And he said Sibboleth.....
@Zelmarq (12585)
Cebu City, Philippines
January 31, 2008 8:52pm CST
Today my quiet time is on the 12th chapter of the book of Judges. And I am pleased to share my learnings with mylotters. I know that religion and the Bible is a very delicate topic here on mylot but its not going to stop me from sharing this with you guys.
And he said Sibboleth.
It was only the omission of “h,” but it meant the death of the man who missed it. One little letter, and the whole wonder and beauty of a human life was forfeited. It is only recently that the peace of an empire was in jeopardy, because a full-stop was misplaced. This scene has become proverbial of those who exact compliance with some arbitrary test, before admitting their fellows into their sect or church. But how thankful we should be, that our admission to the privilege of the Kingdom of God does not depend upon our pronunciation; that the reality of the new-birth is not tested by the accuracy with which we utter the creed; that we shall not be excluded from the gates of the New Jerusalem because we fail in the utterance of an “h”!
Our acceptance with God does not depend on how much we believe. The woman who was healed had very inadequate notions of faith and Christ. She thought that his garment would communicate blessing, yet she was cured. The dying thief had but a glimmering ray of knowledge of the majesty and power of Jesus, but he entered Paradise in His company. The prime necessity with us, is not faith in the sense of creed, but as standing for trust. It is not our belief about Christ, but our trust in Him; not our ability to answer the questions of the Catechism, but our coming to Him, and finding rest to our souls — this only is necessary to pass us across the fords of Jordan. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). FB Meyer Homily
Im glad i dont have to pronounce the word and feel fear of not being able to pronounce it well coz Jesus gave it all for me, and I have Him and accepted Him as my Lord and saviour.
Have a nice day and happy mylotting.
4 people like this
5 responses
@zevabe (7)
• United States
1 Feb 08
If you look at the Hebrew text I think you will find that the speaker did not "omit an h", but instead pronounced a different letter from the word in question.
Instead of ????? a Hebrew word meaning 'an ear of corn', the speaker said ?????, an entirely different word (if it is in fact a word at all). In any number of cases we can find that changing a single letter, even in close pronunciation, can change meaning. Were this to occur in a profession of faith, it could raise questions about the beliefs of the speaker. A canonical example is: Deuteronomy 6:4 has an enlarged letter (in fact two, but I'll refer to the fiurst one), because were this silent letter replaced with a different silent letter, the profession of faith in one G-d written there would become a mere possibility "Perhaps, Israel, The Lord is our G-d, the Lord is one."
Clearly in the case of Judges the exactitude of pronunciation was unneccesary, but in other cases it may be a matter of importance.
@Zelmarq (12585)
• Cebu City, Philippines
1 Feb 08
It sounds scarry if it did happen in ou times and thank God we dont have to go all through what they have gone through during the old testament times.
@zevabe (7)
• United States
1 Feb 08
I think the stricter standards applied in the Hebrew Bible are a result of the people involved being on a higher level. It is a far graver sin for the generation which saw G-d inflict plagues and split the sea to question His existence or His omnipotence than for those alive today, because it is easy to be fooled into thinking that G-d is gone or ever was, instead of the truth that He is simply not revealing Himself in as open a way.
1 person likes this
@faith210 (11224)
• Philippines
3 Feb 08
Hi Zelmarq! Thank you for sharing the Word of God! I really appreciate it and I do enjoy reading Bible Scriptures. I am not really a devout Catholic nor can I say I am a good person. I just try to do good and have faith but I do fail in those categories most of the time. I am just glad to know that and be reminded again that my Lord is a merciful God, so I just put my trust in Him no matter how I get weak most of the time on my faith. Just my thoughts. Take care and have a nice day! :)
@Zelmarq (12585)
• Cebu City, Philippines
4 Feb 08
Thats good that yuo have this trust in our Lord, apart from Him we are nothing and its good that we have HIm to depend on and the one who will never fail us when we callon Him.
@flowerchilde (12529)
• United States
1 Feb 08
Very good lesson! I especially liked "The dying thief had but a glimmering ray of knowing.."
many blessings:)
1 person likes this
@Zelmarq (12585)
• Cebu City, Philippines
1 Feb 08
its a relief and a reminder at the same time for all of us.
Have a blessed day ahead.
@GardenGerty (157551)
• United States
1 Feb 08
If we were subject to this kind of yardstick, many would fail. How fortunate that we receive grace, not condemnation.
@Zelmarq (12585)
• Cebu City, Philippines
1 Feb 08
Thats really true, we have been saved by grace so that we cannot brag about it and be gracious to othes as well, we have been redeemed through His blood.
@squaretile (3778)
• Singapore
2 Feb 08
thanks for this discussion. i think there is nothing wrong with sharing your feelings about your faith. those who believe in Christ can be encouraged by it, and those who do not can just skip the discussion.
it is not as if you are making any controversial statements. i do agree with you completely. today i was just reading my devotional by CH Spurgeon, and he was reminding us about how grateful and how amazed we must continually be at the full and free grace offered by our Lord, who chose us before the foundation of the world. He knew our names and destined us to be saved, when none of us deserved anything. I thank the Lord for such pure mercy.
1 person likes this
@Zelmarq (12585)
• Cebu City, Philippines
4 Feb 08
Thank you for comforting me here my friend. I really need that assurance thats its ok, anyways, i have been posting about the Bible and Im glad no one has made a fight about that here. God is working in our lives and hope we can chare about God even through mylot. Others have hardened their hearts when it comes to the word of God, I know soon there will come a time that they will be softened by God and Im not loosing the hope.
