A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity [Proverbs 17:17]. This verse reminds us of Jonathan who was such a wonderful friend to David. A friend loveth at all times. Jonathan loved David when he was playing his music in the palace as well as when he was hiding for his life, trying to escape King Saul. Although Jonathan was the son of Saul and heir to the throne, he loved David. It is a wonderful thing to have a friend like that. If someone doesnt love you at all times, that person is not your friend. It is one of the disappointments of life to have someone profess to love you and be your friend, then when the chips are down, you find that he really does not love you after all. He was a Judas Iscariot or an Absalom, who betrayed you. Antithetic? Commentators are divided on the meaning. Does true friendship rate higher than blood relationship (see 18:24; 27:10; cf. 18:19; 19:7)? Or, in a real crisis, is it a brother that one must depend upon? Probably the former. But it is also possible to take this saying as synonymous: brother merely intensifies friend. Friendship is a common wisdom topos; see chapter 27 and also Sirach 6:5- 17 and passim.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 08:28:28 +0000
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