“When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you; And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food.” (Proverbs 23:1-3 NKJV)
These passages are telling us to be savvy diner, so as not become a table roast. The dining table of the mighty can be a set-up for a nasty predicament. It could be a place of celebration or a place of consternation. It could be a covert trap, too! The enticing delicacies it flaunt are possible baits that may hook you in for a surprise kill, like Haman at the table of queen Esther, the Jewish wife of King Xerxes of the Persian Empire.
Haman was scheming to annihilate the Jews, the people of queen Esther. So, Esther invited Haman to a banquet to set him up. And, the poor nitwit gobbled her 'delicacies' with fervor, having been given the special invitation by the queen. Beaming with pride for the honor of being the only official invited to dine with the royal couple, he boasted with his family and friends his continuing rise to influence and power in the Empire. His only chagrin was Mordecai who doesn't bow before him. On the suggestion of his family and friends, he built a Fifty cubits high pole to hang Esther's 'defiant' cousin Mordecai on (Esther 5:9-14).
As children of God in Christ Jesus, we are to live wisely guided by the Holy Spirit, resting in His grace by faith. Lord Jesus said: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16)
Hence, Haman's case is a good lesson for us to learn from and be cautious sitting to eat at a ruler's table. He strode blindly to his brutal death. Or, more aptly - he ate his way with a knife "in" his throat, not knowing that Esther was his enemy. He was impaled on the pole he himself built, as Queen Esther exposed to the King his dark plot against her people. The Scriptures say: “Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.” (Esther 7:9-10 ESV)
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
(When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.)
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
(When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.)
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
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