on Proverbs 23:15-23 under the title “Children who make their parents really happy”. The reason I chose that title is because of verses 15-16: “My son, if your heart is wise, My own heart also will be glad; And my inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak what is right. Looking at this, the Bible says that if our children's hearts are wise and their lips speak what is right, then the parents' hearts will be glad and their inmost being will rejoice. Here, we can see who are the children who really please their parents’ hearts. Those children are the children with wise hearts. And their lips speak what is right. In short, the children who make their parents really happy are the children who listen to the teachings of truth received from their wise parents and obey them.
If we look at Proverbs 23:25, the Bible says the similar word: “Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.” The Bible again tells us to make our parents to be glad and the mother who gave birth to you to rejoice. In other words, what God is commanding us to make our parents happy. How can we make our parents happy? I found the answer in verse 24: “The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.” In order for us to make our parents happy, we must be “wise children” and “righteous”. Furthermore, in order for us to make our Heavenly Father happy, we must live righteous lives as children of God who have been justified by believing in Jesus and live wisely with the wisdom God has given us. Then, how can we live wisely as righteous Christians? Look at verse 26: “My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways.” In order for us to live wisely in this world as those who believe in Jesus and have been justified, we must offer our hearts to Heavenly Father and look to the path of the Lord and walk that path. Then, we must offer our hearts to God, look at the path that He shows us, and walk that path. What is the Lord's path? In Proverbs 23:24-35, the Bible tells us not to look at the two ways, give no heart, and don’t walk those two ways. What are those two ways?
The first way is a way of a prostitute.
Look at Proverbs 23:27 – “for a prostitute is a deep pit and a wayward wife is a narrow well.” As we have been meditating on the Book of Proverbs, the Bible has warned and exhorted us again and again about the adulteress. Among them is Proverbs 2:16 – “It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words.” The Bible says that wisdom protects and rescues us from the adulteress. Here, the adulteress flatters with her seductive words (v. 16). Proverbs 5:3-4 says, “For the lips of an adulteress drip honey And smoother than oil is her speech; But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.” What a terrifying temptation is this? It is a terrifying temptation that can take away our lives and faith. When I meditate on these words, I think of the words from Proverbs 7:6. A foolish young man without wisdom goes into an adulteress’ street at night and is heading toward her house. The cunning woman dressed in a prostitute grabbed the young man, kissed him, and told the young man with a shameless face: “I was due to offer peace offerings; Today I have paid my vows. Therefore I have come out to meet you, To seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you. I have spread my couch with coverings, With colored linens of Egypt. I have sprinkled my bed With myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with caresses. For my husband is not at home, He has gone on a long journey; He has taken a bag of money with him, At the full moon he will come home.” This lustful woman seduced the young man with a lot of fine words and lured him with words on her lips, and the young man immediately followed her. The Bible says, “Suddenly he follows her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool” (v. 22). How can you resist and overcome these temptations of the adulteress like Joseph? Look at Proverbs 7:1-5: “My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," And call understanding your intimate friend; That they may keep you from an adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words.” Only with the wisdom that God gives us can we avoid falling into the temptation of the adulteress flatters with seductive words to us. Only wisdom can protect and deliver us from her. Also, the adulteress has no chastity. Look at Proverbs 2:17 – “That leaves the companion of her youth And forgets the covenant of her God.” The adulteress is the one who has forsaken her marriage partner, her husband, and destroyed the marriage covenant made before God (Gen. 2:24). In a word, the adulteress has no chastity. The adulteress is the one who abandons her purity by sleeping with this man and that man. The house of the adulteress sinks down to death and her tracks lead to the dead (Prov. 2:18). What does it mean? If we follow the adulteress, we will be destroyed in the end (v. 19). How, then, does wisdom protect and deliver us from the adulteress? God's wisdom protects us and rescues us because it prevents us from participating in the path of the adulteress (v. 12). The adulteress constantly seduces us because she wants us to leave the right path and walk the crooked and the evil path. And her temptations seem good, can be pleasing to the eye and desirable to make us wise. But wisdom makes us see the way of the adulteress with our spiritual eyes. As a result, wisdom makes us know that the way of the adulteress is the way of destruction, and not only keeps us from participating in her way, but also not with her at all. The Bible Proverbs 23:27 says, “for a prostitute is a deep pit and a wayward wife is a narrow well.” What does it mean? To fall into her temptation is like falling into a deep pit and a narrow trap that we cannot escape. Already Proverbs 22:14 said “The mouth of an adulteress is a deep it.” In other words, she digs the deep trap and lies in wait like a bandit (23:28), and sees one of the fool without wisdom (“A young man lacking sense”) (7:7) to seduce him. The adulteress seduces only one man and causes him to fall into the deep trap, not only to sin against God, but also to multiply the unfaithful among men (23:28). What does it mean? She seduces many people, especially many married men, making them unfaithful. Therefore, it not only makes them unfaithful to their wives but also to God. Isn't this happening these days? How many women come to men to seduce sex as bait and later use it as an excuse to get money? If we look at Proverbs 7:21, the Bible says that the adulteress entices him with her many persuasions and seduces him with her flattering lips. When he falls into her seduction, then an arrow will pierce through his liver (v. 23). In other words, he will lose his life (v. 23). The Bible says that her house is “the way to Sheol” and “the chambers of death” (v. 27).
