Rabbi’s Reflections – Saturday, January 2, 2021
Shabbat Shalom,
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sat 2-Jan-2021 18th of Tevet, 5781 Parashat Vayechi
Ge 50:21-26 1 Ki 2:1-2:12 Rev 7:1-8
Give God Pleasure, Speak the Truth to Yourself by David Harwood
Let’s pray this key verse:
Abba, let the words I speak and my heart’s deepest thoughts give Your presence pleasure. (paraphrase of Psalm 19:14a)
Let’s continue to apply Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians to our own souls. Here is the section of Scripture we’re considering:
No rotten word must proceed from your mouth, but only something good for the building up of the need, in order that it may give grace to those who hear and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, and rage, and wrath, and clamor, and abusive speech, must be removed from you, together with all wickedness. Become kind toward one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as also God in Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:29–32 Lexham English Bible)
For those who may be interested, from what I recall, this stress on Ephesians 4:29 came as prophetic confirmation in a home meeting. This is how I remember it happening…
A colleague visited someone from his congregation who was in a hospital psychiatric ward. She was suicidal and checked herself in at the insistence of her family. This now hospitalized congregant was universally loved and esteemed for her gentle wisdom and even temper, but something had gone very wrong. My friend reported that she spoke of herself in such a vehement angry way that her hate-filled self-loathing took him aback. He reflexively reproved her, saying that she would never speak like that about another person and that she needed to repent of the way she was speaking of herself.
I was a bit surprised by the bluntness of this confrontation. It turns out that this interchange was helpful. (Thank God!)
This was reported to me before our evening meeting. I thought this was a worthwhile principle: to speak of ourselves like we would speak of others. Just before we began to discuss developing a God-honoring inner-narrative an insightful friend brought up this verse together with the application we are now examining. I thought it was remarkable confirmation then. I hope you find it helpful now.
Please consider it, again.
No rotten word must proceed from your mouth, but only something good for the building up of the need, in order that it may give grace to those who hear (Ephesians 4:29 Lexham English Bible)
Here is a paraphrase that expresses my application of this verse:
Do not allow any rotten inner-conversation to proceed from your heart about yourself to yourself, but solely something wholesome to strategically strengthen your soul, according to your immediate need, so it may impart grace to your inner-being in your time of need (a paraphrased application of Ephesians 4:29)
I hope you see this as a circumspect, righteous application of this verse to our topic and I hope you find it helpful.
What type of outcome should we be seeking? How can we be honest about ourselves to ourselves in the sight of God? What is an example of a good, grace giving word? Here’s one: an inner-dialogue that gives confidence in God’s favor. After all, grace (in Greek) means favor. Let’s begin there.
A good word that would edify you and give grace to your soul would be a thought that imparts confidence in God’s favor towards you. This is a reality that can be righteously embraced. It is true and honors the Redeemer who gave Himself to bring you into a state of favor. Consider these words from Romans 5.
Therefore, having been made righteous by trusting, we have shalom with God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Through Him we also have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and boast in the hope of God’s glory. (Romans 5:1–2 TLV)
We stand in grace. We are established in the sphere of favor.
Considering it negatively, let me ask, what about that is not true? Yet, there is always a tendency towards feeling unworthy. As many preachers have emphasized, “But God…”
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us. How much more then, having now been set right by His blood, shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him. For if, while we were yet enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. (Romans 5:8–10 TLV)
God loved you at your absolute worst. God loves you now.
A relevant word, in any circumstance, that would strengthen your heart is that God is for you. You are in the sphere of eternal and immediate favor.
King David put it this way:
This I know – that God is for me. (Psalm 56:10b TLV)
Here’s some immediate context of this fragment:
You have recorded my wanderings. You put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? 10 Then my enemies will turn back in the day I call. This I know—that God is for me. 11 In God—I keep praising His word— in Adonai—I keep praising His word— 12in God I trust, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalm 56:9–12 TLV)
We find the same evaluation of God’s favor in Psalm 118.
Adonai is for me – I will not fear! What can man do to me? (Psalm 118:6 TLV)
Reiterating and applying Psalm 56, the writers to the Hebrews wrote:
… with confidence we say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What will man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6 TLV)
It is good to confidently say this, and it is very good to confidently say this to ourselves. It is true.
But what about any apparently just causes for self-condemnation. Ask yourself, “Is God for me?” Then answer yourself, “Yes He is.”
What then shall we say in view of these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31–32 TLV)
We’ve just examined a true, good, living, edifying word that honors God and is always edifying. It is useful for others. When applied by yourself to yourself it will help eliminate spiritually paralyzing self-condemnation and fleshly striving to gain God’s favor.
This is a good word.
If you make it part of your inner-narrative it will give God’s presence within you, pleasure. That’s our goal. Let’s bless God with the meditations of our hearts.
In our next post, we will begin to identify some prohibited inner-speech from Ephesians 4:29-32. Meanwhile consider this as an inner conversation.
Please reconsider my paraphrased application of Ephesians 4:29:
Do not allow any rotten inner-conversation to proceed from your heart about yourself to yourself, but solely something wholesome to strategically strengthen your soul, according to your immediate need, so it may impart grace to your inner-being in your time of need (a paraphrased application of Ephesians 4:29)
Let’s pray again:
Abba, let the words I speak and my heart’s deepest thoughts give Your presence pleasure. (paraphrase of Psalm 19:14a)
Consider this script for an inner-narrative:
This is true, God is for me. (Psalm 56:9b)
(Speak to your soul as if you were addressing a friend. Feel free to insert your name: “God is for you.”)
I know that He is for me. (Psalm 56:8–11)
(Speak to your soul as if you were addressing a friend: “God is for you. You can know it. You are growing in this knowledge.”)
I am established in everlasting grace and that same favor applies to me today. (Romans 5:1–2)
(Speak to your soul as if you were addressing a friend: “You are in the sphere of God’s favor. He is for you.”)
He demonstrated His love for me while I was at my absolute worst and He loves me just as fervently, right now. (Romans 5:8–10)
(Speak to your soul as if you were addressing a friend: “God is for you and demonstrated His love for you when you least deserved it. That same quality of love is directed towards you, now.”)
It is true that I am the type of person God favors. (Romans 8:31–32)
(Speak to your soul as if you were addressing a friend: “God is for you. You have been qualified through the Messiah’s sacrifice to be the type of person who experiences His favor.”)
God is for me, therefore I will not fear. (Psalm 118:6; Hebrews 13:6)
(Speak to your soul as if you were addressing a friend: “God is for you, do not fear.”)
This confident inner-dialogue pleases God. Please turn that into prayer.