Daily Writing

Saturday, 3 August 2019

Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? James 3:11

James now turns to a rhetorical question. In the Greek, the question begins with an interrogative particle which implies that a negative response is expected. To get a further sense of the language, he uses a definite article before “spring.” He says, “the spring.” This is given to emphatically generalize the question. Next, the word translated as “send forth” is bruó. It means to gush forth. This is an active spring that is sending forth water in a voluminous amount, and which does not fail. One can think of the words of Isaiah –

“The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah 58:11

Next, the word translated as “fresh” is glukus. It is a new word to Scripture which will be seen four times, twice here in James 3, and twice in Revelation when referring to honey. It means “sweet.” It is where our modern word “glucose” comes from. And also, the word translated as “bitter” is pikros. It is another new word which will be seen only here and in verse 3:14. It signifies that which is acrid. Finally, the word translated as “opening” is opé. This is the second and last use in Scripture. It is where our modern word “open” is derived from. It is a hole or a crevice.

So, more literally, James asks, “Does the spring gush forth sweet and acrid from the same opening?” The expected answer is, “Obviously not!” Nothing like this is found in nature, and nothing like this should then be found in man.

Here, we have the spring which symbolizes the heart of man, and the opening looks to the mouth of man. A heart that is bitter will put forth bitter, and a heart that is sweet will put forth sweet. But there is confusion in man and we tend to put forth both. It thus confuses that which is found in the natural realm, and we therefore become our own self-contradiction. It is something we need to work on, and it is something that we need to correct.

Life application: There is a problem with the water which flows forth from a crevice. Normally, one cannot tell just by looking at it if it is good or not. Sometimes even a taste can miss harmful impurities.

If one goes to Yellowstone National Park, he can see crystal clear water coming from the earth, but it can’t be consumed. Likewise, if you look at water from a tap in the Philippines which looks clear and fresh, you might assume it is good. In this, you are likely to have bad stomach problems because of the bacteria living in it. So it is with our mouths.

Good speech comes from a good heart and bad speech comes from a bad heart. How can we, saying we have a right heart with God, utter forth profanities and curses? The two are incompatible.

Likewise, preachers may have a message which sounds good, but if it is tainted with bad doctrine his followers will end up in destruction. The message may come from the heart, but it is often hard to tell from mere appearances.

Take time to reflect on both the message and the messenger – and then compare them against the only proper standard – the Holy Bible. Don’t trust any message, messenger, or combination without verifying it with God’s word. Take time to read these two accounts today. They tell of tainted water that was purified by the Lord –

1. Exodus 15:22-25

2. 2 Kings 2:19-22

Now think on one more source of Water – the Living Water of Jesus Christ. This gives everlasting life to wells full of impurities, and it cleanses them so that they will never be tainted again. How great is our Lord! Have faith and trust that He can purify your hearts and lips today.

O Lord, we were corrupted wells which put forth bad waters. But, you purified us at the source and have healed us. Help us to now put forth only that which is pure and wholesome. We stand in awe of the work You have done, and are doing, in our lives. Continue to cleanse us daily so that we may be springs of purity, flowing out into a world which needs healing. May Your Spirit overflow from us and lead others to the salvation found in You. Amen.

Friday, 2 August 2019

Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. James 3:10

The previous thought from James is that with our mouths we both bless our God and Father, and with it we also curse men who were created in God’s image. Now he shows how inappropriate that is by saying that “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.”

Here, he gives a general repeat of what he has just said in order to show that these things do, in fact, occur. We do bless God while at the same time we do curse men made in His image. It is no longer an abstract example of what might be, but a concrete statement of what happens. However, though this is the case, he continues with, “My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

The verb translated as “to be” is in a form which signifies something like, “these things should not come to pass in this way.” This is what is known as a litotes, which is an ironic understatement where something spoken as a negative is making an affirmative statement. If someone says, “You won’t be sorry,” he actually means, “You will be happy about the result.” This is what James is doing. In saying that such things should not come about, he is indicating that they do come about, and that it is inappropriate that such things occur.

Charles Ellicott notes the following concerning the term, “ought not” –

“The Greek equivalent for this is only found here in the New Testament, and seems strangely weak when we reflect on the usual vehemence of the writer. Was he sadly conscious of the failure beforehand of his protest? At least, there seems no trace of satire in the sorrowful cadence of his lines, ‘Out of the same mouth!’”

