[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during September 2026]
He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112 v7 [NKJV]
So much of the content of our daily news bulletins is ‘evil tidings’ or, in contemporary terms, bad news. It is often said that bad news travels faster than good news, an observation that was first expressed in a literary context as long ago as the 16th century.[1] Perhaps the oxymoron of a ‘good gossip’ helps to perpetuate the hypothesis.
By definition, ‘News’ is supposed to be new – focussing on current or recent events. However, one of the complications when writing about the news is that, in the time between writing and reading, much of the news has changed. So, to avoid becoming out of date, let us look at some news stories from a more reliable source.
In the societies of the Old Testament era it was a common practice to deal harshly with messengers who brought bad news. One such example is recorded in the life of the future king David.
The messenger who came to me at Ziklag and told me of Saul’s death thought he was bringing good news. I seized him and had him put to death. That was the reward I gave him for his good news!
2 Samuel 4 v10 [NIVUK]
How do you respond to bad news? Do you ever feel like ‘shooting the messenger’?
We can see something similar in our own day, with the official treatment of whistle blowers or in the way in which certain world leaders react to bad news.
However, it turned out that the news delivered in the example above was false; the messenger had attempted to scam David and he paid with his life. False information had even greater consequences in 168BC, during the period between the Old and New Testament accounts:
When the news of what had happened in Jerusalem reached Antiochus, he thought the whole country of Judea was in revolt, and he became as furious as a wild animal. So he left Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm,
2 Maccabees 5 v11 [GNT]
Can we trust the news we hear? How can be ensure that our reactions are valid?
Not all news is bad news. According to the Good News Translation, the first three mentions of ‘news’ in the Bible refer to good news.[2] The circumstances are diverse; a family reunion, a restoration of brothers and a relocation due to famine. Here is the reaction to the latter:
When the news reached the palace that Joseph’s brothers had come, the king and his officials were pleased.
Genesis 45 v16 [GNT]
Jesus himself spoke about good news, quoting a passage from the prophecy of Isaiah:[3]
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
Luke 4 v18-19 [NIVUK]
Luke’s record of the early church describes how certain apostles reacted to being punished for preaching the good news about Jesus:
Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
Acts 5 v42 [NIVUK]
Have you shared the Good News recently?
References:
[1] ‘The Spanish Tragedy’, Thomas Kyd, 1592
[2] Genesis 29:13, Genesis 45:2, Genesis 45:16
[3] Isaiah 61:1-2
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © Steve Humphreys