Teeth Provided

Yesterday afternoon, I experienced Round 2 of Mr Choudhury’s ministrations. As I prayed that the offending gnashers would vacate my mouth with grace (one did, one didn’t), I spent a good twenty minutes contemplating teeth with my eyes clenched and mouth ajar. I was mindful of that old anecdote from Dr Paisley, who, while describing the teeth-gnashing horrors of hell, was interrupted in the pulpit by an old woman on the front row, who pointed out she had no teeth. The good doctor removed his glasses, and calmly explained:

“Madam, teeth shall be provided”.

It’s a nice little joke, but it was a brave old woman who interrupted Ian Paisley in full flow. It’s a wonder he never blasted such impertinence with more than just a quip. I suspect it comes from elsewhere, such as fellow Irishman Dave Allen who told the Paisley joke in the 1970s, using that very punchline. It is with some irony that the various preachers who have come to Salem and regaled us with the good doctor’s gospel wit, may in fact be quoting the foul-mouthed comedian who was the preacher’s very antithesis. Still, I thought about Amos 4:6

“Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities,

And lack of bread in all your places;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the Lord.”

Here, clean teeth is a representation of hunger, a means by which God calls a wicked people to repent. Whereas my teeth were removed because I’ve eaten too much of the wrong things, those Hebrew teeth had nothing upon which to chew. Proverbs 26:10 says

As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

So is the lazy man to those who send him.

Not only may vinegar irritate the teeth but their enamel is dissolved away by its acidity. Entrusting an idler with a vital message will only irritate and handicap the one who sent him. Those who trusted him were foolish to have assumed his previous indolence would have altered on account of their current urgency. Being let down is a teeth-gnashing experience; those in hell may gnash away for they rejected those who earnestly told them of Christ’s gospel, yet were too feckless to act and believe.

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay