The Bible on an Anvil Among Broken Hammersby KandD
23:29Jeremiah 23:29
Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
God's word acts with the searching power of fire and the breaking power of a hammer. Like a hammer it shatters the hard, flinty, rocky heart and breaks through resistance to light and truth. Like a fire it consumes dross and tin, rubbish, error, sin and the refuge of lies, purifying heart and soul to become pure and holy. It breaks down sin and Satan's strongholds, reproves wrongdoing, awakens conviction, and brings sinners to repentance and to the living God. So it must be spoken faithfully from sanctified hearts and lips to those hungering for truth, and studied, believed, followed and kept as the trusted guide.
Fire and Hammer Power
God's word is like a hammer that breaks the flinty, rocky, hard heart in pieces. It is pure and unadulterated in this breaking work, smiting what is hard until the heart can be softened and made holy. Spoken as faithful testimony, it breaks through resistance to light and truth and reaches those hungering for truth.
Like fire it consumes dross and tin from the heart, burning away what is worthless. It burns up trash and rubbish filling the mind, error and sin, and the refuge of lies, so that heart and soul are purified and made pure and holy.
Like a hammer it also breaks down sin and strongholds of wrongdoing and of Satan himself. Used to reprove sin, it awakens conviction and brings people to repentance and to the living God away from Satan's influence. In its setting this fire-and-hammer power stands against deceptive claims of revelation, showing that God's word rather than human visions and imaginings must guide and test spiritual messages.
Speaking and Receiving Word
God sends true messengers at the right time to do Elijah-like work with earnest, decisive warnings. Faithful witnesses use His word to reprove sin, break the flinty heart, and consume the dross. The truth is to be spoken by its messengers so that it can cut away evil and do its work within people. Messages of warning and reproof break down strongholds of wrongdoing, awaken conviction, and turn people from Satan's influence to the living God. God's testimony, faithfully spoken, breaks rocky hearts like a hammer and consumes the refuge of lies like fire.
The word is to be borne as a faithful testimony to people hungering for truth. Spoken from sanctified hearts and lips, it can soften and break hard hearts. Faithfully spoken, it breaks rocky hearts and consumes the refuge of lies. So borne, it breaks through resistance to the light and truth God has for His people.
People are accountable for how they receive the truth proclaimed from the Word. Its power calls for zeal for God's honor. It is to be studied, believed, followed, and kept as a trusted guide. As a hammer it breaks the hard, flinty heart, and as a fire it consumes dross and tin so the heart may become pure and holy. It breaks through and burns away what is worthless, consuming the dross and tin of a mind filled with trash.
God's word acts with the searching power of fire and the breaking power of a hammer. Like a hammer it shatters the hard, flinty, rocky heart and breaks through resistance to light and truth. Like a fire it consumes dross and tin, rubbish, error, sin and the refuge of lies, purifying heart and soul to become pure and holy. It breaks down sin and Satan's strongholds, reproves wrongdoing, awakens conviction, and brings sinners to repentance and to the living God. So it must be spoken faithfully from sanctified hearts and lips to those hungering for truth, and studied, believed, followed and kept as the trusted guide.
Fire and Hammer Power
God's word is like a hammer that breaks the flinty, rocky, hard heart in pieces. It is pure and unadulterated in this breaking work, smiting what is hard until the heart can be softened and made holy. Spoken as faithful testimony, it breaks through resistance to light and truth and reaches those hungering for truth.
Like fire it consumes dross and tin from the heart, burning away what is worthless. It burns up trash and rubbish filling the mind, error and sin, and the refuge of lies, so that heart and soul are purified and made pure and holy.
Like a hammer it also breaks down sin and strongholds of wrongdoing and of Satan himself. Used to reprove sin, it awakens conviction and brings people to repentance and to the living God away from Satan's influence. In its setting this fire-and-hammer power stands against deceptive claims of revelation, showing that God's word rather than human visions and imaginings must guide and test spiritual messages.
Speaking and Receiving Word
God sends true messengers at the right time to do Elijah-like work with earnest, decisive warnings. Faithful witnesses use His word to reprove sin, break the flinty heart, and consume the dross. The truth is to be spoken by its messengers so that it can cut away evil and do its work within people. Messages of warning and reproof break down strongholds of wrongdoing, awaken conviction, and turn people from Satan's influence to the living God. God's testimony, faithfully spoken, breaks rocky hearts like a hammer and consumes the refuge of lies like fire.
The word is to be borne as a faithful testimony to people hungering for truth. Spoken from sanctified hearts and lips, it can soften and break hard hearts. Faithfully spoken, it breaks rocky hearts and consumes the refuge of lies. So borne, it breaks through resistance to the light and truth God has for His people.
People are accountable for how they receive the truth proclaimed from the Word. Its power calls for zeal for God's honor. It is to be studied, believed, followed, and kept as a trusted guide. As a hammer it breaks the hard, flinty heart, and as a fire it consumes dross and tin so the heart may become pure and holy. It breaks through and burns away what is worthless, consuming the dross and tin of a mind filled with trash.