April 8 ▪ Day 98

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 15:4
Jeremiah 25–26
Galatians 5–6
Psalms 98

Verse Focus (Proverbs 15:4)

The soothing tongue is a tree of life,
     but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

Meditation

Proverbs 15:4 says, in the NRSV, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” What is interesting about this proverb is that it does not say who receives the effects of the life-giving or life-destroying tongue. By leaving the targets unnamed, we are free to interpret that both the speaker and the ones spoken to will receive either the benefit or harm.

We have studied proverbs before that use the “tree of life” as a metaphor: Proverbs 11:30 (February 25, day 56) and Proverbs 13:12 (March 16, day 75). And just yesterday we talked about gentle words. So we should have a pretty good grasp on the first half of the proverb.

We’ve also talked about a perverse tongue before, when we studied Proverbs 10:31 (February 11, day 32). As you recall, in today’s usage perversity is often used only in the context of sexual depravity, but it actually means a willful and purposeful turning away from what is good and right. It’s not just about being corrupt, but about deliberately behaving in unreasonable or unacceptable ways regardless of the consequences. So a perverse tongue would be one that speaks inappropriate words in inappropriate situations. But “inappropriate” is on the mild end of the spectrum, where our words can be perverse without our intending them to be so. A perverse tongue ranges from merely inappropriate to deliberately spiteful, hateful, wicked, and mean: this is life-crushing. For both the hearer and the speaker.

Father God, we long to have our words be life-giving. Let our speech be gentle and soothing, a tree of life to ourselves and to those who hear us. Keep us from deliberately sinful or angry speech. Restrain us from using our words to harm. May the grace of the Holy Spirit be within us to enable us to control our tongues, through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

In Jeremiah 25 and 26 we backtrack in time a bit to read of prophecies given earlier in Jeremiah’s ministry to the kings that reigned prior to Zedekiah. Jehoiakim’s fourth year as the king that Egypt placed on the throne was also the first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign in Babylon. That same year, Jeremiah went to prophesy to the whole land of Judah about the coming invasion and exile. It was a very specific prophecy, even detailing that the Hebrews’ exile would last for 70 years — after which, God would punish Babylon as well.

I was struck by some of the language in this prophecy, particularly as it is repetitive language that we have heard earlier in Jeremiah. Verse 10 says, “And I will banish from them the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.” These are extremely evocative images that convey the best things about life — laughter, love, work, light, and learning. To think of these joys terminated almost makes the next detail that “this whole land shall become a ruin and a waste” seem unnecessary.

I also noted how the LORD called King Nebuchadnezzar “my servant” in verse 9. It always a bit shocking when God refers to pagan rulers as his deputies.

After the prophecy against Judah that foretells the Babylonian captivity, Jeremiah continues to prophesy against all the nations. Jeremiah speaks of the cup of God’s wrath that will be given to all to drink. He gives a detailed list, naming all the nations in the regions around Judah. The king of Sheshach, mentioned in verse 26, is a cryptogram for Babel and refers literally to the Babylonian kingdom that conquered Judah, as well as metaphorically to the Babylon of Revelation: any and all ungodly and wicked societies. In verse 29, the LORD says, “I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth.”

Verse 32 caught my eye today. “See, disaster is spreading from nation to nation, and a great tempest is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth!” Certainly this verse was true of the Babylonian invasions of all the southern countries, but it is also a vivid description of what happened in World War I and World War II. Of course, I also see it applying to us today, as we consider the Covid-19 pandemic. Disaster is spreading from nation to nation. Shivers!

Jeremiah 26 backtracks again to a bit earlier in the reign of King Jeohiakim. By the fourth year, as we just read in chapter 25, disaster and exile is prophesied. But when Jeohiakim first started to rule, Jeremiah prophesied in the temple for the people to repent and change their ways that disaster might be averted. Then, the threat was that Jerusalem would become like Shiloh — ruined, deserted, and the worship center desecrated. The priests and prophets of the temple did not respond well to Jeremiah’s prophecies. In fact, they started saying that Jeremiah should be put to the death for prophesying against Jerusalem (v. 11). However, the king and government officials were a little more temperate in their response, saying that Jeremiah should not be put to death since he spoke in the name of the LORD (v. 16).

It was interesting that the elders mentioned the prophet Micah of Moresheth (yes, the same Micah whose book is in the Bible), quoting from Micah 3:12: “Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.” The elders recognized that in killing Jeremiah and refusing to repent they would bring a “great disaster” upon themselves.

Although Jeremiah’s life was saved in this incident, another prophet of the LORD had not fared as well. Uriah prophesied in a manner similar to Jeremiah; when his life was threatened, he fled to Egypt. But Jehoiakim sent someone after Uriah; he was found, brought back to Jerusalem, and killed. Even though we know from earlier chapters in Jeremiah that his life was in danger and that both his townsfolk and kinsmen plotted against him, hearing the story of Uriah makes the danger that Jeremiah faced seem more real somehow.

