BIBLICAL DIPLOMACY- Nov. 24th

“For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over to the Jordan to possess.” Deut. 32:47

Diplomacy fascinates me. I am amazed by the volume of words that can be used to say nothing. At least, it appears that they are saying nothing. Diplomats speak in a language all their own. I realized, after reading Henry Kissinger’s book Diplomacy, that diplomats usually don’t “wing-it”. They have committees that agonize over the use of precise words in the crafting of every diplomatic statement. Problems tend to arise in international politics when a diplomats carefully selected words are viewed as empty. There have been dire consequences for mistaking real intent as empty words. Hilter laid out exactly his intentions in Mein Kampf. The whole world suffered from thinking that he didn’t really mean it. Stalin and Kim Il Sung interpreted a speech by then Sec. of State Acheson as American intentions to defend the Korean peninsula as empty words. The Korean peninsula is still paying the price of that miscalculation.

I don’t know of any other words that have been more misinterpreted than the Bible. There is a significant amount of theology out there that is based on the premise that God couldn’t have meant that – they must be empty words or they must mean something different.  That is a dangerous mindset.

I have a tendency of approaching my Bible reading seeking the parts that are “for me”.  That implies that there are parts that are not “for me”. That is a dangerous mindset.

God’s word is more carefully crafted and designed than any diplomatic policy. I need to remember that all of God’s word is a gift. There are no empty words within it. All of the Word of God has been given for my very life. It is not a self-help tool – it a self-preservation tool. God is not engaging us in diplomacy. He is not negotiating with us. God warned the Israelites what would happen to them if they mistook his warnings as empty words. It did not work out for them – God did what he said he would do.

The Bible continues to have plenty of warnings for our current time. They are not empty words. Empty words do not exist in the Bible. God says what he means and means what he says. How we respond to God’s warnings reveals whether we think his words are empty or not. Do not expect a de’tente with God. It is your very life that you are playing with.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for reminding me that I am a servant – that I am not a sovereign equal. Thank you for being a God that does not play games with me – a God that I have to figure out in order to appease. Lord, forgive me for treating your words as empty and without meaning and give me the understanding to apply all of your word to my life, for your glory.   Amen