If the Bible is described as a hammer - what is it thumping?
“Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” ( Jeremiah 23:29 ) One of the most picturesque of the figures used to describe the Holy Scriptures is that of the hammer striking and shattering a rock. In this text, however, the “rock” is literally a mighty rock mountain. Furthermore, the effect of the hammer is to “break in pieces.” This phrase actually is a single Hebrew word which normally means “disperse,” or “scatter abroad,” usually used in describing the worldwide dispersion of the children of Israel. It was used even earlier for the first dispersion at Babel: “So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth” ( Genesis 11:8 ). Perhaps most significantly of all, it is used in the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7 : “Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.” This verse was quoted by the Lord Jesus just after the last supper and applied to Himself: “All ye shall be offended because of me t