Whispers of His Power – MAY 9

Judg. 7.25:  And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb;  and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb.

Oreb and Zeeb were two enemies of the Lord.  Oreb means Raven, and Zeeb means Wolf.  Our nearest bird to the raven is the crow, and we know how it behaves.  It hops up sideways, looking as if it isn’t thinking of anything much, and then suddenly snatches some trifle we have forgotten to take care of, and flies off with it.  And we know something of a wolf’s habits.  It is not very nice for the one whom he carries off to his den.

Sometimes temptation comes to us like a crow, in a casual kind of way.  Before we know it, something we should have been careful of just disappears – good temper, good manners, thoughtfulness for one another, something that perhaps seems a little thing and yet really isn’t.

Sometimes temptation comes like a wolf, and rushes upon us.  Then something dreadful happens;  a lie is told, a dishonest thing is done, and unless we awaken to our danger we are soon in the wolf’s den.

But just as the Raven was conquered and slain on a rock called the Raven, and the Wolf at a place called the Wolf, so in the very heart where that temptation is most at home (so that people say, ‘Oh, she is such a cross person! Oh, he is such an untruthful person!’) there, just there, will be victory.

Only we must obey the directions given to all who are tempted.  They are written in Ephesians 6.16-18.

oooOOOooo

These words are from ’Whispers of His Power’ a collection of writings that Amy Carmichael wrote for her ‘children’ and others associated with the Dohnavur Fellowship. and are Copyright © The Dohnavur Fellowship 1982

Unless otherwise stated, biblical quotations are from the Authorized King James Version of the Bible.

The following abbreviations are used to refer to other versions and sources:

BCP:               Book of Common Prayer, the Great Bible of Coverdale

Conybeare:       W. J. Conybeare, The Epistles of Paul (a translation)

Delitzsch:        F. Delitzsch, Notes on Job and the Psalms

Kay:                W. Kay, The Psalms (a translation)

LXX:              The Septuagint

Moffatt:           J. Moffatt, The New Testament: a new translation

Rotherham:      J. B. Rotherham, The Emphasized Bible Revised Version

RV:                 Revised Version

Way:              A. Way, The Letters of St Paul (a translation)

Westcott:         F. Westcott, Notes on the Gospel of St John

Weymouth:      R. F. Weymouth, The New Testament in Modern Speech

Young:            R. Young, A Literal Translation of the Bible

Verses of poetry without quotation marks were written by Amy Carmichael.