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“Questions and Answers, Part XVIII” by Romans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc6SSHuZvQE
Greetings, one and all! Thank you for coming, and for giving me the opportunity to share my Bible Study with you. Yes, we are continuing in the “Questions” aspect of our Series, “Questions and Answers.” Tonight, still in the Book of Proverbs, we are going to go further into that Book to review and examine the questions asked there. So let us begin. Our last question last week was Proverbs 22:20-21. Our first question this week is at the end of that same Chapter. We read in Proverbs 22:29: “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.”
John Gill writes, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business?.... In the business of his calling, be it what it will, whether for himself or his master; constant in it, swift, ready, and expeditious at it; who industriously pursues it, cheerfully attends it, makes quick dispatch of it; does it off of hand, at once, and is not slothful in it, nor weary of it; when you have observed and taken notice of such a man, which is not very common, you may, without a spirit of prophecy, foresee that such a man will rise in the world;
he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men, or "obscure persons;” he shall not continue in the service of ignoble persons, or keep company with them; but he shall be taken into the service of princes and noble men, and be admitted into their presence, and receive favours from them; as Joseph, who was industrious and diligent in his business in Potiphar's house, was in process of time advanced, and stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt, (as we read in Genesis 39:4). This may be spiritually applied.
Every good man has a work or business to do in a religious way; some in a higher sphere, as officers of churches, ministers and deacons; the work of the one lies in reading, study, meditation, and prayer, in the ministration of the word and ordinances, and other duties of their once; and the business of the others in taking care of the poor, and the secular affairs of the churches; others in a lower way, and common to all Christians, which lies in the exercise of grace, and performance of all good works, relative to themselves, their families, and the church of God. Now ministers that are diligent in teaching and ruling; and deacons that do their office well;
and private Christians, who are steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; are ready to every good work, heartily engaged in it, and constantly at it; shall not be company for the sons of darkness, unregenerate men, who are in the dark, and darkness itself; what communion has light with darkness, with works of darkness, they should be not workers of? or have any fellowship with the prince of darkness, from whose power they are delivered; but shall have society with the saints, who are made kings and priests unto God; shall be admitted into the presence of the King of kings now, and have communion with him; and shall stand before him at the great day with confidence, and not be ashamed; shall stand at his right hand, and shall be for ever with him. So the Jews interpret this place, "he shall not stand before dark ones", in hell; "he shall stand before kings", in the garden of Eden, in paradise; that is, in heaven.
"ante obscuros", Mercerus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "coram obscuris", Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; "in conspectu obscurorum", Schultens. Gloss. in T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 104. 2.”
The Preacher's Homiletical tells us, “”Proverbs 22:29: THE DESTINY OF THE DILIGENT: I. The diligent man meets with Divine approval. The repeated commendations of diligence and condemnations of slothfulness which we meet with in this book show the estimate which God sets upon rightly-directed industry. 1. The diligent man is in harmony with God. The Divine Father is ever working for the good of His creatures, and no being who ever trod this earth laboured so continuously and earnestly as the Divine Son. With Him during His public ministry the completion of one work was the beginning of another. He was ever about His Father’s business, diligently carrying on and seeking to finish the work which His Father had given Him to do. The man who is diligent in business is in this respect a follower of his Lord and Master.
2. He is in harmony with creatures both above Him and beneath Him. Angels are doing the will of their King with promptitude and despatch—Gabriel “flies swiftly (in Daniel 9:21) when sent on a message to the earth. Heaven is a world of activity, the cherubim around the throne “rest not day nor night” (see, Revelation 4:8). Many of the creatures below man set him an example of industry. Even inanimate nature seems to rebuke the idle man.
3. He is in harmony with the needs of humanity. The world calls for diligent workers, and without them all civilisation would soon cease and men sink to the condition of the savage. We have around us many proofs of this. The home of the indolent husband or wife is destitute of all refining influences and is often a nursery of crime. The land where the people are thriftless is a land of degradation and poverty. We can well understand, therefore, that God’s approval rests upon those who make the best use of the time and opportunities which He gives them.
