Is My Life a Giveaway for Christ?
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,’ they said to him, 'Then say Shibboleth,' and he said, 'Sibboleth' for he could not pronounce it right; then they seized him and slew him. (Judges 12:5-6)
Judges 12:5-6 and 8:1-3; Matt. 5:14-16 and 26:27; John 13:35, II Cor. 3:2-3
What Is God Saying?
Judges is a chronicle of the worst of times. The book is characterized by anger, jealousy, mistrust, and violence. Occasionally God would raise up leaders to straighten things out. They were called Judges. They were men (and one woman) who believed in the God of Israel, and who, in obeying Him, exemplified courage and honor. But for the most part, it was 400 years of chaos. ‘In those days there was no king in Israel and every man did what was right in his own eyes.’ (21:25) Ephraimites considered themselves more important than the other tribes. Strategically located in the central highlands and having the great sanctuary at Shiloh, they felt they deserved more recognition. They were miffed when Gideon fought against the Midianites because he did not ask them to fight. They wanted a piece of the act10n and a share of the glory.
The same situation developed when Jephthah subdued the Ammonites and again they were not invited to the party. So they tried to soothe their offended spirits by taking on Jephthah. How could he do such a thing as to overlook them? In the ensuing battle, Ephraim lost. Jealousy opens the door to stupidity and disaster. There was wholesale confusion as the Ephraimites beat a hasty retreat. But the Gileadites stood at the ford of the Jordan and told every man who tried to cross to say shibboleth. Every fugitive Ephraimite said sibboleth. It was a dead giveaway, and dead is the right adjective. The casualty list reached 42,000.
How Does This Apply To Us?
Shibboleth in Hebrew means an ear of corn or a stream, but it has come to mean a test or a watchword. It is a giveaway. It lets others know where one belongs. What is there about our lives that gives us away as followers of Christ? An Ephraimite could not disguise his identity. A Christian's life should give him or her away to others. As those who are living for Jesus and enlisted on His side, let our speech and our acts be a dead giveaway that we belong to Jesus.
Pray With Me
Lord, I have placed You on my heart's throne. There You are as a spring breaking forth in the desert. The presence of life is seen where there are springs in the desert. So Your life in me should be seen in the way I live.
• It is Your Lordship that brings joy instead of sorrow.
• It is Your authority that gives me freedom rather than bondage.
• It is Your love that leads me in paths of service instead of on a treadmill of self-service.
• It is Your blessing that surrounds my day with peace instead of strife.
The Ephraimites gave themselves away because they could not say, Shibboleth. May the telltale traces of the Christ in me consciously and unconsciously give away the fact that I am Yours and You are mine. That is a giveaway that leads to life, not death. Everywhere people are looking for answers to their doubts, light for their darkness, and a way out from under their anxieties. As they see my life they ask, Is it real? Does it work? Do I want it? Can I have it? Let my life be the dead giveaway that shows them life and the One who brings it. Let them see the pattern of Your Life traced in my convictions, in my conversation, and my conduct.
In Your triumphant name. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
One of the reasons for prayer is to develop and strengthen the qualities that give us away as Christians. In the ways we think and talk, in the ways we work and walk, others will come to know that we belong to Jesus. Prayer is the time we become better giveaways for Christ.
