THERE IS AN AFTERWARDS (23:18A)

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Opening Prayer

Dear God, in the midst of driven world, teach me how to possess the serenity I yearn for, the peace of mind and heart I desire.

Read PROVERBS 23:1–35

^[1]Saying 7 When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, ^[2] and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. ^[3] Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. ^[4]Saying 8 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. ^[5] Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. ^[6]Saying 9 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; ^[7] for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. ^[8] You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments. ^[9]Saying 10 Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words. ^[10]Saying 11 Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, ^[11] for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you. ^[12]Saying 12 Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. ^[13]Saying 13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. ^[14] Punish them with the rod and save them from death. ^[15]Saying 14 My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed; ^[16] my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. ^[17]Saying 15 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. ^[18] There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. ^[19]Saying 16 Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path: ^[20] Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, ^[21] for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags. ^[22]Saying 17 Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. ^[23] Buy the truth and do not sell it- wisdom, instruction and insight as well. ^[24] The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. ^[25] May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful! ^[26]Saying 18 My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways, ^[27] for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well. ^[28] Like a bandit she lies in wait and multiplies the unfaithful among men. ^[29]Saying 19 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? ^[30] Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. ^[31] Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! ^[32] In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. ^[33] Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things. ^[34] You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. ^[35] “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”

Meditate

“The person who teaches children learns more than they do” (German proverb). See verses 12–16.

Think Further

I start with the beginning, the end and then the middle of this passage, thinking about first the fatherless, that wherever they are they may find a representative from their greatest Defender (11); then the seducer—though a woman is pictured as the king speaks to his son—just as easily a man (28); and then those addicted to alcohol, often (but not always) recognizable by their disheveled appearance (21b).

I spend the rest of my time today thinking about my family, a topic which arouses visceral emotion (“my inmost being,” 16a)—my parents, my children, those who are most dependent on me. Verse 12 links heart and ears—I pray, like Solomon, for “a discerning heart” (1 Kings 3:9–12). The motive for the strict discipline recommended here is set out in verses 13,14; the result is deep joy for me (16a) and my family.

I save my strong emotion (zeal, jealousy—the same word, 17) not for envying others but for godliness (17b). I renew my hope that there is an afterwards (18) and pray against the two forms of hopelessness—arrogant presumption and crippling despair. As I mull over the verbs of verses 22–26 I pray that as I get older my family life may be marked by this warmth and sweetness. Without my father and my mother (begetter and bearer) I would not exist. If there is violence or darkness or emptiness in this retrospect, I sit with this sorrow, grateful that the One I trust has tasted the deep anguish of fatherlessness (Matt. 27:46). If my parents are drifting away from me into the mists of old age or dementia, I pray again for a listening heart, not to interrogate and correct but to hear and to accept.

Apply

What does this future hope depend upon (18; see 24:14, 20; Psa. 37:37)? How are you sharing in that hope for yourself?

Closing prayer

Lord, support me all the day long through the valley of this life. Grant me safe lodging, a holy rest and peace at last.

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