Whose word is on my tongue?

Graphic courtesy Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Samuel 22-24; Psalm 93

TO CHEW ON: "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue." 2 Samuel 23:2

Today our reading contains a couple of magnificent passages attributed to David. 2 Samuel 22 is a psalm titled, in my Bible, "Praise for God's Deliverance." It's full of affirmations and testimony of God's excellence, goodness, help, and faithfulness.

The section from which our focus verse is taken is titled "David's Last Words"—a heading that makes us sit up and take notice.

In this last speech one of the things David emphasized was the fact that he was God's mouthpiece: "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me…" It's a claim that seems proven by the longevity of the many poems and psalms he wrote. Across the ages till today they communicate deep truths about God and our relationship with Him.

[The Hebrew word for "Spirit" is rauch. A sidebar article in my Bible explains that this word occurs nearly 400 times in the Bible. It is translated "spirit, wind, breath" and can refer to the breath of life (Genesis 6:17), "spirit" as in human spirit (1 Samuel 16:23) or the Spirit of God (Isaiah 42:1; 44:3; 48:16; 61:1-3) - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 431.]

This Spirit of God's inspiration makes many appearances in the Old Testament.

• The seventy elders commissioned to help Moses were inspired to prophesy (albeit only once) - Numbers 11:25.

• For the prophet Balaam, who King Balak hoped would curse Israel for him, God's Spirit put in his mouth only words of blessing - Numbers 23:5, 12, 16.

• Likewise the Spirit came on many Old Testament prophets - Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:9), Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:17) and Micah (Micah 3:8).

• Of course we recall the story of the Day of Pentecost when that Spirit wind blew into the Jerusalem upper room:

"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" Acts 2:2-4 (emphasis added).

There was a shift that day in how and where the Spirit worked. No longer was His presence limited to select individuals as it was in the Old Testament. From that day on, His presence and working was and is available to all who put their faith in Christ for salvation (1 Corinthians 6:19).

The question then becomes, are we available to Him? Does the wind of His words blow through us? Does it issue from our mouths and pens and keyboards? Will we be able to say someday: "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me. / And His word was on my tongue"?
 
PRAYER: Dear Spirit, please blow into and through my life. May my actions and words be Spirit-inspired. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 93 
 
 *********
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.