Pro 23:1-2 | KingComments | STEP | Solomon warns his son to be considerate if he is invited by a ruler to eat with him ( ). He may feel flattered that the ruler invites him. In doing so, he may also be misled by the richly set table with the delicious food that makes your mouth water when you look at it. However, he should not look at ‘what’ he has before him, that delicious food, but at “who” (this is the better translation) he has before him, the ruler. With that in mind, he must “put a knife” to his “throat” ( ). This is especially true if he is “a man of [great] appetite”. The consumption of good food is not wrong, the craving for it is. The food on the table in front of him looks very attractive. Added to this, he is hungry and would like to swallow it in a moment. The father knows the danger of losing control of yourself and starting to feast. You are then a double prisoner. You are a prisoner of your gluttony and you are a prisoner of the ruler. You didn’t control yourself in his presence. That is why the instruction to the son echoes “put a knife to your throat”, which means as much as “curb your appetite” or “control yourself”. It means to threaten your gluttony with death. The instruction is that it is better to put your knife to your throat than in the meat on the table. It comes down to what the Bible calls self-judgment. The Lord Jesus calls for this when He speaks of tearing out the eye and cutting off the hand as soon as we are tempted to do or look at something bad ( ; ). The reason for the warning and instruction of is given in . The “delicacies” are a bait to get something done from him or to get information from him or to secure for himself his support. Let him not desire it, “for it is deceptive food”. The invitation to the meal was not made because he is such an important guest, but to put him in a good mood and then get something done from him. There are selfish motives behind it. Therefore, as mentioned, he should not look at what he has in front of him (delicious food), but at who he has in front of him. Because Eve did not pay attention to who she had in front of her and only looked at what she had in front of her, sin entered the world ( ). Because we are no better and also for us the temptation is great to accept such an invitation and take in such a meal, it is necessary that we pray for protection, as David did ( ). We can also apply “deceptive food” to false teachings about God’s Word. False teachers can present their false teachings about God in a ‘palatable’ way. For example, it sounds very appealing that God is love and yet He will not be so unmerciful as to let a man be eternally in hell in eternal pain. This false teaching is very ‘palatable’ to many people who thereby absorb the false teaching of ‘universal atonement’ into their heart, so that they are poisoned in their thinking.

‏ Proverbs 23:1-2

Dining With a Ruler

Solomon warns his son to be considerate if he is invited by a ruler to eat with him (Pro 23:1). He may feel flattered that the ruler invites him. In doing so, he may also be misled by the richly set table with the delicious food that makes your mouth water when you look at it. However, he should not look at ‘what’ he has before him, that delicious food, but at “who” (this is the better translation) he has before him, the ruler.

With that in mind, he must “put a knife” to his “throat” (Pro 23:2). This is especially true if he is “a man of [great] appetite”. The consumption of good food is not wrong, the craving for it is. The food on the table in front of him looks very attractive. Added to this, he is hungry and would like to swallow it in a moment. The father knows the danger of losing control of yourself and starting to feast. You are then a double prisoner. You are a prisoner of your gluttony and you are a prisoner of the ruler. You didn’t control yourself in his presence.

That is why the instruction to the son echoes “put a knife to your throat”, which means as much as “curb your appetite” or “control yourself”. It means to threaten your gluttony with death. The instruction is that it is better to put your knife to your throat than in the meat on the table. It comes down to what the Bible calls self-judgment. The Lord Jesus calls for this when He speaks of tearing out the eye and cutting off the hand as soon as we are tempted to do or look at something bad (Mt 5:29-30 ; Mt 18:8-9; 1Cor 9:24).

The reason for the warning and instruction of Pro 23:1-2 is given in Pro 23:3. The “delicacies” are a bait to get something done from him or to get information from him or to secure for himself his support. Let him not desire it, “for it is deceptive food”. The invitation to the meal was not made because he is such an important guest, but to put him in a good mood and then get something done from him. There are selfish motives behind it.

Therefore, as mentioned, he should not look at what he has in front of him (delicious food), but at who he has in front of him. Because Eve did not pay attention to who she had in front of her and only looked at what she had in front of her, sin entered the world (Gen 3:1-6). Because we are no better and also for us the temptation is great to accept such an invitation and take in such a meal, it is necessary that we pray for protection, as David did (Psa 141:4).

We can also apply “deceptive food” to false teachings about God’s Word. False teachers can present their false teachings about God in a ‘palatable’ way. For example, it sounds very appealing that God is love and yet He will not be so unmerciful as to let a man be eternally in hell in eternal pain. This false teaching is very ‘palatable’ to many people who thereby absorb the false teaching of ‘universal atonement’ into their heart, so that they are poisoned in their thinking.