Cornerstone

Proverbs 23:19-35

In our lesson material for today we are warned that the indulgence of two things will bring a person to poverty. Few people desire to be impoverished so it would be well to carefully consider what the words mean in each of these instances.

We are first warned not to be wine bibbers. The word which is used is – yayin which means wine Yayin is used 140 times in the Old Testament and is only one of the words of varied meaning to describe the beverage. In at least twenty times of these references it refers to an intoxicating drink.. Wine was the most intoxicating drink known in those times. Something should be noted at this point, however. All of the wine was light wine – no extra alcohol was added. The addition of alcohol did not begin to occur until the Middle Ages when the Arabs invented distillation. What we know as liquor today was unknown in Bible times. Beer was brewed in various ways but was light in alcoholic content. The strength of the natural wines was limited by two factors. The percentage of alcohol was half of the percentage of the sugar in the juice. If the alcoholic content was above 10 or 11 percent the yeast cells were killed and the fermentation stopped. The wines of Bible times were probably about 7 – 10 percent. Wine was a common drink and it was a normal practice to mix wine with water to dilute the drink. Other non-alcoholic drinks were available, however, such as tirosh which was the fresh juice from the vineyard.

The second prohibition was against riotous eating. The word zalal – means to shake, quake – to flow down – worthless, make light of , squander, be a glutton, or to be vile. It is used in reference to earthquakes and volcanos. It is thus a picturesque word to describe the person who is so addicted to eating that he quivers and trembles in anticipation of his next bite. The food “flows down” the open cavern of the persons throat as he without tasting his delight reaches for the next mouthful.

Both of these behaviors lead to certain poverty. The word for poverty is yarash and means to take possession of, to dispossess, to disinherit, to devour or to impoverish. The wise man is therefore saying that drinking wine and eating in a gluttonous manner will devour your livelihood. Not only the purchase of these items will lead you to poverty but also the lifestyle of banqueting and partying that naturally accompany them will have a part in your impoverishment.

(Theological Wordbook of the OT)

Dr. Gayle Woods

Proverbs 19:1-8, 17; 22:16-23

Proverbs 19:3 has a number of choice words which give a graphic picture of what often happens in the lives of people who ruin their own lives but yet are too blind to see what is taking place. Again and again they reject the way of the Lord while planning a life of pleasure and self-indulgence. When their waywardness takes its toll they are left with the shell of a life and point their trembling feeble finger toward God in accusation. Consider the meaning of these words in order to get a better grasp of this sentence.

`iwwelet – folly, foolishness – Twelve times this word is associated with kesil which we studied in the last lesson. The foolish person makes a choice. It is a choice of moral insolence. He determines his own way. He draws his own map for life. Although he does not want to take the responsibility, this kind of way is his own fault, not Gods. He perverts his own way.

salap – distort, twist, pervert, ruin. The foolish determination to live a life of sin distorts that which could have been beautiful into that which is undesirable and distasteful. Evil so twists the sinful and foolish man that his way becomes perverted. The life which could have been profitable now lies in ruin.

za’ap – The root of the verb, means to storm or rage aginst. It suggests one who is bitter and dejected. This is a person who is enraged within himself. Inside a storm rages while on the outside people see a sad and troubled countenance. The same word is used to describe Asa when he was rebuked by the prophet Hanani. His inner rage led him to commit terrible atrocities. He was hardened in heart and when four years later he was diseased he still refused to call upon God.

The modern versions of this verse bring out thought of this verse. God often gets blamed for what we bring on ourselves. The wise man is saying that it is mans own foolishness that causes the problem. His folly destroys his lifes course. Even though he has fabricated his own ruin, he rages against God with spiteful accusations saying that it is Gods fault that his life did not turn out differently. (Keil and Delitzsch) (Tyndale Commentary – Proverbs) (Theological Wordbook of the OT)

Dr. Gayle Woods