ON THROWING
EK-BALLO Εκ-βαλλω
DIA-BALLO Δια-βαλλω
One of the commonest words in the Greek New Testament is ballo, 'I throw', or its derivatives. There are a number of words formed from this word, by adding a preposition to it, as, for example: ek-ballo, 'I throw out'. We get our English word 'ball' from this word ballo, so every time a boy or girl talks about a 'ball', he can be reminded of this word in the Greek New Testament. Actually it is very rarely translated 'throw', but rather, 'cast', 'put', or occasionally, 'lay'. In Mark 12:4242And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. (Mark 12:42), the poor widow 'threw' in two mites; and in Acts 22:2323And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, (Acts 22:23), the mob who tried to kill Paul 'threw' dust into the air.
I want you to think for a little while about the word ek-ballo, 'I-throw-out'. It is translated in a number of different ways: 'cast out' (Matt. 7:55Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. (Matthew 7:5)); 'send forth' (Matt. 12:2020A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. (Matthew 12:20)); 'drove out' (John 2:1515And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; (John 2:15)) etc. The thought is, I believe, forcibly sending something, or someone, out: as a boy forcibly sends a ball out, when he throws it. The ball is not consulted as to this, the force and power all come from the one who throws it. If you will turn to Matt. 9:3838Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest. (Matthew 9:38) or Luke 10:22Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. (Luke 10:2), you will see words something like these: "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the Harvest, that He would send forth laborers into His harvest." The word translated 'send forth' is ekballo in each of these Gospels. The Lord of the Harvest, Himself, is the one that sends forth, or, thrusts forth (New Translation) these laborers. It is not left to the laborer's own choice as to whether he will go or not. No man, not even a mission board has the authority to send forth these laborers. No, the Lord of the Harvest alone has the right to send forth a laborer. And I need hardly add that if the Lord of the Harvest sends forth a laborer, He will make Himself responsible for the support and care of that laborer; even though he may share some of the sufferings of the Apostle Paul, described in 2 Cor. 11; such as 'weariness and painfulness, watchings often, hunger and thirst, fastings often, cold and nakedness' and, oh, so many more. But the Apostle reckoned that these sufferings, which were but for a moment, were not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. See Rom. 8:1818For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18); 2 Cor. 4:17, 1817For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17‑18).
“I will give her My cross of suffering,
My cup of sorrow to share;
But in robes of white, in the Glory bright,
All shall be righted there.”
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But there is another word we must consider in this Scripture, and that is the word that the Lord used here for 'Pray'. "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the Harvest that He would send forth laborers into His harvest." There are a number of words used in the New Testament for pray, but this is the strongest of them all. It is deomai: it might be translated 'beseech', or 'supplicate'. Mr. Darby uses 'supplicate' in his New Translation. Now, Beloved, I wonder how many of us obey the Lord's command (for it is a command) given to us in these verses. I wonder how often in our own private prayers we supplicate the Lord of the harvest to thrust forth laborers. I wonder how often in the Prayer Meetings do we hear this earnest, fervent supplication. I fear not very often. Is it for this reason that the laborers are so pitifully few? The harvest is just as great as ever, and the right sort of laborers unspeakably few: so this prayer the Lord taught His disciples is just as applicable as ever for our own day.
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The next word I would ask you to consider is Diaballo. It means literally 'I throw across'. It is only used once in the New Testament as a verb, that is, in Luke 16:1. Here it is translated 'accuse'. It may remind us of the old proverb, "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones." And the meaning of the word has come to be, 'To slander, defame, accuse falsely or maliciously'. Where it is used in Luke 16, it tells of someone who accused the unjust steward to his master. Now the use of this word lets us know that it was not out of love to the master that he did this, but out of spite to the steward.
There is one very striking example of a man who `threw across' stones and dust with a malicious intent. His name is Shimei, and we may read the story in 2 Sam. 16:5-135And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. 6And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 7And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: 8The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man. 9Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. 10And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so? 11And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden him. 12It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day. 13And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust. (2 Samuel 16:5‑13). "Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him (David, the rejected king), and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust." David is a picture of our Lord Jesus, the true King, but rejected and cast out. How many there are who like to throw stones at Him today, or at His followers. And, sad to say, there is many a true Christian even now who seems to spend his time throwing stones and dust at his fellow-Christians, and it is much to be feared, sometimes doing it with malicious intent. In fact he is doing the work called in the New Testament, dia-ballo.
Now, there is one, more than any other who does this work. In fact so constantly is he employed in it —the work of casting stones and dust at the Lord's people —that in the New Testament this personage has won for himself the name, 'Dia-boles' —'The one who throws (stones)' or 'The Slanderer'. This word is used many times, and with three exceptions, (1 Tim. 3:1111Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. (1 Timothy 3:11); 2 Tim. 3:33Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, (2 Timothy 3:3); Titus 2:33The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; (Titus 2:3)) it is always translated `devil'. This ought to pull some of us up pretty sharply. Are we doing the work of the devil; helping him in his own special work of accusing the brethren? (Rev. 12:1010And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (Revelation 12:10)) (And even Peter could do the work of the devil.)
This is a very solemn question for us to ask ourselves. Are we helpers in the Lord's harvest fields today, by supplicating the Lord of the harvest to thrust forth (ek-ballo) laborers into His harvest fields or are we weakening the hands of His laborers by throwing stones and dust across at them (dia-ballo)? There are, I doubt not, laborers today standing idle while the harvest fields are white waiting for them, and all because some of us have been employed in dia-ballo instead of ek-ballo.
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I can hardly leave this word dia-ballo without a reference to the three places where it is not translated `devil'. The first (1 Tim. 3:1111Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. (1 Timothy 3:11)) refers to the wives of the deacons, and tells them they are not to be slanderers —not to be 'devils', for 'devil' means 'slanderer'. The second scripture is 2 Tim. 3:33Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, (2 Timothy 3:3), and tells us that in the last days men shall be.... false accusers: that is `slanderers'. This is one of the marks of the times in which we live; and brothers and sisters alike are liable to fall into this horrid sin. The third time this word is used in this way (Titus 2:33The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; (Titus 2:3)) is in a special message to the "aged women" that they are not to be 'false accusers'.
Some of the stones and dust that we throw hurt far more than ever we intend they should; and let us bear in mind that we can greatly hinder the work of the Lord on the one hand, or greatly help it on the other hand, by our use of
EKBALLO or DIABALLO
Which is it going to be???