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June 11th, 2008, 06:37 AM
Shibboleth vs Sibboleth
Judges 12
4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh."
5 And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" When he said, "No,"
6 they said to him, "Then say Shibboleth," and he said, "Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell.
The period of the judges in the bible happened long after Israel's captivity in Egypt had ended. From there they had wandered in the wilderness, and eventually into the Promised Land. God's Project was moving forward for His people whom He wanted to be free to serve Him. More obstacles had to be overcome. In the land they still needed to be established. Moses and Joshua by this point were no longer alive, and Israel was experiencing low and high points. When they served the Lord, they were prospering because of their obedience in following His direction. Not adding or taking away from His word. God would raise up judges during their low points, after a period of disobedience who would be used as an instrument by God to help the people get back on track.
"In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6)
Later on their would be a king whom the Lord would raise, that would serve well named David. David is a type of Jesus Christ our King of Kings. Many good things happened under his rule, because David was a man after God' own heart. He always consulted the Lord about decisions, and had many victories. David as a king was even required to have intimacy with God's word:
Deut 17:18 "And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests.
Furthermore, David was used to pen many scriptures inspired by the Holy Spirit which can be found in the book of Psalms. Meanwhile previous kings like Saul and even others who were supposed to rule righteously (like Samuel's sons or Eli's sons) did in fact what "was right in his own eyes" and not God's. Through this kind of disobedience Israel would face many hardships.
Clearly we must always follow what God wants, and not our own personal preferences or projects. God's will must come first. Israel did however experience this from time to time, when there were judges raised by the Lord whom they received and put into practice God's direction and revelation. Gideon's army of 300 men is a perfect example. When God's word was followed properly, they had victory. In this example we see one judge named Jephthah whom the Lord raised.
In this particular passage we see that there was a battle. Here we are reminded that knowing the word is very important. There is no room for personal preferences of interpretation. Either we know the word or we do not know the word.
There was one group that guarded the fords of the Jordan (the men of Gilead), and others that wanted to cross (the Ephraimites). However, in order to do so they were tested on how to say the word ‘Shibboleth’!". When it was pronounced right they could cross. However those who were not of this group would mispronounce slightly and say, "Sibboleth,". These were not able to cross the river and they died.
Those who died numbered 42,000 - and all lacked intimacy with the word. So for all intents and purposes in this example the name that saves is "Shibboleth". As for the meaning, the word means “stream” or “flood,”. Jesus too offers a stream of flood of living water. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan where the Holy Spirit descended like a dove. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot cross the Jordan. Earlier on Israel crossed over the Jordan to enter th e promised land which is a type of passing from this life into eternity. We too must have intimacy with the word, to enter eternity. Jesus must be our life.
Intimacy of the word does not mean we have memorized the bible in both Hebrew and Greek - while helpful - it doesn't make any difference. It doesn't even matter if you have a doctorate in "divinity". Do you have the Holy Spirit operating in your life? Are you permitting Him to operate and lead your life? The Holy Spirit must also open up the scriptures to be understood. More importantly those who know the word ought to obey it in the light of Christ. We cannot be merely, hearers but also doers of what He has defined in His Project. Yet we cannot be religious and going through the motions, as those who opposed Jesus. We must serve Him because we love Him. That is our motive.
We can fool and even impress those around us with our great knowledge, sweet words and bible under our armpit - but the Lord is not deceived (Mal 3:18). Those who could not cross could not deceive either, as their talk/voice betrayed them - that is what comes from inside (Matthew 12:34) and would denounce them (Matthew 26:73)
So what is the name that saves today? Jesus! His name in fact means salvation.
Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Romans 10:13 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Since the day we meet Him, and until the day we are joined with Him as one, we are to remain in fellowship with Him, in the Body of Christ, where His Blood circulating (The Holy Spirit's operation) keeps each member alive and functioning (1 Corinthians 12:3). When we are receiving His living waters, we receive all the benefits He has to offer including: peace in our souls, victory from trials and most importantly life eternal. We cannot add to God's perfect project. To add or to take away from something perfect, means imperfection and disobedience. Those who could say Shibboleth were those who would have grown up and had such mastery of the word from experience, and not faked. It was a part of their very lives and was ingrained. So too must God be in our lives.
