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For September’s Sunday Scripture post, let’s build on what we talked about last time — recognizing that there are two sides to wisdom, and learning how to read and understand the spiritual meaning of what the Bible says.

Sometimes the meaning is more hidden, and it takes much study and sincerity to decipher what the Word is talking about. But then other times, God comes right out and defines the spiritual for us, eliminating any possibility for misunderstanding or incorrect interpretation.

Today, I’ve highlighted a few of those instances where God isn’t beating around the bush — burning or otherwise — and tells us plainly what He means.

I’ve tried to lay this out as simply as possible, introducing the word we’re going to define, then quoting a verse which plainly tells the reader what that word’s spiritual meaning is. If you would enjoy listening to this topic and these examples discussed in a more in depth manner, I’ve embedded a video for you here.

My dad has been creating Bible videos for more than a decade, but for the past year, I’ve been joining in. Today’s post is a text companion piece to the video. Let’s get started!

To ease into this, the first word on my list is what we covered last month:

Light

Psalm 119:130: “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”

Light is understanding. Simple, right?

The Poor

Jeremiah 5:1-4: “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city. Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ still they are swearing falsely.” O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent. I thought, “These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God.”

The poor are those who do not know God nor understand what He wants of us.

Wormwood

Revelation 8:10-11: “The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water–the name of the star is *Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.” *Footnote: That is Bitterness.

This is one of the most important ones, I think: Wormwood is bitterness. And bitterness is something that can so easily sneak up and infect you, but it’s so, so dangerous. Best to be vigilant and guard our hearts against this one.

Stars, Lampstands and Angels

Revelation 1:9-20: “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the *angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” *Footnote: Or messengers.

Angels are messengers. (Remember, they can be God’s angels OR the devil’s fallen angels). The stars are the angels of the seven churches — that is, the messengers of the churches; and the lampstands ARE the churches.

Water(s)

Revelation 17:15: “Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.”

This is one to remember and call to mind when you’re reading the Bible — waters are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages!

Okay, just one more for today, with a bonus verse that we can hopefully read and apply what we’ve learned.

Head and Tail, Palm Branch and Reed

Isaiah 9:14-17: “So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day; the elders and prominent men are the head [and palm branch], the prophets who teach lies are the tail [and reed]. Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray.”

The head and palm branch are the elders and prominent men. The tail and reed are the prophets who teach lies. So keep in mind when you read elsewhere in the Bible about heads and tails, or palm branches and reeds (the Sea of Reeds, anyone?), you know that it’s not talking about bodily parts or vegetation.

Now let’s apply something we’ve learned. Try this one:

Deuteronomy 28:1-13: “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock–the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity–in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground–in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you. The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.”

The Lord will make you the head, not the tail — IF you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.

So if you obey the Lord, do as He commands (love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, mind and understanding, and love your neighbour as yourself), you will NOT be lying prophets (tail); He will make you elders and prominent men (head) — those with authority who know what they’re talking about.

Remember that Jesus said “feed my sheep”. But in order to feed His sheep, we need to be fed ourselves. And understanding the language of the Bible, the spiritual side of wisdom, not the literal, is an absolute necessity for all of us. Some seem to think that life is just a game or a joke, and who cares about any of this stuff. Well… we should care. Because Jesus comes like a thief in the night, when He’s least expected. We’d best make sure we’re prepared with a lamp full of oil.

But I guess that begs the question… what’s “oil”…….? Happy September studying.  😉

James Tissot, “Feed My Lambs”, 1886-94