The word of God is not the dry, dull, and dead book that many allege! The
opposite is true. God, by the Holy Spirit, through the penmen who wrote the
precious words of life, often uses colorful language in order to make his word
memorable and eternally relevant. Sometimes this is done by means of explicit
language, and at other times euphemisms and idioms are used to accomplish the
same goal. Let us take note of the following examples.
We learn from Exodus 4:24-26, that after Moses had received instructions
from Yahweh to return to Egypt, and to tell Pharaoh to "Let my people go," that
Moses failed to circumcise his own son on the eighth day, in keeping with God's
instructions. (Genesis 17:10-14) The covenant of circumcision was to be taken
seriously, but Moses was negligent. Consequently, "at a lodging place on the way
Yahweh met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off
her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' feet with it and said, 'Surely you are a
bridegroom of blood to me!' So he let him alone. Then it was said, 'You are a
bridegroom of blood to me,' because of the circumcision." (RSV/ESV, also see
the NIV-2011) The word "feet" (Hebrew regalim) is not to be understood
literally. It is a euphemism for "genitals."
In 1 Kings 18 we read about the "contest" between the colorful prophet
Elijah and the 450 fifty prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who
ate at Jezebel's table. (v. 19) Among the things that Elijah did in order to show
Israel that the "god" Baal was really no god was to attribute purely human
characteristics to Baal. He told the prophets to "Cry aloud, for he is a god;
either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is
asleep and must be awakened." (RSV) The words "gone aside" translate the
Hebrew word sig, which is used euphemistically for excreting bodily waste!
The Hebrew lexicons indicate the word was often used to refer to excrement,
anal waste, or in modern lingo, "using the toilet." Ha! a touch of humor in the
middle of a serious debate with false prophets! Oh to the bane of modern
sensitive ears! The ESV correctly drops the euphemism and directly translates
sig with the phrase "relieving himself." The Complete Jewish Bible says "on
the potty." Taylor's translation says, "sitting on the toilet."
Our Lord spoke of the necessity of renouncing all that one has in order to
be his disciple (Luke 14:33) Then he said, salt that has lost its saltiness "is fit
neither for the land nor for the dunghill..." The Lord using the word "dunghill"
in his teaching? Yes. The Greek word translated "dunghill" is kopria and it
means manure pile. The people to whom he was speaking could relate to his
simple illustration and the underlying point could be easily remembered; the
loss of usefulness or influence leaves one inactive or unfit for the Master's use.
It can only be "thrown away." (Luke 14:34-35)
The Lord warned about "false prophets who come to you in sheep's
clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." (Matthew 7:15) The wolves in
sheep's clothing analogy is brilliant! A simple and humorous illustration that
drives the point home. False prophets are no more God's prophets than they
are real sheep. They are pretentious. They appear to be one thing when in
reality they are something else. They often appear to be sheep, but in reality
they are sheep killers! They appear to be docile, humble, and caring, but
they will rip your spiritual guts out.
Paul, the Lord's apostle, said the Judaizers (those who were binding
such things as circumcision as a tenet of Christ's law), should "mutilate
themselves" (RSV) or "emasculate themselves" (ESV) in Galatians 5:12.
The word translated "mutilate/emasculate themselves" is apokopto and
it means "to castrate oneself, or to have oneself castrated!" Their heresy
was so detestable to the apostle, that he would have them make eunuchs
of themselves. Paul did not believe the Judaizers were friends of Christ
and the gospel! They were dogs, enemies of the cross of Christ!
(Philippians 3:2,18-19) His words are memorable, even though many
delicate modern readers consider them repugnant!
Finally, let us not forget the words of Peter, that people who have
escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ, and are again entangled in them and overpowered,
are like "the dog that turns back to his own vomit, and the sow that was
washed to wallowing in the mire." (2 Peter 2:20-22) In other words,
people who abandon the truth that saved them and return to the corruption
that held them captive, are like puking dogs and wallowing hogs! They
have returned to the very things that defiled them before they were cleansed
by the blood of God's Son. They have reverted from a state of cleansing
back to a condition of filth and moral defilement!
What is the point of all I have written in this blog post? The scriptures
are a living document and God speaks to humanity in a language people can
understand. If we who preach and teach want to be understood and to
make a lasting impression on people with the word of truth, we too, should
speak to those who hear in a way that they can get the point. Simplicity is one
of the keys to all successful teaching. The scriptures themselves indicate this
very fact.
