Proverbs 23

Read Proverbs 23 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.

23:1-5 {p} As a ruler’s delicacies are deceptive food, so riches are deceptive security
23:6-24:14 {p} …

The central axis of the structure, is:

Do not remove the ancient boundary, nor enter the fields of the fatherless; 11 for their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you. Pro 23:10-11

Yesterday’s chapter said something very similar:

Do not remove an ancient boundary that your fathers have set. Pro 22:28

In the Ancient Near East, people marked their property by placing a boundary stone, often a large rock or carved marker, at the edges of their land to show where one person’s territory ended and another’s began, a practice that was respected as a legal and sacred way to prevent disputes and protect inheritance.

The ancient boundary stone appears explicitly in another place in Scripture:

You shall not remove your neighbor’s boundary, which the former ones have set, in your inheritance. Deu 19:14

But we find an implicit reference to it also, by the Teaching Tool of Common Theme, in Exodus 19. Note that God repeated His instruction to Moses go back down Mt. Sinai to make sure the boundary around the mountain was set. Moses even said, “Look, we’ve already done that,” but God was adamant.

“And you shall set a boundary for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves not to go up the mountain or touch its edge; anyone touching the mountain shall surely die.’” Exo 19:12

And YHVH said to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, lest they break through to YHVH to look, and many of them fall.” And Moses said to YHVH, “The people cannot go up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, ‘Set a boundary for the mountain and sanctify it.’” And YHVH said to him, “Go, go down, and you shall come up, you and Aaron with you, but the priests and the people shall not break through to go up to YHVH, lest He break out against them.” Exo 19:21-23

Why? There is not a single accidental word in Scripture.

Mt Sinai represents the Torah. It’s where the Ten Commandments, the summary of the Torah, was given. The Torah is the ancient boundary. which marks out responsibilities for human behavior, nurturing relationships, stable society, and godly government. If that boundary is transgressed, it causes harm, creates victims, and hurts people.

Thus says YHVH, “Stand at the crossroads and see, and ask for the ancient paths—where is the good way? And walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” Jer 6:16a

Torah is the ancient boundary stone, which marks the way of the ancient paths of rest.

If there are questions, these are good resources:

Exodus 19, Bounds set around the mountain – Christine Miller
Parenting wisdom – Christine Miller

PROVERBS INDEX OF STUDIES | BIBLE FOR BEGINNERS ARCHIVE