Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?
Daubing with untempered mortar is a false and superficial covering that cannot make a wall sound, so when the wall falls its failure is laid bare and those who daubed it are confronted with where their covering has gone. To daub is to cry peace when there is no peace and to heal hurt only slightly, whitewashing grievous sin and treating it lightly instead of showing horror at it and digging deep to search out and purge sin. God does not gloss over wrongdoing with such mortar but calls sin and impenitence by their right names, setting pure, elevating truth in sharp contrast to false, misleading doctrines, so that unity must rest on a true scriptural basis and not on wrong practices covered over. The verse therefore forbids softening rebuke or covering danger, and requires a clear-cut testimony that exposes grave sins cherished among professed Sabbathkeepers, because without an awakening that convicts and converts they will die in their sins. Covering unconfessed sins with weak charity, smooth excusing words, mincing, withholding facts, and sympathizing with deceivers only countenances evil and holds souls in bondage, so it must cease and give place to weeping confession, a speedy decided stand, and plain truth spoken without harshness.
Meaning of Daubing Image
Daubing with untempered mortar is a false, superficial covering that cannot make a wall sound, and when the wall falls its failure is exposed and those who applied it are challenged over where their daubing has gone. It cannot shield the guilty from the consequences of rejecting warnings, nor make wrong secure, and those who rely on it must instead repent, acknowledge and forsake their wrongs rather than depend on others to cover them. The needed rebuke must therefore be given without disguising or softening the message, and danger must not be covered over but met with a clear warning and an awakening that convicts and converts, lest those cherishing grave sins die in them. Flattering and sympathizing with unconsecrated people is part of that false reassurance, and it harms them rather than helping them, while speaking smooth things against pointed reproof only weakens its influence without removing accountability. An institution's fair outward appearance can likewise hide deep spiritual failure, which only the Spirit can undo through genuine reformation and faith working by love to purify the soul.
Daubing means crying peace when there is no peace and healing hurt only slightly. It is whitewashing heinous sin and regarding it lightly instead of showing disgust and horror at it, a course that kindles divine anger and leaves a person unfit for leading responsibility until full reform brings an altogether different view of sin and sinners. The thorough work must not be stopped short, but sin must be searched out, dug deep, stirred up and purged away, with dying to self and becoming Christlike in every sense. That thoroughness means being as children in malice but mature in understanding, seeking meekness and righteousness so as to be hidden when fierce anger comes. After wrong has been shown and set right, those who doubt that work and refuse its teaching must be separated from and have no communion with, because life and removal of stain and reproach require refusing the false covering.
Wrongdoing is not glossed over with a coat of untempered mortar nor made secure by a false appearance of truth, but sin and impenitence are called by their right names. Pure, elevating and ennobling truth stands in sharp contrast to false, misleading doctrines. Unity must therefore rest on a true scriptural basis and not on wrong practices covered over.
Restrictions and opposition set up to keep reproof and rebuke from coming among God's people and to obstruct the truth are only walls daubed with untempered mortar. They cannot stand and cannot stop the truth, for it will go onward and upward to the end. God has waiting men of opportunity, prepared to do His bidding, and when He puts His Spirit upon them they go through these walls, bear the ark, proclaim the word and lift up the voice like a trumpet without diminishing its power, showing transgressions and sins plainly. Those who will no longer bear the ark go out from among them but cannot hinder the work.
The breach covered with untempered mortar is rebuilding the Battle Creek Sanitarium where it stands after the large Sanitarium was swept away and direction was given to divide the institution and plant it in different places. Plastering up that breach means trying to cover and justify disobedience and a serious mistake by human patching instead of humbling the heart before God, receiving pardon for transgressions and mistakes, seeking the Lord's guidance together and letting Him work upon the heart. Those who took that responsibility on their own shoulders need conversion for the sake of the cause and the glory of the name, and their associates who stand ready to excuse, smooth over and uphold the mistaken move are daubing the breach. They must get out of the way, cease covering the mistake, abandon human effort to patch the situation, humble their souls, and strive to bring the light of heaven upon their own souls.
