Isaiah 28:9 The Lord is trying to teach the people a lesson; he is trying to make them understand his teachings. But the people are like babies too old for breast milk, like those who no longer nurse at their mother's breast.
10 So they make fun of the Lord's prophet and say: "A command here, a command there. A rule here, a rule there. A little lesson here, a little lesson there."
11 So the Lord will use strange words and foreign languages to speak to these people.
12 God said to them, "Here is a place of rest; let the tired people come and rest. This is the place of peace." But the people would not listen.
13 So the words of the Lord will be, "A command here, a command there. A rule here, a rule there. A little lesson here, a little lesson there." They will fall back and be defeated; they will be trapped and captured.
I have been thinking a lot lately on "essential beliefs" about Christianity. Today, I have been thinking about the Bible and its truth. I personally believe the the Bible is entirely true, the inerrant Word of God, written by the Holy Spirit through men. I believe that God is mysterious in many ways and therefore some of the Bible is hard to understand/decipher. I also believe the God has given (to the world) many people whose life purpose has been to know, study, and teach His Word, although they might not all agree on what it actually is telling us. Because we are human, I think this will be our problem until we reach Heaven.
These verses above stood out to me because I was reminded (as I am over and over) that God uses His Word to teach and grow us. He uses it to tell us how to be obedient to Him and to serve Him. He used it to tell us the story of the Messiah and how He would come to us. And He used it to give us a Revelation of what is to come.
These verses made me think of how many people probably do not believe the Bible is 100% true, how we pick out the pieces that we want to listen to. " A command here, a command there."
The thing that has been going through my mind though is this: if the Bible is not ALL true, then we really cannot trust any of it. While it does have beautiful words and "sayings" and instructions, if God didn't really write it and call us to obey it, then what effect will it really have on our lives to change us for the better and grow us closer to Him? If we don't believe it is all true, then I think we have the tendency not to take any of it seriously. I know I do.
The hard thing is that some of the Bible is written in metaphor or feels unclear or is surrounded in the mystery that is God. So, I try to learn. I read books from good teachers to clarify whatever I am confused about. I go to church to hear my pastor break it down for me. I pray about it. I try and figure out what is the "Jesus" standard of how to live out what the Bible is telling me.
I think it is possible that we will be "trapped and captured" if we don't try with all we have to know what the Lord is trying to tell us through His Word. The world traps us, sin traps us, Satan traps us. God's Word is a weapon against these things. The more we know, the more we have in our hearts (memorized), the better defense we have and the more we will live for Christ.
Oh how my prayer for myself is that I live for Christ, that I read and know God's Word, and that I hide it in my heart. Today, let me know and live out ALL God's commands, not just the ones I like, not just "a command here, a command there." Let my life be a reflection of the One who loves me most.
ps. A couple of my favorite books on the subject of Jesus and the Bible's reliability are: The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel and More than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell
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