FORGE GODLY FRIENDSHIPS

APRIL 13, 2014 

Proverbs 2:4-5

     4 If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. 

CONSIDER CONSEQUENCES (PROVERBS 22:24-25; 17:14, 19; 26:21; 25:19; 13:20; 14:22)

22:24 Do not associate with a man given to anger; Or go with a hot-tempered man,

22:25 Or you will learn his ways And find a snare for yourself.

17:14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water, So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.

17:19 He who loves transgression loves strife; He who raises his door seeks destruction.

26:21 Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife.

25:19 Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot Is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble.

13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

14:22 Will they not go astray who devise evil? But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.     NASB 

VERSE 22:24:

·        Associate  companion, cultivate, keeps company

·        Man - baal ; owner, lord: - allies, archers, charmer, dreamer, lords, man, possessors

·        Anger - aph); a nostril, nose, face, anger: -  angry, nose, noses, nostril, nostrils, quick-tempered, snout

·        Go - bo; a prim. root; to come in, come, go in, go: - associate, attacks, attain, enter

·        Hot-tempered - chemah; from  heat, rage: - anger, angry, burning anger, enrages, fury, heat, hot displeasure, hot-tempered, poison, rage, venom, wrath, wrath and raging, wrathful, wrathful

·        Man - ish; from an unused word; man: - adulteress, all, another, any), any man, any man’s, any one

“Do not associate with him; contract not a familiarity with him; make him not a companion; take him not into an intimacy, or use him as a particular friend and acquaintance:”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

VERSE 22:25:

·        Or - pen ; lest: - because , fear , might, or, or else, otherwise, otherwise you might, perhaps

·        Ways - orach; a way, path: - caravans, course, highways, way.

·        Find – accept, get, marry, take, use

·        Snare - moqesh; from;  a bait or lure, a snare: - bait, barbs, ensnared, snare, snares, trap

·        Yourself - nephesh; from an unused word; a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion 

“…And be as wrathful and furious, as quarrelsome and contentious, as he is.”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

VERSE 17:14:

·        Beginning - reshith; from; chief: - beginning, choice, choicest, finest, first, first fruits, foremost

·        Strife – madon; strife, contention, contentions, contentious, object of contention, strife

·        Letting - patar; a prim. root; to separate, remove, set free: - dismiss, free, letting, open, separate, slipped away.

·        Water - mayim; a prim. root; waters, water: - flood, loins, pool, waters

·        Abandon - natash; a prim. root; to leave, forsake, permit: - abandon, abandoned, cast away, ceased, drawn, forego, forsake, leave

·        Quarrel - rib; from strife, dispute: - adversary, complaint, contend, contention, controversy, dispute, disputes, indictment, lawsuit, quarrel, strife 

“…As when a man makes a little hole in the bank of a river, or cuts a small passage in it, to let the water into an adjoining field; by the force of the water, the passage is widened, and it flows in, in great abundance, to the overflow and prejudice of the field; nor is it easily stopped:”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

VERSE 17:19:

·        Loves - aheb; a prim. root; to love: - beloved, dearly love, friend, friends, love, loved, lover, lovers, loves, loving, show your love, shows love

·        Transgression - pesha; breach of trust, rebellion, rebellious, rebellious act, rebellious acts, transgressions

·        Strife - matstsah; strife, contention 

“For strife is transgression, when it flows from a malignant spirit, is with bad views, about things to no profit, and for contention's sake;”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

·        Raises - gabah; a prim. root; to be high, exalted: - build high, exalt, haughty, higher, lifted, loftier, pride, proud

·        Door - pethach; from: opening, doorway, entrance:

·        Seeks - baqash; a prim. root; to seek: - aim, beg, begging, demand, desire

·        Destruction - sheber; from; a breaking, fracture, crushing, breach, crash: - breaches, breakdown, broken, brokenness, collapse, crash, crashing, crushed, crushes, destruction 

“…that opens the door of his lips, and speaks proudly,”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

“…possibly gate is here taken for the mouth; and the exalting of the gate may mean proud boasting and arrogant speaking, such as has a tendency to kindle and maintain strife.”

Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible 

VERSE 26:21: 

“… who is given to it, is full of it; it is agreeable to his natural temper and disposition; he is in his element when at it; such a man is as fuel to the fire, as a dead coal to a living one, which increases the heat of it; so does he,”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

VERSE 25:19:

·        Bad - raa; a prim. root; to break: - bad, broken, broken asunder, destroyed, worthless

·        Unsteady - maad; a prim. root; to slip, slide, totter, shake: - unsteady, wavering

·        Confidence - mibtach; - confidence, security, trust, whom you trust

·        Faithless - bagad (93d); a prim. root; to act or deal treacherously: - acted deceitfully (1), acted treacherously (2), betrayed (1), betrays (1), deal (1), deal treacherously (10), deal very treacherously (1), deals

·        Troubles - tsarah; straits, distress: - affliction, anguish, distress), distresses, trouble), troubles 

“It is not good to put confidence in any man, not in princes, nor in the best of men; much less in an unfaithful, prevaricating, and treacherous man; and especially in a time of distress and trouble, depending on his help and assistance, which is leaning on a broken reed, and trusting to a broken staff.”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

VERSE 13:20:

·        Walk - halak; a prim. root; to go, come, walk: - access, accompany

·        Wise - chakam; from; wise: - expert, men who are skillful, sage, shrewd, skilled, skilled men

·        Wise - chakam; a prim. root; to be wise: - acting wisely, becomes, been...wise, deal wisely, makes us wiser, making wise 

“Who is a companion of them that fear the Lord; converses frequently with them in private about spiritual and experimental things, and walks with them in public in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord; he by those means grows wiser and wiser,”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

·        Companion - raah; a prim. root; prob. to associate with: - associate, companion, cultivate, keeps company

·        Fools - kesil; from; stupid fellow, dullard, fool: - fool, fool’s, foolish, foolish man’s, fools, stupid, stupid man, stupid ones

·        Suffer Harm – raa; vb. from; to be evil, bad: - act so wickedly, act wickedly, acted wickedly, acted...wickedly, afflicted, badly, bring disaster, brought calamity 

“…the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "shall become like them"; be a fool as they are, and grow still more and more foolish.”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

VERSE 14:22:

·        Go Astray - taah; a prim. root; to err: - deceived, deceiving, err, go astray, goes astray, gone astray

·        Devise - charash; a prim. root; to cut in, engrave, plow, : - devise, devises, do

·        Evil - ra; from the same as; evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity: - adversity, calamity, disaster, evil), harm, harmful, hurt, ruin 

“…they go astray from the right way, from the word of truth, from the Gospel of Christ, who contrive schemes to commit sin, and do mischief to their neighbours;”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

·        Kindness - chesed; from; goodness, kindness: - deeds of devotion, devotion, devout, faithfulness, favor, good, kindly

·        Truth - emeth; from; firmness, faithfulness, truth: - faith, faithful, faithfully, faithfulness, lasting

·        Good - tob; from; a good thing, benefit, welfare: - enjoy, good, good thing, good things, goodness 

“…to do good to the poor and needy; to their neighbours, their fellow creatures and fellow Christians: such receive grace and "mercy" at the hands of God, and his "truth" will appear in making good all promises to them;”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

CULTIVATE PATIENCE (PROVERBS 14:17, 29; 15:18; 16:32; 19:11)

14:17 A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of evil devices is hated.

14:29 He who is slow to anger has great understanding, But he who is quick-tempered exalts folly.

15:18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But the slow to anger calms a dispute.

16:32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.

19:11 A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.     NASB 

VERSE 16:32:

·        Slow - arek; from H748; long: - long, patience, slow, who is slow

·        Anger - aph; from; a nostril, nose, face, anger

·        Better - tob; from; pleasant, agreeable, good: - beautiful, beneficial, best, better

·        Mighty - gibbor; from; strong, mighty: - champion, great, helpers, heroes, men, men of outstanding 

“…a man that is slow to anger is esteemed by the Lord, respected by men, and is happy in himself; and is preferable to the strongest man that is not master of himself and of his passions;”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

·        Rules - mashal; a prim. root; to rule, have dominion, reign: - dominion, gain control, govern, had charge, have authority, master

·        Spirit - ruach; from an unused word; breath, wind, spirit: - air, anger

·        Captures - lakad; a prim. root; to capture, seize, take: - capture, captured, captures, captures at all, catch, caught, clasp, imprisoned, seized 

“…courage of mind joined with wisdom, and assisted by a proper number of persons, may do the one; but it requires the grace of God, and the assistance of his spirit, thoroughly to do the other.”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

VERSE 19:11:

·        Discretion - sekel; from; prudence, insight: - discretion, insight, intelligent, repute, sense, shrewdness, understanding, wisdom