Judges 12
4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh."
5 And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" When he said, "No,"
6 they said to him, "Then say Shibboleth," and he said, "Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell.
The period of the judges in the bible happened long after Israel's captivity in Egypt had ended. From there they had wandered in the wilderness, and eventually into the Promised Land. God's Project was moving forward for His people whom He wanted to be free to serve Him. More obstacles had to be overcome. In the land they still needed to be established. Moses and Joshua by this point were no longer alive, and Israel was experiencing low and high points. When they served the Lord, they were prospering because of their obedience in following His direction. Not adding or taking away from His word. God would raise up judges during their low points, after a period of disobedience who would be used as an instrument by God to help the people get back on track.
"In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6)
Later on their would be a king whom the Lord would raise, that would serve well named David. David is a type of Jesus Christ our King of Kings. Many good things happened under his rule, because David was a man after God' own heart. He always consulted the Lord about decisions, and had many victories. David as a king was even required to have intimacy with God's word:
Deut 17:18 "And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests.
Furthermore, David was used to pen many scriptures inspired by the Holy Spirit which can be found in the book of Psalms. Meanwhile previous kings like Saul and even others who were supposed to rule righteously (like Samuel's sons or Eli's sons) did in fact what "was right in his own eyes" and not God's. Through this kind of disobedience Israel would face many hardships.
Clearly we must always follow what God wants, and not our own personal preferences or projects. God's will must come first. Israel did however experience this from time to time, when there were judges raised by the Lord whom they received and put into practice God's direction and revelation. Gideon's army of 300 men is a perfect example. When God's word was followed properly, they had victory. In this example we see one judge named Jephthah whom the Lord raised.
In this particular passage we see that there was a battle. Here we are reminded that knowing the word is very important. There is no room for personal preferences of interpretation. Either we know the word or we do not know the word.
There was one group that guarded the fords of the Jordan (the men of Gilead), and others that wanted to cross (the Ephraimites). However, in order to do so they were tested on how to say the word ‘Shibboleth’!". When it was pronounced right they could cross. However those who were not of this group would mispronounce slightly and say, "Sibboleth,". These were not able to cross the river and they died.
Those who died numbered 42,000 - and all lacked intimacy with the word. So for all intents and purposes in this example the name that saves is "Shibboleth". As for the meaning, the word means “stream” or “flood,”. Jesus too offers a stream of flood of living water. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan where the Holy Spirit descended like a dove. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot cross the Jordan. Earlier on Israel crossed over the Jordan to enter th e promised land which is a type of passing from this life into eternity. We too must have intimacy with the word, to enter eternity. Jesus must be our life.
Intimacy of the word does not mean we have memorized the bible in both Hebrew and Greek - while helpful - it doesn't make any difference. It doesn't even matter if you have a doctorate in "divinity". Do you have the Holy Spirit operating in your life? Are you permitting Him to operate and lead your life? The Holy Spirit must also open up the scriptures to be understood. More importantly those who know the word ought to obey it in the light of Christ. We cannot be merely, hearers but also doers of what He has defined in His Project. Yet we cannot be religious and going through the motions, as those who opposed Jesus. We must serve Him because we love Him. That is our motive.
We can fool and even impress those around us with our great knowledge, sweet words and bible under our armpit - but the Lord is not deceived (Mal 3:18). Those who could not cross could not deceive either, as their talk/voice betrayed them - that is what comes from inside (Matthew 12:34) and would denounce them (Matthew 26:73)
So what is the name that saves today? Jesus! His name in fact means salvation.
Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Romans 10:13 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Since the day we meet Him, and until the day we are joined with Him as one, we are to remain in fellowship with Him, in the Body of Christ, where His Blood circulating (The Holy Spirit's operation) keeps each member alive and functioning (1 Corinthians 12:3). When we are receiving His living waters, we receive all the benefits He has to offer including: peace in our souls, victory from trials and most importantly life eternal. We cannot add to God's perfect project. To add or to take away from something perfect, means imperfection and disobedience. Those who could say Shibboleth were those who would have grown up and had such mastery of the word from experience, and not faked. It was a part of their very lives and was ingrained. So too must God be in our lives.