THE LORD SPOKE (September 4)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Proverbs 4-7

When the adulterer dies, his shame lives on. When his body rots underground, his name rots above ground. - Thomas Watson

We’ve almost come to take this sin for granted, as if it’s something normal. Something to be expected. Something that, because it is so common, you just have to learn to live with.

Not so the Bible! Scripture condemns adultery in every instance and in no uncertain terms. The author of Hebrews declares, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed (Greek, coitus) kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral” (Heb. 13:4). The book of Proverbs is filled with similar cautions. Here are some answers to wrong-thinking in this area:

I can get away with it - no one will have to find out.

• 2:18-19 - “for her house leads down to death...none who go to her return or attain the paths of life”
• 6:29 - “no one who touches her will go unpunished”

How can anything that feels so right be wrong?

• 6:26 - “the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread”
• 6:32-33 - “a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself...his shame will never be wiped away”

I’ll just “peek a little” - I won’t let myself get involved too far.

• 5:8 - “keep to a path far from her”
• 6:25 - “do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes”

It’s okay - she wants to.

• 5:15 - “drink water from your own cistern”
• 7:25-27 - “Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.”

That sounds pretty final. The results of this sin are permanent. Yes, like any sin, it can be forgiven. But the consequences of this sin remain forever and cannot be forgotten. I Corinthians 6:18 puts this sin in a different category from all others because it is “against the body”. It’s like film (remember our old cameras?). Once exposed it cannot be recovered except as a double exposure. Remember how sad it was to have to keep one of those because you didn’t have any other shot but that other dumb picture sure made it blurry? Well, in this case it’s more than just dumb - it’s an ugly sin that destroys your life. And your spouse’s life. And your kids’ lives. And your friends all around you. And...and....


New Testament: Revelation 10

What an opportunity this chapter presents to work on biblical symbolism. There is so much here that is patently not literal. It’s a time-proven principle of interpretation: “If the literal sense makes good sense, seek no other sense.” But this chapter offers very little that can be taken in a literal sense.

That which is literal:

• an angel (but do we really know what they look like?)
• a scroll (but edible? with sweet and sour flavor?
• land and sea
• He who created the heavens, earth, and sea
• His servants, the prophets
• many peoples, nations, languages, and kings

That which is not:

• robed in a cloud and crowned with a rainbow
• face like the sun and legs like fiery pillars
• right foot on the sea, left foot on the land
• the voices of seven thunders speaking
• an edible scroll

Some involve metaphors that are easily understandable, like a “shout like the roar of a lion”. Others are not hard to picture, given the description, but they’re like nothing we’ve ever seen or heard.

One important principle of interpretation is to compare Scripture with Scripture and that may provide some help here:

• a rainbow speaks of God’s promise (Gen. 9:8-17)
• fiery pillars speak of God’s guidance and protection (Ex. 14:19,24)
• thunder speaks of divine punishment (Rev. 8:5; 11:19; 16:18)
• sealed prophecies await future fulfillment (Dan. 8:26; 12:4,9)
• raising the right hand signifies taking an oath (Gen. 14:22-23; Deut. 32:40)

The problem with attempting to interpret all the non-literal elements here is that you have no clear rules to follow. It can quickly degenerate into someone’s imaginative genius and whatever intriguing interpretation that strikes our fancy wins the day. That’s not a good way to approach Scripture. Better to simply say, “I don’t know” and await God’s future illumination.

When all is said and done here in Revelation 10, we’re still left with some major questions. One thing is sure, when it does begin to take place before our very eyes, it’s going to seem like déjà vu.