THE LORD SPOKE (September 8)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Proverbs 17-19

Proverbs 17:22 - A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

A hearty laugh will do wonders for picking up the spirits - even if it is someone else’s laugh (or someone else’s spirits!). Don’t you love to hear a roar, a burst, a peal, or an explosion of laughter? A shriek or a scream of laughter is great. How about a whoop, a howler, a knee-slapper, or crowing? Even a chuckle, a chortle, a snicker, or a snort is good stuff. Why not just a giggle or a grin? You’ve seen people roll in the aisles but never really seen anybody die of laughter, have you? They might be in stitches, or convulsed, but does anybody really split their sides? OK, maybe you have seen them crack up at times. Wasn’t it fun?

On the other hand, Deacon Dry-as-Dust can put an immediate damper on any room. His sad, sour, somber, sorry spirit can make you dejected, despairing, despondent, disconsolate, dismal, distressed, doleful, down, downcast, down in the dumps, and down in the mouth real quick. Why do we have so many words available for this?

Our text today tells us that the surly bird catches the germ. That’s right. There’s a direct correlation between a joyful spirit and good health. And the opposite is also true - an unhappy person is more likely to catch every germ that comes along. Look at some more of the proverbs of Solomon about this subject:

• 14:30 - a heart at peace gives life to the body
• 15:13 - a happy heart makes the face cheerful
• 15:30 - a cheerful look brings joy to the heart
• 16:15 - when a king’s face brightens, it means life

Or, take a look at Job’s contribution (29:24), “When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.” His miserable comforters couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

So how do you get happy?

1. Slow down, calm down, and joy up - look up to the Lord and He’ll pick up your spirits every time.
2. Smile. Practice smiling. Just look at yourself in the mirror sometime and try it. You’ll like it!
3. Stay away from sour people - except to help them learn how to smile too.
4. Let go. Lighten up. Laugh a little. Laugh a lot.
5. Buy yourself a new joke book. Keep it by your bedside. Keep it in the bathroom.

You’ll save money on your doctor bills. The Bible says so!

A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs... every pebble in the road jolts him. Henry Ward Beecher

New Testament: Revelation 14

The scene opens on “Mount Zion”. But which Mount Zion is it?

Assuming, to begin with, that the events taking place are here on earth and that, in spite of all the figurative imagery, there is some resemblance to the earth as we know it, this scene is unfolding in the city of Jerusalem.

But Mount Zion has been variously situated on the map of Jerusalem in different time periods. First mention of the name is found in II Samuel 5:6-7 where we read of David’s conquest of the city:

The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, the City of David.

The meaning of the name is unknown but it appears to be a Canaanite name for a fortress built on Jebus, the ancient core of what became Jerusalem. That fortified hill was later excluded from the walled city by Emperor Hadrian (c, AD 135) but archaeology has confirmed its identification (see #1 on the map).

Psalm 48 provides the next evidence for locating Mount Zion. This psalm is ascribed to the sons of Korah in the superscription. They were the descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, and constituted the Levitical choir assembled by David to serve in the Temple. That would place them somewhere in the half-century after David’s conquest of Jerusalem. In Psalm 48:2 they sing of Mount Zion “on the sides of the north”. The NIV’s insertion of [Mount] “Zaphon” here is certainly wrong! Zaphon is the Hebrew word for “north” and should have been translated as such. The absence of a preposition (“on” or otherwise) is what causes the translation difficulty but there is absolutely no cause to insert a sacred mountain in Phoenicia at this point when the entire subject is worship in “the City of the Great King”. Throughout the remainder of the Old Testament, “Zion” is used as a reference for Jerusalem and, when more specific, for the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (see #2 on the map).

At some unknown point in subsequent history, the name slipped over to the western hill of Jerusalem (#3), otherwise unnamed in the Bible. It was first encircled by Hezekiah’s wall shortly before 701 BC. The most likely time for this switch is the Crusader Period when such name swaps happened with frequency. It was probably due to the mistaken notion that the visible structures around today’s Jaffa Gate constituted the “Citadel of David”.

So, where is the Lamb standing in Revelation 14:1? Best guess: on the Temple Mount (#2). That would fit well with verse 15 where John sees an angel come out of the temple. (Just to keep you wondering though...yet another angel comes out of “the temple in heaven” in verse 17.) And we’re back to remembering that John is experiencing an apocalyptic vision. Don’t we have some good questions to ask when we get to heaven?!