"Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee."
Proverbs 23:6-7
“Don’t eat with selfish people. Control any desire you have for their finest foods. They might tell you to eat and drink all you want, but they don’t really mean it. They are the kind of people who are only thinking about the cost” [1] (Proverbs 23:6-7, HSB).
Proverbs 23 tells us that there are two dangerous places to eat! The table of the ruler is a risky place to dine.
“When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: And put a knife to thy throat if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat” (Proverbs 23:1-3).
And also, the table of the miserly man, the “accumulator,” is an unsafe location to be in (Proverbs 23:6-8).
“Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats.”
Watch out!!
“Beware of deceitful men, whose courtesies even you will repent of having accepted” [2] (JFB).
This man with the “evil eye” is stingy. His money is his motivation. The more he can hold onto, the better he thinks he is. When this man invites you to come to his home to eat, he’s not glad to entertain you, but he’s concerned about how much the meal costs him. He is grudgingly telling you to eat. This man is the opposite of the man with the “good eye.”
“He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor” (Proverbs 22:9).
This stingy man –
“The Hebrew expression used here… describes those who are duplicitous and only interested in their own wealth” [3] (FSB).
Whatever you do, do not want after this man’s fancy foods!
“Craving his delicacies is as wrong and dangerous as craving the delicious foods served by a ruler (23:3). When a guest realizes his host is thinking only of the cost of the food while hypocritically feigning generosity (eat and drink), the guest is repulsed. The guest wants to vomit up (or spit up) the food since it was not served honestly and since he finds that his compliments were wasted” [4] (BKC).
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
We need to understand that this man has a stingy “evil eye” because he has a cheap “evil heart.” Jesus taught us –
“But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23).
Unfortunately, this stingy man is only thinking dark thoughts about his guests.
“Eat and drink, saith he to thee, but his heart is not with thee.”
The issues are with this man’s heart!
“He doesn’t want you to really enjoy yourself at his table because he wants to keep more food for himself. You will offend him if you are foolish enough to take him at his word” [5] (EWC).
“Eventually, the inner character of a person will show. A host in ancient times was obligated to offer food and drink to any person who visited, but it could be done insincerely. The guest of an insincere host gains nothing: the food is lost, and compliments go to waste” [6] (CSB).
Two thoughts for believers here. First, beware of rulers or misers who might invite you to dinner. Second, watch your sincerity when you entertain others. Let’s be like the Lord Jesus and treat people right, from a heart that is right with God!
Quote: How different is Jesus’ invitation to “come and dine” (John 21:12). “… there are no such dangers linked to the invitations of the Gospel. The table is ready, and the invitations have been sent out. The only qualification is our own hunger to accept the invitation and eat the heavenly food. Then we discover that our appetite increases with every mouthful we consume” [7] (Bridges – EWC).
[1] HSB is the Harvest Study Bible from Harvest Ministries in Guam.
[2] JFB, Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 399.
[3] FSB, John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Pr 23:6.
[4] BKC, Sid S. Buzzell, “Proverbs,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 956.
[5] EWC – David Guzik. Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.
[6] CSB, David K. Stabnow, “Proverbs,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 989.
[7] EWC, ibid.