Let's compare three cases of eating with man in Proverbs 23 with eating with God in the Holy Communion.
Proverbs 23:1-3, AMP
1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider who and what are before you;
2 for you will put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to desire.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties, for it is deceitful food [offered with questionable motives].
When you sit and eat with a ruler who has prepared a sumptuous meal for you, be careful. He may have ulterior motives, a hidden agenda. He wants something from you.
But when you partake of the covenant meal with God, all His motives for you are good. He wants you to prosper and be in health (the body). He wants you to remember that your sins are forgiven (the blood). He wants you to profit from communing with Him. He has your best interests at heart.
But when you partake of the covenant meal with God, all His motives for you are good. He wants you to prosper and be in health (the body). He wants you to remember that your sins are forgiven (the blood). He wants you to profit from communing with Him. He has your best interests at heart.
Proverbs 23:6-8, AMP
6 Eat not the bread of him who has a hard, grudging, and envious eye, neither desire his dainty foods;
7 for as he thinks in his heart, so is he. As one who reckons, he says to you, eat and drink, yet his heart is not with you [but is grudging the cost].
8 The morsel which you have eaten you will vomit up, and your complimentary words will be wasted.
When you eat with man, especially a miser, be careful too, as his heart is not with you. He is grudging the cost of the meal. His heart has no love for you.
Jesus knew the "cost of the meal", but He paid it gladly. It was with willingness and joy that He laid down His life for you. (John 10:15, Hebrews 12:2) His heart is full of love for you.
Proverbs 23:20-21, AMP
20 Do not associate with winebibbers; be not among them nor among gluttonous eaters of meat,
21 for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
Mixing with winebibbers and gluttons will bring you to poverty. Drowsiness will clothe you with rags.
But eating with God will bring you from rags to riches. At the cross, Jesus was made poor, so that you through His poverty might be made rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9) We are reminded of this truth when we partake of His broken and naked body. Our poverty for His prosperity. Our rags for His robe of righteousness.
