August 2, 2020
Lessons Learned
By Wayne Gaeddert
Proverbs 23:17, 29-35
1. Proverbs 22:17-24:22 is a section which called ‘30 sayings of the wise’.
(see Proverbs 22:20)
The introduction to these sayings is 22:17-21.
The first 10 sayings offer God’s wisdom about wealth and power. 22:22-23:11
The next 7 sayings are instructions for parents as they train their children. 23:12-28
The last 13 sayings offer God’s wisdom on a variety of issues. 23:29-24:22
2. The individual proverbs are separated by extra space between verses. (eg. note the
extra space in your Bible between 23:18 and 23:19.)
3. Verses 17-18 are a proverb about not losing sight of the future hope for those who fear the Lord.
4. Verses 19-21 are a proverb about the cost of being controlled by your senses (touch,
taste, smell, etc.) which leads to addiction.
5. Verses 29-35 are a proverb about how the road to addiction deceives, then confuses the mind and traps you within its clutches.
6. God expects believers to be good stewards of the bodies He has given them.
Dr. Argile Smith
7. Jesus spoke about envy in Mark 7:22 when he listed those things that are within that
defile the person.
8. Rather than focus on the wicked (be envious of the wicked), make communion with God the aim of your life.
9. It is wise to always remember that God has set a day to judge the sinner. No one will
envy that day.
10. Envy is an indication that you are not content with your situation.
11. “Set your heart on the right path” (NIV):
Requires you to make a decision and make the necessary adjustments to stay on
that path.
Troubling situations will not cause you to doubt your decision.
‘Trust in the Lord’ will be how you handle a setback.
12. Distractions to lure you from the ‘right path’: drunkards and gluttony.
13. Drunkards and gluttons share these characteristics:
They are indulgent.
They have no self-control.
They become poor
The resulting stupor will clothe them in rags.
14. What the Bible says about gluttony. Dr. Argile Smith
Warnings against gluttony: Proverbs 23:1-3,20-21; 28:7
Warnings against alcohol: Proverbs 23:29-35; 1 Corinthians 5:11; Galatians 5:21;
Ephesians 5:18
The physical effects of alcohol: Job 12:25; Proverbs 20:1; 23:29-35
The mental effects of alcohol: Hosea 4:11
The spiritual effects of alcohol (deadens one’s self to God): Isaiah 5:11-12
Cases of drunkenness in the Bible: Noah (Gen. 9:21); Lot (Gen. 19:33); Nabal (1
Sam. 25:36); Uriah the Hithite (2 Sam. 11:13); Elah, king of Israel (1 Kings 16:9);
Ben-Hadad (1 Kings 20:16)
The alternative to drunkenness: Be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18)
God gave us our bodies and wants us to honor Him with our bodies (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
15. Addiction blinds the eye to reality.
16. The ‘feel-good’ period is followed by a greater pain. Repetition of the cycle is the
‘poison’ of addiction.
17. Drugs (alcohol is one of many) confuse the mind and the senses.
18. For the Christian, the Lord alone is the one to whom you give control of your body.
19. “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” Ephesians 5:18
20. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom
you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So
glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
