Men Were Meant to Sharpen Men
Proverbs 27:17 provides men with the general expectation from the Lord. Verse 17 declares:
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
Men were created to sharpen one other. According to the Bible From 26 Translations, there are many ways to interpret this verse. We are talking about men and the responsibilities they have for each other. James Moffatt, the author of the New Translation version of the Bible, interprets this verse in the following way:
“As iron whets iron, so one man whets another.”
The word, “whet”, means a) to sharpen by rubbing on or with something (such as a stone), or b) to make keen or more acute. The New Testament, According to the Eastern Text, states it this way:
“Iron sharpens iron, so a man enlightens the face of a friend.”
The Jerusalem translation reads:
“Iron is made the finer by iron, a man is refined by contact with his neighbor”
The implication being that one man refines another man. In any case, it becomes evident that men sharpen men.
In these present times, boys don’t always grow up to be men. Also, men don’t grow up being mature. For a boy to become a man, he must have an example of manhood. If a man is to become a father, he must learn it from a father. Men don’t naturally grow up knowing how to be a husband. This role, like most, requires sharpening. In short, there is no way around the need for men to sharpen men. Without the right examples, the role of manhood is in jeopardy. Put another way; men produce men! When there is no authentic or genuine example of manhood, boys will grow up to become something they were not created to be.
God created the man. God is the Source of all things, including the man. As Creator, God gave man his identity. The Father gave man purpose and authority. The man was the apex of the Lord’s creation. As such, he was valuable. Manhood is necessary. Without the man, there would be no family. This is true because God created the man with seed in him. The source of life is in the seed. Every created thing starts from a seed. God made the woman from the man. Together they would fulfill the Father’s mandate to increase and fill the earth.
God is particular when it comes to identity. Amazingly, God creates somethings from seeds with the full revelation of what they will become. Apple seeds produce apples. The Bible is specific in this regard. In Matthew, chapter seven, the disciple teaches about “a tree and its fruit.” He makes two important points. First, he confirms, ‘we can recognize what something is by its fruit.’ In other words, we know that a tree is an apple tree by its fruit. Elsewhere he states ‘that anything can be recognized by its fruit.’ God created every living thing from a seed. The seed represents the testimony of what it is to produce. Concerning men, this is a significant point. Like everything else God created, he had a man in mind and then created a seed that would produce the man He visualized.
God’s principle of “iron sharpening iron” represents truth. In other words, whatever is sharpened will become sharp. However, you must be careful about what is being sharpened. In order to get the right fruit, you must also start with the right tree. It is also noted ‘ that you cannot get bad fruit from a good tree.’ Concerning manhood, it is feasible to assume that some of the fruit attempting to represent manhood today did not come from the original tree. Thus Matthew’s conclusion is worth noting: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” (Matt. 7: 15)