Are You Sure You Know What Tomorrow Bring II

Thursday, September 1, 2022

6 The wounds from a lover are worth it;

    kisses from an enemy do you in.

7 When you’ve stuffed yourself, you refuse dessert;

    when you’re starved, you could eat a horse.

8 People who won’t settle down, wandering hither and yon,

    are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.

9 Just as lotions and fragrances give sensual delight,

    a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.

10 Don’t leave your friends or your parents’ friends

    and run home to your family when things get rough;

Better a nearby friend

    then a distant family.

-Proverbs 27:6-10 The Message

6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

    profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

7 full One loathes honey,

    but to one who is hungry, everything bitter is sweet.

8 Like a bird that strays from its nest

    is a man who wanders from his home.

9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad,

    and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

10 Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend

    And do not go to your brother’s house on the day of your calamity.

Better is a near neighbor

    than a brother who is far away.

-Proverbs 27:6-10 ESV

Verse 6 study: What would you prefer? A friend’s wounds or an enemy’s kisses? A friend who has your best interest at heart has to give you uncomforting advice sometimes. But you know it is for your own good. An enemy will whisper words you want to hear and send you on your way to be ruined. We always want to listen to what we want, even if an enemy is the only one saying it. A friend’s advice is always better, regardless of how much pain it causes. Wounds of a friend mean similar to “open rebuke.” Tough love is always better than hypocrisy.

Verse 7 study: This proverb is not limited to food. It expands to anything with an appetite.

Verse 8 study: Rootlessness hurts the wanderer and people who should be relating. In other words, humans need personal relationships.

Verse 10 study: This proverb tells us we should have relationships outside the immediate family. Relatives are sometimes unwilling or unable to come to our aid.