Paul begins Galatians 5 by declaring that it is “for freedom that Christ has set us free.” This would seem to be obvious — the point of being freed is to be free — so why does Paul tell us this? Because his listeners still needed to understand that the freedom from sin that Christ brought us was also a freedom from the law that brought the knowledge of sin. As Paul says in verse 6, “The only thing that counts is faith made effective through love.”

Like Jesus, Paul uses the metaphor of yeast in verse 9 to describe how quickly bad theology can spread through a congregation.

In verse 11, he speaks of “the offense of the cross.” The words jump out at me, and I wonder if I understand what that offense is. After all, there are a lot of things that are offensive about Jesus’ crucifixion. First, the idea that our sin is so heinous that only the death of God’s own Son could make atonement for us — that is certainly not a pleasant idea to apply to oneself. Second, the idea that Christ’s sacrifice perfected the law and thus made sacrifices and the whole system of living under the law no longer necessary — that was certainly offensive to the Jews. Third, to Gentile believers at least, the whole idea of a sacrifice being needed — that blood must be spilled in order to clear the way to God — is offensive. But mostly, and for everyone, I think the offense of the cross is that it does away with the idea of human merit. There is nothing we can do to earn true righteousness. Even the best among us are defiled by sin and selfishness.

In the second half of Galatians 5, Paul exhorts us to use the freedom we have in Christ to love one another — or, as Paul says in verse 13, “Through love become slaves to one another.” He gives some clear examples of things to avoid, as well as detailing the fruit of the Spirit in the wonderful, must-memorize verses 22 and 23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

In Galatians 6, Paul gives two nearly back-to-back verses that seem a little contradictory. First, in verse 2, he tells us to “Bear one another’s burdens.” But then in verse 5 he says, “For all must carry their own loads.” In some translations, they even use the same word — burden — for both verses. But in the Greek, two different words are used in the verses here. In verse 2, the word for “burdens” is βάρη, or in the singular, βάρος (baros [bar′– os]). In verse 5, the word used is φορτίον (phortion [for-tee′-on]). Both of these are nautical terms, but with slightly different meanings.

The word phortion, or load, refers to a ship’s cargo or freight. As such, it is an intentional load carried by the vessel, although different vessels will have different capabilities regarding cargo. In phortion, there is no reference to the weight of the load — it is more based on the idea that it is unique to the vessel. It is a load that belongs to the ship — or person — to whom it has been assigned. On the other hand, baros does carry with it a sense of weight or heaviness — an excessive amount that would sink a ship should it attempt to carry that weight. Such “burdens” are things in excess of what we should carry — things so massive or so stressful that they would crush us should we attempt to carry it alone. So verse 2 tells us to help carry the excess weight — the crushing burdens of one another; while verse 5 tells us that we each have a responsibility to manage and transport our own cargo.

I especially love verse 6: “Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher.” An interesting verse, isn’t it? Why do you suppose we are told to share “good things” with our teachers? Perhaps in New Testament times, this was meant literally that teachers deserved to be supported with temporal goods by those who were being taught. But the Holy Spirit highlighted this verse to me recently as being important in the realm of encouragement. If you have learned something useful from your teacher, tell them so — teachers need to be encouraged that the work they are doing is reaping a harvest.

In fact, as Paul goes on he tells us that we reap whatever we sow (v. 7). This is why it is so important to sow to the Spirit rather than to the flesh. He exhorts us not to become weary, promising that the harvest will indeed come.

Today we have another psalm that praises God for being the King, the one who is coming to judge the world. Psalm 98 exhorts us to sing a new song and to make a joyful noise before the LORD. Again, I am delighted by the imagery in this psalm: the sea roars, the floods clap, and the hills sing. This gives me a picture of delight and gladness in creation, and of how marvelous God is for having created such majestic things as mountains and oceans and hurricanes.

I have an unfinished thought about why it is important to sing to God a new song. I think, because God’s mercies are new every morning, it is important for us to realize that each day of flowers and sunshine is a new gift. Just because we receive this gift most days of the year doesn’t make it less a “new” gift to us each day. We have this idea that nature is constant, when in truth it is only God who is constant. I think we mistake the constant rhythms we see in the world around us — night and day, spring and fall, planting and harvest — as being intrinsic to these things themselves. Yet I believe that it is really by the faithfulness and mercy of God that day by day these cycles renew and repeat.

I guess part of what I’m trying to say is that we need to be able to recognize God’s manifestations of grace to us each day — and each recognition is worthy of its own song of praise. So even if the words coming out sound the same, the song is “new” in our fresh appreciation of who God is and what He has done for us.

Father God, I am so grateful for the gift of today. You renewed my faith and encouraged my heart. The sun was shining and the temperature was mild, promising of even better weather to come. Thank you that — even in a world that suffers from the effects of the Fall — we see amazing marvels and wondrous beauty. Please help me to come to a better understanding of how we should rejoice in you as the Judge.

Father, even as Jeremiah spoke of disaster spreading from nation to nation, we see troubling things when we look at world news and politics. We pray for your mercy upon us and for you to bring widespread revival across the planet. Thank you for setting us free in Christ Jesus. Help us to bear one another’s burdens while still carrying our own loads. Enable us to bless our teachers and to encourage the weary. Help us to find the opportunities to work for the good of those in the body of Christ. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.