Ok, so I'll take this opportunity to lapse into a bit of 'sociolinguistic discourse.' Basically, in semiotics, a sign is representative of something else, but it may not be just words... it could also include images or gestures, etc- any way information can be sent from one to another. (We'll just leave it at that, not getting to the dyadic and triadic perspectives here.)
The point is that these 'signs' are apparent throughout culture. The choices in our clothes, our homes, our jewelry, our wording, our facebook status... all signs sent from one mind to another. I just think about the wedding... how many semiotic systems am I using? So it's natural that signs would also exist across cultures in Biblical times.
The Signs of an Enemy
4 Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, "You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh." 5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead asked him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he replied, "No," 6 they said, "All right, say 'Shibboleth.' " He said, "Sibboleth," because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time. -Judges 12:4-6
Here is the classic one. The accent of the enemy was clearly recognized as foreign. Something sounded different when he said "Shibboleth." While this passage may not seem to have much to do with us, thinking about semiotics, it may become meaningful. One major theme throughout Paul's writings is that we should be aware of 'false teachers.' Now that's a rather vague directive. How do we know? Well, we look for signs- perhaps not in the accent but the content and tenor of their speech. After all, don't we look for signs in one another. I'm reminded of the familiar hymn: They will know we are Christians by our love.
The Signs of Blessing
20Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
23"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
24"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets. -Luke 6:20-26
Additionally here we have the signs of blessing and woe. The signs are so clear: the rich, the well fed, the laughing, the admired... are to be wary; while the poor, the hungry, the weeping and the despise will have a great reward in heaven. No where did I see this lived out more than in the DR. I saw so many that were rejoicing in the fact that they would have a reward in heaven. And while I was there worshipping with them, the signs were clear- they are blessed... and will be blessed.
May we remember that our signs of blessing are not the signs of the world. Signs of blessing are not necessarily- earthly goods or easy times or being liked. Instead, it is our joy... and our faithfulness to the name of Jesus that tell of our future blessings. It's as clear as the message our facebook status sends... What signs are you sending today that show whose you are?
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