Faithful Warning Without Flattery
The verse forbids covering danger with false assurances and requires a clear warning that exposes grave sins cherished among professed Sabbathkeepers, for without an awakening that convicts and converts they will die in their sins. The needed rebuke must not be disguised or softened, and testimony must be clear cut with no hiding of sins of grave character. Those who remain earthly minded and corrupt in thoughts and practices and have not purified their souls by obeying the truth will perish, and having had great light and precious opportunities their punishment will be heavier than that of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Speaking smooth things against pointed reproof weakens its influence, gives a false appearance of safety, but cannot make the wrong secure, for when the wall falls the daubing is exposed. Flattering and sympathizing with unconsecrated people harms them rather than helping them, since false reassurance cannot conceal the truth.
Giving the Hales undue attention to pacify them instead of speaking fitting truth with kindness encouraged pride and jealousy rather than correcting their condition. Giving a dying person comfort while leaving sins unconfessed is such false sympathy and weak mortar that fails when tested, and it can lead to ruin. Telling a man that everything he has done is all just right covers faults instead of correcting them and will fail when it is asked where the daubing went, so duty requires speaking plainly about mistakes and the higher standard to be reached rather than repressing reproof when souls are to be saved or lost, in order that a man may be in a position where the Holy Spirit can work with him and he knows it.
Daubing souls over by covering unconfessed and unrepented sins with a weak charity avoids thorough plain dealing of brother with brother and friend with friend, countenances evil from lack of discernment, and holds souls in Satan's chain, and there is to be no more of it. Covering sin and betrayal of holy trust with smooth, flattering, excusing words instead of calling things by their right name is mincing the matter, withholding facts, and giving influence and sympathy to smooth-tongued deceivers to their ruin, and those who uphold the deceiver show themselves on the enemy's side. Such whitewash will fail and be exposed when the wall falls, so those who have done it are called to weep and pray and confess their lack of discernment, to take a speedy decided position on the Lord's side, to refuse halfhearted work, and to speak plain truth just as it is in Jesus without self and without a harsh denunciatory spirit. In its place there must be stronger faith in the love of Christ and greater appreciation of that love, with charity added to brotherly kindness, obedience to the law of God as the fruit of gospel repentance of which no one is to be ashamed, and faith, hope, love and every kind of charity magnified.
Withholding the plain message God gave, failing to deal frankly and openly with wrong in responsible positions of trust, and failing to come close to the erring, pray with and for him, perseveringly set matters before him as God pointed out, and strive to save his soul brings the Lord's controversy and accountability, because every soul is worth saving and the poor soul might have been saved from the tempter's power if duty had been faithfully done years ago at the right time. Covering wrongs in Zion with flimsy excuses instead of giving plain faithful reproof means failing as stewards to tell men working counter to the Holy Spirit that they are not fit for the place they occupy, who have resisted light and evidence until their souls are nearly ruined and whose only hope is thorough repentance. It means turning away from counsel, covering up the impression God would make, burying reproofs, putting a false construction on plain correction to explain it away, and acting indifferently with a self-sufficient masterly spirit centered on self, which gives the work a wrong mold and brings disorder and dissension, hurts souls, mars the work, and ends in exposure and shame under God's censure when the wall falls. God requires things set in order and calls for men of decided fidelity, with no use in an emergency for two-sided men, but men who will lay the hand upon a wrong work and say this is not according to the will of God, who will write very plainly about unfitness for sacred work and refuse to put in trust as shepherd of the flock a man not yet enlightened in the Scriptures.
An institution's apparent condition can cover deep spiritual failure, and only the Spirit of God can undo the damage where genuine reformation has not yet taken place and workers lack faith that works through love and purifies the soul. Spiritual leaders who are not truly prepared to guide others must not conceal their own lack of inner cleansing and reform behind a false appearance of strength, but must let the Holy Spirit purify their hearts and make them fit guardians of souls, lest exposure and reproach follow when the inadequate covering is seen. Whitewashing over heinous sin and regarding it lightly instead of showing disgust and horror at it kindles God's anger and leaves a person unfit for any leading responsible position in the church until full reform and viewing sin and sinners from an altogether different standpoint.
