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7/29 Reading Portions: Judges 12; Acts 16; Jeremiah 25; Mark 11
Judges 12:5-6
And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me go over,” the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” When he said, “No,” they said to him, “Then say Shibboleth,” and he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell.
WONDERFUL
Pride, as I often remind you, is merely self-idolatry. And the Ephraimites had that in spades. When Jephthah went out with his Gileadite brothers to fight the Ammonites, Ephraim would not come when they were called (Jdg 12:2-3). They wanted to destroy Jephthah and his family (Jdg 12:1) so Jephthah gathered his brethren again and fought Ephraim (Jdg 12:4). Jephthah’s warriors overpowered the Ephraimites, and in attempting to escape, the Gileadites recognized them by their dialect. They were both Israelites, yet they were of different tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. And as their speech betrayed who they were, pronouncing the word for an ear of grain with an ‘s’ sound (ס, samech), rather than an ‘sh’ sound (ש, shin), 42,000 Ephraimites died. Sadly, for the Ephraimites, it was a little shlip of the lip uttering the tongue twister. When pride, or any kind of idolatry, rises in our flesh, we may betray ourselves as not walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, but instead, walking in the lust of the flesh. Quite often, it is manifested in our words. In the oldest letter of the New Testament, James says this:
but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:8
No mere man can tame the tongue. It requires a power beyond our mortal flesh, higher than the mountain and sparkling like a fountain with all sufficient grace for both you and me— yes, the wonderful grace of Jesus, which is greater than all our sin. We are commanded to…
…be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Ephesians 6:10
Yes, but how do we do this? While outfitting ourselves with the spiritual armor of Ephesians 6:11-18 may be detailed, and even complex for some, here is a simple method everyone can put into practice today. Each time we pray, read the Bible, meditate upon Scriptures, or gather with believers, exalt the Lord Jesus Christ in your thoughts and conversations. By this discipline, day by day, you’ll find your heart more uplifted toward Christ and your speech more like the oracles of God. Hallelujah! Praise His name!