Proverbs 27:10

Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.
– Proverbs 27:10

Family connections are presented as the strongest bonds and form a standard for comparisons of the friendship of neighbors and friends (Proverbs 17:17; 18:24). Overall, this saying is about cultivating relationships. The image of a near neighbor suggests relationships with those who are close at hand spatially. Even if they are not blood relation, they are near and better than blood relation far away in times of calamity. Wisdom cultivates community.

 


 

 

Proverbs 17:21

He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
– Proverbs 17:21

Two words are used for fool here. The first denotes a dullard or simpleton, and the second denotes wickedness. This proverb is opposite Proverbs 23:24, which acknowledges the joy of having a wise child (Proverbs 10:1; 15:20; 23:15-16). Life experience and the first nine chapters of Proverbs should convince us we cannot make our children wise. We can instruct, correct, train, discipline, exhort, and even plead like Solomon, but we cannot make a son or daughter have wisdom if they refuse instruction (Proverbs 1:7; 8:33; 13:1; 15:5). A child who refuses correction and instruction is a continual grief to father and mother (Proverbs 17:25; 19:13).

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Proverbs 17:17

A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
– Proverbs 17:17

The word for adversity means straits, or tightness. It describes troubles of all kinds. Adversity tries men’s hearts and the relationships we have with one another. Adversity proves the worth of family relations and true friends (Proverbs 19:6-7). Friends can be fickle (Proverbs 14:20; 19:4), but can also be true (Proverbs 18:24). That last reference also hints at a proverbial form of the golden rule (Luke 6:31). So, if you seek loyal, loving friendships, be a loyal, loving friend (Proverbs 27:10).

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Proverbs 5:17

Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.
– Proverbs 5:17

A husband and wife in a faithful marriage have a just claim to one another and their children. This is the blessed condition and highly esteemed in Scripture (Psalm 128:1-6). Lifelong faithful marriage builds a posterity for the blessing of seeing your children’s children. Finding a faithful wife is choosing the path of blessing and building. Pursuing the strange woman is choosing the path of destitution and destruction.

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Proverbs 5:16

Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
– Proverbs 5:16

Expositors are divided over whether this verse should be taken negatively as a warning against promiscuity, or positively as extolling the blessing of faithful marriage. I take the latter view because of the immediate context. Verses 15-19 are extolling the blessings of faithful marriage, while verses 20-23 close the chapter with warnings and consequences against the strange woman.

Fountains and rivers in this verse are both the result, or product of a source. A fountain is a spring, or the stream issuing from a spring. The river or channel of water is also the result of flow from a source. The contrast remains between the commonality of the strange woman and her affairs and the privacy and committedness of the faithful wife. A faithful marriage results in the offspring of children and the building of a stable family that is a proper focus of time and energy. Liaison with the strange woman will dissipate and waste a man.

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