·        Make Him Slow - arak; a prim. root; to be long: - continue, delay

·        Anger - aph; from; a nostril, nose, face, anger

·        Glory - tipharah; from; beauty, glory: - adornment, beautiful, beauty

·        Overlook - abar; a prim. root; to pass over, through, or by, pass on: - accompanied, alienate, all, avert, beyond, blows away

·        Transgression - pesha; from; transgression: - breach of trust, rebellion

“That he does not show it immediately; but takes time to consider of the offence given him, and makes use of a proper time to resent what is fit should be resented; he is a wise and discreet man that is slow to anger,”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

COMMUNICATE LOYALTY AND LOVE (PROVERBS 3:3-4; 16:6; 20:6;

10:12; 11:17; 15:17; 17:17; 18:24; 27:9)

13:3 The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

13:4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made fat.

16:6 By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.

20:6 Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, But who can find a trustworthy man?

10:12 Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.

11:17 The merciful man does himself good, But the cruel man does himself harm.

15:17 Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

17:17 A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.

18:24 A man of too many friends comes to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

27:9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man's counsel is sweet to his friend.     NASB 

VERSE 16:6:

·        Lovingkindness - chesed; from ; goodness, kindness: - deeds of devotion, devotion, devout, faithfulness

·        Truth - emeth; from; firmness, faithfulness, truth: - faith, faithful, faithfully, faithfulness, lasting

·        Iniquity - avon; from an unused word; iniquity, guilt, punishment for iniquity: - blame, guilt, guilty, iniquities, iniquity

·        Atoned - kaphar; denom. vb. from ; to cover over, pacify, make propitiation: - appease, atone, atoned, atonement is made, atonement shall be made, atonement was made, atoning, canceled, expiation can be made, forgave, forgive, forgiven 

“…not by the mercy and truth of men; not by alms deeds or showing mercy to the poor; nor by speaking truth and keeping promises, and doing justice between man and man;… but by the mercy and truth of God;"

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

·        Fear - yirah; from; a fear: - awesome, extremely, fear), fearing, reverence

·        LORD – Yhvh (i.e., Yehova or Yahveh); from; the proper name of the God of Israel: - GOD

·        Keeps Away- sur; a prim. root; to turn aside: - abolished, avoid, beheaded, cut off, degenerate, depart), departed, deposed

·        Hurt - ra; from the same as; evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity: - adversity, calamity, disaster, evil, harm, harmful, hurt, ruin 

“…having that put into their hearts, and excited and influenced by the grace and goodness of God,

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

VERSE 20:6:

·        Many - rob; from; multitude, abundance, greatness: - abundance, abundant, abundantly, age, all, ample

·        Man - adam; from an unused word; man, mankind: - any man

·        Proclaims - qara; a prim. root; to call, proclaim, read: - become, become famous, call, called, calling, calls, cried, cries

·        Loyalty - chesed; from; goodness, kindness: - deeds of devotion, devotion, devout, faithfulness, favor 

“…everyone is proclaiming his goodness to others, and would be thought to be good men; and cannot be easy with doing a good action, unless it is known,”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

·        Who - mi; a prim. pron.; who?: - how, Oh, Oh that someone, someone, what, which

·        Can Find - matsa; a prim. root; to attain to, find: - actually found, afford

·        Trustworthy - emun; from; faithfulness: - faithful, faithfulness, trustworthy 

“…who answers to the character he gives of himself, or others upon his own representation give him; who is as good as his word, and, having promised assistance and relief, gives it;”

John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible 

VERSE 18:24: 

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.    KJV 

A man of friends may be broken up, but there is a Lover who sticks closer than a brother.  LITV 

There are friends that one hath to his own hurt; but there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.    Jewish Publication Society Bible 

Some friends don't help, but a true friend is closer than your own family.    CEV 

There are friends who may be a man's destruction, but there is a lover who keeps nearer than a brother.     1965 Bible in Basic English 

Friend - rea; from; friend, companion, fellow

Ruin - raa; a prim. root; to break: - bad, break, breaks, broken, broken asunder, destroyed, ruin

There - yesh; being, substance, existence

Friend - aheb; a prim. root; to love: - beloved, dearly love, friend

Who Sticks - dabeq; from; a clinging, cleaving: - attached, held fast, who sticks

Closer - dabaq; a prim. root; to cling, cleave, keep close: - cleaves, cling, clings, closely pursued, closer, clung, deeply attracted

Brother - ach; from an unused word; a brother: - alike, another, brethren, brother, brother with his brothers