THE LORD SPOKE (December 18)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Obadiah

His name means “servant of the Lord”. His prophecy could fit two possible events in Israel’s history: (1) the time of Elisha when the Philistines and Arabs invaded Jerusalem (II Kings 8 & II Chronicles 21), or (2) the time of Jeremiah when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem (II Kings 25 & II Chronicles 36). On both occasions Edom sat quietly by (gloated?!) while Jerusalem was destroyed. The striking similarities between the book of Obadiah and chapter 49 of Jeremiah might be an argument for the latter but we don’t have enough identification for Obadiah to be certain. It was a common name.

The book follows the pattern of a “Covenant Lawsuit” (called a riv in Hebrew):

1. Summons (vs. 1)
2. Arraignment (vs. 2-7)
3. Indictment (vs. 8-9)
4. Case (vs. 10-14)
5. Sentence (vs. 15-16)
6. Vindication (vs. 17-21)

Unlike the many judgment passages concerning Israel, this one doesn’t conclude with a promise of restoration. Edom was not given any hope. Edom’s destruction was sure and Edom never saw another day.

“In that day” has messianic overtones. One of the results of “the day of the Lord” (vs. 15) is that deliverance will come from Mount Zion (vs. 17). Mount Zion will be the seat of government (vs. 21) and “the kingdom will be the Lord’s”. This was the same vision seen by the Apostle John in the last book of the Bible:

The kingdom of the world
has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,
and he will reign for ever and ever....
We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.
The nations were angry; and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints
and those who reverence your name, both small and great -
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.
(Revelation 11:15-18)

Proverbs 18

God gave us one mouth and two ears. That should give us some idea of the proportionate use we should make of both. Proverbs 18 has a lot to say about both talking and listening. What should we learn from it?

Talking

Prov. 18:2 - “A fool...delights in airing his own opinions.” He thinks “Everyone is entitled to my opinion.” But doesn’t stop to ask if they want it or not. Better to be quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Prov. 18:4 - “The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a babbling brook.” Do the deep waters refer to profundity or obscurity? The adversative “but” in the NIV is supplied and does not seem accurate here. The two halves of the verse are not linked by any conjunction in the Hebrew original so these seem to be parallel statements. A good man’s words are deep and bubble up a wealth of wisdom.

Prov. 18:6-7 - “A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating. A fool’s mouth is his undoing and his lips are a snare to his soul.” Your words can be a treasure or they can be a trap. They can save you or they can swamp you. Use your mouth to make peace not war and you’ll avoid strife and bitterness.

Prov. 18:20 - “From the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.” Just as a farmer enjoys the crops he planted, so should a man reap a good harvest if he plants well with his words.

Prov. 18:21 - “The tongue has the power of life and death....” James says it better than any words we could add here: With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? (Jas. 3:9-11)

Listening

Prov. 18:13 - “He who answers before listening - that is his folly and his shame.” It seems so patently true and logical. Why don’t we do it? “Stop, look, and listen!” is wisdom for much more than just train tracks.

Prov. 18:15 - “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.” This takes it a step farther. We need to seek out wisdom by listening for it and to it.

Prov. 18:17 - “The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.” Yet another step - don’t be content with the first answer. Listen beyond that. Get a second opinion. And a third.

The tongue has the power of life and death. And the ears have the power of light or deafness. Use the tongue sparingly and the ears generously and you’ll find yourself headed down a good path.

THE LORD SPOKE (August 17)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Psalm 70-73

Ever notice how much time we spend talking? Sometimes it’s mindless drivel. Sometimes, if it weren’t for traffic and weather, we wouldn’t have much to talk about. Sometimes we’d do well to shut up and listen to others rather than talking so much.

The writer concludes this psalm by saying, “My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long” (Ps. 71:24). Now there’s a topic that will keep you occupied for a long time! Take a look at the variety of terms used for how we can/should speak of our God:

• “I will ever praise you...my mouth is filled with your praise” (Ps. 71:7-8)
• “my mouth will tell of your righteousness” (Ps. 71:15)
• “I will proclaim your mighty acts...I will proclaim your righteousness” (Ps. 71:16)
• “I declare your power to the next generation” (Ps. 71:18)
• “I will sing praise to you “ (Ps. 71:22)
• “my lips will shout for joy” (Ps. 71:23)

What with eating too, that should be enough to keep our mouths busy for a long time. In fact, there shouldn’t be much time left for slander, back-biting, derogatory remarks, cursing, grumbling, or any of the other things that often come out of our mouths. As James 3:9-10 says: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.”

Instead, let us resolve to use our mouth to honor God. What a magnificent tool He has given us. Imagine how difficult life would be without the gift of speech. If all your communications were limited to written messages and sign language, how much harder it would be to express ourselves. So, let us express our gratitude to God always and tell of His mighty acts. Determine today to say at least three things in praise of the One who gave you a mouth to do so.


New Testament: II Peter 2

Vilification and vituperation! If we were to list all the terms Peter uses in this chapter to denounce false teachers, we’d have to write out the entire chapter. He spares no judgmental term upon them. He wore out the page in his thesaurus. If you’d used all those words at school you’d have found yourself sitting in the corner.

But the question is, was he right in doing so? Was there just cause? Did/do the false teachers deserve such treatment? Indeed they do! Take a look at what they do and are responsible for:

1. they often go about their shady business secretly (II Pet. 2:1)
2. what they do is destructive to others and to themselves (II Pet. 2:1)
3. it amounts to denying the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice (II Pet. 2:1)
4. they lead others astray (II Pet. 2:2)
5. what they do is shameful (II Pet. 2:2)
6. they bring disrepute on the truth (II Pet. 2:2)
7. they are exploitative and greedy (II Pet. 2:3)
8. they make up lies (II Pet. 2:3)
9. they are twisted by sin (II Pet. 2:10)
10. they despise authority (II Pet. 2:10)
11. they’re arrogant (II Pet. 2:10)
12. they’re slanderous (II Pet. 2:10)
13. they’re blasphemous (II Pet. 2:12)
14. they’re harmful (II Pet. 2:13)
15. they’re besotted (II Pet. 2:13)
16. they’re adulterous (II Pet. 2:14)

And that’s just the warm up! The second half of the chapter goes into even greater detail.

So, back to the question. Did Peter do the right thing in condemning them? What about us? Do we do right to condemn false teachers in our day?

Standing firm for the truth demands it. It’s not enough to just be positive. A doctor must do more than give you vitamins - he also needs to cut out the cancer. This isn’t a call for a negative ministry. Look at all the good and the positive that Peter gives us in the remainder of his two epistles. But balance and honesty demands that we counter and confront false teaching. In this case, the old adage, “If you can’t say something positive, don’t say anything at all” is patently false.