Proverbs 18:24 (Study)

"A man who has friends must himself be friendly, 

But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

(Proverbs 18:24, NKJV)

"A man who has friends..." This Hebrew word for "friends" is transliterated  "rā'-ah" and means a companion, a friend, implying less intimate than the reference to "friend" in the second part of the verse which is "ä-hav'."

"...must himself also be friendly..." It got really interesting at this word. "Friendly" here is transliterated "rä-ah'" and means "to perish..." It's in the Hithpoel form which indicates that whoever the "himself" is is performing the "perishing" upon himself! What else can we make of this but that in Jesus Christ we are to consider ourselves dead to sin, and alive to God - to crucify our flesh, deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow after Him (Roman 6:11, 12; Matthew 16:24; Colossians 3:1-3)? Have you ever noticed how selfishness affects relationship? Philippians 2:3-4 says:

"Let nothing be done out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."

     If we are commanded against selfishness, then selfishness is sin, which is consistent with death, destruction, and everything that is inconsistent with God's character and prescribed will. We will reap fruit in our relationships whether according to the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), or the curses by the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). 

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life" (Galatians 6:7-8). 

     So real mutual friendship inherently involves two distinct souls denying themselves in the biblical context of love (Romans 13:10). This is why Jesus is called friend of sinners and not friend with sinners. "Sinners", those who practice sin, and walk in the darkness, cannot deny themselves, thus proving that they are incapable of being a friend in accordance with the truth (John 17:17). 

"...But there is a friend..." "ä-hav'," one who is loving and beloved; intimate, different from a companion. 

"...who sticks closer..." "dä-vāk'," cleaves, adheres. 

"...than a brother." I could't find a reference to Pro. 18:24 specifically in the lexicon entry. But it seems safe to say that the word for "brother," "äkh," is referring to a relative with whom is a naturally occurring element of companionship, partnership, strength, and unity with purpose and direction, whether paternal, or legal (in-law) since the emphasized distinctions being made in this verse are that of relationship by an act of the will more than by classification - love more than how one positionally relates in a social system, having considered the emotional ties that come inherently therewith.

Conclusion, the following being my interpretation...:

A man who has friends must deny himself, 

But there is one who loves another as his own soul, 

Who cleaves closer than a relative. 

Resting in this Hope

"LORD, make me know my
   end,
And what is the measure of my
   days,
That I may know how frail I
   am.
Indeed, You have made my
   days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing
   before You;
Certainly every man at his best
   state is but vapor. Selah" Psalm 39:4-5

          I'm persuaded to believe that Truth is what makes the Psalms so beautiful. It speaks to the essence of our being, brings to mind the conscious thought of our frailty before God, and makes us to lie down in green pastures having been comforted by the assurance of the debt paid in full. Indeed,

"Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting..." (Ecclesiastes 7:2a).

But we rest nonetheless, knowing that "...the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and, 'Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:19). I'm grateful for you saints.

-Your fellow laborer...

Colors of the Priesthood: Blue (Study)

         In Exodus 25:2-9, God commands Moses to take an offering for a sanctuary from "...everyone who gives willingly with his heart..." In the list of things to be taken were "...blue, purple, and scarlet thread..." (v. 2).

          Hebrew for blue, te-kā'-leth refers to the molluscs from which the the dye itself was extracted, especially the species helix ianthina according to "Gesenius' Hebrew Chaldea Lexicon to the Old Testament" (Strong's H8504). These molluscs were found in the Mediterranean Sea, and were harvested for the dyes that they possessed. Obtaining the dyes was a tedious and time consuming task, as the small molluscs had to be found, harvested, and processed, yielding if but a few drops(?). The "cost to yield" ratio would bring the price too high for anyone other than the wealthy to afford. This, as far as I can determine, is why the color purple represents wealth and or royalty to date. The "blue" in the context here was not as the modern day indigo, but a shade of purple distinguishably lighter than that of the "purple" mentioned in the same passage.

God and Homosexuality: Ending the Controversy

Brothers and sisters, to address a bait and switch on the topic of God and homosexuality...

     Some say that one's romantic attraction to the same gender is something that is predetermined genetically and without the hopes of change. Interestingly, they're conscience often bears witness against them. They know homosexuality is wrong, but subscribe to the lies which give the illusion of an escape from accountability, the acknowledgement of God's authoritative law, and in the end (and most weightily)  God Himself. In a sense, the claim "I was born this way" is right. But it often seems like the claim comes with the assumption that one can't change even if they want to. "The studies show..."  The following text is my attempt to establish a biblically sound perspective according to what God has to say about this topic.

     We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we're sinners, having inherited this nature from birth as a result of our (yes "our") sin in the garden of Eden (Romans 5:12, 19). Therefore lying, covetousness, slander, stealing, adultery, homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:18-32), and all sins are the fruit of our fallen state, "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23; Psalm 14:1-4). Sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). So we are born into this world as breakers of God's law. Since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and since we can do nothing but sin because we're sinners, our fate as man is death by default without the intervention of God through Jesus Christ on our behalf.

     In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Paul lays out a list of the ones who practice (or walk in bold rebellion and disregard to God by habitually and purposefully obeying) sin, identifying them by the sin that they practice--homosexuals being one of them. (This is not referring to those who have turned to Christ and still have temptation from time to time). But that's not my emphasis. Now look at verse 11. Speaking to believers, Paul writes...

     "And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." 

     WOW! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Those who were once fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners, sinners(!) repented, turned, did a 180 to God! Therefore we know that a person is not "homosexual" according to the permanent dictates of his or her genetic make-up, but "a" homosexual as having been characterized by his or her practice of that particular sin. Jesus Christ's message to man was according to these words: 

     "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).

     This is the message we bear. This is the urgent cry of the Gospel that we preach.

     So when the results are published, when a guilty soul clings to the lie at the expense of truth (Romans 1:24-32), the end of the matter is this: They are sinners in need of salvation.

     No matter what study comes out, no matter what the claim, "Let God be true, and every man a liar" (Romans 3:4). His word is truth (John 17:17; Psalm 117:2; 12:6-7). 

     "Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
     And lean not on your own understanding;

     In all your ways acknowledge Him,
     And He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6).

     "The entirety of Your word is truth,
     And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever" (Psalm 119:160).