II. The diligent man will reap some reward for his diligence. It is not, of course, possible to take this proverb in an
absolutely literal sense, because many diligent men never saw the face of a king. But without diligence it is hardly possible for any man to obtain any position of honour, or if he do he is not likely to retain it. But there is another sense in which diligence may bring a man before kings. Caxton was a diligent man, and by his diligence came literally to stand before the King of England. But he has, by his invention of the printing-press, stood before kings and princes from that hour to this, for they have all learned to honour his name, and to acknowledge their obligations to him.
Every time a royal traveller takes his seat in a locomotive James Watt stands before him, for his ability to move with such ease and speed from place to place is the result of that man’s diligence, and his name is held in honour in consequence. And instances might be multiplied indefinitely, in which diligence has caused a man to stand before not only the kings of his own time, but of succeeding generations.
Of all the qualities which kings especially look to and require in the choice of their servants, that of despatch and energy in the transaction of business is the most acceptable.… There is no other virtue which does not present some shadow of offence to the minds of kings. Expedition in the execution of their commands is the only one which contains nothing that is not acceptable.—Bacon. God loves nimbleness; “What thou doest, do quickly,” said Christ to Judas, though it were so ill a business that he were about.—Trapp.”
Let's proceed to our next question, found in the next Chapter: Proverbs 23:5: “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.”
John Gill shares with us, “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?.... The Vulgate Latin version is, "do not lift up thine eyes to riches which thou canst not have;'' riches no doubt are intended, and which may be said to be "not"; they are not the true riches, have only the shadow and appearance of riches; they are not lasting and durable; in a little time they will not be; they are perishing things, they have no substance or solidity in them; they are not satisfying; they do not make them happy; they are rather nonentities than realities; and therefore the eyes of the mind and the affections of the heart should not be set on them: it may be rendered, "wilt thou cause thine eyes to fly upon that which is not?" (w) denoting the intenseness of the mind, and the eagerness of the affections, and with what rapidity and force they move towards them.
The Targum is, "if thou fixest thine eyes on him, he shall not appear to thee;'' meaning the rich man: and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions. Ben Melech makes mention of other senses very different; according to R. Judah, the word signifies darkness, "wilt thou make thine eyes dark?" two according to others, signifies light, "wilt thou make thine eyes to shine?" and, according to Jarchi, "wilt thou double?", or shut thine eyes?
for riches certainly make themselves wings; or, "it in making makes itself wings" (x); even that which is not, on which men cause their eyes to fly; no sooner are their eyes upon that, but that flies away from them like a bird with wings. Either men are taken from that, or that from them, and sometimes very swiftly and suddenly;
they fly away as an eagle towards heaven; the eagle flies very swiftly, none more swiftly; it flies towards heaven, out of sight, and out of reach, and out of call; so riches flee away to God, the original giver of them, from whence they came, and who is the sole disposer of them; they own him as the proprietor and distributor of them; and they flee to heaven as it were for fresh orders where they should be, and into whose hands they should come next; they flee away, so as not to be seen any more, and be recovered by those who have formerly enjoyed them.
"numquid involare facies", Michaelis; "ut involent", Junius & Tremellius; "ut volent", Piscator; "ad sineves volare", Cocceius "quis faciendo faciet", Montanus, Baynus.”
Proverbs 23:5. Wilt thou set thine eyes? etc. Rather “Wilt thou look eagerly after it, and it is gone?” THE DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES: In order to get the true meaning of this proverb it is necessary to define what Solomon understands by labouring to be rich. We call the possessor of vast estates or a large account at the bank a rich man, and so he is, if he lives within his income, paying his way and having a surplus to bestow upon the needy. But so is the village smith, who with less than a hundredth part of the income of the nobleman or merchant prince “looks the whole world in the face and owes not any man.”
Riches and poverty are but relative terms, and when we consider how indispensable it is that some men should possess more than a mere sufficiency for their personal needs, we may be sure that the wise man did not mean to discourage all effort to gain even more than enough for our daily needs. But the labour which is here forbidden is evidently that all-absorbing pursuit of wealth which engrosses the entire man to the exclusion of higher claims.
