The Tongue - Edition #28: I Have Chosen

May 7th, 2006

The Tongue – Edition #28: I Have Chosen

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.”
Mother Teresa

I just really love that quote. I can’t say that I know anything about Mother Teresa… in fact; I don’t know anything about her at all, except that I know she was old once, based on pictures I’ve seen of her… but she has some really good quotes.

Here are two words in which I am going to give careful look at in future study:

Sanctify (verb):

1. To set apart for sacred use; consecrate.


2. To make holy; purify.


3. To give religious sanction to, as with an oath or vow.


4. To give social or moral sanction to.


5. To make productive of holiness or spiritual blessing.

Justify (verb):

1. To demonstrate or prove to be just, right, or valid.


2. To declare free of blame; absolve.


3. To free (a human) of the guilt and penalty attached to grievous sin. Used of God.

Judges 10:11-14
The LORD replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”

Judges 10:14 gods:
'ĕlôhîym
el-o-heem'
Gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative: - angels, X exceeding, God (gods) (-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.

Joshua 14:10-12
“Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

Judges 6:14
The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

Judges 6:14 sending:
shâlach
shaw-lakh'
A primitive root; to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications): - X any wise, appoint, bring (on the way), cast (away, out), conduct, X earnestly, forsake, give (up), grow long, lay, leave, let depart (down, go, loose), push away, put (away, forth, in, out), reach forth, send (away, forth, out), set, shoot (forth, out), sow, spread, stretch forth (out).

Now, some of these are a bit scary… am I not forsaking you? I am not pushing you away? I saw those two and really shuddered. But then I looked at “sow” and “stretch out” and that really made me think. And what would it be like if God came to me and asked “Am I not sending you? Am I not trying to sow this great land with you and your humble heart?”

Judges 6:14 strength:
kôach
ko'-akh
From an unused root meaning to be firm; vigor, literally (force, in a good or a bad sense) or figuratively (capacity, means, produce); also (from its hardiness) a large lizard: - ability, able, chameleon, force, fruits, might, power (-ful), strength, substance, wealth.

So, God says for Gideon to go in the strength he has. Interesting. And Gideon saves Israel. But check this out:

Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

And it is the “with all your strength” part that catches my ear right now. I mean, my strength is failing me. I can’t squeeze my wife’s finger well. My son can probably beat me up a heck of a lot better than I can spank him, and he turns one this coming Wednesday.

Deuteronomy 6:5 strength:
meh-ode'
Properly vehemence, that is, (with or without preposition) vehemently; by implication wholly, speedily, etc. (often with other words as an intensive or superlative; especially when repeated): - diligently, especially, exceeding (-ly), far, fast, good, great (-ly), X louder and louder, might (-ily, -y), (so) much, quickly, (so) sore, utterly, very (+ much, sore), well.

Joshua 14:11 strong:
châzâq
khaw-zawk'
Strong (usually in a bad sense, hard, bold, violent): - harder, hottest, + impudent, loud, mighty, sore, stiff [-hearted], strong (-er).

Now, I have searched for scriptures that aren’t there… or I can’t find them, anyway. My head isn’t where it is supposed to be. And Judges 6:14, I searched for that scripture twice… I mean, I already had it, and then I searched for it again. How weird is that? But my thought is this, even though a little noise is like a huge pounding in my head right now (and it’s not a headache – it’s my ears are doing some strange things, echo things), strength isn’t always in muscle. And that is a good thing, because a garden slug could take me out right now. Everyone has strength in a spiritual sense. And we determine our own strength. God says in Judges for Gideon to go in the “strength that he has.” And Gideon didn’t think he had squat in the strength department. God surprised Gideon. Gideon surprised Gideon, I am sure. Deuteronomy says to love the Lord with all your strength. Now, Joshua, that dude had been loving him for a long time. And when the Hebrew says “in a bad sense,” I think that strong is used in an almost a “stiff-necked” type usage. But I am a novice to say the least in Hebrew. But if I am stiff-necked in loving my God, being sold-out and devoted to God, then I’m alright with that. And that’s how I see this scripture in Joshua. My head is really scattered and messed up, so I hope the words here are clear… if not, please email me back, and hopefully I can make some sense in it all. I love you all. I go in for a steroids IV tomorrow. Johnny Out.