Ambassadors
Summary
Messengers sent by a sovereign to transact affairs of great moment; in the New Testament, believers are called ambassadors for Christ, declaring God's will and proposing terms of reconciliation.
☩Biblical Definition and Usage
The term 'ambassador' stands for two Hebrew words: malahch ('messenger') and tzeer ('ambassador'). An ambassador is a messenger sent by a sovereign to transact affairs of great moment. Israel's commanded isolation rendered embassies infrequent; they were mere nuncios rather than plenipotentiaries.
☩Old Testament Examples
The earliest instances occur in the case of Edom, Moab, and the Amorites (Num 20:14; 21:21). The Gibeonites feigned an ambassage to deceive Joshua into a treaty (Jos 9:4). The ambassador's person was regarded as inviolable—when David sent messengers to comfort the Ammonites, they were shamefully mistreated, which became grounds for war (2Sa 10:2-5). Men of high rank usually served as envoys; Sennacherib sent his chief captain, chief cupbearer, and chief eunuch. Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah, the servants of king Hezekiah, were called 'ambassadors of peace.' In their master's name they earnestly solicited peace from the Assyrian monarch, but were made 'to weep bitterly' with the disappointment and refusal (Isa 33:7).
☩New Testament Significance
Ministers of the Gospel are called ambassadors because, in the name of Jesus Christ the King of kings, they declare his will to men and propose the terms of their reconciliation to God (2Co 5:20; Eph 6:20). 'We are ambassadors for Christ'—treating with men 'in Christ's stead': God 'beseeching,' and His ambassadors 'praying' men to be reconciled to God. Majesty, faithfulness, yet withal tenderness, are implied.
Related Verses23 mentions
References
- 1.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Ambassador," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 2.Richard Watson, "Ambassador," in A Biblical and Theological Dictionary (John Mason, 1831).