When men make gold their god instead of their servant it is obvious that the boundary line of lawful pursuit is passed, and that deprecated in the proverb is entered upon.
The text— I. Condemns all following after wealth under the inspiration of the natural heart. Man’s “own wisdom” is an insufficient and dangerous guide in this matter as in all others. The unrenewed heart of man is selfish and sordid, prone to think only of its own desires and to set up a false standard of happiness. Only the wisdom that cometh from above can show men what is worth striving after, what will really bless the present and afford satisfaction in the future. If a man buys and sells and gets gain with a constant reference to the will of God, and in dependence upon Him, he will not labour to be rich—in other words, he will, with Paul, learn in whatsoever state he is to be content, and will know how to fulfil the duties which come with abundance and how to exhibit the graces which can only be manifested in poverty.
II. Teaches that only those who do not trust in riches can really enjoy their possession, or escape bitter sorrow in their loss. Every rich man knows that it is possible that his wealth may leave him, and that it is certain that he must leave his wealth. The uncertainty of retaining them through life, and the certainty of losing them at death, are two thorns which must be found in the pillow of everyone who makes riches the chief good of his existence, and must surely deprive him of any heartfelt satisfaction from their possession. The soul of man is made for something higher and more lasting than any earthly good, and of all that men call good, and esteem precious, there is nothing which has less to satisfy the cravings of the soul than mere material wealth, or that is more easily and quickly lost. The only way, therefore, to get any present satisfaction in it, and to ensure oneself against future disappointment from it, is to follow the Apostolic injunction, and “trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God.” (1Ti_6:17.)
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS: Not like a tame bird, that returns; nor like a hawk, that will show where she is by her bells; but like an eagle, whose wings thou canst neither clip nor pinion. All their certainty is in their uncertainty, and they are only stable in this, that they cannot be stable.… Wealth is like a bird; it hops all day from man to man, as that doth from tree to tree; and none can say where it will roost or rest at night. It is like a vagrant fellow, which, because he is big-boned, and able to work, a man taketh in a-doors, and cherisheth; and perhaps for a while he takes pains; but when he spies opportunity the fugitive servant is gone, and takes away more with him than all his service came to.—T. Adams.
The love of fame has been called the universal passion. Is not the love of money quite as much, if not more, entitled to the designation? Yes; and many a time does the wisdom of the world set itself to the defence of the world’s toil and the world’s aim—alleging many plausible, and some more than plausible, things in its pleadings. “Riches,” say they, “keep a man and his family from dependence. Riches enable a man to enjoy many comforts that are in themselves lawful and desirable. Riches procure a man distinction and influence in society. By this and other means, riches put it in a man’s power to do good:—why should we not ‘labour to be rich?’ ” It is all true; and the plea is in part quite legitimate. Yet Solomon, by the Spirit, with the authority, and in the kindness of God, enjoins—“labour not to be rich.”—Wardlaw.
Our next question is more of a parade of questions all of which resolve themselves with an answer that has been used by believers on all sides of the issue raised. We read in Proverbs 23:29-30: “Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.”
Albert Barnes points out that the text identifies that those who were “tarrying long at the wine” were seeking, “Mixed wine - Wine flavored with aromatic spices, that increase its stimulating properties.”
With that in mind, let's also consider Matthew Henry take on this Proverb: “Solomon here gives fair warning against the sin of drunkenness, to confirm what he had said in Proverbs 23:19-21 (which says, “Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. 20 Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: 21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty:” I. He cautions all people to keep out of the way of temptations to this sin: Look not thou upon the wine when it is red. Red wine was in Canaan looked upon as the best wine, it is therefore called the blood of the grape. Critics judge of wine, among other indications, by the colour of it; some wine, they say, looks charmingly, looks so well that it even says, “Come and drink me;” it moves itself aright, goes down very smoothly, or perhaps the roughness of it is grateful. It is said of generous strong-bodied wine that it even causes the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
But look not thou upon it. 1. “Be not ruled by sense, but by reason and religion. Covet not that which pleases the eye, in hopes that it will please the taste; but let thy serious thoughts correct the errors of thy senses and convince thee that that which seems delightful is really hurtful, and resolve against it accordingly. Let not the heart walk after the eye, for it is a deceitful guide.” 2. “Be not too bold with the charms of this or any other sin; look not, lest thou lust, lest thou take the forbidden fruit.” Note Those that would be kept from any sin must keep themselves from all the occasions and beginnings of it, and be afraid of coming within the reach of its allurements, lest they be overcome by them.