What must we do? We must not look at the path of the adulteress, must not give our hearts to her and must not walk to her path. In order to do that, we must listen to the words of Proverbs 7:1-4: “My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," And call understanding your intimate friend.” We keep the word of God (commandment) in our hearts by obeying it. We must engrave the word of God on the plate of our hearts. We must become wise Christians. When we do so, what is the result? Look at Proverbs 7:5 – “That they may keep you from an adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words.” This is what Proverbs 7:24-25 says: “Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, And pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths.” In order for us not to look at the path of the adulteress at all and not to walk to her path without giving our hearts to her, we must pay attention to and listen carefully to Heavenly Father's words. We must listen to the word of God and do not abandon it (5:7). Then we will not be deceived by her way. Look at Proverbs 5:8 – “Keep your way far from her And do not go near the door of her house.” This is what Dr. Yoon-sun Park said: ‘Since sexual temptation is attractive, we can overcome only by avoiding it’ (Park). One of those representative figures, I think is Joseph. Potiphar's wife took notice of Joseph (Gen. 39:7), who was well-built and handsome (v. 6) and asked him to come to bed with her (v. 7) day after day (v. 10). But Joseph refused to sleep with her because he feared God, or even be with her (v. 10). But one day, when there were only Joseph and Potiphar's wife at the Potiphar's house (v. 11), the Potiphar’s wife caught Joseph by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” (v. 12) But Joseph left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house (v. 12). Therefore, even though Joseph was accused of wrongdoing and imprisoned, he was able to resist her temptation. However, many of young Christians these days cannot resist sexual temptation like Joseph, fall into temptation, sin against God, and live in prison of their hearts. They are bound by the chains of sexual sin and are living in sexual slavery. Unlike Joseph, if the Bible tells us to select someone who has been tempted by a woman, we can say “Samson” besides David. Not only did he see one of the Philistine daughters at Timna, and made him a wife (Judges 14), but at Gaza he saw a prostitute and went in to spend the night with her (16:1). Also, because he loved a woman named Delilah of the Valley of Sorek (v. 4), he fell for her and is caught by the Philistines, and eventually died with the Philistines.
What should we do? We must stay away from things that tempt us sexually. It is foolish to try to overcome sexual temptation by getting close to them. I remember hearing the story I heard a long time ago that a pastor who worked as a prostitute eventually committed a sexual sin. I also remember hearing a female missionary who is interested in working with the prostitutes in the mission field. I don’t think it’s easy. I think it will be a tremendous challenge. The apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:22, “Flee the evil desires of youth.” And he said in 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee from sexual immorality…“. We must flee from sexual immorality and lust. We shouldn't even go to the door of the prostitute’s house at all. We must stay away from the prostitute. We must stay close to the word of God, but stay away from the words of prostitutes. And we must stay away from the prostitute by staying close to God.
The second way is a way of those who linger over wine.
