![]() ![]() And our Lord sent teachers out two-by-two (Luke 10:1 Acts 13:2). Paul loved Timothy for this effect (II Tim 1:3-5), and he was always thankful for the fellowship of the saints at Philippi (Phil 1:3-5). The brethren from Rome sharpened even the great apostle Paul (Acts 28:15), for there is mutual comfort in believing brethren (Rom 1:12 15:24). Job was this kind of sharpening influence among his companions (Job 4:3-4). These two great friends together, sharpening each other, formed one powerful team for God’s glory. Jonathan sharpened David by strengthening his hand in the LORD with spiritual provoking and covenant promises of loyalty and service a woman could not and would not make (I Sam 23:16). Women may be sharpened by men and in turn sharpen one another, but seldom do they provide the collision of equal or superior metals that results in a bright, shiny, sharp edge on a man.ĭavid described the love of Jonathan as exceeding that of women, though married at the time to the very wise Abigail (I Sam 25:3 II Sam 1:26). Rarely do wives sharpen a man like another good man, for that is trying to sharpen iron with a weaker metal (I Pet 3:7). ![]() A wife and children provide valuable society, but they are not enough. God declared in Eden that mankind is social (Gen 2:18). Such a choice is guaranteed to result in failure. Being a loner and limiting your friends is like preparing for Wimbledon by playing tennis on a computer. Successful athletic training requires competition and/or training with those better than you, otherwise your skills are never tested, you never learn the best techniques, your maximum effort is not called into action, and you deceive yourself regarding your ability. Foolishness, ignorance, and bad habits hinder a man from keeping friends: for he drives them away (Pr 18:24). Selfishness, laziness, and pride keep a man from seeking friends: he is happy rusting by himself. Let loners spend more time with good men, and they could be sharpened into useful men, but lazy habits of self-indulgence are hard to break. This is a wasted life, and it is in direct violation of God’s command to love others (Mark 12:31 Gal 5:13-14). The few at their funerals are there only out of duty they feel no real loss, because the loner in the coffin never did anything to improve their lives when he or she was alive. The proverb’s wisdom cannot be overthrown. Loners are always the weakest members of any group, for they continue to rust and decay without the sharpening steel of noble friends. They become dull and rusty with ignorance, poor habits, and depressed spirits. Loners never amount to very much, for they cannot grow (a knife cannot sharpen itself). Limiting countenance to showing feelings makes little sense, for friends already express approval of each other. A file does not merely make a knife look better it makes the knife better in its usefulness. Limiting countenance to improving a man’s facial expressions mocks Solomon’s wisdom. Character is by far the most important measure of a man or woman. This proverb deals with the character of a man – a very precious thing indeed. What is the spirit, demeanor, behavior, and conduct of a man? It is his character. The noun countenance here may mean a person’s face and appearance (Pr 25:23 I Sam 16:7,12 Dan 1:13-15 Matt 6:16) it may mean the expression of feeling toward another person (Pr 16:15 Gen 31:2 Ps 4:6 44:3 Acts 2:28) and it may mean the spirit, demeanor, behavior, or conduct of a man (Pr 15:13 Deut 28:50 Ps 10:4 Eccl 7:3 Dan 5:6,9). ![]() The solitary life is foolish and sacrifices these great advantages. They can share successes of labor together, help each other up when they fall, combine complementary abilities for greater accomplishments, and defend against mutual enemies. Solomon taught this in his great book of philosophy, because they sharpen and improve each other in at least four ways (Eccl 4:9-12). If your father had or has a noble and wise friend, it is wise for you to keep him as your friend (Pr 27:10). Foolish friends will dull and corrupt your life (Pr 13:20 I Cor 15:33). Only wise friends make you wiser (Pr 13:20), so good men love other good men (Tit 1:8). A good friend will make you brighter, sharper, and more useful. This proverb is about good friends – they will make you better (Pr 27:9). Once sharpened, a knife is much more productive with less effort on such things (Ec 10:10). Sharpening a knife requires iron or a substitute for iron at least as hard as the knife. A knife may cut and shape these things for them to be more useful, but these things will only dull the knife. Are you a good friend? Do you have good friends?Ī knife is not sharpened by cloth, bread, wood, plastic, or even gold. The iron of a file can make a blade sharper, and a good friend can make his friend better. Iron can sharpen iron, and a good friend can sharpen a friend. You need good friends, and you need to be a good friend.
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