THE LORD SPOKE (February 10)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Leviticus 4-5

Did you know that you can sin by doing nothing? Sin does not have to be an active procedure. It can be a passive lack of action. There are sins we commit and there are sins we omit. That is to say, there are things we should do and, by failing to do so, we thereby sin.

Leviticus 5:1 says, “If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible.” This isn’t just an unintentional sin - they’re covered in chapter 4. The four instances of sin covered here in Leviticus 5 all begin with an active verb: “he does not speak up”, “he touches” (2x), and “he thoughtlessly takes an oath”. In all four instances, he knew what he was doing and did it anyway, even if it was done without adequate consideration beforehand.

The point I’d like to make here is that you can sometimes sin by not speaking up. I’ve often sinned by speaking out when I shouldn’t, or in a way I shouldn’t. My problem is rarely that I say too little. O, that we would learn from the saying, “Better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

But, “there is a time to be silent and a time to speak”. So said the wise Solomon (Eccl. 3:7) and so says the Scripture in more than one place. Let us hold our tongue when appropriate but let us speak out firmly and faithfully whenever we ought. The tongue can be an instrument of great good or of great evil. Let us each commit ours to the God of speech that He might use it for His glory only.

A missionary in the orient tells how a 20 year-old man approached a temple, removed his sandals, and bowed before the idol. Drawing a dagger from beneath his shirt, in one quick swipe he cut off his tongue and offered it to the silent, lifeless image. In minutes he lay unconscious in a pool of blood at the feet of the statue. God wants our tongues, not cut off and placed before him, but dedicated to his worship, service and honor.


New Testament: Mark 13

Like Peter, James, John, and Andrew (vs. 4), we too would love to know when the prophecies will be fulfilled. “When will these things happen?” is still our question also.

Without giving a calendar date, Jesus did give some very clear indicators as to when these things would happen:

• vs. 7 - “when you hear of wars and rumors of wars” (followed by “earthquakes in various places and famines”)
• vs. 11 - “whenever you are arrested and brought to trial” (preceded by “handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues”)
• vs. 14 - “when you see the abomination that causes desolation standing in the Temple”
• vs. 26 - “at that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory”
• vs. 29 - “when you see these things happening, you know that it is near”

Jesus is talking about His return to rule (what we call the Revelation), not His return to gather the Church (known as the Rapture). Before that event - the catching-up of New Testament saints - there are no prophetic events waiting to be fulfilled. It could happen at any moment. While some of the subsequent prophetic events could be in place prior to the Rapture, there is no prophesied event that must take place first. On the other hand, the Rapture will initiate a series of events that will culminate in the coming of the King to set up His earthly kingdom (see Revelation 19:11-18). For that sequence we have many details revealed in Scripture.

That was, in fact, the question the disciples were asking. They wanted to know when the end would come, i.e. when the kingdom would be established. Before that happens there are some clear and definable events that will take place. Does knowing that help? Probably not. In fact, it can be a hindrance if it results in any kind of complacency or wait-and-see attitude. Instead, we’re commanded to “keep watch” (vs. 35-36).

Luke’s parallel passage says, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Are you looking up?