Kyrios Tapeza
“THE LORD’S TABLE”
March 23rd, 2022
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
Proverbs 27:6
Proverbs was not uncommon in the ancient world.The book of Proverbs, the title of this book in Hebrew is taken from its first word, “mashal”, which originally meant “a comparison.” Technically, a proverb is a profound epigrammatic saying that, if pondered on for a length of time there is deep meaning associated with it.
There are friends and there are enemies in this life. At some point in time; we will experience the love of a friend and the sting of an enemy. This verse “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” shows us that a honest sign of a true friend is that they will be willing to wound us with loving correction. The correction may not feel good — as genuine wounds — but it is their expression of their love and faithfulness of a friend.
The kisses of an enemy are deceitful: This cautions us that not all kisses are the greetings of friends. They may come from an enemy and be deceitful. The Bible describes examples of the kiss of the betrayer , e.g. Joab, Judas, Absalom, and Ahithophel.
2 Samuel 20 : 9 “And Joab said to Amasa, “Is it well with you, my brother?” And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand kto kiss him”
Luke 22:48 “but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
“So when Joab came to the king and told him, he called for Absalom. Thus he came to the king and prostrated himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom” 1 Samuel 10:1
Ahithophel abused his friendship with David. As Christians we should not abuse and sin against our friends. King Solomon wrote the following on friendships : Proverbs 7:17 KJV – “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity”. Proverbs 18:24 KJV – “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”Christians, of all people, must make certain that they are true, kind, and loving to their friends.
There will always be people like Ahithophel, people like Absalom, people like Judas, and people like Joab. We must choose whose example we will follow. Will we be like David who was faithful to God? Will we be like Absalom who was unfaithful to God and who rebelled against his father? Or will we be like Ahithophel who betrayed David and the people of Israel, who gave Absalom ungodly advice, and who killed himself when things did not go his way?
Let’s be genuine as instructed in the WORD – kiss of Agape love and not the kiss of deceit
2Co 13:12 “Greet one another with an holy kiss.”
1Th 5:26 “Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.”
Happy Thursday in Yeshua!
In His Name,
Min.DeeAnne
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