THE LORD SPOKE (June 29)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: II Chronicles 17-18

Going against the flow! Micaiah already had a reputation for not going along with the crowd (II Chron. 18:17). When all the other prophets, including some big names in Israel (II Chron. 18:9-11), were preaching a "positive" message, he wasn't afraid to pronounce an unpopular word of doom because he was certain it was from the Lord. The pressure was on him (II Chron. 18:12) to be "p.c." He even appeared at first to have learned his lesson to not rain on the king's parade (II Chron. 18:14-15). But King Ahab grew suspicious and then got everything he didn't bargain for.

The big wigs of the Prophets' Guild weren't happy when one of their members didn't follow the union guidelines (II Chron. 18:23). Crossing the line and upsetting the status quo could be detrimental to their comfortable positions in the king's court so they made sure it was detrimental to any young up-start who might think he could dare to do so (II Chron. 18:25-26). Micaiah didn't bend (II Chron. 18:27) so they tried to break him. When his word came true (II Chron. 18:34) at least one person was profoundly affected. King Jehoshaphat, for the remainder of his life (20:32), was quick to remind the people to "have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful" (20:20b).

We like it when we can clearly discern something and say, "the Lord spoke". But there are some occasions where we can say with certainty, "the Lord has not spoken" (II Chron. 18:27). Micaiah could have just remained silent and thought, "they'll find out soon enough". But to remain silent when we have a clear statement from the Lord is no better than to invent a false statement in the interest of maintaining a positive approach. Gray is a convenient place to blend in or hide but the Bible more often paints in broad strokes of black and white.

How are you doing on that one? Are you willing to "tell it like it is" when you're convinced it's in Scripture? It's not enough to believe it but then to remain silent about it. We love to be loved and we hate to be hated, but God's passion for truth is a higher calling.


New Testament: Colossians 2

The Colossians were dabbling in what later became a full-blown heresy. Second-century Gnosticism was a dangerous philosophy of dualism - all matter is entirely evil and all spirit is good. Paul’s vocabulary indicates that he was already combating this wrong thinking in its various forms.

“fullness” (Col. 1:19) - The Gnostics used this term to refer to the sum of supernatural forces which controlled fate; Paul used “fullness” to speak of the power and attributes of God.

“knowledge” (Col. 2:3) - The Greek term for knowledge is gnosis (thus, “Gnosticism”) and for the Gnostics it constituted a special wisdom that allowed them to understand truths which others couldn’t see; Paul used “knowledge” to describe the believer’s understanding of and relationship to Christ.

“body” vs. “spirit” (Col. 2:9-15) - The Gnostics taught that all matter was evil and contrasted it with God who is wholly spirit and therefore good; Paul stressed the truth that God became man and took on a body in order to redeem us (“all the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form”).

“putting off the sinful nature” (Col. 2:11) - Since the body was considered evil, it was treated harshly and the Gnostics practiced strange forms of asceticism. On the other hand, this led to licentiousness. If matter is evil already, breaking God’s law with your body would have no additional moral consequences; Paul emphasized the circumcision of the heart. Rather than being “dead in our sins”, Christ “forgave all our sins” and made us alive in Him.

“shadow...reality” (Col. 2:16-17) - Observance of ceremonial laws and ritual was both insufficient and unnecessary; Paul taught that the written code was canceled when it was nailed to the cross.

“false humility” - (Col. 2:18) - One who had this inner track to wisdom would “go into great detail about what he has seen” but Paul says “his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions”.

Most of the errors of Gnosticism are still with us today in one form or another. “Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence” (Col. 2:23). The Devil is still using his old tricks - you’d think we’d learn! “Sensual indulgence” is the root of nearly every sin. We must “not lose connection with the Head”. Remembering that we “died with Christ”, let us press on.