Monthly Archives: June 2012

Destructive Words Cannot Destroy the Righteous

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English: Bucegi mountains

Bucegi mountains (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbours, but through knowledge the righteous escape. (Proverbs 11:9)

This proverb supplements what the Scriptures say about our words. Our words have power –either to build up or to destroy. To destroy is how the godless use the power of words.

Since this is a spiritual principle ingrained in this universe as much as the law of gravitational force is a physical principle, the godless may very well succeed with their destructive intentions. But, just as gravity can be defied with clever science, likewise the intention to destroy with words can be subverted through the knowledge that comes with righteousness.

Okay, now how does one get hold of this knowledge that comes from righteousness? Firstly, it is a gift. We cannot work for it. It is God’s gift to those who placed their faith in Christ Jesus –God’s chosen Way to make people righteous. Then, since they are now righteous in God’s sight because of their faith, they have access to all that Christ offers. And one of these offers is knowledge, hidden in Him along with God’s wisdom. All power is given to Christ and those that are in Him cannot be destroyed by any power that is beneath Him.

This includes curses placed on the Lord’s people from the mouth of the godless. I was one of those people who feared the curses of others. I believed that they would have an effect and come true. All that changed when the Lord opened my eyes to this principle: No one can curse what God has blessed. The curses will not get a foothold if I am blessed by God and according to the Bible, those who are in Christ have been blessed:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3

So there we have it. Someone would have to be greater than God to curse what God has blessed and we know that there is none greater than our God. Who is His equal?  Furthermore, the Lord Jesus became the curse for us. All curses that could befall His children have been dealt a final blow on that Cross. Dead and buried and powerless they are now.

Now, there is one thing we must not lose sight of. This is a gift of God and we should never forget the price that has been paid for us to be blessed. For this reason we should take care not to be deliberate troublemakers and sow discord and then think we are safe. Such an attitude would reflect a heart which does not appreciate the shedding of our Lord’s blood for the privileges we enjoy as His children. Isn’t it written that blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God? Yes, that is a characteristic of a child of God –someone who not only loves peace, but who works hard to make peace. There is also an instruction in Ephesians for us to use our words wisely:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)

or as the NLT puts it:

Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

To get back to the proverb above: The righteous escape the destructive words of the godless through knowledge. Now that we have discussed who the righteous are, let’s talk about the word knowledge in this proverb. The Hebrew word translated as knowledge includes along with knowledge also the following characteristics: perception, skill, discernment, understanding and wisdom.

Through all these things the righteous will escape and these things are given to them because they are in Christ Jesus. His Spirit guides them and teaches them all things. They receive both a love and knowledge of the Truth. They become skillful in learning how to deal with the ungodly and how to avoid their traps. They are given a keen perception of human behavior. They receive a Spirit of discernment which allows them to distinguish between the good and the bad intentions of others –no matter how well-concealed those bad intentions are. Ever felt like something is not quite right with an offer although you can’t quite put your finger on it, only to find later you were right to be distrustful?

Having received all these gifts, destructive words cannot destroy the righteous. And to think these are only a portion of the blessings which we received by faith in Christ. Thank God for His great kindness towards us.

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God Hurls the Arrogant Away Like a Ball

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Napoleon's exile, St Helena June 1970

St Helena June 1970 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Scripture Reference: Isaiah 22:15-25

Shebna was a powerful man. In terms of the power and authority he enjoyed, one could say that he was like the Secretary of State of Judah. As in so many cases, Shebna (called the Palace Administrator) was intoxicated by his power. He saw it as a means, not to serve others, but to achieve his selfish ambitions.

Many leaders before Shebna have allowed themselves to be corrupted by power and many following him fell into the same trap. It is a trap when one considers the end of those who abuse power to serve themselves. While they are dreaming of achieving great heights, they often end up with the polar opposite of what they fought so hard to achieve.

I would venture to say that there are even more Shebna’s around today than there were in ancient times. The list is long.  History surrounding the likes of  Shebna are blots and dark spots on the book of humanity. One more recent example is Napoleon. Concerning Napoleon’s lofty ideals, Victor Hugo sums it up in Les Misèrables: “The throne of the world was expected; it was Saint Helena that was seen.” There are many other examples, for mankind has the ability to repeat the mistakes and consequences of history.

Shebna’s ideals were not much different from Napoleon’s. He was arrogant and in his pride attempted to immortalize himself by devising a plan to be buried among kings. His sense of entitlement spurred him on. But God would have none of this. As we know, He makes it His mission to resist the proud and allow their plans to come to nothing. So, He sent Isaiah to Shebna with a message:

Go, say to this steward,
to Shebna the palace administrator:
What are you doing here and who gave you permission
to cut out a grave for yourself here,
hewing your grave on the height
and chiselling your resting place in the rock? 