For leading physicians there must be no daubing, which means not confining talents and influence to one institution but making themselves known outside, showing that health reformers carry a decided influence for righteousness and truth, giving light to all they can possibly reach, and meeting unbelievers with wise counsel and instruction. Bible truth must not be handled or presented falsely, covered with unsound teaching, or distorted, but handled wisely, presented clearly and broadly with its importance set forth on every possible occasion, so that prejudice is broken down and souls are reached toward conversion.
Falsely praising Dr. Kellogg and calling evil good and good evil covers falsehood with deceptive assurances, and unless abandoned it leaves no place in heaven and brings judgment for refusing warnings and supporting delusion. Religious reform requires no false or half-hearted testimony but a clear witness that upholds Christianity and God's law. Softening rebuke of false teaching withholds plain truth and leaves soul-destroying error such as spiritualism and spiritual union undisturbed, so faithfulness requires a cutting message that exposes those views, calls for the accursed thing to be put out, and withdraws fellowship until the error is given up, that minds may stay on present truth and believers be left in a better state.
Holding up and approbating a known transgressor instead of reproving and cutting off sin treats as small transgression of the commandments, dishonoring parents, guile in the mouth, taking the name of God in vain, desecrating the house of worship by giving way to passions of an unsubdued heart, indulgence of the carnal heart, distance from God and truth, impatience, fretfulness, faultfinding, anger, self-justification and refusal of reproof. Those who daub nourish and foster wicked feelings God abhors, exalt the offender in his own eyes, leave the ax unlaid at the root, withdraw the Spirit though he knows it not, leave grace not overcoming natural infirmity, and please Satan. Clipping the truth and holding peace instead of lifting the voice to declare faithfully what God has shown stains garments with the blood of souls, brings the curse of God, and leaves no excuse in the judgment when the failure is exposed.
Daubing with untempered mortar is a false and superficial covering that cannot make a wall sound, so when the wall falls its failure is laid bare and those who daubed it are confronted with where their covering has gone. To daub is to cry peace when there is no peace and to heal hurt only slightly, whitewashing grievous sin and treating it lightly instead of showing horror at it and digging deep to search out and purge sin. God does not gloss over wrongdoing with such mortar but calls sin and impenitence by their right names, setting pure, elevating truth in sharp contrast to false, misleading doctrines, so that unity must rest on a true scriptural basis and not on wrong practices covered over. The verse therefore forbids softening rebuke or covering danger, and requires a clear-cut testimony that exposes grave sins cherished among professed Sabbathkeepers, because without an awakening that convicts and converts they will die in their sins. Covering unconfessed sins with weak charity, smooth excusing words, mincing, withholding facts, and sympathizing with deceivers only countenances evil and holds souls in bondage, so it must cease and give place to weeping confession, a speedy decided stand, and plain truth spoken without harshness.
Meaning of Daubing Image
Daubing with untempered mortar is a false, superficial covering that cannot make a wall sound, and when the wall falls its failure is exposed and those who applied it are challenged over where their daubing has gone. It cannot shield the guilty from the consequences of rejecting warnings, nor make wrong secure, and those who rely on it must instead repent, acknowledge and forsake their wrongs rather than depend on others to cover them. The needed rebuke must therefore be given without disguising or softening the message, and danger must not be covered over but met with a clear warning and an awakening that convicts and converts, lest those cherishing grave sins die in them. Flattering and sympathizing with unconsecrated people is part of that false reassurance, and it harms them rather than helping them, while speaking smooth things against pointed reproof only weakens its influence without removing accountability. An institution's fair outward appearance can likewise hide deep spiritual failure, which only the Spirit can undo through genuine reformation and faith working by love to purify the soul.
