Join us as we explore the notion of friendships as presented in Proverbs 18.24 and discuss the implications of viewing Jesus as the friend mentioned in the passage. Our hosts delve into a detailed examination of textual variations and interpretive traditions. The conversation moves beyond mere academic inquiry, offering practical applications derived from biblical wisdom that resonate with everyday experiences.
00:00:04 Introduction and Proverbs 18.24 Discussion
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SPEAKER 01 :
Proverbs 18.24 talks about a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Was the author of Proverbs intentionally specifically referring to Jesus Christ? Let’s talk about it today here on Grace In Focus, and we’re glad you’re joining us, friend. Grace in Focus is the radio broadcast and podcast ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. We’re located in North Texas. We have a website where you can find out more about us. It is faithalone.org. You can find many articles there written from a free grace position. We have a bookstore and we have an online seminary where you can earn an MDiv degree. It’s called GES Seminary. Find out all the details and come study with us. at GES Seminary. Our website again, faithalone.org Now with today’s question and answer discussion, here are Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates.
SPEAKER 02 :
We’ve mentioned it a couple times in here, but GES is, Lord willing, going to come out with an Old Testament commentary.
SPEAKER 03 :
And when will that be ready? Well, we’re talking about in 26, right? December of 2026. We’re hoping to have all of the commentaries done by August of 2025. And then you and I and Philippe Sterling are going to edit all those commentaries for a year until August of 2026. And then hopefully at that point we can typeset it, proof it. and print it and have it ready by December of 2026. You have written beaucoup number of commentaries.
SPEAKER 02 :
How many, seven or eight? I can’t remember, really. First and Second Kings and Deuteronomy and Jeremiah and part of Psalms and Proverbs. And we’re looking at one of the Proverbs in this one. And what we’re trying to do, basically, it’s like our New Testament commentary. Now, obviously, you know, one volume commentary isn’t going to get into much detail. Which may end up two or three, by the way. Right. It may be a two-volume thing. We’re working all that out. But we thought we would, for a couple of podcasts here, give you a flavor of the kind of things we’re talking about here. And in my case, going through Proverbs, I came upon Proverbs 18.24, and I’m going to read that.
SPEAKER 03 :
And you did a blog on this, too, which I thought was an excellent blog, by the way.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, and it might wind its way into the magazine. But here it is. Here’s what Proverbs 18, 24 says.
SPEAKER 03 :
And this is a very famous proverb, and it’s a very practical one, too. Sure.
SPEAKER 02 :
There’s some issues that come up over it. Right. Anyway, here’s what the proverb says. A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. And what I say in my blog, and kind of a humorous story that many of you have probably heard this before, it’s little Johnny’s in Sunday school, and the Sunday school teacher says, Johnny, what is gray, lives in a tree, and hides nuts? And has a fluffy tail. And has a furry tail. And little Johnny goes, well, I know the answer is Jesus, but it sounds like a squirrel to me. And, of course, the joke is that in Sunday school, if someone asks you a question, just say the answer is Jesus. And some people actually say Proverbs 18.24 is talking about Jesus. Absolutely. You know, that last phrase, there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. And that’s Jesus. And that’s Jesus.
SPEAKER 03 :
Which is, of course, true, but that’s not… Right. I mean, it doesn’t sound like that’s what Proverbs was talking about. And by the way, there is also a textual issue in the first half, right? I’m noticing in my New King James that it says that’s following the Greek manuscripts. Right. But the Syriac, Targum, Vulgate, and Masoretic text reads, a man who has friends may come to ruin. Right. But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
SPEAKER 02 :
And certainly, as we’re going to see in Proverbs 19… there’s support for that view. A guy with a lot of friends comes to ruin, and we’ll talk about that, the different options there. And of course, when it says there’s a friend who sticks closer than a brother, we can think in the New Testament, for example, I no longer call you You know, I now call you friends when Jesus talks to the disciples, that Jesus is the friend of disciples. Right. You know, and so there are people who would say that here in Proverbs 18, 24, you know, in the Gospels when Jesus says, you know, I’m your teacher and I am and I’m your Lord, I am, but now I’m going to call you friends. Right. And so… Those would say, well, Solomon is looking forward to that. You know, he’s seeing ahead. There’s a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
SPEAKER 03 :
So they’re not just saying this verse has some application to Jesus. They’re saying Solomon was actually intentionally writing about Messiah. Yeah, you hear, you know, because, I mean, we’ve all heard it, right?
SPEAKER 02 :
Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. And then they will read it, read Proverbs 18, 24, and they’re like, oh, well, that’s what Solomon is talking about. The question is, is that a legitimate way to interpret this passage at all? I mean, should I come to Proverbs 18.24 and see Christ in it? And that’s one of the issues of the Old Testament commentary in general, right? A lot of people are seeing Christ in every passage. Right. And, you know, like, for example, Spurgeon, I read that when he preached, he found the cross— in every passage you preached it. You know, you could be preaching any passage in the Old Testament. And in fact, I don’t remember what it was, but he said he came to faith by hearing a sermon, I think in, I can’t remember what Old Testament book it was.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, some people like with Esther, right? You know, they’ve got Haman and they’ve got the gallows and they’ve got Esther and they’ve got Mordecai and everybody represents somebody else. Like, I think Mordecai represents Jesus because he’s used to save Esther and Esther represents the church. Right. Haman represents the devil, is that it?
