JUNE 20 – BEFORE THE RULER!

“When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you” (Proverbs 23:1).

King Solomon was a big king who had ruled with wisdom. He knew the tricks of the other rulers and also how cunningly they will capture the enemies. That is why he writes, “When you sit down to eat with a ruler,….Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food” (Proverbs 23:1, 3).

Today, wealthy people cover the government officials by tempting them with liquor, women and money. Many people may even approach you to cover in that manner. When tasty food varieties are placed before you (Money, name and fame), you have to cautiously analyse for what reason they are given to you. Understand the tricks of satan and refrain from falling into the traps.

To catch a rat, people will tempt is by placing snacks of its liking in the trap. Without knowing the danger lying ahead, the rat will fall into the trap. It is in this way, satan was able to capture Samson, the judge in a cage by showing him the lusts of the world. What a pathetic situation!

Jesus Christ cautioned about another ruler. He is the ruler of the world (John 14:30). When Jesus Christ was hungry after fasting, the ruler of the world brought food and placed it before him. What was that food? They were mere stones. The tempter came to Jesus and said, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread (Mathew 4:3). But God chased satan, saying, “Away with you, Satan.” He did not yield to temptations.

The Scripture says, “Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food” (Proverbs 23:3). What the words ‘deceptive food’ mean is the lust of the flesh seen in the world. The men of the world take their food with their eyes. They take the cinema and prostitution as food and live as slaves to satan.

Jesus Christ also gives us a food. It brings eternal life into us. Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” (John 6:51). It is the words of God that remain as our bread and spiritual manna.

Dear children of God, will you treat the Scripture as food and eat the same enthusiastically?

To meditate: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16).