| December 27, 1998 |
Vol. I, No. 35
|
As the casket was being lowered, the "cowboy preacher" selected three clods. Then, one by one, he dropped them into the grave to punctuate the parts of the committal. He read, "Therefore, we commit her body to the ground, earth to earth (Plunk!), ashes to ashes (Plunk!), dust to dust (Plunk!)."
A small boy with the relatives did not cry as they did. But the three phrases impressed him. Sixty-five years later he was to check each carefully to see if God had taught them in His Book. It was found that He had.
EARTH TO EARTH.. It was as though the Lord guarded the use of words in each modern language to carry meanings of the corresponding terms in the original. "Earth" was, and is, used to mean (1) this planet, (2) its surface, and (3) the soil composing it.
Psalms 146:4 says of man, "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth." In Eccl. 12:7 we read, "And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it." So, the "earth" part of the ceremony is true.
ASHES TO ASHES. Chemists have found that decay is a slow process of oxidation, similar to burning. It is fitting that the ultimate remains left by the one be compared to the residue of the other. "Ashes to ashes" is likewise taught by inspiration. Abraham, repeatedly asking of Jehovah, humbly confessed (Gen. 18:27), "I... who am but dust and ashes."
DUST TO DUST. Many times the truth is stressed that man is made of dust. Gen. 2:7 tells us, "And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Analysts tell us that every element found in the human body is in the earth's crust. Through food they come into us and form us. Thus, our bodies are composed of "dust." The chemistry in mother's bodies and processes in people's digestive and circulatory systems are continuing marvels. Complicated, varied, and multifunctioned as these bodies are, they are still dust. We are dust people.
Eliphaz, in Job 4:18-19, did not miss it far when he said, "And his angels he charged with folly; How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust."
The Spirit states that this fact causes our Maker to be kindly inclined toward us. Psalms 103:13-14 says, "Like as a father pitieth his children, So Jehovah pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust." So well does Whittier in "Snow-bound," states related thought that we quote,
But He who knows our frame is just
Merciful and compassionate,
And full of sweet assurances and hope for all the
language is
That He remembereth we are dust!
RETURN. When the "dust returneth to the earth as it was" it "comes full circle." The idea of "return" was introduced in Eden. Gen. 3:19 records that Jehovah God told Adam, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
Return means turn back, or again. The grim truth is repeated in Job 34:15, "All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust." Psalm 90:3 states, "Thou turnest man to destruction (margin: or, dust), And sayest, Return, ye children of men."
SPIRIT. But we keep in mind that one part of man is not dust. Eccl. 12:7 also included, "and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it." Longfellow wrote,
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returneth,
Was not spoken of the soul.
The lad we mentioned was later in a classroom a thousand miles away. He heard the instructor insist upon respect for the laboratory skeleton. "It will be somebody in the resurrection." 1 Cor. 15:42-44 lets us know that the very "dust" we lay away will be raised, changed, and inhabited. Though "sown" in corruption, dishonor, and weakness, a natural body, it will be raised in incorruption, glory, and power, a spiritual body.
Remember that "earthy" in verses 47-49 means "made of dust" as we quote, "The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: And as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."
After other inspiring thoughts, verse 58 concludes with, "Wherefore (So), my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord."
--O.E. Watts
King Solomon, the sage of Israel, wrote, "A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calls for blows. A fool's mouth is his destruction and his lips are the snare of his soul. The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into inmost body" (Prov. 18:6-8). And again, "A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends" (Prov. 16:28).
This truth has been recognized by many before and after Solomon. Friendships and family ties have been sacrificed at the altar of gossip. Even whole nations have been brought low by slander.
Each of us, at one time or another, has been the object of another's gossip. We know all too well the power of the tongue to hurt and destroy. Perhaps the gossiper needs to be reminded that "whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Gal. 6:7). Perhaps that is why the wise man said, "Whoever speaks slander is a fool" (Prov. 10:18). Jesus Himself admonished, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them..." (Matt. 7:12).
A good rule to follow when tempted to repeat a juicy morsel of gossip might be to ask one's self a few pertinent questions: (1) Do I know this to be a fact, (2) Would I be willing to put it in writing and sign my name to it, and (3) Will those to whom I tell it be made better by this knowledge? If we cannot answer these questions in the affirmative, let us refrain from the temptation to "tell all." If someone approaches you with a bit of slander, ask him to submit to this same three-question test. If he "flunks out," consider the source of that which you have heard, and pour cold water on the fire of contention.
"Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; and where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife. The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body" (Prov. 26:20-22).
--CRJ
When Jesus healed the leper in Matt. 8:1-4, He requested, "See that you tell no one." It was Jesus' practice when dealing with Jews in Judea and Galilee to instruct both men and demons not to make known His identity as the Christ. See Matt. 9:30; 17:9; Mark 1:25 and other passages.
Almost all who have read these passages and others like them are caused to ask, "Why did Jesus seek to keep His identity secret?"
Many suggestions have been offered. Some commentators suggest that He did not want to be thronged by curiosity seekers. Some suggest His motivation was to discourage those who would seek Him because of selfish greed, John 6:26. A few even suggest He intended His instructions to be disobeyed, Mark 7:36, though this seems unlikely. In fact, the Bible indicates two reasons for His seemingly strange request. In Matt. 12:16-19, we learn that in this way Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 42:1-4 that the Messiah would not cry aloud in the streets, attracting attention to Himself. A second reason, not as clearly stated, can be gathered by a combination of statements that the proper time had not yet come for Jesus' identity to be publicly proclaimed. In Matt. 17:9, the command was "tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." To proclaim Jesus as the Christ publicly too early in His ministry would be to arouse His enemies against Him before He had been able to accomplish His mission. See John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20, and related passages.
Note that His practice of withholding His identity from the Jews did not extend to the Gentiles and Samaritans. Though His earthly ministry was directed toward "the lost sheep of the house of Israel," and not directly to others at that time, when He did deal with Samaritans or Gentiles, He did not see a need to withhold from them the fact of His Messiahship. He openly told the Samaritan woman, John 4:26, that He was the Christ, and did nothing to discourage her from telling others. Likewise, when He healed the demoniac in the predominately Gentile area of the Gadarenes, Jesus told the man, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you" (Mark 5:19).
Once Jesus had finished His earthly ministry, given Himself as a sacrifice for sin, and come forth from the tomb, He instructed His apostles to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:15-16).
--CRJ