In other words, though this matter is spoken against, it is almost a given that it does occur and will continue to occur. It seems to be a sad resignation that man finds himself unable to curb his tongue. Even James, then, must have felt the conviction of the offense as he wrote.

Life application: One of the many contradictions of our lives is set before us here by James. We bless one person, of whom we are favorably disposed toward, and we then turn around to tear down another person we dislike. We praise God with our lips on Sunday morning and then speak words which diminish His glorious name on Monday. All are guilty of this to some extent. But suppose we don’t directly speak the Lord’s name in a profane way – do we still allow ourselves to watch movies that do?

It’s hard to see a movie today that has a PG rating or higher that doesn’t contain profanity of some sort and most of them include the use of the name of Jesus or God in a profane way. Although we’re not actively cursing in this way, we are passively receiving this when we watch. Each of us needs to evaluate this and come to a decision about what we will and won’t allow into our lives. We should then to stick to it as best as we can.

These are only some examples of the myriad of them that we demonstrate each day, but they do indicate what our walk with the Lord is like to others. When they see us using demeaning words towards others, they know the state of our heart. When we allow our lips to diminish the name of the Lord, we condone such talk in their lives as well.

We should make every effort to carefully use our tongues towards others and allow them to only speak praises, not smears; blessings, not curses. When we fail, as we certainly will, let us remember to acknowledge our fault and do our best to go forward with the determination to not continue down that path.

O Lord, our tongues are not always free from words that are impure or which diminish Your glory in the eyes of others. We fail to bless and instead we curse. We fail to praise and instead we smear. No matter what others do, give us the strength to prevail over this error which so easily arises in our daily lives. We love You, and want that love to be apparent to all through the words of our mouths and through our daily lives. Amen.

Thursday, 1 August 2019

With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. James 3:9

James, having just spoken about man’s inability to tame the tongue, goes on to write, “With it we bless our God and Father.” Some manuscripts say, “Lord and Father.” If the rendering is “Lord,” there is already a precedent for calling Him “Father” in Isaiah 9:6. If “God” is correct, it is speaking of God as Father, not God the Father. Whichever is correct, the intent of the words is obvious. We praise our Creator with our tongues.

This is the purpose of man. It is to glorify God with every fiber of our substance, including with our tongues. He is worthy of it, and it is right and fitting that we do so. And yet, at the same time, James continues with, “and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.”

Rather than “who,” the translation would be better stated as, “which have been made in the similitude of God.” It is not that some men have been so made and others have not. Even the most fallen and depraved men bear God’s image. As this is so, James is calling out the logical contradiction which arises in blessing God and then in cursing those made in His image.

The scholar Bengel notes that even though Absalom fell from his father’s favor, he remained the king’s son. That never changed. The same is true with man. Though we have fallen from God’s favor, the image of God in man has not been erased. Therefore, we should not curse man and presume to turn around and bless God. Instead, we should bless. It is a hard thing to do at times, but it is what James logically calls for. And which he will continue to confirm in the next verse.

Life application: James’ thought goes back to the first page of the Bible –

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27

The very next words in the Genesis account are, “Then God blessed them…” Man is God’s image-bearer and has been blessed by God; therefore, we show disrespect to God when we curse others, whom He has blessed.

Any curses on man are at God’s prerogative – violations of His law, for example. But for us to flippantly curse our leaders because we disagree with them, our supervisors because they are overbearing, our neighbors because we are tired of them, or any others for whatever reason, we only bring discredit upon ourselves.

Instead of curses, let us shower our enemies with blessing. This is what Jesus expects of us in Luke 6:28 and is what Paul repeats in Romans 12:14. Bless, and do not curse.

Lord God, in Your word, a tough challenge has been placed before us. We are asked to bless others because they bear Your image. Even if our mouths don’t curse others, our hearts often do. And sometimes it wells up and comes out of our mouths. Give our hearts a hefty cleansing and take away the evil thoughts they produce towards others. May our mouths reflect pure hearts, and may we shower others with blessings. Amen.

Wednesday, 31 July 2019

But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:8

In the previous verse, James spoke of the taming of “every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea.” Man has subdued life on the earth so much so that he has massive elephants standing on balls in the circus, and killer whales bouncing balls off their noses in large aquariums. Other than the Loch Ness monster, which still remains rather elusive, almost every imaginable animal, bird, or sea-creature is found in some type of zoo or aquarium. These things have been tamed, or subdued. And yet, as James continues, he says that “no man can tame the tongue.”

