May 20 ▪ Day 140

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 17:28
Ezekiel 31–32
John 2–3
Psalms 140

Verse Focus (Proverbs 17:28)

Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,
     and discerning if they hold their tongues.

Meditation

We have a couple of English sayings that are very similar to today’s proverb. One quote is attributed to Abraham Lincoln, and the other to Mark Twain — although there is no proof that either man ever said anything like these proverbs. But according to our cultural wisdom, Abraham Lincoln said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.” Mark Twain is credited as saying, “It’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.” It is clear that both of these sayings owe much of their genesis to today’s proverb, even if they attempt a more humorous way of expressing the concept.

Proverbs 17:28 says, in the NIV, “Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.” The ESV says, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”

The ability to remain silent is one aspect of self-control and is thus one characteristic of a person of understanding. Fools are not known for their ability to hold their tongues. However, if they are able to do so — temporarily at least — they will be thought discerning. At least until they start speaking. Hence, the Abe Lincoln and Mark Twain variants. 🙂

Yesterday’s proverb warned us to use words with restraint. Today’s proverb strongly cautions us to keep silent. As believers, we may or may not think of ourselves as wise. But we can certainly practice self-control by keeping our mouths shut.

Father God, help us to control our tongues. Teach us the value of being mute, especially when we are in group situations. May your Holy Spirit infuse both our words and our silences through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Ezekiel 31 and 32 record the prophet’s last prophecies against Pharaoh and Egypt. Ezekiel 31 begins in “the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month.” This is 586 BC, only a month or so before the fall of Jerusalem. The prophecy is for Pharaoh, but it is all about Assyria — a “cedar in Lebanon (v. 3)” that was toppled. It was “beautiful in its greatness (v. 7).” However, because Assyria “towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height (v. 10),” God gave them into the hands of foreigners. The cedar was cut down; the world mourned. Like Assyria, Pharaoh is proud and peerless, but he too will be cast down.

Ezekiel 32 occurs in “the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day.” It is 585 BC. Jerusalem has fallen; Nebuchadnezzar now turns his attention to Tyre. Yet Ezekiel is directed to take up a lament for Pharaoh. The images are apocalyptic — bodies high and low, the land drenched with blood, the sun and the moon darkened. Egypt will become desolate — and then “they will know that I am the LORD (v. 15).”

Two weeks later Ezekiel receives another prophecy against Egypt. Even though Egypt is unsurpassed in beauty, they shall go down to Sheol with all the other uncircumcised nations. Assyria is there, Elam is there, Meschech-Tubal is there, Edom is there, the princes of the north and the Sidonians are there. The LORD says when Pharaoh sees all these other multitudes in Sheol, he will be comforted about the loss of his own multitudes (v. 31). I’m not quite sure I understand God’s reasoning about why Pharaoh will be comforted, but it is striking to read of all these nations that had perished.

John 2 tells the story of how Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding in Cana. The chapter begins by telling us that this occurred “on the third day.” Is this a coincidence? Or is it deliberately meant to evoke other important occurrences happening on the third day, such as when Jonah was vomited out of the belly of the whale? Certainly, John would have written this gospel in full knowledge of Christ’s resurrection on the third day. Also, we might ask — the third day from what? From when Jesus gathered disciples to himself? The third day after Nathanael confessed Jesus as the Son of God and the King of Israel?

The significance of this third day is told at the end of the story. Verse 11 tells us, “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” The Greek word for sign, σημεῖον (sémeion), refers to a sign — typically but not necessarily miraculous — that is given particularly to confirm, corroborate, or authenticate. Thus the signs that John points out in his gospel are meant for us to understand Jesus’ identity as the Word of God and as the Messiah.

So what about this incident makes it a sign for us? First, the sign occurs in public. And it definitely is miraculous. Yet while some people were “in” on the secret, most didn’t notice anything at all. I think this is significant, that God works in hidden ways, behind the scenes.

Some people find it meaningful that Jesus uses jars meant for ceremonial cleansing. He transforms — transcends? — the process for ritual purity. However, it is particularly fascinating to me that this first sign occurs in a celebration. One of the greatest joys in life: a wedding. A wedding is all about new life, and a new direction. It is a community celebration. When we look for signs, we think they’ll occur in bleak circumstances. That a spotlight will show just how miraculous God at work is. And yet that isn’t what this first sign is like at all. To me, this sign is all about the abundant life that Christ brings. He adds to the celebration: he enhances the joy, quietly and without fanfare.

After the story of Jesus changing the water into wine, we get two familiar stories: Jesus cleansing the temple of the merchants and money-changers at Passover, and his prophecy that he will raise “this temple (v. 19)” in three days. Verse 23 tells us, “Many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.” When John writes of these signs, he is using the same word that he uses to describe Jesus’ “first sign” at Cana. So even though John calls out seven particular signs to highlight in his gospel, they are not the only wonders that Jesus performs.

John 3 records the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. Nicodemus says to Jesus in verse 2, “No one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus’ reply is somewhat shocking. “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In other words, you cannot even recognize a sign for what it is without having God’s Spirit within you. John the Baptist says something similar in verse 27: “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”

Verse 5 strikes me. Jesus tells us, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” I’m not sure I truly understood before just how crucial baptism is. Baptism with water was what John the Baptist did, and what Jesus’ disciples did. It is a baptism of repentance. You must first choose to turn away from sin and turn toward God before you can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Both of these together enable you to enter into God’s kingdom. Paul also tells us that in water baptism we are united with Christ in his death (Colossians 2:12).

John chapter 3 contains the most famous verse in the Bible: John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus tells us that God did not send him “to condemn the world (v. 17).” Yet we also learn in verse 18 that “whoever does not believe [in the name of the only Son of God] is condemned already.” It might seem unfair to be condemned for unbelief when we need God’s Spirit in order to even see Christ. Yet John the Baptist tells us that God “gives the Spirit without measure (v. 34)” — God freely gives us what we need to see him, hear him, and recognize the signs that authenticate Jesus as God’s Son.

As the chapter closes, verse 36 tells us through its parallel construction that belief in Christ is the same thing as obedience to him.

In Psalm 140 David prays for protection from evil and wicked men. When I pray for protection from evil that’s about as detailed as I get. But David describes their violence, their penchant for stirring up trouble, their malicious talk, and their plotting as well as the traps and snares that evil men set. He pleads for God to hear him, and prays for harm to come to the wicked. Verse 12 expresses David’s confidence that God will “execute justice for the needy.” The psalm ends with a statement of faith: “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.”

Father God, thank you for your Scripture. Please give us understanding of your Word. It is something of a paradox that we must believe in the name of your Son, but that belief isn’t even possible without the work of your Holy Spirit. I’m grateful for the work of your Spirit in my life — yet I plead for the Holy Spirit to move in the lives of those who currently do not believe in the name of your Son. I know you do not desire to condemn the world. You told us in Ezekiel that you take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. May people everywhere repent and turn to you for salvation through Jesus Christ. Amen.