We’ve arrived at Proverbs 29 in our read-through-the-Bible plan. Here is a quote from Jon Bloom in an article at Desiring God:
God tells us “a man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet” (Proverbs 29:5). That’s what makes it evil. Whether or not flattering words have truth in them, their purpose is deception.
A biblical example of this is when some opponents tried to spread a net under Jesus’s feet:
“Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test?” (Mark 12:14–15)
These men are poster children for Psalm 5:9: “There is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.”
It did not matter that their flattering words about Jesus contained truth. Truth still was not in their mouths because 1) they did not believe the true words and 2) their flattery was merely a smokescreen for their attempt to destroy Jesus’s public credibility and influence. They were speaking the language of their father, the devil (John 8:44), who also uses true words in lying ways.
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