Today’s Scripture Reading (August 22,
2012): Numbers 29
A friend
asked me a question today. What did I think of ministries or people who developed
a Biblical thought by using a string of single Bible verses, put together in
such a way they sound as if that was the way they were written. And maybe my
answer was a little quick, but it was simple – No. That is not a way that I
would ever want to teach. And as I sat on a table across from her I continued
my thought – I also do not like teachings that string a number of Bible verses
together that are from different verses. Even if the thought is totally of God,
it gives the impression that you are working awful hard to get the Bible to say
what it is that you want it to say. And even that impression causes too much damage
to be worth the effort.
It is the
problem we have with our set of proof texts. We know them, they are the ones
that we have memorized, and yet if our Christianity begins and ends with those
verses, it is in serious danger. John 3:16 is a great (even foundational)
verse, but can I suggest that it is worthless outside of the totality of the
scriptural text. If our attitude is that we know that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” so that we need
nothing else – we are missing something important. God did not sit John down
and say – okay, this is all that I need you to do, just write this one sentence.
Instead, John was inspired to write a series of sentences and paragraphs and
pages – all of which are important -but not only that, all of it is tied
together in a very important way.
One of
the proof verses that really bothers me is Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,“ plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope
and a future. We quote Jeremiah’s words often without realizing the
context that these words were spoken into. They were spoken to Israel at one of
the worst moments that the nation could experience. They were captives in
Babylon and could not go home. And not only were they captive now, but the generation
that heard these words never would return home. If we speak them meaning that
even in our worst circumstances God can still work in us, then we are actually
getting at the heart of what the Bible is saying. But if we quote Jeremiah’s
words with the intention of saying that better days are ahead, we have missed
the point of the totality of Jeremiah’s words.
Moses
gave to Israel all of the words of God. Not just the ones that they wanted to
here or the ones that promised success - he gave them all of the words that he
had heard. And we stand in the role of those who would receive, and God’s
desire is that we would receive it all. I hope that you memorize Scripture, but
be aware of the wealth of meaning that comes when we begin to understand all of
the words that have been passed down to us.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers
30
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