Stephen
Terry, Director
Living by the Word of God
Commentary
for the June 27, 2020 Sabbath School Lesson
"Jesus answered, 'It
is written: "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes
from the mouth of God."' Matthew 4:4, NIV
Last week, during our discussion of the text, 2 Timothy 3:16, where it says in the NIV, "All
scripture is God-breathed..." a class member pointed out that this is reminiscent
of Creation where God breathed life into the first man. This is an excellent metaphor
for the life-giving quality of God's word. That same word spoke life for all of
Creation, day by day bringing forth the land and sea, birds and fish, and
everything that moves over the face of the Earth. Not only that, but the Creation
account in Genesis, chapter1, reminds us through the symbolism of the sun, moon
and stars, the same life-giving spirit sustains the entire universe we live in.
Perhaps therefore, after God has warned them, when Adam and Eve turned away
from that word, they began to die, and weakness and death began to manifest in
the lives of all mankind.
The biblical account tells us that not only had man
begun to die, but in the very next generation, he began to hasten that process
with murder as Cain destroyed Abel in a jealous rage. Not only was life not
cherished for his own life, but he failed to cherish it in others as well, even
though that life came from God, the Creator. We are told that that devaluation
of others, and by proxy, the devaluation of the Creator, continued until the
entire Earth was consumed by the destruction of life and life quality. God then
took that out-of-control train and hastened its destruction with a global
catastrophe, saving only a handful of each creature, including mankind, from
its effects.
The problem of a lack of respect for one another
was not gone, however. One of Noah's sons mocking him, brought forth yet
another evil result. Once again, mankind renewed his downward spiral. Slavery
became wide spread and the descendants of Abraham eventually found themselves
enslaved in Egypt with little to remind them in their day-to-day miseries that
the breath of Creation moved in their bodies as well as all mankind, and of the
Creator who spoke that breath. This was a family that had sold their own
brother into slavery in Egypt and now, many generations later, as that evil
fruit continued to grow in the world, it had come to ripeness for them as well.
Eventually, through a burning bush and an educated shepherd
with a lisp, God once again breathed his word and set those people free. But he
could not drive the disrespect from their hearts. Murmuring and rebelling, like
a naughty and dirty child being dragged to his bath time, they were led for
many years through the wilderness. But what was meant as a cathartic experience
still could not drive the disrespect out. Despite centuries of patient pleading
through priests and prophets who echoed the words of God, they ended up in
captivity again, this time in Babylon, where after 70 years, God once again
brought about their deliverance.
Did they learn their lesson? No. They thought it was
all about idolatry. In other words, they focused on the symptom instead of the
disease. Their lack of respect for one another and therefore for the Creator who
gave them each life was the actual disease, and it became glaringly obvious
when they crucified the one who gave them that life.[i]
There could be no greater disrespect than to kill the one who gives someone life.
But mankind has shown disrespect for one another and to their Creator in every
way possible, up to and including that.
But that was not unexpected. God in his omniscience
could see all of that and the evil that would reign in the world when he spoke
those words of warning to Adam and Eve in the very beginning. But they chose not
to believe him. If he were like us and reacted as we would have, he would have destroyed
that couple and perhaps begun again. In fact, we all too often blame him for
the evil in the world and for not doing exactly that. But perhaps he feels that
to teach respect, one must also model it. Whatever the reasons might be, he has
shown incredible patience, allowing each of us to choose to honor the life that
sustains each of us and the Creator that gives it or sadly, if necessary, allowing
those who will to choose to turn from that life, even though it ultimately
means the extinguishing of that God-breathed spark.
To make that choice available, no matter how dark, evil,
and chaotic things become, God has provided a necessary manual for survival
with the Bible. Some would point to flaws they find in the Bible as evidence there
is nothing of God there. But while there are flaws and contradictions to be found,
these are evidence of man's struggle to find light in the darkness, and the
wounds the Bible has received in the house of its friends.[ii]
In short, they are no more flaws than the wounds in the hands, feet and side of
Christ were his flaws. Just as Christ never lost his divinity or his power because
of those wounds, so the Bible also maintains its power to guide us to safety from
the all-encompassing evil that surrounds us. I know, because it did so for me.
I was raised in a home where respect was never earned, only demanded. To
express a contrary opinion on any matter was to be met with insults, curses and
at times, blows. Mental and physical abuse were the norm. No one was happy, and
with no other example, this was the way, as children, we were taught to relate
to one another. Much of this type of parenting may have been the result of
alcohol abuse. It was difficult to understand how other families seemed to be
happy and share good times, when in our home everyone walked on eggshells. But
bit by bit, through the influence of neighbors and friends, I began to find
bits and pieces of the Bible coming into my life through shared stories and
invitations to attend church. But it was not until my mid-teens that I began to
seriously investigate the Bible for myself. What I found there drew me in
completely. I felt like a horse that had just crossed the desert and came to an
oasis. I drank in all I could and could not get enough. Then I discovered that
the seed of life the Creator places within each of us began to sprout. My life
started changing. Most of this happened after I left home, going into the Army
and eventually to Vietnam. As I shared some of what I was discovering with
others, their hearts caught fire also.
Some think that the power of the Bible lies in it
being a perfect image of God. But that is not where its power lies. Its power
and evidence of its origin are in its ability to change lives. It replaces despair
with hope, anger with trust, sadness with joy, a love of power with humility,
and loneliness with a deep, abiding relationship with someone who would even
face death to show how much he cares.
Some might ask, "How do you find that? He wiped out
the Earth with a flood, and burned to death everyone in Sodom and Gomorrah?" To
that I would answer, it is there nonetheless, waiting to be found if you search
the Bible for it.[iii] I have read the Bible
through from cover to cover many, many times in my life, and its depth astounds
me. It has the remarkable ability to bring out something new for myself and others,
no matter how many times we may have already read and studied it. Even Jesus
made reference to this, when he said "Therefore every teacher of the law who
has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who
brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." (Matthew 13:52) The
friend who brought up the relationship between the God-breathed scriptures and
God breathing life into Adam that I mentioned at the beginning is just one example.
The Bible is like a treasure of such things, waiting to be opened.
There are those who hoard up treasure. The world
may call them misers. Locked away, they rarely if ever open their storehouse.
But if the door is never opened, their life is lived as though they had no
treasure at all. The treasure then becomes pointless. But there are others who
understand that treasure is only a means to an end, and without making use of
that means, the end may never be achieved. If we find a translation we can read
comfortably and open the pages of the Bible and begin reading, the treasure
will show itself. Why not open the door?[iv]
