79 - Reading the Word

Deuteronomy 31:9–13 Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Before Israel enters the promised land, Moses rehearses with them all the rules that the Lord had given for them to live in a way that is pleasing to them. Of course, many of those who were present at Sinai when the Law was originally given had died, so it was clearly important to repeat the law for those who were not there and were about to enter the land.

But the Lord goes further than that in this passage, and adds a requirement that every seventh year, in the year of release (a time when debts were canceled) and during the Feast of Booths (when Israel would gather together in Jerusalem and build booths to live in, recalling how they lived when they came out of Egypt) the Law should be read in the hearing of all the people. 

Also in today’s readings are some very well-known phrases from Psalm 119:

Psalm 119:97–99 Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.

Psalm 119:105–106 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.

Sadly, it seems to be the case that reading God's Word has gone out of fashion for many 21st century believers. There are many reasons why this may be the case:

• It may be thought of as a legalistic thing to commit to reading the Bible - and, as Old Testament Israel was commanded, to read it all the way through.

• People may say they are not great readers and can get what they need from sermons.

• It may be thought of as an Old Testament thing. Now we are under the New Covenant, with God’s Spirit living within us, the Bible really takes a backseat to more direct communication from God.

• It is certainly a harder book to read from beginning to end than just about any other, for reasons I will mention below.

What shall we say in response to these difficulties? First, Jesus places a very high value on the Word of God.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Jesus prays that we may be sanctified (made more like Him) and clearly the Bible is central in that process. Paul also writes often about the power of the Word of God in the life of a believer, to save and to cause spiritual growth. For example:

2 Timothy 3:15–17 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The Scriptures still impart wisdom, just as they did to the Psalmist above. Wisdom for salvation - you won’t find it anywhere else! God uses His book to teach us, reprove us, correct us and train us in righteousness (i.e. to sanctify us). Paul adds:

Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Now let’s address the difficulties above - in the opposite order to that in which I listed them:

• If God’s Word makes us like Christ, makes us wise, guides us, comforts us through His promises and strengthens us, then our enemies (the world, the flesh and the Devil) will throw up every hindrance to keep us from reading it - that is why it is hard (but not impossible) to read!

• Jesus and Paul (both speaking about believers) emphasize the importance of the Word in the New Testament in the passages above (I am sure there are others we quote). It’s not just an Old Testament thing! Note, too, that the Spirit doesn’t ordinarily sanctify us apart from the Word. Rather, in response to the prayer of Jesus above, it’s  the main instrument through which He does it!

• Sermons are extremely valuable, but listening to them is not the same as meditating on the Bible alone with the Lord. Also, it wouldn’t be easy to get through the whole Bible by listening to sermons - we must read it! Note that the Bereans (Acts 17:11) are commended for fact-checking Paul’s sermons against what God said in His Word!

• Lastly, I hope it is clear by now that reading the Bible as a way to know God better and be more like Him is not legalism. We can reduce it to that level if we have different motives - priding ourselves on our reading and relegating it to the level of a box to be checked every day. But done with the right heart, God reveals Himself to us in His Word. He speaks to us through its pages.

A few closing thoughts:

1. How will the Spirit bring Scriptures to mind in times of need if we have never read them?

2. How will He sanctify us through the Word if we never spend time in it?

3. How will we test what preachers are telling us unless we can check it against the Word?

4. How will God guide us and give us wisdom, strength, comfort and grace if we never open up His Word and read? We cannot absorb it by osmosis!

Israel gathered to hear the whole Law read to them once every seven years, so they would not forget and their children would hear. 

Since we participate in a better covenant, with a better Mediator and better promises (all revealed to us in the Bible), and since our ability to remember is every bit as fallible as Israel’s was, shouldn’t we read through the whole Bible often and with gladness? If we do it with hunger for the Lord, how can there be anything but blessing (and abundant blessing) for our souls in this?

78 - Crushed for us by the will of God

Isaiah 53 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Along with Psalm 22, this passage graphically describes key events in the life of Jesus. The Psalm (written 1000 years in advance) gives us a first-person account of the crucifixion. Isaiah above (writing 750 years beforehand) takes more of an overview of Messiah’s life from the viewpoint (mainly) of God and His people. Both accounts are breathtakingly accurate and deeply moving. I will touch on certain parts of Isaiah 53 that seem particularly meaningful.

In contrast to most of the works of art that have attempted to portray Christ, note that outwardly his appearance was not in the least striking. He did not stand out in a crowd by virtue of physical attributes (v 2). Rather, His perfections, His beauty and His glory belonged to His inner being - His heart and His soul.

In Lamentations 1:12, a character cries out to those who pass by to consider if there is any sorrow like his sorrow - experienced at the Lord’s hands.  In context, the character in question may be a personification of fallen Jerusalem, but Christ could just as easily have taken these words as His own. And it wasn’t just at the cross that Jesus experienced grief and pain and sorrow. Think of His entrance as the spotless Lamb of God into the cesspit that we have made (through our sin) of the creation He once declared to be “very good”. Think of His torment as He saw His people being burdened and taken advantage of by those who should have been their spiritual guides. Think of His real, raw grief at Lazarus’s tomb because sin had done its work and death had claimed His friend. Think of His Father’s house being turned into a den of robbers. And yes - think of His “trial”. The mocking, spitting, scourging and beating. And think of the crucifixion. All of this experienced in a dazzlingly, infinitely pure soul. Was there ever sorrow like His sorrow? This is where we see the sinfulness of sin most clearly.

But then we are brought face to face with the reason why He put up with all of this - in order to take our place under the law, to keep it for us and to receive the punishment that it prescribed for all of our law-breaking. Look at v 4-6. The people watching thought that God was striking Him for offences He must have committed. How wrong! He had no sin. All the punishment He bore was what rightly belonged to us - to those whom He was healing from sin. 

He was meek in His “trial”. Legions of angels were being restrained (I imagine) or else would have sped to rescue Him from such injustice. He didn’t defend Himself from any of the false accusations that were made. He kept quiet. Why? Because for our sake and for our salvation it had to be this way. He had to die in our place. There was no other way (clearly) for God to undo the effects of sin and to purchase a people for Himself out of its bondage.

He had no earthly children, yet through His sacrifice, He has produced countless spiritual offspring, all of whom will grow up into His likeness!

Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy follower of Jesus, gave his own grave as the temporary home for the body of Jesus. But see how this passage also speaks of His resurrection. Note that it pleased God to crush Him and to put Him to grief, but that is not the end of Him! This One, who poured out His soul to death and was crucified as a transgressor and between two criminals, will yet prolong His days and God’s will will prosper in His hands. He will make many to be counted as righteous and will be satisfied with the reward for His work (in part, His spiritual offspring - the joy set before Him). He will be counted among the great because He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

Believers should find this passage bittersweet, I think. Bitter because it was my our sin that made Jesus a Man of Sorrows and put Him to shame and unspeakable suffering. Sweet because nevertheless He loved us and was willing to give Himself up for us, being crushed by the definite plan and foreknowledge of God so that we could be set free and made like Him!