Friendship
The Bible has a lot of friendship in it and hardly any advice about making friends. Instead it shows you a few. Jonathan, who should have been David's rival and chose him instead. Ruth, who refused to go home. Four men who cut a hole in a roof. Job's friends, who got it right for a week and then ruined it.
That's the shape of this plan: stories first, then the one-liners from Proverbs that the stories explain. Day four is Jesus calling his disciples friends, which is a bigger deal than it sounds. Day five is about showing up for someone in pain without making it worse.
If you're reading this because you're lonely, day three is for you. Ruth had nobody and made a choice anyway.
The schedule
Tap a passage to open that book. Read in any translation you like; the app shows each day in Gen Z beside the original.
| Day | Read | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan hands over his robe and sword, the crown prince's kit, to the man who will take his throne. In chapter 20 they both know it, and they cry about it in a field. | Jonathan hands over his robe and sword, the crown prince's kit, to the man who will take his throne. In chapter 20 they both know it, and they cry about it in a field. |
| 2 | 'The wounds of a friend are faithful.' A real friend will tell you. Then Ecclesiastes on why two are better: someone to lift you when you fall, which assumes you'll fall. | 'The wounds of a friend are faithful.' A real friend will tell you. Then Ecclesiastes on why two are better: someone to lift you when you fall, which assumes you'll fall. |
| 3 | Naomi tries to send both daughters-in-law home, and she means it. Orpah goes, and the text doesn't blame her. Ruth's speech in verses 16 and 17 is a vow, not a feeling. | Naomi tries to send both daughters-in-law home, and she means it. Orpah goes, and the text doesn't blame her. Ruth's speech in verses 16 and 17 is a vow, not a feeling. |
| 4 | 'I have called you friends,' because a servant isn't told what's going on and a friend is. Then in Luke, Jesus sees 'their faith', plural: the friends' faith heals the man on the mat. | 'I have called you friends,' because a servant isn't told what's going on and a friend is. Then in Luke, Jesus sees 'their faith', plural: the friends' faith heals the man on the mat. |
| 5 | Job's friends sit in silence for seven days and it's the best thing they do. By chapter 16 they've started explaining, and he calls them miserable comforters. 'Weep with those who weep' is the whole instruction. | Job's friends sit in silence for seven days and it's the best thing they do. By chapter 16 they've started explaining, and he calls them miserable comforters. 'Weep with those who weep' is the whole instruction. |