Human Speech (Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/27/2013 1:52 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Human Speech

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  I have mentioned in earlier SD’s that I follow the commentaries or “Be” books of Dr. Warren Wiersbe because his commentaries are easy to read but the give a person much information that can be used in their lives.  Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Proverbs is different than his other commentaries that I have read so far, different because the others went in a verse by verse, section by section of the book which is the way that his commentary on Proverbs began.  However after Proverbs chapter nine his commentary became more of a topical type of commentary which is what we have been dealing with.  I can truly understand why the study of Proverbs after chapter nine is better done in a topical way because there are verses that are in it that do not seem to go tighter and so you have to take many of the verses that speak of a certain subject and put them together which is what we are doing now.  We are looking at information from the ninth chapter of Wiersbe’s book in which he entitles “A Matter of Life and Death (Human Speech).” 

            Here is a quotation from the last paragraph of Dr. Wiersbe’s introduction to this chapter:  “When you summarize what Proverbs teaches about human speech, you end up with four important propositions:  (1) speech is an awesome gift from God; (2) speech can be used to do good; (3) speech can be used to do evil; and (4) only God can help us use speech to do good.”

            Solomon writes the following in Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”  Think about how the tongue can give life or produce death.  A judge can sentence a person to death simply by speaking.  A gossip can get on their phone and tarnish the reputation of a person just by speaking.  It is said that for every word that is written in Hitler’s book Mein Kampf that 125 people died in world war two.  The NT writer James has much to say about the tongue in James 3:5-8, “5  So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6  And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7  For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8  But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.”

            We will get into the first point from Proverbs and Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on the fact that speech is an awesome gift from God in the next SD.  Here is something to think about until then:  When we look around at all of God’s creation we only see mankind with the ability to speak and that fact alone should make people realize that we were created by an all knowing, all powerful, all wise God.  To realize this fact is good, but to realize that the creator of this world became a man and taught on this earth that He made for three years and then died on a cruel cross so that those who realize that He did it for them and who realize the need for someone to take their place on the cross to pay for their sins is so much better yet.  If you have not done this then realize that you were born a sinner and that is why you sin, realize that your sin separates you from a Holy God.  Realize that Jesus Christ loves you enough to come to earth to take your place on the cross so that you can one day be with Him forever in heaven by accepting the payment that He paid for you on the cross.  The words that I tell you have life for this is what the Bible teaches.

2/27/2013 2:24 PM