This morning, it’s a twice repeated warning in Proverbs that’s causing me to pause and noodle a bit.

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
       observe carefully what is before you,
and put a knife to your throat
       if you are given to appetite.
Do not desire his delicacies,
       for they are deceptive food.

Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;
       do not desire his delicacies,
for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.
       “Eat and drink!” he says to you,
       but his heart is not with you.

(Proverbs 23:1-3, 6-7 ESV)

Do not desire his delicacies . . . that’s what I’m chewing on. Actually, it’s what I am not to be chewing on.

His delicacies. Literally, his tasty or savory food. Hmm . . . reminds me of another guy who longed for some “savory food” (NKJV).

So, I go back to Genesis 27 and sure enough, it’s the same word — Jacob longed for some “delicious food” from Esau. He craved it to so much that this aged blind man would bribe his older son with a fatherly blessing for such delicacies. Lusting after it to such a degree that he allowed himself to be duped by his younger son. Though it was leveraged by a Sovereign God according to His purposes, desiring his delicacies ended up causing a lot of trauma and turmoil in Jacob’s home.

So, says the Teacher of Proverbs, do not desire his delicacies.

But who is the “his”?

Well, it’s two guys. One a man of means, another a guy who just seems to be mean. One whose hospitality is meant to impress, the other’s whose hospitality is an illusion. One whose menu is deceptive — a lie enticing those who would lust after it to gorge themselves to their own harm. The other’s menu is calculating — offering a stingy, just enough meal so that he might take advantage of any fast-food patron for his own evil purposes.

So, what’s the point? Is it just about being careful where you eat, how much you eat, and who you eat with? Kind of. But it’s the command “sandwiched” in the middle of these delicacies that I think might unlock their fuller meaning.

Do not toil to acquire wealth;
       be discerning enough to desist.
When your eyes light on it, it is gone,
       for suddenly it sprouts wings,
       flying like an eagle toward heaven.

(Proverbs 23:4-5 ESV)

Do not toil to acquire wealth . . . Seems to parallel do not desire his delicacies.

Don’t wear yourself out to get rich (CSB). Just don’t do it. Observe carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite — it’s deceptive food.

Do not overwork to be rich (NKJV). Stop it! For it is inwardly calculating and its heart is not with you. It’s miserly and shallow and wants only to be your master. And you can’t serve two masters! You cannot . . . CANNOT . . . serve God and money (Matt. 6:24). So, do not desire his delicacies.

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

(1Timothy 6:6-10 ESV)

A delicacy free menu, that’s what we’re to order from.

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.