Scripture:
Proverbs 11.22; 12.4, 26; 13.20; 14.7, 9; 15.17; 17.1-2, 9, 12, 17; 18.22, 24;
19.4, 6-7, 13-14, 19, 22, 26; 20.6, 19-20; 21.7, 19; 22.6, 7, 10, 14, 24-25*;
23.19-21, 27-28; 24.21-22; 25.17, 24; 27.6, 9, 10, 15-16, 17*; 28.24; 29.22;
30.20; 31.30-31
Translation: Proverbs 11.22A
gold ring in a pig’s snout is a woman with a hot body but an empty head [lit. a
beautiful woman even though her good judgment is gone].
12.4A woman of quality is the crown of her
husband, but like cancer in his bones if she brings him shame.
12.26A righteous man researches a possible
business partner, but the way of wicked people leads them astray.
13.20Walk with the wise and get wise, but
a person who hangs out with idiots suffers.
14.7Get away from a stupid man, or you
won’t know lips of knowledge.
14.9Guilt mocks idiots, but acceptance is
found among moral people.
15.17A meal of vegetables where love is
present is better than a fattened bull where hated present.
17.1A bit of dry bread that comes with
peace is better than a house filled with fresh steaks and conflict. 2A
successful slave will rule over a shameful son, and among he will have a share
of the inheritance among the brothers.
17.9A person who forgives an offense is a
person who really is seeking love, but a person who brings it up/does it again
separates friends.
17.12Go meet a bear robbed of its cubs by
a man, but not an idiot in his stupidity.
17.17A friend is someone who loves in
every situation, but a brother is born for trouble.
18.22A man who finds a wife finds what’s
good, and he gets a blessing from Yahweh.
18.24There are friends that split up, but
there is a loving person who sticks closer than a brother.
19.4Wealth adds many friends, but a poor
man loses his friend.
19.6Many people suck up to important
people, but everyone is the friend of the man who gives gifts. 7All
the brothers of a poor man hate him, it’s worse if his friends distance
themselves from him. He may be chasing them with words, but they are not there
for him.
19.13A foolish son is total ruin for his
father, and the naggings of a wife are a constant dripping. 14A
house and wealth are the inheritance of fathers, but a wise/successful wife is
from Yahweh!
19.19Great anger carries a penalty,
because if you get rid of it, then it will come back again.
19.22What you want in a person is their
loyalty, so a poor person is better than a liar.
19.26A person who attacks his father
drives away his mother—that’s a son that brings shame and dishonor!
20..6Many people claim to be a loyal
person, but who can find a faithful man?
20.19A person who exposes a secret is
someone who acts like an spy, so don’t ever open up to someone who’s
thoughtless with their lips. 20The person who curses their father
and their mother—their light will be snuffed out in the deepest darkness!
21.7The violence of wicked people will
drag them away, because they refuse to render justice.
21.19It is better to live in the middle of
a desert than with a wife who is argumentative and angry.
22.6Teach a young man about the point of
his life, then when he gets old he won’t turn always from it.
22.7A rich person will rule over poor
people; and the borrower is a slave to the man who lends.
22.10Drive out a mocker, and conflict will
leave; and legal fighting and public shaming will stop.
22.14The mouth of forbidden women is a
deep pit, a person cursed by Yahweh falls into there.
22.24Don’t be friends with an angry man,
and don’t hang out with a man with rage problems. 25Otherwise you
will learn his ways and set a trap for yourself.
23.19You listen up, my son, and be wise,
so that your heart will be set on the right path. 20Don’t be with
people who get drunk on wine, with people who stuff themselves with meat. 21Because
a person who gets drunk or stuffed will become poor and laziness clothes them
with rags.
23.26My son, give me your heart. And your
eyes will enjoy your ways, 27because the forbidden woman is a deep
pit, and a out-of bounds woman is a narrow well. Indeed, she lies in wait like
a predator , and she multiplies cheaters among humanity.
24.21Fear Yahweh, my son, and the king.
Don’t associate with people who change sides, 22because suddenly
their trouble will come up and who knows the destruction the two of them can
bring?
25.17Don’t go over to your friend’s house
too much, otherwise he will have enough of you and hate you.
25.24It is better to live on the corner of
a roof than to share a house with a nagging/argumentative wife.
27.6The wounds of a friend are
trustworthy, but the kisses of a hater are numerous.
27.9Oil and incense delight the heart, and
the sweetness of his friend comes from life advice.
27.10Don’t abandon your friend or your
father’s friend, and don’t go to your brother’s house when you’re in trouble.
It is better to stay with someone nearby than a brother far away.
27.15A constant dripping on a rainy day
and a nagging wife are similar. 16A man who can restrain her can
restrain the wind, and he calls his days luxury.
27.17Iron is sharpened by iron, and a man
is sharpened in front of his friend.
28.24A person who robs his father and
mother and says “there’s no rebellion”—he is a partner to the man who destroys.
29.22An angry man stirs up conflict, and a
furious man makes a lot of offenses.
30.20This is the way of an adulterous
woman: she eats, wipes her mouth, and says “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
31.30Charm is a lie and beauty is empty: a
woman who fears Yahweh, she is praiseworthy. 31Give her some of the
fruit of her hands and praise her in public for what she does.
Applications
1.
Outline
a.
Be a Good Friend
i.
Be someone who brings out
the best in others (27.17; 27.6, 9)
ii.
Be a faithful friend (12.26;
17.17; 18.24; 19.4, 6, 22; 20.6, 19; 27.10; 24.21-22)
iii.
Be a forgiving friend
(17.9)
iv.
Be a good wife (12.4;
18.22; 19.13-14; 21.19; 25.34; 27.15-16; 31.30-31)
v.
Be a wise person (25.17)
vi.
Be a patient person (19.19)
b.
Find Good Friends
i.
Find people who bring out
the best in you (27.17; 27.6, 9)
ii.
Find faithful friends
(12.26; 17.17; 18.24; 19.4, 6, 22; 20.6, 19; 27.10; 24.21-22)
iii.
Find forgiving friends
(17.9)
iv.
Find a good wife (12.4; 18.22;
19.13-14; 21.19; 25.34; 27.15-16; 31.30-31)
v.
Find wise people (13.20;
17.2)
vi.
Find patient people (19.19)
c.
Avoid Bad Relationships
i.
Angry people (15.17; 17.1;
22.10, 24-25; 29.22)
ii.
Adulterers (22.14; 23.26-27;
30.20)
iii.
Argumentative/Nagging
People (19.13-14; 21.19; 25.24; 27.15-16)
iv.
Attractive outsides with
ugly insides (11.22; 31.30)
v.
Unwise People (13.20; 14.7;
17.12; 23.19-21)
vi.
Unforgiving People (17.9)
vii.
Avoid being a
borrower/slave (22.7)
viii.
Evil people (19.26; 21.7;
28.24)
2.
Discussion Questions
a.
Do you have a best friend?
What is he/she like?
b.
What kind of people do you
hang out with most of the time? Are they good friends? Are the good influences?
c.
How faithful of a friend do
you think you are on scale of 1-10? Why?
d.
What are you looking for in
a future spouse?
e.
What are you doing to
become the kind of person who would make a good spouse?
f.
What do you think you can
do to help bring out the best in others?
g.
Why do angry and
unforgiving people make bad friends?
h.
Why is it important to
avoid becoming in debt to someone/something?
i.
What practical thing can
you do this week to become a better friend?
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