 |  |
Solomon's "greater house was cieled with fir tree" which means overlaid with this wood.
The Lord complains through Haggai the prophet "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in
your cieled houses and this house (the Temple) lie waste?" The Israelites had luxuriously
decorated their own homes and showed little interest in the Lord's house which lay in
ruins (Hag. 1: 4).
COME BY. In the storm and shipwreck so vividly described in Acts 27: 16 we
read, "we have much work to come by the boat". This is old English meaning it was hard
to control the boat and so secure it.
COMFORT. This comes from the Latin comforto, meaning to strengthen, and this
often is its meaning in Scripture in addition to soothing or consoling. It is interesting to
note examples from Wyclif's translation which preceded the A.V., "he comforteth hym
with nailes" (Isa. 41: 7) sounding peculiar to us today. Also "he comforteth the lockis of
thi gatis" (Psa. 147: 13). In each case our modern equivalent would be `strengthen'.
In the N.T. the word occurs many times meaning `encourage or strengthen' in addition
to consoling and this should be borne in mind in the contexts where it occurs.
COMFORTLESS. John 14: 18 reads, "I will not leave you comfortless" where the
Greek means `left as orphans' and the thought behind this precious promise is that,
though the Lord was to leave them shortly, they would not be bereft or destitute.
COMMUNICATE. Basically this means `to share' rather than to pass on a message.
It refers to practical fellowship and generous acts. "To do good and to communicate
forget not" (Heb. 13: 16), that is practical sharing among believers. Paul commended
the Philippian church because they communicated with his affliction when he was
imprisoned (Phil. 4: 14). This does not mean that they sent letters to him, but rather
practical gifts to help him, as the context makes perfectly clear. "Evil communications
corrupt good manners" (I Cor. 15: 33). This means something deeper than bad language
or writings and embraces all social influences in which conversation plays only a part. It
means moral character as a whole and what Paul meant was `bad company ruins good
morals'.
COMPREHEND. This word comes from a Latin verb that means to seize or grasp
and in the sixteenth century was used in both the physical and intellectual senses,
whereas today it is only used in the latter sense. In John 1: 5 we read "the light shineth
in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not". This does not mean "the darkness
did not understand it", but rather the darkness did not grasp and extinguish the light, in
other words, did not overcome it. In Christ was "the light of men, the light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it". This is a triumphant assertion that fits
in with the glorious revelation of the opening words of John's Gospel. Other translations