# 25 2023 Dev. Prov.18:24 Enduring Friends! Read all of chapter eighteen first. We invite you into God’s space, to read His Word, to think on and interact with. This is God’s story! Do you believe that this is also our story, in our time? All passages are taken from the NIV.
Proverbs 18:24 “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
Proverbs 18 puts emphasis on communicating, our use of words. By now we know that Proverbs are a series of couplets about the way God wants us to live. In chapter 18, almost all couplets complement each other, one line reinforcing the other, both negative and positive statements. Proverbs is about a way of being and a way of becoming, either good and better or bad and worse. For Christians, our lives involve both good events and bad that God uses to shape us into who He wants us to be.
Vs.1-9 reminds us of foolish actions and foolish words, as well as wise words and actions. “An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels… The words of the mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream… The lips of fools bring them strife… The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.”
Words to pay attention to for today: Unfriendly, selfish, wisdom is a rushing stream, strife, a gossip, a slacker, one who destroys. Words for the wise and the foolish!
Vs.10-19 reminds us of wisdom: Compare v.10 with v.11. “The name of the Lord is a fortified tower… The wealth of the rich is their fortified city…” The difference here is simple; trust, to self-confidence and a fortified tower to imagined walls. “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out. A gift opens the way…” Does the author mean a gift or bribe? “Casting the lot settles disputes… A brother wronged is more unyielding than a fortified city; disputes are like the barred gates of s citadel.” A word to the wise and the foolish!
Vs.20-24 reminds us of what the author is telling us in this Proverb. “From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled… The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Fruit: death or life. Choose life in Jesus! “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord” Amen and Amen! “The poor” and “the rich” The poor reach for mercy, the rich reach for brutality. “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” What does this ending mean for us today? We have Messianic Psalms, could this be a Messianic Proverb? I believe it is, Jesus sticks closer to us than a brother. Amen!
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