Mock (3456) mukterizo by Greek Word Studies

Mocked (3456) (mukterizo from mukter = the nose, nostril) literally means to turn up one’s nose and thus pictures the idea of scorn. Hence mukterizo means to mock, deride, sneer at, ridicule, treat with contempt. The derivative ekmukterizo means to sneer at. Pollux quotes the word from Lysias: in medicine it is used for bleeding at the nose (Alford) Wuest notes that mukterizo... when used rhetorically, referred to the betrayal of covert ill-will and contempt by cynical gestures in spite of fair words. It implies an outward avowal of respect neutralized by an indirect expression of contempt. The thought which Paul wishes to press home to the Galatians is that it is vain to think that one can outwit God by reaping a harvest different from that which a person has sown. The figure of sowing and reaping used for conduct and its results is a frequent one. In the Greek classics we have, “For he that is furnished the seed, is responsible for what grows.” Eadie comments that mukterizo in the context of Gal 6:7 signifies that... God is not mocked, either in reality or with impunity (Ellicott); there is no such thing as mocking God. Wieseler takes the verb in the middle, “God will not suffer Himself to be mocked”—non sinit sibi irrideri. The expression is a strong one, taken from that organ of the face by which we express careless contempt. Men may be imposed on by a show of virtue on the part of one who all the while scorns their weakness, but God cannot be so mocked. (Commentary on the Greek text of the epistle of Galatians - Online) TDNTA records that mukterizo (myterizo) literally means “to suffer from nose-bleeding,” takes on the sense “to turn up one’s nose.” It is thus a common term for scorn in the Septuagint (LXX), e.g., scorn of enemies in 2Ki 19:21, of the slothful in Pr 12:8, of pagan gods in 1Ki 18:27. It is a sin when directed against God’s messengers (2Chr. 36:16) or chastisements (Pr 1:30) or against parents (Pr 15:5). The only NT instance is in Gal 6:7, where it is a term for the mocking of God by a life that will not accept the lordship of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:25). The reference is not to verbal scoffing but to despising God by a whole way of life. (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans or Wordsearch) Gal 6:7 is the only NT use of mukterizo but there are 14 occurrences in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) -- 1Kgs 18:27; 2Kgs 19:21; 2Chr 36:16; Ps 79:7; Pr 1:30 (spurned); Pr 11:12; 12:8; 15:5, 20; 23:9 (despise); Job 22:19; Is 37:22; Je 20:7; Ezek 8:17. Proverbs 1:30 "They would not accept my counsel, They spurned (Hebrew = naats = treat with contempt, revile, scorn, reject; Lxx = mukterizo) all my reproof. 1Kings 18:27 It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened." 2Kings 19:21 (Isaiah speaking to King Hezekiah after the latter had prayed to God) "This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him (Sennacherib who had threatened Hezekiah, eg 2Ki 18:34): 'She has despised you and mocked you, The virgin daughter of Zion; She has shaken her head behind you, The daughter of Jerusalem! (parallel passage = Isa 37:22) 2Chronicles 36:16 but they (Judah and Jerusalem) continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy (Judah's intractable rebellion and rejection of Jehovah reaped Babylonian captivity). Jeremiah 20:7 (Jeremiah speaking, downcast because no one listens to his prophetic warnings) O LORD, You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have overcome me and prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me. Charles Eade (1814–1884) is apparently responsible for the first version of the famous quote... Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit, and you reap a character. Sow a character, and you reap a destiny. Here is the "amplified" version by Samuel Smiles... Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny. IT ALL BEGINS WITH A THOUGHT! I think Samuel Smiles' addition ("Sow a thought, and you reap an act") is vitally important to consider, for indeed the law of sowing and reaping (whether the harvest is good or bad) is set in motion by our thought life! Little wonder that in Philippians 4:8-note Paul commands (present imperative) the believers at Philippi to continually pursue "righteous reckoning" ("dwell on" = logizomai [word study])! How is your thought life? What do you think about? Are you in the Word of truth daily so that God's truth might be in you, renewing your mind (2Co 4:16, Ep 4:23-note, Col 3:10-note), setting you free (Jn 8:31, 32, 36), washing you clean from the polluting thoughts and images of our morally decaying society, transforming your mind into conformity with the mind of Christ (1Co 2:16, Ro 12:2-note)? If not, do not be surprised when thoughts come into your mind (cp Ep 6:16-note) that reap an evil act and may even "bloom" into an evil habit! Set a guard continually at the doorway of your heart (Pr 4:23-note). May our daily "obsession" be for the Savior's disposition, His thoughts and His outlook, as we cry out, even in desperation,... Lord of every thought and action, Lord to send and Lord to stay; Lord in speaking, writing, giving, Lord in all things to obey; Lord of all there is of me, Now and evermore to be. Amen --E. H Swinstead Or consider prayerfully singing Kate Wilkinson's beautifully poignant old hymn May the Mind of Christ, My Savior (play)... May the mind of Christ, my Savior, Live in me from day to day, By His love and power controlling All I do and say. May the Word of God dwell richly (Col3:16-n) In my heart from hour to hour, So that all may see I triumph Only through His power. May the peace of God my Father Rule my life in everything, (Col3:15-n) That I may be calm to comfort Sick and sorrowing. May the love of Jesus fill me (Ep5:18-n) As the waters fill the sea; Him exalting, self abasing, (Jn3:30-n) This is victory. May I run the race before me, (2Ti4:7-n) Strong and brave to face the foe, Looking only unto Jesus (He12:2-n) As