Evangelical meaning of Proverbs 19:4 and similar

[Henoch]

Prov 19:4: "Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbor."

What does God want us to know through this verse?
That we must make more friends by becoming more rich- "Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness"?
Or is it a condemnation of unbelievers who love money?
Verse 6 and 7 seem to say smth similar

Prov 19:6: "Many will entreat the favor of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts."
Prov 19:7: "All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him."

 

[B.L.]

I believe the verses you are asking about is describing how financial circumstances influence human relationships. The reality in our fallen world is that wealth distorts relationships. I believe an appropriate response would be to reflect on our own motives as we pursue relationships with people to ensure we are not showing partiality to people based on whether they are rich or poor and that we are not pursuing relationships based on our own self-interests.

 

[Contra_Mundum]

Many interpreters "atomIze" the Proverbs, or especially those of middle chapters. I believe Waltke is more accurate to believe there are many more but mini-thematic unities. But one must look for them.

19:1 suggests to me a "headline" proverb. The poor-but-honesr man is presented as someone the king (the writer/compiler) is bound to respect before the flatterer, liar, or otherwise vile speaker.

Vv4&7 both speak to the way the poor are likely to be treated in judgment if the judge does not watch himself, not to be approved in the eyes of men but before the watchful, True Judge of Israel. Note the contrast of v6, which sits a bit like the centerpiece of a chiasm. It directly addresses the chief justice of the land.

Vv5&9 say almost the very same thing, a "refrain" of sorts, recalling a vital truth repeatedly (a second time) to mind. My instinct is to see v9 as the conclusion of this mini-series.

Just my quick Hope it's helpful.

 

[MW]

Proverbs is not a book of direct commands and promises. It is filled with wise observations that give an insight on how the world typically works. Within that framework it also describes the broken patterns of a fallen world. So a particular proverb does not necessarily tell you this is how it should be. It might be saying, this is how it often is in human society. And worldly wealth often attracts superficial loyalty, while poverty exposes the conditional nature of many relationships. The social world is typically governed by utility and gain. People flock to the generous giver and abandon the poor, even if the poor are family. The poor person's pleas are ignored.

If one looks about the world (or reads a Jane Austen novel) the superficial and transactional nature of worldly relationships will become quite obvious. "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" is a popular way of summing it up. Uncomfortably for the Christian, we will discover that we naturally fall into the same patterns. Perhaps our concern is not money so much as status. The Christian church often falls into the same transactional modus operandi. People have things that are wanted and they are effectively used to get them. In this system there are outliers who do not fit in, or perhaps "will" not fit in. How do we regard such people? Hopefully Proverbs has opened our eyes to our natural prejudices.