Be Aware of a Fancy Meal - Psalms 54-56

 Psalms 55:20-21 (ESV)

My companion stretched out his hand against his friends;

he violated his covenant.

His speech was smooth as butter,

yet war was in his heart;

his words were softer than oil,

yet they were drawn swords.

Before diving too deep into this section of Psalm 55, which was written by King David, perhaps we should read something written years later, by his son, King Solomon:

Proverbs 23:1-7 (ESV)

1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

observe carefully what is before you,

2 and put a knife to your throat

if you are given to appetite.

3 Do not desire his delicacies,

for they are deceptive food.

4 Do not toil to acquire wealth;

be discerning enough to desist.

5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone,

for suddenly it sprouts wings,

flying like an eagle toward heaven.

6 Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;

do not desire his delicacies,

7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

but his heart is not with you.

Those who appear as your friends, or your hosts, are not necessarily on your side.   We are often lured in by what appears to be friendships on the surface but are inward agendas and calculations on the outside.  This is both David and Solomon’s warning to us.   As kings they probably knew this in the “political power” world.   Those in business know this.   Strategies in sports are based upon deception.   You show your opponent one thing, only to do another.  Great deception is often rewarded with the fruit, reward and victory.    God even told Israel to used deception when they attacked their enemies.  They would fain failure only to attack from behind, lying in ambush, as they were being chased by a duped enemy (Joshua 8; Judges 9, 20; 2 Samuel 5).   

Deceit, however, is not a character or attribute of God, nor in His nature.   A strategy for war is one thing, but a character quality of your nature, not so.   David, in Psalm 55 is being mislead by someone who used to be his friend.  We don’t know who this is (Saul?) but we do know this is painful for David.   This “friend” has words as smooth as butter but a heart as hard as a stone.   The “friend” has a tongue of a saint but the heart of a sinner.     Those who are the “innocent” tend to walk right into these delicious looking traps only to be stabbed in the back as they leave.   Those who are watching and vigilant are not seduced by the sight because they ware insightful to the scheme.   David (and Solomon) is teaching us to do likewise.