I onward go. May His beauty rest upon me, As I seek the lost to win, And may they forget the channel, Seeing only Him. For (gar) is "confirmative" (Eadie) Whatever (whatsoever - KJV) - This is one of God's "promises" that we may or may not like, depending on how we are walking with the Lord. God's law of reaping and sowing is universal and applies to all men, at all times and in all places without impartiality and without exception. Believers are just as subject to this law as unbelievers. There are no exclusions. If you sow little lies, you will reap big lies and all the trouble that accompanies those lies! When you sow evil, you reap evil. Don't fall for the lie that "it's just a little sin" or "it's only a small compromise of my integrity"! What you do today will inevitably impact what you are tomorrow! Do not be deceived, for God is not mocked. Tony Evans observes that... It’s amazing how many people want to plant unrighteousness, but expect God’s blessing. They want to plant bad, but they want to harvest good. They want to sow seeds of wrong, but gather a harvest of right. But that’s not how God’s system works. There’s something you need to know about sowing. Once you sow whatever you sow, it will grow naturally. The consequences of your sowing are set. You don’t have to do anything extraordinary for growth to occur. What you have sown will push up through the ground someday. It’s built into the process. I hope you see the seriousness of this in relation to something as vital as our love for Christ. (Returning to your first love: Putting God back in first place. Chicago: Moody Press_ J R Miller (The Seeds We Are Scattering) has a sobering thought worth seriously pondering... We are not done with life—when we die! We shall meet our acts and words and influences again. "Do not be deceived! God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows—he will also reap!" Galatians 6:7. He shall reap the same that he sows—and he himself shall be the reaper! We go on carelessly, never dreaming that we shall see our seeds again, or have anything more to do with them. Then some day we come upon an ugly plant growing somewhere; and when we ask, "What is this vile plant?" The answer comes, "I am one of your plants. You dropped the seed which grew into me!" We must beware what we do. We shall have to eat the fruit—that grows from our sowing and planting! There are many phases of this truth. Jesus said, "With what measure you mete—it shall be measured to you again." A man who is cruel—reaps cruelty. A man who is merciful—finds mercy. David unsheathed the sword in wrong against a subject—and the sword departed not from his house forever. He dishonored the happy home of another—and his own home was dishonored. Paul was a persecutor—and persecution followed him until it smote him to death. The seed that we sow in others, sooner or later comes back again to our own bosom. What we sow—that we reap! We cannot sin against others, hurting them only—and receiving no hurt to ourselves. We are not merely sowers of seed in other lives; but while we are scattering the seed in the field of our neighbor, we are sowing also in our own field. There are two harvests. He who corrupts another life—makes his own life more corrupt than before. The tempter may cause the fall and ruin of another soul—but the evil in himself has become more evil in his doing so. Every good thing we do, strengthens the good that is in us; and every wrong thing makes the wrong in us more dominant. John Angell James writing on Galatians 6:7 comments... How clear and how impressive are such statements, that our life is a seed-time for eternity; that all our conduct is the seed sown, and that the harvest will be according to the seed we sow—in kind, quality, and quantity. (John Angell James - excerpt from his interesting sermon - Different Degrees of Glory) Man (anthropos) is used in a generic sense to refer to both men and women. SUPERNATURAL CAUSE and EFFECT Actions have consequences. To illustrate God's inviolable moral and ethical laws Paul draws from the well-known law of horticulture that the planting of a specific seed will reproduce its own kind and only its own kind. If we plant wheat, we will harvest wheat, not potatoes! It follows that one determines the nature of his or her spiritual harvest by the quality (and quantity) of the seed sown. Our present life is the "seed time" presaging our eternal harvest, the quality of which depends on present sowing. Evil actions often contain the "seeds" of own punishment and destruction within them, even as a seed contains the elements that subsequently bring forth the fruit. In light of the truth of the consequences related to our sowing, Pastor Tony Evans gives us some excellent advice... WHEN it comes to living your life, think agriculturally, not industrially. When it comes to living your life, think like a farmer, not like a technocrat. When it comes to your life, think gardens, not microwaves. (Evans, T. Tony Evans' book of illustrations: Stories, quotes, and anecdotes from more than 30 years of preaching and public speaking. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers) Rob Salvato says the law of reaping and sowing is immutable irregardless of whether we believe it or not. He goes on to say that "Its like the guy who denied the law of gravity - just didn't believe it applied to him and so he decided to prove it. He climbed to the top of a twenty-story building and dove off. His last words were heard as he sailed past a guy on the third floor, "Hey, nothing's happened yet!" Paul says God is not mocked!" (Sermon) Max Anders (Holman New Testament Commentary) reminds us that... Each of us by our thoughts, attitudes, and actions is constantly planting for a future reaping. Time may pass before the crop ripens, but the harvest is inevitable. "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/galatians_67_commentary.htm#m

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Mock (3456) mukterizo

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