Proverbs (Part 043) - Pro 4:16-17

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16. Pro 4:16 - "For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall." A. For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; i. Mischief n. - 1. a. Evil plight or condition; misfortune; trouble, distress; in ME. often, need, want, poverty. Obs. 2. a. Harm or evil considered as the work of an agent or due to a particular cause. b. An injury wrought by a person or other agent; an evil arising out of or existing in certain conditions. ii. Righteous men can't sleep when they have done mischief (Psa 38:3 c/w Psa 32:4). iii. The wicked can't sleep except they have done mischief. a. They can't sleep because they are conceiving mischief (Psa 7:14). b. They devise mischief upon their beds (Psa 36:4; Mic 2:1). c. They talk of it and study it (Pro 24:2). d. The strange woman doesn't want to sleep until she has found someone to sleep with (Pro 7:15, 18). B. and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. i. Wicked men will deprive themselves of their own bodily needs until they destroy someone else (Act 23:12). ii. Conversely, righteous men won't sleep until they have done good that needs to be done (Psa 132:3-5). 17. Pro 4:17 - "For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence." A. For they eat the bread of wickedness, i. Sometimes "the bread of..." refers to the owner of the bread such as in the following verses: a. the bread of thy God (Lev 21:8) b. the bread of his God (Lev 21:17) c. the bread of the governor (Neh 5:14) d. the bread of heaven (Psa 105:40) e. the bread of men (Eze 24:17, 22) ii. Other times, "the bread of..." refers to actual bread which is eaten in a particular situation (and usually a difficult one), such as the bread of affliction (Deut 16:3; 1Ki 22:27). iii. Yet other times, such as in Pro 4:17, "the bread of..." is used in scripture to figuratively describe something a man is partaking of, such as: a. the bread of tears (Psa 80:5) b. the bread of sorrows (Psa 127:2) c. bread of deceit (Pro 20:17) d. the bread of idleness (Pro 31:27) e. the bread of adversity (Isa 30:20) f. the bread of life (Joh 6:35, 48) g. the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1Co 5:8) iv. Thus, the wicked who "eat the bread of wickedness" partake in wickedness. a. For them, doing wickedness is as necessary and pleasurable as eating food. b. It sustains them. c. Like food, it is also something they can enjoy with others. B. and drink the wine of violence. i. "The wine of..." is likewise used in scripture to figuratively describe something a man is partaking of, such as: a. the wine of astonishment (Psa 60:3) b. the wine of the wrath of her fornication (Rev 14:8; Rev 18:3) c. the wine of the wrath of God (Rev 14:10) d. the wine of the fierceness of his wrath (Rev 16:19) e. the wine of her fornication (Rev 17:2) ii. The wicked are also partakers of violence. a. Doing violence for them is enjoyable like drinking fine wine. b. It also is as an intoxicant for them which dulls their senses and makes them want more of it (Pro 23:35). C. Bread and wine are the elements used in a communion service (1Co 10:16) which we partake of together to fellowship with Christ and the brethren in remembrance of the death of Christ for our sins. i. In this verse (Pro 4:17) we see that the wicked also have communion together which is focused around wickedness and violence. ii. They are partaking of the table of devils when they do so (1Co 10:20-21). iii. Judas communed with the chief priests in order to betray and murder Christ (Luk 22:4). iv. He ate the bread of wickedness and drank the wine of violence with them. v. The Roman Catholic church doesn't have a Biblical communion service, but they instead ate the bread of wickedness and drank the wine of violence over the centuries when they persecuted the saints.