Bible League: Living His Word "Listen! I am sending you, and you will be like sheep among wolves. So be smart like snakes. But also be like doves and don't hurt anyone."Up until this point in their walk with Jesus the disciples had stayed close to Him. In Matthew 10:5, however, we learn that Jesus thought they were ready to be sent out from him on a kind of test-run for what they were going to do after His departure. He gave them the power to cast out demons and to heal the sick (Matthew 10:1) and their assignment was to preach the gospel and put these gifts into practice. Our verse for today is part of the specific instruction Jesus gave them before they left. First of all, we learn that the disciples were sent out by Jesus. In other words, they were not going out on their own and on their own initiative. They were disciples under authority with a specific mission assigned to them by Jesus himself. They were not false prophets. Second, they would be like sheep among wolves. Jesus was sending them as innocent and harmless messengers of grace into a savage world full of violent persecutors who would oppose the message. The disciples would have to learn that in a world full of trouble, Jesus, the true shepherd of the sheep, had overcome the world (John 16:33). Third, given their position as sheep among wolves, they needed to be smart like snakes. The wisdom of the snake is its ability to avoid detection. The disciples should not unnecessarily provoke the wolves into an active opposition to the gospel. They should be prudent and cautious in everything they do in order to guarantee the success of their mission. Finally, the disciples should be harmless like doves. Although they needed to be wise like serpents in order to avoid detection, they were not to use this wisdom in order to sneak up on people and hurt them. Rather, the guile of the serpent should be used to heal and deliver people from the real serpent---Satan himself. Jesus' instruction to His disciples on their test-run still applies to His disciples today. We should not go out unless we are sent; since we are sheep among wolves, we must use wisdom and prudence in the way we present the gospel; and we should help people and not hurt them. Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading1 Chronicles 20, 21, 22 1 Chronicles 20 -- Rabbah's Capture; War with the Philistines NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Chronicles 21 -- David Incited by Satan, Forces a Census NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Chronicles 22 -- David Prepares for Temple Building, Appoints Solomon NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading John 10:22-42 John 10 -- Parable of the Good Shepherd; Belief and Unbelief of the Jews NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion What good is an idol carved by man,or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation— a god that can't even talk! Insight Idolatry may seem like a sin that modern people need not fear. But idolatry is not just bowing down to idols; it is trusting in what one has made, and therefore, in one's own power as creator and sustainer. Challenge If we say we worship God but put our trust in bank accounts, homes, businesses, and organizations, then we are idolaters. Do you trust God more than you trust what your hands have made? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon 2 Samuel 9:13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table; and was lame on both his feet.Mephibosheth was no great ornament to a royal table, yet he had a continual place at David's board, because the king could see in his face the features of the beloved Jonathan. Like Mephibosheth, we may cry unto the King of Glory, "What is thy servant, that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?" but still the Lord indulges us with most familiar intercourse with himself, because he sees in our countenances the remembrance of his dearly-beloved Jesus. The Lord's people are dear for another's sake. Such is the love which the Father bears to his only begotten, that for his sake he raises his lowly brethren from poverty and banishment, to courtly companionship, noble rank, and royal provision. Their deformity shall not rob them of their privileges. Lameness is no bar to sonship; the cripple is as much the heir as if he could run like Asahel. Our right does not limp, though our might may. A king's table is a noble hiding-place for lame legs, and at the gospel feast we learn to glory in infirmities, because the power of Christ resteth upon us. Yet grievous disability may mar the persons of the best-loved saints. Here is one feasted by David, and yet so lame in both his feet that he could not go up with the king when he fled from the city, and was therefore maligned and injured by his servant Ziba. Saints whose faith is weak, and whose knowledge is slender, are great losers; they are exposed to many enemies, and cannot follow the king whithersoever he goeth. This disease frequently arises from falls. Bad nursing in their spiritual infancy often causes converts to fall into a despondency from which they never recover, and sin in other cases brings broken bones. Lord, help the lame to leap like an hart, and satisfy all thy people with the bread of thy table! Daily Light on the Daily Path Nahum 1:7 The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.Jeremiah 33:11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, "Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, For the LORD is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting"; and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the LORD. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,' says the LORD. Psalm 46:1 For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Psalm 91:2 I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" Deuteronomy 33:29 "Blessed are you, O Israel; Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, Who is the shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! So your enemies will cringe before you, And you will tread upon their high places." 2 Samuel 22:31,32 "As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. • "For who is God, besides the LORD? And who is a rock, besides our God? 1 Corinthians 8:3 but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. 2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness." Psalm 1:6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish. Exodus 33:17 The LORD said to Moses, "I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name." New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. 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