James 3:11

Illustrations

Let the reader be impressed with the type of illustrations which James presents to illustrate the previous point. They are very simple, easy to understand, and within the knowledge of most people. God isn't trying to keep us from understanding His word, rather He is doing everything He can to make His communication to us easy to grasp.

James 3:11 "Does. fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?"

The above fountain would be. spring,. source of water springing forth from the ground. Many springs in the ancient world were unfit for human consumption. "travelers in the Holy Land have discovered that most of the springs on the eastern side of Judah and Benjamin are hardly fit for use; and water tasting of sulphur or salt is commonly found there" (Woods p. 177). Again we are brought back to the source of the above curses. How can such things come from. good heart? The truth is, they don't (Matthew 15:18). But how we rationalize and protest that while we can say mean and hurtful things, at the same time we didn't mean to say such things. How we claim to love those whom we abuse!