Look at Proverbs 23:30 – “Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine.” As we have meditated on the Book of Proverbs so far, the Proverbs writer has repeatedly warned and exhorted us about alcohol. Among those words is Proverbs 23:20-21. We were taught that children who make their parents really happy don’t associate with the “heavy drinkers of wine” and “with gluttonous eaters of mean” (v. 20). The Bible instructs us not to associate with those who love pleasure or those who live a prodigal life. Why does the Bible tell us not to associate with the “heavy drinkers of wine”? Proverbs 23:21 says the reason for this: “For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe one with rags.” The reason why the Bible tells us not to associate with the heavy drinkers of wine is because they will become poor. Why do they become poor? The reason for this is because the heavy drinkers will not only waste their possessions while living in debauchery (Lk. 15:13; Eph. 5:18), but also they are lazy and like to sleep (Prov. 23:21). Also, looking at Proverbs 20:1, the Bible says, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, ….” If we translate this in Hebrew, it says ‘Wine is to make you haughty, and strong drink is to make you fight ….’ Here the Bible teaches us two things about the negative effects of wine and the strong drink on us. It is none other than that wine and the strong drink make us haughty and fight. Do you think alcohol makes people arrogant? Have you ever seen a drunken person pretending to be selfish and despising others? When I thought of this, I remembered the feast of King Ahasuerus in Esther 1. In the third year of his throne, the Bible records that the feast was held for all his nobles and officials and military leaders, the princes, and the nobles of the providences (v. 3) for a full 180 days. King Ahasuerus displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty (v. 4). Then the king gave a banquet, lasting 7 days (v. 5) and let each guest to drink in his own way (v. 8) in goblets of gold, each one different from the other because the royal wine was abundant (v. 7). The king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished (v. 8). Then, on the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded seven of his eunuchs to bring the queen Vashti to him in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles (vv. 10-11). But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command and the king became very angry and his wrath burned within him (v. 12) and eventually abolished the queen. In the end, didn’t King Ahasuerus try to boast of his beautiful wife, but became angry and divorced her because she didn’t listen to him? When a person becomes drunken like this, Satan will take away his understanding (Hos. 4:11), showing off his pride and arrogance, not only showing off himself, but also revealing his anger (Ref.: Isa. 16:6). That is why quarrels and fights even arise in the drinking seat (Prov. 20:1). So King Solomon said in Proverbs 22:10 – “Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, Even strife and dishonor will cease.” In fact, quarrels or fights stop when we drive out the scoffer out of the drinking seat. In Proverbs 20:1, if we say in one word about the negative effects of wine and strong drink on us, it leads us astray. Wine and strong drink leads us to the foolish path. Not only does it cause us to show anger right away (12:16), causing contention (20:3), but also causing us to mock at sin (14:9). After all, wine and strong drink make us show our own foolishness.
If we look at Proverbs 23:29, the Bible says: “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?” The reason why we shouldn't get drunk is because there are “woe”, “sorrow”, “contentions”, “complaining” and “wounds” for the drunkards. How unfortunate is this? Not only this, but the reason we shouldn't get drunk is that once a person likes alcohol to some extent, it is difficult to quit it (vv. 31-35). Dr. Yoon-sun Park has four reasons for this (Park):
(1) The reason why we shouldn’t get drunk is because alcohol contains things like snake poison, and its shape has a tempting property.
Look at Proverbs 23:31-32: “Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent And stings like a viper.” To say that if we get drunk we will be bitten by a poisonous snake, it means that the consequences of drunkenness are fatal to us. That's why the Proverbs writer is telling us not to look on wine at all.
(2) The reason why you shouldn't get drunk is because when we are drunk, we become obscene and vain.
Look at Proverbs 23:33 – “Your eyes will see strange things And your mind will utter perverse things.” Here, the word “strange things” refers to a prostitute. What does it mean? To say that when we get drunk, we see the prostitute means to have a lewd heart. Also, when we say “perverse things”, it means that the drunkard becomes vain.
(3) The reason we shouldn't get drunk is because we don't feel dangerous.
Look at Proverbs 23:34-35: “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. They struck me, but I did not become ill; They beat me, but I did not know it ….” If we are drunk, then we don't know that we are in danger. That's why we don't know that we drive into an accident, which could lead to the loss of our lives or someone else's life.
(4) The reason we shouldn't get drunk is because we are stuck with drinking and we can't quit it.
Look at Proverbs 23:35b – “… When shall I awake? I will seek another drink.” Why do we drink a lot of alcohol and then go back to drinking the next day after waking up? Isn't it because we are addict to alcohol?
In order for us to really please our Heavenly Father, we must live righteous lives as God's children. We must live wisely with the wisdom God has given us. In Proverbs 23:24-35, we learned how to live wisely as the righteous children of God. We must offer our hearts to our Heavenly Father, look at the way of the Lord and walk that way. However, in looking at the way of the Lord and walking that way, the Bible tells us not to look at the two ways at all, not to give our hearts, and not to walk on those ways. Those two ways are the way of the prostitute and the way of those who linger over wine. I hope and pray that all of us will not look at these two ways, but will only walk on the way of the Lord, so that we will become the children of God who really please our Heavenly Father.