Day 149 Apples of Gold

 

5/29/2025

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of

gold in settings of silver."

Proverbs 21:11

 

Much has been written about the power of the tongue, how it can build up or tear down in one simple word. When I woke up this morning, the first time, I felt rested and refreshed, but it was so early that I decided to snooze a bit longer, at least until the alarm went off at 7 am. I went to bed late again, even so I should have gone ahead and stayed up anyway. I always regret it when I allow my weak flesh to win. Nonetheless, I did manage to beat the alarm by a few minutes. The cat helped me out, as she often does. She is very finicky about her water, so she complains several times a day and in the evening if it isn't "just so." 

My heart was heavy this morning after a casual glimpse at the news. I try to avoid looking at anything before quiet time, but the photo of a baby caught my eye. The headlines read: 

"Mom is waiting for you upstairs": Tze'ela Gaz's baby laid to rest.

 "Ravid Haim Gez, the infant born after his mother Tze'ela, was gunned down by a Palestinian terrorist in the West Bank earlier this month, has passed away."

'It is with great sadness and pain that we learned this morning of the death of baby Ravid Haim, son of Tze'ela and Hananel Gez,' said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 'There are no words that can comfort the murder of a newborn baby along with his mother.'"

Another senseless death because of hatred. This happened as the couple were enroute to the hospital, as Tze'ela was in labor. They were gunned down, and the mother died, but the husband survived. Although the baby was delivered alive, he was in critical condition. A young couple's life destroyed, because of antisemitism - hatred of a peaceful nation.

When I picked up my 60 Days of Prayer devotional the prayer topic for today was "Finding Joy on Challenging Days." It spoke of life throwing "curve balls," but this was much larger than a baseball and more distressing. Then I picked up my Bible, and today I started with the Book of Job. Interesting how these things work out, right?! Poor Job lost everything just to test out satan's theory, except for his wife and three close friends. His wife tells Job to curse God and die, while his friends at least sat in silence with him for seven days before they offered verbal assault. I think Job got a double whammy with the wife and friends. But in the end Job is restored to health and prosperity plus more children. I guess his wife hung around.

So many things happen in life we cannot explain, but we must trust God. We know that He is good and loves us. We know that He is just and holy. But there is much we don't understand, such as all the senseless murders. The hideous and unimaginable tragedies in life. The war reached its 601st day today, but we remain steadfast and watchful on the wall of Jerusalem, standing guard, prayerful and, like Job, praising God for His mercy and grace.

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Isaiah 62:6-7  

In responding to painful or difficult situations in life where comfort and friendship are much needed, the best support we show to another who is suffering is to do as the three friends of Job initially did: sit down and be there showing support and offering comfort without saying a single word. "Apples of gold in settings of silver" means knowing what to do or say in a certain situation, "aptly spoken" at the right time. Just don't follow the "friends" example and subject the listener to monologue of aimless chatter. Just be there!