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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
No one has to tell you, the reader of this article, the importance of words. Verbal communication is as old as mankind and it is one of the unique and significant differences between humanity and other living creatures. Just as human communication via words differs substantially from the various forms of communication that are existent in the animal kingdom, so God's word differs from man's. Today we will highlight how different a word is from God when compared to words of human origin.
“Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his [Peter's] wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.'” (Matthew 8.14-17). The demon-possessed in the time of Jesus were beyond the reach of any known technology, medical or otherwise. They simply had no hope! Yet, a cursory reading of today's focus text demonstrates how powerless such a force (demons) was when confronted with the power of a word from God. That's all Jesus had to speak in order for the great difference in words to be demonstrated.
On another occasion, a similar event was recorded. We quote it here without further comment. “Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are——the Holy One of God!' But Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be quiet, and come out of him!' And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, 'What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.'”(Luke 4.33-36).
Looking centuries earlier at the time of Joshua and the fledgling nation of Israel, the following commentary is noted: “So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” (Joshua 21.43-45).
The prophets in Israel had an awesome task. They were expected to inerrantly deliver God's word, an impossible task by mere human capabilities. One charge went like this: “Thus says the LORD: 'Stand in the court of the LORD’S house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’S house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word.'” (Jeremiah 26.2).
This kind of responsibility was not be accepted lightly nor could it be met without the submissive attitude of the prophets. It was to this point that Peter commented when he said, “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1.10-21). Surely this powerful means of communication deserves our best efforts to understand and obey it!
Questions:
1. What was demonstrated by Jesus' ability to cast out demons by His mere word?
2. To what degree was God faithful in fulfilling His promises to Israel regarding the promised land?
3. What was so daunting about God's charge to Jeremiah? Could a man unaided by outside forces accomplish such a task?
4. By what power did the prophets speak? What effect should this fact have on the way we treat the Scriptures?
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