Subscription Lists

An axe and an adze are tools that are frequently used for hewing. Sometimes the hewing process is intended to give an object a desired shape and at other times hewing is simply intended to divide or chop an object in two. Now hear God's word through Hosea: "Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth." (Hosea 4.5).

This an example of Hebrew parallelism. To hew Israel "by the prophets" is parallel to "I have slain them by the words of My mouth." God's prophets were spokespersons for Him; the words which they spoke were words which He spoke. There was a process, all the details of which we are not privileged to know, by which God's words were put into the mouths of the prophets. Not a few passages make this clear. David said, "The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue." (2 Samuel 23.2). Jeremiah stated, "Then I said, 'I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.' But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not." (Jeremiah 20.9). Looking back into the Old Testament era Peter said, "…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 1.21).

God's word can build up and God's word can tear down. It was by His spoken word that the entire universe and all that is contained within it was spoken into existence (Psalm 33.6). But, His spoken word also has destructive power. Consider these two passages: "But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked." (Isaiah 11.4). "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming." (2 Thessalonians 2.8). Hence, we come to understand that just as it is true for an axe and an adze, so also God's hewing by His word can be for either constructive or destructive purposes.

Ordinarily God's word went forth from the prophets in order to positively shape the hearts and lives of those who heard it. After all, it is God's intent that "all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2.4). However, as God revealed through Jeremiah, His word is also designed "… to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down," as well as "…to build and to plant." (Jeremiah 1.10). God's purposes are, when it comes to people, shaped by our reaction to His word; for those who hear, there are blessings but for those who refuse, there are curses (see this principle illustrated with Mount Gerizim and Ebal; Deuteronomy 27-28).

God's word truly is like a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4.12). Or as the late Marshall Keeble put it, ""God's word cuts a comin' and a goin'." God's word is powerful, it is eternal, it is truth, it is the standard of judgment by which all men will be judged, and it is available for men to read, understand and obey today. The fact is this: Every person will be hewn by the word of God; the only question is when and will it be voluntary or not!

Questions:

1. What had God used to hew Israel? How was this done?

2. David said that God's word was on his tongue. What did that have to do with God's hewing of Israel by the prophets?

3. How is God's word like a two-edged sword?

4. If we do not voluntarily allow our lives to be shaped (hewn) by the word of God, will there be a time when we will be hewn involuntarily?

"Point of Reference" from Fred Price

Counting the Cost and Bearing the Cross