Proverbs 23:8

The book of Proverbs gives us a lot of instruction on a lot of different subjects. One subject that can keep us in God’s wisdom is Godly Follower-ship. Who we follow; where we follow; how we follow are all spoken about in Proverbs. Here is one of them about selfish men:

Proverbs 23:8

You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten,

And waste your compliments.

Some proverbs are just too graphic.   Solomon seems to have an obsession with vomit.  He uses the same word (Hebrew to "spew") in 25:16.  

Proverbs 25:16 (ESV)

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,

lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.

In 26:11 he uses it in reference to fools being like a dog, who in turn eats his vomit.  

Proverbs 26:11 (ESV)

Like a dog that returns to his vomit

is a fool who repeats his folly.

The word is used nine times in the Bible and Solomon has penned a third of them.   Here he began a couple of verses prior to warn us about sitting down with selfish men who only have their own appetites in their minds.   He is telling us to be careful what we take from a selfish man, no matter what the gift looks like.   It will come violently out of us and the compliments we used to obtain it, or show appreciate for it, will be wasted.  When we go to work for a selfish person and we show them respect, despite their demonstration they don't deserve it, we fall into the sphere of this warning.  What he gives can violently come back to haunt us and our very compliments are wasted.   In 23:6 he tells us not to eat the bread of a selfish man.  Here, in this proverb, is why.   The stuff he gives you may go down good, but it comes up violently.   It will leave a bad taste in your mouth.  It will waste the good you showed him/her.   Be careful who you surround yourself with and who you want to be seen with.   We tend to seek these selfish beasts out and we marvel when it comes back to hurt us.  Selfish people don't see friendship as an opportunity to give - they see it as an opportunity to get.  Don't follow them and eat what they give you.  You will puke it out and waste the time you invested in them.  David did this with Saul.  Saul was so selfish.  David so giving.  David ended up vomiting the things Saul gave him.  His compliments were lost.   Solomon must have heard these stories and thus was born this proverb.