Daubing means crying peace when there is no peace and healing hurt only slightly. It is whitewashing heinous sin and regarding it lightly instead of showing disgust and horror at it, a course that kindles divine anger and leaves a person unfit for leading responsibility until full reform brings an altogether different view of sin and sinners. The thorough work must not be stopped short, but sin must be searched out, dug deep, stirred up and purged away, with dying to self and becoming Christlike in every sense. That thoroughness means being as children in malice but mature in understanding, seeking meekness and righteousness so as to be hidden when fierce anger comes. After wrong has been shown and set right, those who doubt that work and refuse its teaching must be separated from and have no communion with, because life and removal of stain and reproach require refusing the false covering.
Wrongdoing is not glossed over with a coat of untempered mortar nor made secure by a false appearance of truth, but sin and impenitence are called by their right names. Pure, elevating and ennobling truth stands in sharp contrast to false, misleading doctrines. Unity must therefore rest on a true scriptural basis and not on wrong practices covered over.
Restrictions and opposition set up to keep reproof and rebuke from coming among God's people and to obstruct the truth are only walls daubed with untempered mortar. They cannot stand and cannot stop the truth, for it will go onward and upward to the end. God has waiting men of opportunity, prepared to do His bidding, and when He puts His Spirit upon them they go through these walls, bear the ark, proclaim the word and lift up the voice like a trumpet without diminishing its power, showing transgressions and sins plainly. Those who will no longer bear the ark go out from among them but cannot hinder the work.
The breach covered with untempered mortar is rebuilding the Battle Creek Sanitarium where it stands after the large Sanitarium was swept away and direction was given to divide the institution and plant it in different places. Plastering up that breach means trying to cover and justify disobedience and a serious mistake by human patching instead of humbling the heart before God, receiving pardon for transgressions and mistakes, seeking the Lord's guidance together and letting Him work upon the heart. Those who took that responsibility on their own shoulders need conversion for the sake of the cause and the glory of the name, and their associates who stand ready to excuse, smooth over and uphold the mistaken move are daubing the breach. They must get out of the way, cease covering the mistake, abandon human effort to patch the situation, humble their souls, and strive to bring the light of heaven upon their own souls.
Faithful Warning Without Flattery
The verse forbids covering danger with false assurances and requires a clear warning that exposes grave sins cherished among professed Sabbathkeepers, for without an awakening that convicts and converts they will die in their sins. The needed rebuke must not be disguised or softened, and testimony must be clear cut with no hiding of sins of grave character. Those who remain earthly minded and corrupt in thoughts and practices and have not purified their souls by obeying the truth will perish, and having had great light and precious opportunities their punishment will be heavier than that of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Speaking smooth things against pointed reproof weakens its influence, gives a false appearance of safety, but cannot make the wrong secure, for when the wall falls the daubing is exposed. Flattering and sympathizing with unconsecrated people harms them rather than helping them, since false reassurance cannot conceal the truth.
Giving the Hales undue attention to pacify them instead of speaking fitting truth with kindness encouraged pride and jealousy rather than correcting their condition. Giving a dying person comfort while leaving sins unconfessed is such false sympathy and weak mortar that fails when tested, and it can lead to ruin. Telling a man that everything he has done is all just right covers faults instead of correcting them and will fail when it is asked where the daubing went, so duty requires speaking plainly about mistakes and the higher standard to be reached rather than repressing reproof when souls are to be saved or lost, in order that a man may be in a position where the Holy Spirit can work with him and he knows it.
Daubing souls over by covering unconfessed and unrepented sins with a weak charity avoids thorough plain dealing of brother with brother and friend with friend, countenances evil from lack of discernment, and holds souls in Satan's chain, and there is to be no more of it. Covering sin and betrayal of holy trust with smooth, flattering, excusing words instead of calling things by their right name is mincing the matter, withholding facts, and giving influence and sympathy to smooth-tongued deceivers to their ruin, and those who uphold the deceiver show themselves on the enemy's side. Such whitewash will fail and be exposed when the wall falls, so those who have done it are called to weep and pray and confess their lack of discernment, to take a speedy decided position on the Lord's side, to refuse halfhearted work, and to speak plain truth just as it is in Jesus without self and without a harsh denunciatory spirit. In its place there must be stronger faith in the love of Christ and greater appreciation of that love, with charity added to brotherly kindness, obedience to the law of God as the fruit of gospel repentance of which no one is to be ashamed, and faith, hope, love and every kind of charity magnified.
