Understanding

22 And if you say to me, “We are depending on the LORD our God”–isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem”?
23 “‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses–if you can put riders on them! 24 How can you repulse one officer of the least of my master’s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen ? 25 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the LORD? The LORD himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.'”
26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”
27 But the commander replied, “Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the men sitting on the wall–who, like you, will have to eat their own filth and drink their own urine?”
28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand.
(2 Kings 18.22-29)

When the commander of the Assyrian army outside Jerusalem threatened the people inside the city, “Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah”, the officials sent to speak with him, asked him to “speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it” and not to speak “Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.” (2 Kings 18:26) The three officials were educated men who spoke both languages, but most of the people on the walls of Jerusalem knew only Hebrew. The three men wanted to avoid fear spreading through the city, but the commander deliberately used Hebrew so that everyone could hear and understand. The commander intended his words not only for the elite but for everyone to understand and be afraid.

But the Word of God was written for everyone to understand and be comforted. The New Testament was not written in classical Greek so that only educated people could understand. Instead, it was written in a different type of Greek. At first, modern scholars thought it was a special language given by the Holy Spirit to be used only for the Bible. But later research showed that it was the Greek of the common people – the language of shopping lists, of business, and of letters to friends. So it was called Koine Greek or Common Greek.

If the words of a pagan army commander and the words of the New Testament were given in language that everyone could hear and understand, then we should also communicate our faith in ways that everyone can understand. This refers not only to the way that we speak, but also to the way that we live. Let our lives be God’s mouth, speaking the words that God wishes people to hear and understand.
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Prayer:
• Do you want to understand the Word of God?
Devote a time each day to reading the Bible and prayer. The more you do this, the more you will understand.