Commentary - Proverbs 23:19-21

Bird's-eye view

In this pointed exhortation from a father to a son, Solomon addresses the foundational importance of a directed heart and the destructive nature of undisciplined appetites. The passage functions as a clear cause-and-effect warning. The cause is a failure of wisdom, specifically in choosing one's companions and governing one's desires for food and drink. The effect is ruin. Solomon links the internal state of the heart directly to the external consequences of poverty and shame. This is not merely practical advice for getting ahead in the world; it is a matter of covenantal wisdom. The glutton and the drunkard are not just making poor lifestyle choices; they are demonstrating a heart that is not guided "in the way" of the Lord. The drowsiness that clothes them in rags is a physical picture of their spiritual stupor. This passage is a potent reminder that true wisdom is embodied and that a rejection of self-control is ultimately a rejection of God's good and prosperous path for His people.

The central thrust is that a wise heart manifests itself in disciplined living. The two sins highlighted, drunkenness and gluttony, are presented as gateway vices that lead to a complete breakdown of a man's life. They are sociable sins, found in the company of others, which underscores the importance of choosing friends wisely. Ultimately, the passage reveals that the path to poverty is paved with self-indulgence, while the path of wisdom requires a heart actively directed toward God's standards. This is a call to govern the appetites, not to eliminate them, and to live in a way that honors God with our very bodies.

Outline

Context In Proverbs

This passage sits within a larger collection of Solomon's proverbs, often styled as a father's instruction to his son. Chapter 23 contains a series of warnings against various follies, including dining with deceptive rulers (23:1-3), the pursuit of riches (23:4-5), and the dangers of sexual immorality (23:27-28). The warning against drunkenness and gluttony fits squarely within this context of practical, covenantal wisdom for navigating the world. It directly follows an encouragement to buy the truth and not sell it (23:23) and precedes a powerful description of the miseries of the drunkard (23:29-35). This placement highlights that self-control over the appetites is not an isolated virtue but is part of a holistic life of wisdom. A man who cannot control his own belly is a man who will easily fall prey to other temptations. The instruction here is consistent with the book's overarching theme: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and this wisdom has tangible, real-world consequences for a man's prosperity, reputation, and relationship with God.

Key Issues

The High Cost of Low Living

The wisdom of Proverbs is intensely practical. It does not float in the ethereal realm of abstract principles but walks on the dusty ground of everyday life. Here, Solomon connects the dots between what a man cherishes in his heart and the state of his wardrobe. This is a spiritual reality with a textile consequence. The man who refuses to direct his heart in the way of wisdom will find that his life unravels, right down to the clothes on his back. Drunkenness and gluttony are not treated as minor character flaws or as a disease to be managed. They are presented as moral choices with devastating, predictable outcomes. They are the fruit of a foolish heart.

It is also important to define our terms biblically. When Proverbs speaks of a glutton, it is not referring to a man who enjoys a second helping at a feast. The Hebrew word points to riotous, wasteful, profligate consumption. It is the kind of eating and drinking the prodigal son engaged in when he "wasted his substance with riotous living" (Luke 15:13). It is consumption detached from gratitude, fellowship, and stewardship. It is the worship of the belly. And like any idol, the belly makes a terrible god, promising satisfaction but delivering only poverty and rags.

Verse by Verse Commentary

19 You, my son, listen and be wise, And direct your heart in the way.

The instruction begins with a tender but firm address: my son. This is the language of covenantal succession, a father passing on life-giving wisdom. The first command is to listen. Wisdom does not begin with speaking, but with hearing. It requires humility. The second command is to be wise. This is not a suggestion but an imperative. Wisdom is an obligation. And how is this wisdom to be applied? By directing your heart "in the way." The heart is the wellspring of life (Prov 4:23), the seat of the will and affections. It does not drift into wisdom; it must be aimed, steered, and guided. "The way" is the path of righteousness, the course of life laid out by God's law. A man is responsible for the direction of his own heart. He cannot blame circumstances or temperament; he must take the rudder and direct it.

20 Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

The first application of a directed heart is the choice of companions. Wisdom is not a solitary pursuit; it is lived out in community. And so, the negative command is given: do not associate with certain kinds of people. The first group is heavy drinkers of wine, or "winebibbers." This is not a prohibition of wine itself, which Scripture commends as a gift from God (Ps 104:15). It is a prohibition of the company of those who abuse it, who "tarry long at the wine" (Prov 23:30). The second group is gluttonous eaters of meat. The Hebrew is literally "riotous eaters of their flesh." Again, the issue is not eating meat, but a voracious, uncontrolled, and wasteful consumption. Notice the link between the two. These are sins of appetite, of a refusal to govern the body's desires. And they are social sins. You find these people together. A wise man steers clear of their table, because their habits are contagious.

21 For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe them with rags.

Here is the reason for the prohibition, the inarguable consequence. Solomon lays it out as a law of the universe: the man who lives this way will come to poverty. This is not a possibility; it is a certainty. Why? First, because such a lifestyle is expensive. It is wasteful. The man is consuming his substance on his appetites. Second, because it makes a man unfit for productive labor. This is the point of the second clause. Drowsiness will clothe them with rags. The hangover, the food coma, the general lethargy and stupor that follows debauchery makes a man sleepy and lazy. He cannot get up in the morning. He cannot hold a job. His drowsiness becomes his uniform, and that uniform is rags. The imagery is potent. He is not just wearing rags; he is clothed in them, as if by a tailor. His poverty is not an accident; it is the direct and fitting result of his choices.

Application

The modern West is a culture dedicated to the unbridled pursuit of appetite. We are told to follow our hearts, to indulge our desires, to never deny ourselves. This passage from Proverbs crashes into our assumptions like a freight train. It tells us that an undirected heart leads to ruin and that undisciplined appetites lead to rags. The application for us is therefore profoundly counter-cultural.

First, we must take responsibility for the direction of our hearts. We are to actively, consciously steer our affections and will toward "the way" of Christ. This means disciplining what we love, what we watch, what we read, and where we go. It is not legalism; it is the necessary training of a disciple.

Second, we must be ruthless in our evaluation of our friendships. Who do we run with? Do our friends make it easier to be holy, or harder? Do they encourage discipline, or indulgence? To deliberately choose the company of those who are slaves to their appetites is to volunteer for slavery yourself.

Finally, we must see the sins of drunkenness and gluttony for what they are. They are not just "bad habits"; they are symptoms of a heart that refuses to be governed. The solution is not ultimately a new diet or a twelve-step program, though such things may be helpful tools. The ultimate solution is a new heart, given by God. The gospel is the answer to the glutton and the drunkard. Christ did not come to indulge His appetites, but to lay down His life. He feasted with sinners not to join their riotous living, but to call them to a different kind of feast, the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is only when we are satisfied in Him that our other appetites can be brought into their proper, God-glorifying place. True self-control is not a product of white-knuckled willpower, but is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:23).