Withholding the plain message God gave, failing to deal frankly and openly with wrong in responsible positions of trust, and failing to come close to the erring, pray with and for him, perseveringly set matters before him as God pointed out, and strive to save his soul brings the Lord's controversy and accountability, because every soul is worth saving and the poor soul might have been saved from the tempter's power if duty had been faithfully done years ago at the right time. Covering wrongs in Zion with flimsy excuses instead of giving plain faithful reproof means failing as stewards to tell men working counter to the Holy Spirit that they are not fit for the place they occupy, who have resisted light and evidence until their souls are nearly ruined and whose only hope is thorough repentance. It means turning away from counsel, covering up the impression God would make, burying reproofs, putting a false construction on plain correction to explain it away, and acting indifferently with a self-sufficient masterly spirit centered on self, which gives the work a wrong mold and brings disorder and dissension, hurts souls, mars the work, and ends in exposure and shame under God's censure when the wall falls. God requires things set in order and calls for men of decided fidelity, with no use in an emergency for two-sided men, but men who will lay the hand upon a wrong work and say this is not according to the will of God, who will write very plainly about unfitness for sacred work and refuse to put in trust as shepherd of the flock a man not yet enlightened in the Scriptures.
An institution's apparent condition can cover deep spiritual failure, and only the Spirit of God can undo the damage where genuine reformation has not yet taken place and workers lack faith that works through love and purifies the soul. Spiritual leaders who are not truly prepared to guide others must not conceal their own lack of inner cleansing and reform behind a false appearance of strength, but must let the Holy Spirit purify their hearts and make them fit guardians of souls, lest exposure and reproach follow when the inadequate covering is seen. Whitewashing over heinous sin and regarding it lightly instead of showing disgust and horror at it kindles God's anger and leaves a person unfit for any leading responsible position in the church until full reform and viewing sin and sinners from an altogether different standpoint.
For leading physicians there must be no daubing, which means not confining talents and influence to one institution but making themselves known outside, showing that health reformers carry a decided influence for righteousness and truth, giving light to all they can possibly reach, and meeting unbelievers with wise counsel and instruction. Bible truth must not be handled or presented falsely, covered with unsound teaching, or distorted, but handled wisely, presented clearly and broadly with its importance set forth on every possible occasion, so that prejudice is broken down and souls are reached toward conversion.
Falsely praising Dr. Kellogg and calling evil good and good evil covers falsehood with deceptive assurances, and unless abandoned it leaves no place in heaven and brings judgment for refusing warnings and supporting delusion. Religious reform requires no false or half-hearted testimony but a clear witness that upholds Christianity and God's law. Softening rebuke of false teaching withholds plain truth and leaves soul-destroying error such as spiritualism and spiritual union undisturbed, so faithfulness requires a cutting message that exposes those views, calls for the accursed thing to be put out, and withdraws fellowship until the error is given up, that minds may stay on present truth and believers be left in a better state.
Holding up and approbating a known transgressor instead of reproving and cutting off sin treats as small transgression of the commandments, dishonoring parents, guile in the mouth, taking the name of God in vain, desecrating the house of worship by giving way to passions of an unsubdued heart, indulgence of the carnal heart, distance from God and truth, impatience, fretfulness, faultfinding, anger, self-justification and refusal of reproof. Those who daub nourish and foster wicked feelings God abhors, exalt the offender in his own eyes, leave the ax unlaid at the root, withdraw the Spirit though he knows it not, leave grace not overcoming natural infirmity, and please Satan. Clipping the truth and holding peace instead of lifting the voice to declare faithfully what God has shown stains garments with the blood of souls, brings the curse of God, and leaves no excuse in the judgment when the failure is exposed.