II. He shows the many pernicious consequences of the sin of drunkenness, for the enforcement of this caution. Take
heed of the bait, for fear of the hook: At the last it bites. All sin will be bitterness in the end, and this sin particularly. It bites like a serpent, when the drunkard is made sick by his surfeit, thrown by it into a dropsy or some fatal disease, beggared and ruined in his estate, especially when his conscience is awakened and he cannot reflect upon it without horror and indignation at himself, but worst of all, at last, when the cup of drunkenness shall be turned into a cup of trembling, the cup of the Lord's wrath, the dregs of which he must be for ever drinking, and shall not have a drop of water to cool his inflamed tongue.
To take off the force of the temptation that there is in the pleasure of the sin, foresee the punishment of it, and what it will at last end in if repentance prevent not. In its latter end it bites (so the word is); think therefore what will be in the end thereof. But the inspired writer chooses to specify those pernicious consequences of this sin which are present and sensible.
1. It embroils men in quarrels, makes them quarrel with others... He asks, Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who
has not, in this world? Many have woe and sorrow, and cannot help it; but drunkards wilfully create woe and sorrow to themselves. Those that have contentions have woe and sorrow; and drunkards are the fools whose lips enter into contention. When the wine is in the wit is out and the passions are up; and thence come drunken scuffles, and drunken frays, and drunken disputes over the cups; many a vexatious ruining law-suit has begun thus. There is babbling, quarrels in word and the exchanging of scurrilous language; yet it rests not there: you shall have wounds without cause, for causes are things which drunkards are in no capacity to judge of, and therefore they deal blows about without the least consideration why or wherefore, and must expect to be in like manner treated themselves.
The wounds which men receive in defence of their country and its just rights are their honour; but wounds without cause, received in the service of their lusts, are marks of their infamy. Nay, drunkards wound themselves in a tender part, for they have redness of eyes, symptoms of an inward inflammation; their sight is weakened by it, and their looks are deformed. This comes, (1.) Of drinking long, tarrying long at the wine, and spending that time in drunken company which should be spent in useful business, or in sleep, which should fit for business, Pro_23:30. O the precious hours which thousands throw away thus, every one of which will be brought into the account at the great day! (2.) Of drinking that which is strong and intoxicating. They go up and down to seek wine that will please them; their great enquiry is, “Where is the best liquor?” They seek mixed wine, which is most palatable, but most heady, so willingly do they sacrifice their reason to please their palate!
2. It makes men impure and insolent. The tongue also grows unruly and talks extravagantly; by it the heart utters perverse things, things contrary to reason, religion, and common civility, which they would be ashamed to speak if they were sober. When men are drunk they know not where they are nor what they say and do. Their heads are giddy, and when they lie down to sleep they are as if they were tossed by the rolling waves of the sea, or upon the top of a mast; They are heedless and fearless of danger, and senseless of the rebukes they are under either from God or man. They are in imminent danger of death, of damnation, lie as much exposed as if they slept upon the top of a mast, and yet are secure and sleep on. They fear no peril when the terrors of the Lord are laid before them; nay, they feel no pain when the judgments of God are actually upon them; they cry not when he binds them.
Worst of all, the heart is hardened in the sin, and the sinner, notwithstanding all these present mischiefs that attend it, obstinately persist in it, and hates to be reformed: When shall I awake? Much ado he has to shake off the chains of his drunken sleep; he can hardly get clear of the fumes of the wine, though he strives with them, that (being thirsty in the morning) he may return to it again. So perfectly lost is he to all sense of virtue and honour, and so wretchedly is his conscience seared, that he is not ashamed to say, I will seek it yet again. There is no hope; no, they have loved drunkards, and after them they will go. This is adding drunkenness to thirst, and following strong drink; those that do so may read their doom and, if this be the end of the sin, with good reason were we directed to stop at the beginning of it: Look not upon the wine when it is red.”