“The height” is significant since it refers to the man’s sense of self-importance. God saw what he has planned in his heart and God makes sure that he knows that God sees into the deepest recesses of the heart. The prophet arrives to announce his own secret thoughts to him. Only now it is secret no longer. God is going to put an end to his plans. Not only that, God will make his worst fears come true. Instead of achieving the honor he selfishly sought, he will die an embarrassing death. God talks of hurling him like a rock; of rolling him up like a ball. His destruction will be swift and irreparable. This is a warning not only to Shebna, but to all who think that it is okay to put their own agendas above what is right and true:

Beware, the LORD is about to take firm hold of you
and hurl you away…He will roll you up tightly like a ball
and throw you…

You see, God loves it when people are humble. When they are humble, it gives Him the opportunity to lift them up. In Matthew 23 Jesus went into a lengthy discourse with His disciples. He placed before them the religious leaders of the day as an example of what not to be. They loved everything that promoted their importance. They loved the reserved seats in the front rows. They loved to be honored with their religious titles. It’s not much different today. Jesus concludes by telling His followers that the one who wants to exalt himself will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. God wants to do it. He despises it when men wants to do what is rightfully His to do.

God then makes it clear that He will replace Shebna with someone with a humble heart. His name is Eliakim and he never sought honor and high positions. He will receive what he never searched for. And this is where it gets really interesting. When one looks closer, it becomes abundantly clear that the contrast painted here between the top guy in the palace and Eliakim is an example of the contrast between power hungry, image-making religious leaders and Jesus Christ who humbled Himself even to the point of death on a Cross and was therefore elevated to the point where now —every knee shall bow….

Listen to what Isaiah says when he refers to Eliakim:

I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

Wait a minute, you say…yep, my thoughts exactly. These are the words our Lord has uttered concerning Himself in Revelation 3:7. Notice that His authority is so huge that the keys can’t be worn at His side. It has to be placed on His shoulders. His authority is absolute. He opens. He shuts. In short, He’s in charge. It is clear from the Scriptures that Jesus has been appointed to replace all corrupted church leadership. No longer do we call men our shepherds, since He is the Great Shepherd of the sheep. No longer to we call men high priest, since He is the final and eternal High Priest over all God’s house, etc.

The sooner we realize that all glory, all power, all wisdom, honor, all thanks and all praise belong to Jesus, the easier it will be for us to avoid the traps of arrogance and pride and avoid it’s humiliating consequences.

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Revelation 5:12

Seven times over, He alone is Worthy.

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The Danger of Familiarity

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Blyde River Canyon

Blyde River Canyon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Scripture Reference: Matthew 13:53-58

As Jesus moved from town to town, people were amazed at His understanding and His teachings, except when He went to His home town. As He was teaching people in the synagogue, they were initially in awe of His wisdom, but that soon changed. Familiarity can be a dangerous thing.

Even as they expressed their amazement, they started to question His abilities. How could it be that He is anything special? He is just the carpenter’s son. He grew up in front of them. They knew His mother and His siblings. These all appeared normal. How is it that He has wisdom and miraculous powers? What makes Him so special? Who does He think He is? Their amazement turned to offense.

Suddenly, the very things that were given so that they could put their faith in Him became the source of offense and they turned their backs on Immanuel. They brushed Him aside because they looked at what was familiar about Him and rejected the possibility that God could be operating through someone they knew so well.

Jesus took it in His stride. He didn’t seem to be taken by surprise by their sudden change of heart. He knew what lives in the human heart and wasn’t swayed by the approval of men.

Many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature.  No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like. (John 2:23b-25).

Jesus knows how we  sometimes allow our emotions to rule us. The day came when these same people who were ooh-ing and aah-ing at His wisdom shouted, “Crucify Him!” He knew how people can become blind followers of the latest religious trends without their hearts being engaged in what they are doing.  That’s the danger of being a slave to our fickle emotions.

Furthermore, Jesus used this negative situation to teach His disciples a valuable lesson in preparation of their own ministry.  “A prophet is not without honour except in his hometown and in his own home.” He is preparing them to expect that they will be least received among the people who saw them grow up and who lived in the same house as them. Familiarity breeds contempt. When people figure they know you well, they will refuse to believe that God could be doing something new in you.

Familiarity often causes people to stumble and miss God’s action right under their noses. Not only do they lose the opportunity to be a part of what God is doing around them, but they miss the opportunity to be a part of what God can do in them. Look at what happened in Jesus’ home town. Because of their lack of faith, Jesus did not do many miracles there. Many people were robbed of healing and restoration because they looked at what they thought they had all figured out. They dismissed the idea that God could be operating through someone they knew since His childhood. Because of their off-handed dismissal of Jesus they also missed the miraculous.

My prayer is that this will serve as a warning not to look down on those whom we think we  ”know well.” May we not fall into the same trap as the people did in Jesus’ home town. Let’s look beyond what we deem familiar and look to an all powerful God who knows best and chooses whom He wants to.

Think of David. His own family never considered him worthy of being anointed King of Israel. They didn’t even invite him to the line-up. They left him in the fields. His own brother called him conceited when he inquired about Goliath and told him to go back to his few sheep. Ironically it is this “conceited” fellow that God called a man after His own heart. May a “know-it-all” attitude not lead us to condemn those whom God has chosen. By opening our hearts to God’s action in people (even the ones we know), we are opening our hearts to the miraculous.

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