My dear readers,

Do You Ambush or Deliver?

Proverbs 12:6: “The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.”

God has a most amazing way of capturing the essence of His perfect truth especially when it comes to warning His children to guard their mouths! Out of all the organs given to man by God, the mouth is the organ that destroys the most lives - his own and hundreds of millions of others’! At the same time, words have also brought the greatest blessings and encouragement to many discouraged and condemned hearts, and have enhanced lives.

What kinds of words do we speak? According to Proverbs 12:6, there are two types. The words of the wicked will ambush a person who believes them. But if a person believes the mouth of the upright, he will be delivered.

How and what will the words of the wicked
ambush? To ambush is to lie in wait to attack and kill the prey. The ambusher knows the target is arriving from a particular direction. He patiently waits for the right time to attack and kill. The ambusher seeks the most vulnerable position of his prey to secure a success. In the same manner, the words (the focus is on the deadly content of the words) of the wicked will be spoken in a manner that is most appealing to his victim. The fallen nature in every sinner is characterised by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. All forms of deception especially done in the name of Christ are included in this warning.

In the case of the lust of the flesh, the words of the wicked will lure him to foods, drinks, sports, sexual desires, and all things pleasurable that appeal to the bodily desires. These fleshly desires are very strong within the heart of man. Coupled with modern technology, sinful men have been ambushed by the words of the wicked into seeking after the fulfilment of these desires, not knowing that their souls have been made drunk by the seductive wine of lustful desires. The lust of the eyes is lured by the glitter of gold and the good materialistic life. To be a billionaire where all the luxuries of the world are at one’s feet is the elusive goal of many young men and women in first world countries. The lucrative world of the Central Business District where the world’s monies are traded daily is where millions gather. The lust of the flesh is satisfied by the lust of the eyes and vice versa until the man dies in his sin and is cast into hell. The pride of life prevents him from repentance, for his wealth has filled his mind and heart with arrogance. That is how the words of the wicked ambush the simple ones, causing them to sin and deceiving them into thinking that they are living well in the name of Christ. The blood referred to here is not only physical death but also to die in sin and to be cast into hell.

The words of the wicked that lie in wait for blood is aptly captured in Proverbs 7:9-27: “In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.”

How and what will the mouth of the righteous deliver? The righteous are born again believers who know Christ as their Lord and Saviour and who know the Word of God. Their mouths (the focus is on speaking the words) will speak words according to Scriptures, i.e. God’s Word. The counsels they give have the power and wisdom of God behind them. Thus, the potency to deliver (i.e. snatch them out of the deception) is the work of God and not man’s. For example, the counsel from God to be protected from the strange woman is to obey God’s commandments. “My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words” (Prov 7:1-5).

Prevention is always better than cure when it comes to the Christian’s holy witness for Christ. If he stumbles and falls into sin (even after repentance), forgiveness is given, but the consequences remain. The damage to the holy witness of Christ in his life remains. Now, he has to rebuild his holy witness from a negative beginning.

If he has fallen into such a sin, then he needs to repent of the sin and return to Christ in true repentance and must never commit such a sin again! The moment he lusts after a woman in his heart, he must acknowledge that he has already committed adultery and must repent of his sin before God in Christ. If he does not, he knows from past experiences that he will sin the same sin of adultery again. Matthew 5:28: “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

The wise counsel of the righteous delivers the sinner from hell when the sinner receives Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

The wise counsel of the righteous protects believers from the snares of the words of the wicked. Their holy witness is kept intact. Their life in Christ brings glory to God.

Do your words ambush or deliver?