A Friend and Brother

A true friend is always a friend—no matter what!

June 2, 2019

"A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."

Proverbs 17:17

“A friend loveth at all times,”
This is true.  A “true friend” cares about you always.  He doesn’t leave you when times get hard, or the money runs out, or you become unpopular with the crowd, or a better thing comes along.  A “friend” is constant and sticks with you through thick or thin.

“And a brother is born for adversity.”
There are a couple of ways of looking at this verse that the commentators seem to debate.  The first view is the idea that your friend will always be with you, but family relations will be there for you in adversity, your hard times.  You were put into the family where you can help out the best.

“We must often consider what we were born for, not only as men, but as in such a station and relation.  Who knows but we came into such a family for such a time as this?”1 (Henry)

The other view holds to the idea that your friend becomes your brother in hard times.

“At all times, a friend loveth, but in adversity he is born (i.e., becomes) a brother,2 (Barnes).

“A friend that loves at all times is born (that is, becomes) a brother in adversity, and is so to be valued,”3 (Henry).

This seems to be part of the idea in this statement,,,,

“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).

Your close by neighbor becomes like family when you have times of need and no family close by to help.

This idea should bear out with believers.  At the least, we ought to be friends with other believers, but we are more to each other.  We were brothers and sisters in Christ when we were born again into His family.  Let’s be there for each other!

 

 

 

1.  Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
2.  Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
3.  Henry, ibid.