God's Holy Word

             I don’t know about you, but I have at least 22 Holy Bibles or some portions thereof.  I have NIV, ESV, KJV, ASV, NASV, and NCV translations.  I carry one in the glove compartment of my car, just to make sure I always have one with me.  One stays in my backpack ready for Sunday class.  One is with my prayer journal, always ready for my prayer time.  Most of the others are on my desk or the shelf above my desk.  You may not have as many copies or versions as I do, but you most likely have more than one, and if not, you can always access them on your phone.  My point is that we have the Scripture in abundance, but do we treat it with the respect and reverence that it deserves? 

            II Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” (NIV84, emphasis added). As we study the Scriptures, we often refer to Moses or Paul or Peter as the author of the various books and letters found in the Holy Scripture, but the truth is that God is the author.  He breathed the thought and words into those men through the work of the Holy Spirit.  When we read the Bible, we are reading the very words of God just as if He were speaking them directly to us.  In my mind, that should take our respect and reverence for the Bible to a whole new level.

            My thoughts concerning our treatment of God’s Word were triggered by this passage from the book of Nehemiah.  In Chapter 8, after many of the Israelites had been resettled in Jerusalem, following their captivity, the people assembled in the town square.  Then, Ezra brought out the Book of the Law of Moses.  As he stood on a high wooden platform, before the people, “… as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6Exra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, ‘Amen! Amen!’ Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground” (Nehemiah 8:5b – 6 NIV84). That is reverence.

            I’m not suggesting that we must stand every time the Word is read or that we should “bow with our faces to the ground” (I couldn’t if I had to).  I am suggesting that we need to take another look at how we treat the Word of God.  It is a precious gift that God has given us, and not one to be taken lightly. 

            When we take God’s Word for granted, when we toss it aside like an old book, when we lay it on the floor, what kind of message are we sending to those who might be searching for Truth?  I have read that Muslims are often appalled at how we treat our Bibles, so what kind of testimony does that send to them? 

            When God spoke to Moses for the first time, He said, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5 NIV84).  I submit that the precious Word we hold in our hands, or lay on our desk, or keep in our backpacks, is also holy ground.  Maybe it’s time we treated it as such.

                            II Timothy 3:16                    Nehemiah 8:5 – 8               Exodus 3:5

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