SPEAKER 02 :
I’m sure he does. Or the man of sin, right? Maybe. Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard, that Haman in the tribulation, he’s going to try to destroy the Jewish nation. Right, but he ends up getting destroyed himself. And then he gets destroyed himself.
SPEAKER 03 :
And so they have all this stuff, but one of the things that I think is important, anytime you think something is a type of something else, it’s kind of a figure for something else, it’s important that we have other biblical evidence of that fact. Right. Because people are capable of seeing types everywhere and seeing Jesus everywhere. So if this verse is talking about Jesus, we would expect to see some later verse that gives us a hint. More than what he says to them. More than just saying you are my friends.
SPEAKER 01 :
Right, right.
SPEAKER 03 :
If you do what I commanded you.
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
In Mark 3, when Jesus says, who is my mother and my brother? Right. You know, it’s these who do my will. Well, Jesus is closer than a brother. Anyway, but to go back to, let me just say that I don’t think Solomon has Jesus in mind at all. Right. Here in Proverbs 18, 24. And you mentioned the other translation or the versions that say, a man who has friends… May come to ruin. Well, look in the next chapter, 19.4, so just a few verses later. Wealth makes many friends. but the poor is separated from his friend. In other words, you can have a lot of friends, but what happens when your money runs out?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, like the prodigal son, right? So I have a lot of friends, but why do I have a lot of friends? Do they like me? Because I’m just such a charming and interesting guy.
SPEAKER 03 :
Because you’re buying the drinks, you’re buying the meals, you’re the life of the party. And then… When the money runs out, no one gave him anything.
SPEAKER 02 :
Exactly. And then look a few verses later, verse 7. All the brothers of the poor hate him because they can’t get anything out of him. Right. How much more do his friends go far from him? He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him. And so what you see in Proverbs is that friends will often… Abandon you. Exactly. So a man may have a lot of friends, but then he says, but there is the kind of friend, and obviously I’ve added a word there, there’s a kind of friend that sticks closer. We would say a true friend. Right. A true friend doesn’t abandon you. A true friend sticks with you. Even closer than the brother. That’s right. And we all know that, right? Right. I mean, how many people do we know or say, he’s like a brother to me? Right. You know, or what he means is he in many cases, he’s even closer to me than my brother is, you know.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, we all have. Sure. Situations like that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Exactly. So then the question is, is Solomon talking about Jesus? OK, so I’m going to say no. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say no. Yeah. And we’re going to get to why this is important. You say, well, what difference it make? And like like you said earlier. Well, certainly we can apply this to Jesus. Jesus is a friend that’s closer than a brother. You know, Mark three, you know, you’re my brothers. If you do my will, if you’re following and if you’re obeying me, you know, I’m your friend. And obviously Jesus is the best friend. What a friend we have in Jesus. Right. And so he’s our friend. But I think what Solomon is saying, if we’re going to be true to the end of 18 here and then what he says at the beginning of 19 is this. As he’s given instructions to his son, son, understand that there’s people who are only going to be your friend because they think they can get something out of you. And when things get tough, they’re going to abandon you. Right. But look for those friends who are going to stick with you. That’s wisdom. Value those kind.
SPEAKER 03 :
And also, I think you said in your blog, be the kind of friend that doesn’t abandon your friends. There you go. Be the kind of friend that sticks closer than a brother.
SPEAKER 02 :
And this is why this is important. And Bob just said it. When I’m looking at 1824, I’m not saying, oh, that’s Jesus. As if it’s not talking to me. It should be me. Yeah, but Solomon is talking to me.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, of course, Jesus is the par excellence example of this. Right. We all know John 3.16. 1 John 3.16 says, He laid down his life for us, therefore we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. So he is the prime example of this, but that doesn’t mean that Solomon intended the Lord Jesus here, or even that the Holy Spirit intended.
SPEAKER 02 :
intended the lord jesus here we’re reading way too much in that this is an admonition to solomon’s son and to us that’s the kind of friend i need to be yeah you know i don’t need to i don’t need to have fellowship with people thinking what can i get out of it and you know okay he’s rich he can he can help me out so i’m going to be around but boy as soon as he can’t help me I’m abandoned. I’m out of here. And so, yeah, we say a funny story, you know, about the squirrel. Well, that’s Jesus. It’d be very easy to read verse 24 and say, well, that has nothing to say to me. He’s talking about Jesus. No, it has everything to say to me. So it’s very practical. Very practical. And I think it’s very practical when we teach others that this is the way the world operates.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, John goes on after 1 John 3, 16. He says, whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, but doesn’t actually give them what they need. He’s saying, how does the love of God abide in him? Exactly. And James is the same thing in James 2, 15 and 16.
SPEAKER 02 :
Exactly. And so the question is, who is the friend that sticks closer to a brother? It should be us. It should be me. He’s talking to me. Let that be me. Yes. We can apply it to Jesus maybe, but Solomon’s talking to me. Well, that gives you a taste of kind of the things we’re going to see in the Old Testament commentary. And until it comes out, keep grace in focus.
SPEAKER 01 :
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