Romans 3:13,14 – An opened sepulcher 

“A sepulcher opened is their throat. With their tongues the defraud.” “ The venom of asps is under their lips”. Whose mouth with imprecation and bitterness is crammed.

After quoting from Psalm 14 in the previous three verses (: 10-12), Paul refers to four passages in the above verses: Psalm 5:10, 10: 7; 140: 4 and Jer. 5:16. The preceding quote was about man in general, who he is and about his ‘insides’. In the above verses it is about what comes out of man through the mouth. Then, in verses 15 to inclusive it is about the feet and in verse 18 about the eyes.

Our words come from the “throat” and “mouth” and are spoken with the “tongue” and “lips”. It is remarkable that the ‘catalog’ of body parts starts with this. The tongue may be a relatively small part of the body, but it expresses what is in us and controls the whole body. James compares it to the bridle in the mouth of a horse and to the rudder of a ship (3; 3,4).

No greater contrast than the throat of man as “an open grave” and GOD’S word speaking of the opened, and forever empty grave … a difference of death and LIFE!

Delen: