Humbly Remain Undaunted

06.16.09

J.A. Matteson

“And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.” Revelation 10:10

The Word of the Lord is a delight to the tender heart of pilgrims who are sustained by it, “The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Ps. 19:8). While sweet during consumption the Word’s effect on the obedient pilgrim is often bitter when it is a corrective Word to be broadcast to a wicked individual or culture that reject it.

The prophet Jeremiah attested to the delightful nature of the Word of the LORD received, “Thy words were found and I ate them, and Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jer. 15:16). The prophet Ezekiel also fed upon the Word of the LORD prior to declaring it to a decedent culture, “’Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you’…And He said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your stomach, and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.’ Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth’” (Ezk. 2:8; 3:3).

Samuel understood personally the bitterness of the Word of the LORD he had consumed and proclaimed when it was sternly rejected by Israel, yet grace supplied divine perspective to the prophet, “And the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them’” (1 Sam. 8:7). John the Baptist understood the bitterness of a corrective Word preached when the wickedness of the king was denounced, “For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, ‘It is not lawful for thee to have her’” (Matt.14:3-4). That corrective Word eventually resulted in John’s execution to silence his opposing voice.

Stephen experienced the bitterness of the corrective Word of the Lord when upon hearing it wicked men picked up rocks and stoned him to death, “Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute, and they killed them…But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city, and stoned him….” (Acts 7:51-52, 57-58). The corrective Word of the Lord Jesus Christ directed at the religious elite stirred their wrath, culminating in His crucifixion whereby they sought to silence the Word, “… the Pharisees went out, and took counsel against Him, how they might destroy Him” (Matt. 12:14).

By nature unregenerate sinners seek to suppress the truth of the Word in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). As John received the apocalyptic Word pertaining to the end times its ingestion was sweet—as all divine revelation—but its effect would be bitter upon the one delivering the message. Faithful pilgrims endure the bitter aspects of the Word of the Lord, and motivated by the love of God proclaim it to a wicked generation, deleting nothing, adding nothing, delivering it unedited and raw as written, letting the Holy Spirit perform that which is pleasing to the Father, that the recipients might turn from their erring ways and be saved.

Pilgrims today delivering the Word of the Lord are also experiencing its bitter effects, being mocked, ridiculed, marginalized, and at times violently attacked and killed. In spite of intense opposition they humbly remain undaunted to deliver the Word. As the time of His appearing nears wickedness will increase. It is incumbent upon every pilgrim to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3), and to call to repentance a generation gone astray. Pilgrims do not have the option of enjoying the sweetness of the Word apart from its bitterness; it is their calling and destiny.

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