Proverbs 27:6 Commentary and Bible Study

Again in the second proverb of this pair there is a contrast between straightforward faithful dealing between friends, and a fake friendship that pretends affection but is never able to do the hard things that needs to be done. It substitutes what it thinks is a show of affection for the real thing. It smothers with a shower of kisses and hopes that it will not be called upon to do anything more taxing, either because it is afraid to do what really needs to be done, or because it has no real interest in the good of the other. The word translated ‘deceitful’ is an interpretation but is nevertheless a good choice of words to indicate the meaning. The Hebrew means literally ‘abundant’ but this abundance is a mask of hypocrisy that covers over the superficial nature of the response. There is deceit involved because the enemy wants to be regarded as a friend, but can only produce a cheap imitation of the true fruits of friendship. He hopes that his sleight of hand will not be detected.Between true friends there is an honesty that makes admonition possible without friendship coming to an end. Even among non-Christians the proverb rings true. Even among those who have no belief in an afterlife, there is often sufficient light to understand that the long term outcome is a better indication of right conduct than any immediate gratification; that foolish behaviour needs to be corrected before it brings unrecoverable disaster. But true Christian friends go further; they care about each other’s spiritual welfare above their temporal welfare. They measure well-being not in terms of this world and things that are passing away, but in terms of what can be retained into the world to come. In short, they see things from God’s point of view and not man’s. This form of friendship will not of course be appreciated by those who themselves do not love the Lord, and do not want to view their lives from an eternal perspective. They reject such admonition as the meddling imposition of religion in their lives.