When I was preparing tonight's notes, I was somewhat struck by the force of Matthew Henry's seeming opposition to wine, itself, as opposed to what this Proverb actually addresses, namely, “tarrying long at wine” which leads to the sin of drunkenness. So, in order to get a better feel for Matthew Henry's insights into whether the mere drinking wine, of and by itself, can be considered a sin, I found his comments on Jesus' first miracle at the Wedding Feast at Cana where He turned over 100 gallons of water into over 100 gallons of wine. I share those comments with you next:
Matthew Henry writes, “It was certain that this was wine. The governor knew this when he drank it, though he knew not whence it was; the servants knew whence it was, but had not yet tasted it. if the taster had seen the drawing of it, or the drawers had had the tasting of it, something might have been imputed to fancy; but now no room is left for suspicion. 2. That it was the best wine. Note, Christ's works commend themselves even to those that know not their author. The products of miracles were always the best in their kind. This wine had a stronger body, and better flavour, than ordinary. This the governor of the feast takes notice of to the bridegroom, with an air of pleasantness, as uncommon.
(1.) The common method was otherwise. Good wine is brought out to the best advantage at the beginning of a feast, when the guests have their heads clear and their appetites fresh, and can relish it, and will commend it; but when they have well drank, when their heads are confused, and their appetites palled, good wine is but thrown away upon them, worse will serve then. See the vanity of all the pleasures of sense; they soon surfeit, but never satisfy; the longer they are enjoyed, the less pleasant they grow. (2.) This bridegroom obliged his friends with a reserve of the best wine for the grace-cup: Thou hast kept the good wine until now; not knowing to whom they were indebted for this good wine, he returns the thanks of the table to the bridegroom.
Now, [1.] Christ, in providing thus plentifully for the guests, though he hereby allows a sober cheerful use of wine, especially in times of rejoicing, yet he does not invalidate his own caution, nor invade it, in the least, which is, that our hearts be not at any time, no not at a marriage feast, overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, (as we read in Luke 21:34). When Christ provided so much good wine for them that had well drunk, he intended to try their sobriety, and to teach them how to abound, as well as how to want. Temperance per force is a thankless virtue; but if divine providence gives us abundance of the delights of sense, and divine grace enables us to use them moderately, this is self-denial that is praiseworthy. He also intended that some should be left for the confirmation of the truth of the miracle to the faith of others.
And we have reason to think that the guests at this table were so well taught, or at least were now so well awed by the presence of Christ, that none of them abused this wine to excess. Theses two considerations, drawn from this story, may be sufficient at any time to fortify us against temptations to intemperance: First, That our meat and drink are the gifts of God's bounty to us, and we owe our liberty to use them, and our comfort in the use of them, to the mediation of Christ; it is therefore ungrateful and impious to abuse them. Secondly, That, wherever we are, Christ has his eye upon us; we should eat bread before God (Exo_18:12), and then we should not feed ourselves without fear. [2.] He has given us a specimen of the method he takes in dealing with those that deal with him, which is, to reserve the best for the last, and therefore they must deal upon trust. The recompence of their services and sufferings is reserved for the other world; it is a glory to be revealed. The pleasures of sin give their colour in the cup, but at the last bite; but the pleasures of religion will be pleasures for evermore.”
Another interesting perspective about this first miracle of Jesus was presented in the Holman Apologetics Study Bible for Students: “Creating this much wine would seem to encourage drunkenness. Worse, this miracle seems to be frivolous from start to finish, hardly meeting any acute human need. On the other hand, wedding festivities often lasted for a week, an entire village could have been involved, so the amounts consumed by any individual at one time could have been quite moderate. Furthermore, one of the points of the miracle was to stress the new joy associated with Jesus' ministry and the Kingdom He was inaugurating.”
This concludes this evening's Discussion, “Questions and Answers, Part 18”
This Discussion was originally presented “live” on February 13th, 2019