o be dumb is to have the inability to speak, and on the other hand (looking at it in the vernacular) it is to say something you wish you hadn’t. In other words, there are the dumb and the dumber. Long before the movie by the same name (Dumb & Dumber), the New Testament gave us examples of both.
Jesus exorcised a dumb demon in the eleventh chapter of Luke. He loosed the tongue of some poor man who was possessed by an evil spirit that made him speechless. After a miracle, the dumb spoke. Being able to speak is indeed a gift. The gift of “tongue” is much more impressive and powerful than the gift of “tongues.” I will take what God gives me, but I would much rather have the former than the latter.
Then there is the “dumber.” The father of the “Voice” in the wilderness, did not believe God’s Word, even when it was delivered by Gabriel himself. Zacharias was struck “dumb” until what was predicted came to pass. Gabriel called the message “Glad Tidings.” To not believe the bad news about sin is dumb. To not believe the good news about God’s salvation is dumber. -id
