THE LORD SPOKE (July 14)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Nehemiah 4-6

The Bible gives us more of Nehemiah's prayers than any other individual in Scripture. There are longer prayers recorded but Nehemiah holds the record for the most. Some are "crafted" prayers which show planning and organization (1:4-11) and may have been written out. Several are sentence prayers (e.g. 5:19; 6:9), uttered spontaneously in a moment of need. Seven tell God to remember something (1:8; 5:19; 6:14; 13:14,22,29,31). Does He forget?

The imprecatory prayers (4:4-5; 6:14; 13:29.31) are interesting because we often feel uncomfortable about praying that way (e.g. 4:4-5 - calling for the destruction of our enemies), but they follow a solid biblical tradition (e.g. Psalm 5:10; 10:15; 31:17-18; 40:14-15; etc.).

A frequent element in Nehemiah's prayers is the emphasis on praying and preparing (2:5; 4:9; 6:9). Like the patriots of the American Revolution ("Pray to God and keep your powder dry."), Nehemiah leads the people by doing everything he could/should to answer his own prayers. God is pleased when we use all the strength and resources that He has given us, but our actions are always to be preceded by prayer (James 4:13-15).

Prayer is a "spiritual discipline" because...

1. it makes me wait (gives me new priorities)
2. it clears my vision (gives me a new perspective)
3. it activates my faith (gives me new power)
4. it quiets my heart (gives me new purpose)

So, why don't we do more of it?


New Testament: I Timothy 5

Such instances are not rare, but in I Timothy 5:18 we have two quotations taken from different parts of the Bible. One is from the Old Testament and, what’s rare, is the other one is from the New Testament. They’re both equated as Scripture and that’s significant since the New Testament had not yet come together as a collection. Various parts were already circulating, in this case the Gospel of Luke, but some had not yet even been written. Still, Paul calls both quotes “Scripture”. At least in some cases, there was near-immediate recognition of inspiration.

Paul’s quote, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain”, comes from Deuteronomy 25:4. He used this same passage previously in his writing to the Corinthians. In a similar context he told them to provide a material harvest for those who ministered among them in spiritual things (I Cor. 9:7-14). The principle had been laid down in OT law: the worker should be paid for his labor.

This was confirmed in NT precept, in the very words of Jesus. He said, “the worker deserves his wages” (Lk. 10:7). It might seem obvious to us that this too is “Scripture” but it wasn’t a foregone conclusion at the time. Luke told us that “many have undertaken to draw up an account” (Lk. 1:1) and there were several spurious “gospels” circulating at the time. Paul’s citation is loaded with significance for a proper understanding of NT canonicity.

But, be sure to remember the point he’s making. The work of preaching and teaching is work indeed. The labor that goes into an hour of preaching has been calculated as equivalent to an 8-hour day of manual labor. The muscles may not be sore but the psyche is often sore at the end of the day and the same amount of calories have been spent. The worker is worthy of being well cared for.

In fact, Paul says the elder should be evaluated and, if he is doing a good job, he should be paid double (I Tim. 5:17). His incentive must come from above but it’s appropriate that there be a temporal reward for him here below.