The Word - part 1
When I was just a young girl, about ten years old, I distinctly remember my mother making this comment, “Oh, that lady’s religious. She has Scripture plaques on the walls all over her home.”
From that day on I related Scriptures on walls with being religious!
It was considered a negative thing from my family’s point of view to be a “religious” person. Even though we went to church and practiced our Christian faith, having too many Scriptures around the house was crossing a line into being too religious according to my mother.
Today, I look back and realize that my mother did not have any comprehension of the power of God’s Word. If she had, she would never have made such a negative remark about the Scriptures. Unfortunately her statement affected my understanding regarding God’s Word for many years.
It was ten years later that the Holy Spirit came into my life to open up my heart, ears, and eyes to God’s precious Word. The Word is now a priority in my life. I even have Scripture plaques displayed in my home! It is the Word of God that brings success in our lives. It is the Word of God that has authority in this world, and it is the Word we should turn to and live by daily.
Businesses often present to their employees policy and procedure manuals written by the CEO or leaders of the organization. The manual states the company’s purpose and mission, values, procedures for various issues, policies on work-related matters, and more. Employees can find job descriptions including how much vacation and sick time they have, how to handle certain issues, who to complain to, and the lines of authority within the organization. The manual helps keep the peace and resolves issues that arise.
For Christians, the Bible is our manual. God gave us His policy and procedures in the form of sixty-six amazing books that were combined to create what we recognize as our Holy Bible. He is the CEO of all creation. Our manual tells us everything we need to know to be successful in life and how to inherit eternal life. Nothing can compare to this master manual of God’s Word.
Forty different authors wrote the Bible. Each author has a unique personality, a distinct occupation, and some come from different cultures or tribes. There are a total of 24,000 manuscripts that comprise the Holy Word. The variations of these manuscripts differ only by a few tenths of a percent, yet all the words point to one man – Jesus. We read in II Timothy 3:16 (NKJV) that the Word is inspired by God. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
The Word uses several symbols to reveal the value or truth of its importance to our life. Symbols of the Word help us understand its power, relevance, and purpose. Over the next few weeks let’s examine several of these symbols that give us greater understanding of the depth and breadth of the Scriptures. First, let’s start with this: The Word Is Like Fire.
THE WORD IS LIKE FIRE.
The prophet Jeremiah tells us that God’s Word is like fire. Jeremiah 23: 29 (NKJV) says, “Is not My Word like a fire? Says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
Fire can be described in a multitude of ways such as: flame, heat, burning passion, liveliness of imagination, destructive burning, brilliancy, luminosity, artillery, or burning. Fire destroys what can be consumed, but it will purify what cannot be consumed. Fire can purge, cleanse, and destroy, wiping out homes, land, trees, and territories. The only thing left after a fire is ash.
God’s Word, under the anointing of a powerful preacher, can feel like fire on your bones. Jeremiah said it felt like fire in his bones because the Word was so hot inside him. He felt like he would burn up if he did not declare it. Jeremiah 20: 9 (NKJV) says, “Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.’ But His Word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary with holding it back, and I could not stay.”
Jeremiah had become discouraged, but the Word would not leave him. He had to say what God wanted spoken whether the people wanted to hear it or not. For Jeremiah, the Word was like hot flames burning inside him. His only relief was to release the Words.
Another example of fire on the Word is when Nathan the prophet came to David. David had been responsible for the death of Uriah. David desired Bathsheba, so he had her husband Uriah sent to battle. In II Samuel 11: 15 David commanded, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.”
Nathan, sent by God to David with the Word of the Lord, told David a story of injustice. The king was angry when he heard the story and wanted the evil man to die and make restitution. In II Samuel 12: 7a Nathan then said to David, “You are that man!” Can you imagine the fire in those words and the burning off of the deception when they were spoken?
In II Samuel 12: 7b-15 (NKJV) Nathan continues with these words:
7b Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ 13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” 15 Then Nathan departed to his house.
This passage is an example of the Word coming and setting a fire in one’s bones. It purged out all the excuses and left the raw truth. David had sinned. He had lost his reverence for God in the midst of all his power and prosperity. He misused his authority as king for his own gain.
In today’s world we can still say misusing our spiritual or natural authority for our own gain is sin. The Word is clear that in all we do, we should do it as unto the Lord and not for personal gain.
And yet, how many times have we done or said something in secret to someone else only for our own gain or to make ourselves look good? How many times have we coveted another’s possessions or even anointing and tried to take it for ourselves? How many times have we missed Sunday service to play with the world? How many times have we reasoned that God understands while we disobey Him?
Thankfully, David recognized that his sin was a sin against God and he quickly repented. Hopefully as Mothers of Nations we will respond like David when the Word exposes our sin. Let the fire of the Word burn the dross away in our lives!
Dr. Sharon Predovich