The expression he uses is very strong in the Greek, “no one of men.” He is stating that nobody has been fully able to restrain the tongue. We have had 6000 years of human history, and yet the tongue remains unbridled and it freely wags about, causing harm to self and pain to others. As he then writes, “It is an unruly evil.” The word translated as “unruly” was introduced in James 1:8 when referring to the man who is “unstable” in all his ways. This is its last use in Scripture.

The word signifies that which is unstable or unsettled, but even those words fall short. Unruly is better. It is an almost anarchic display. The tongue casts off the rule of the mind and follows its own destructive course. This is truly evident when seeing someone shout out something totally outside of their normal character. It is as if the words sprang from hell, the source of chaos itself. What issues forth is simply uncontrolled evil, and it is “full of deadly poison.”

Here, James uses a word found elsewhere in classical Greek and in the Apocrypha, but which is found only here in Scripture. It signifies “death-bearing,” or “death-bringing.” In other words, the poison that is contained in the tongue can, and often does, lead to death. James’ words are true, both as recorded in Scripture and as has been evidenced to throughout history. A simple misuse of the tongue has landed people on the gallows or before a firing squad.

In 2 Samuel 1, an Amalekite came to David and boasted that he had killed Saul, king of Israel. His words were a lie, but he made the claim in order to ingratiate himself to David. Thinking his tongue had brought him honor, he found out that it was the bringer of death to him –

“So David said to him, ‘How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?’ ¹⁵ Then David called one of the young men and said, ‘Go near, and execute him!’ And he struck him so that he died. ¹⁶ So David said to him, ‘Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’” 2 Samuel 1:14-16

Life application: Watch your tongue.

Lord God, our tongues sure can get us into a bad patch. When we engage our mouths before engaging our brains, it can lead us into a world of hurt – both for ourselves and for those around us. Help us to stop… and then to think. Only after this, then should we open our mouths and speak. Be with us in this, O God. The tongue is an unruly evil. Help us to keep it in check – to Your glory. Amen.

Tuesday, 30 July 2019

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. James 3:7

James now takes the example of an unrestrained tongue, and he contrasts it to the beasts of the earth, some of which are incredibly wild, some ferocious, some plainly stupid, some bearing various types of intelligence, and so on. He begins with, “For every kind.”

This should read, “For every nature.” He is not comparing individual men with particular beasts. Instead, he is referring to a general relation between man’s nature and the nature of various creatures. And, as noted, this is not the same in all creatures. Understanding this, he lists various categories for us to consider. The first is of beasts and birds (it is plural in the Greek).

The word translated as “beast” is one which is not one used of sacrifices. Those are generally herding animals which have been tamed since the earliest recorded pages of Scripture. Rather, this is a general term for wild animals that would otherwise seem untameable. We could think of a raccoon or a wild hog maybe. The word for “bird” signifies any flying animal in general. Simply because they do not naturally exist in the land of Israel, we could think of a macaw or a toucan.

James continues with reptiles and sea things (again, the Greek is plural). The word for “reptile” signifies a creeping creature, quite often a serpent. For the sake of rarity, one could think of the monitor lizard. The word for those things in the sea is found only here in Scripture, enalios. The prefix en means in, and hals signifies the sea. Thus, it is anything in the sea. Maybe a sea otter or a porpoise would suffice for our examples.

James says that, of these various categories, each “is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.” The word translated as “tamed” signifies being subdued, but that state involves obedience and restraint. Humans have exercised dominion over the beasts of the earth in this manner.

Some of these are massive in size, some have claws and teeth which are very dangerous, others may have quills that can shoot at man or have poisons which can kill immediately. And yet, they have been subdued by man. How unlike the description of the tongue of the previous verse. James will continue with this line of thought in the verses ahead.

Life application: Though we can tame all kinds of animals, we find it hard to tame our own tongues. What an indictment! Unreasoning animals are better students than we are in some respects. Let us make a concerted effort to speak words which are soothing and healing, rather than of evil and poison. In the end, when we speak flippantly of others, we degrade ourselves as well.

Lord God, just as we need help controlling our tongues against that which is vile, so we pray that You will help us to actively use them for that which is wholesome and edifying. May our tongues not be tools of destruction, but rather implements of blessing and love. Be with us in this challenge to improve our words so that we will increase our praises of others and our blessings in Your name. Thank You for hearing our prayer. Amen.