23:1-3 The point of this proverb is to be careful when eating with an important or influential person because he or she may try to influence or bribe you. Unwary meetings over meals can lead to undermined convictions. No good will come from such meals.
23:4, 5 We have all heard of people who have won millions of dollars and then lost it all. Even the average person can spend an inheritance—or a paycheck—with lightning speed and have little to show for it. Don’t spend your time chasing fleeting earthly treasures. Instead store up treasures in heaven, for such treasures will never be lost. (See Luke 12:33, 34 for Jesus’ teaching.)
23:10, 11 The term redeemer referred to someone who bought back a family member who had fallen into slavery or who accepted the obligation to marry a widow of a family member (Ruth 4:3-10). God is also called a Redeemer (Exodus 6:6; Job 19:25). (For an explanation of ancient boundary markers, see the note on 22:28.)
23:12 The people most likely to gain knowledge are those who are willing to listen. It is a sign of strength, not weakness, to pay attention to what others have to say. People who are eager to listen continue to develop and grow throughout their lives. If we refuse to become set in our ways, we can always expand the limits of our knowledge.
23:13 The stern tone of correction in this verse is offset by the affection expressed in verse 15. However, many parents are reluctant to discipline their children. Some fear they will forfeit their relationship, that their children will resent them, or that they will stifle their children’s development. However, correction won’t kill them, and it may prevent them from foolish moves that would.
23:17, 18 How easy it is to envy those who get ahead unhampered by Christian responsibility or God’s laws. For a time they do seem to get ahead without paying any attention to God’s desires. But to those who follow him, God promises a hope and a wonderful future even if we don’t achieve it in this life.
23:29-35 Israel was a wine-producing country. In the Old Testament, winepresses bursting with new wine were considered a sign of blessing (3:10). Wisdom is even said to have set her table with wine (9:2, 5). But the Old Testament writers were alert to the dangers of wine. It dulls the senses; it limits clear judgment (31:1-9); it lowers the capacity for control (4:17); it destroys one’s efficiency (21:17). To make wine an end in itself, a means of self-indulgence, or as an escape from life is to misuse it and invite the consequences of the drunkard.
23:29, 30 The soothing comfort of alcohol is only temporary. Real relief comes from dealing with the cause of the anguish and sorrow and turning to God for peace. Don’t lose yourself in alcohol; find yourself in God.