R. Daly
Copyright 2013
opposite is true. God, by the Holy Spirit, through the penmen who wrote the
precious words of life, often uses colorful language in order to make his word
memorable and eternally relevant. Sometimes this is done by means of explicit
language, and at other times euphemisms and idioms are used to accomplish the
same goal. Let us take note of the following examples.
We learn from Exodus 4:24-26, that after Moses had received instructions
from Yahweh to return to Egypt, and to tell Pharaoh to "Let my people go," that
Moses failed to circumcise his own son on the eighth day, in keeping with God's
instructions. (Genesis 17:10-14) The covenant of circumcision was to be taken
seriously, but Moses was negligent. Consequently, "at a lodging place on the way
Yahweh met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off
her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' feet with it and said, 'Surely you are a
bridegroom of blood to me!' So he let him alone. Then it was said, 'You are a
bridegroom of blood to me,' because of the circumcision." (RSV/ESV, also see
the NIV-2011) The word "feet" (Hebrew regalim) is not to be understood
literally. It is a euphemism for "genitals."
In 1 Kings 18 we read about the "contest" between the colorful prophet
Elijah and the 450 fifty prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who
ate at Jezebel's table. (v. 19) Among the things that Elijah did in order to show
Israel that the "god" Baal was really no god was to attribute purely human
characteristics to Baal. He told the prophets to "Cry aloud, for he is a god;
either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is
asleep and must be awakened." (RSV) The words "gone aside" translate the
Hebrew word sig, which is used euphemistically for excreting bodily waste!
The Hebrew lexicons indicate the word was often used to refer to excrement,
anal waste, or in modern lingo, "using the toilet." Ha! a touch of humor in the
middle of a serious debate with false prophets! Oh to the bane of modern
sensitive ears! The ESV correctly drops the euphemism and directly translates
sig with the phrase "relieving himself." The Complete Jewish Bible says "on
the potty." Taylor's translation says, "sitting on the toilet."
Our Lord spoke of the necessity of renouncing all that one has in order to
be his disciple (Luke 14:33) Then he said, salt that has lost its saltiness "is fit
neither for the land nor for the dunghill..." The Lord using the word "dunghill"
in his teaching? Yes. The Greek word translated "dunghill" is kopria and it
means manure pile. The people to whom he was speaking could relate to his
simple illustration and the underlying point could be easily remembered; the
loss of usefulness or influence leaves one inactive or unfit for the Master's use.
It can only be "thrown away." (Luke 14:34-35)
The Lord warned about "false prophets who come to you in sheep's
clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." (Matthew 7:15) The wolves in
sheep's clothing analogy is brilliant! A simple and humorous illustration that
drives the point home. False prophets are no more God's prophets than they
are real sheep. They are pretentious. They appear to be one thing when in
reality they are something else. They often appear to be sheep, but in reality
they are sheep killers! They appear to be docile, humble, and caring, but
they will rip your spiritual guts out.
Paul, the Lord's apostle, said the Judaizers (those who were binding
such things as circumcision as a tenet of Christ's law), should "mutilate
themselves" (RSV) or "emasculate themselves" (ESV) in Galatians 5:12.
The word translated "mutilate/emasculate themselves" is apokopto and
it means "to castrate oneself, or to have oneself castrated!" Their heresy
was so detestable to the apostle, that he would have them make eunuchs
of themselves. Paul did not believe the Judaizers were friends of Christ
and the gospel! They were dogs, enemies of the cross of Christ!
(Philippians 3:2,18-19) His words are memorable, even though many
delicate modern readers consider them repugnant!
Finally, let us not forget the words of Peter, that people who have
escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ, and are again entangled in them and overpowered,
are like "the dog that turns back to his own vomit, and the sow that was
washed to wallowing in the mire." (2 Peter 2:20-22) In other words,
people who abandon the truth that saved them and return to the corruption
that held them captive, are like puking dogs and wallowing hogs! They
have returned to the very things that defiled them before they were cleansed
by the blood of God's Son. They have reverted from a state of cleansing
back to a condition of filth and moral defilement!
What is the point of all I have written in this blog post? The scriptures
are a living document and God speaks to humanity in a language people can
understand. If we who preach and teach want to be understood and to
make a lasting impression on people with the word of truth, we too, should
speak to those who hear in a way that they can get the point. Simplicity is one
of the keys to all successful teaching. The scriptures themselves indicate this
very fact.
R. Daly
Copyright 2013
