We are blessed to live in part of the world where we are able to still share scripture openly. There are countries in where the sharing of God’s word is illegal, where people would love to have access to read the Bible openly but do not. There are other places where the Bible is held in very high reverence, I had a Pakistani Territorial Commander in Sri Lanka who if you placed the Bible on the floor next to your seat would shake his head, as to treat the Bible as a common thing was close to blasphemy.
Today I want to look at scripture, this tool of our faith and see why we should write it on our hearts, why we should saturate ourselves with it.
Let's look at three passages from the Old Testament.
1st
Deuteronomy11:18-19; Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
2nd
Proverbs 3:1-3 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
3rd
Proverbs 7:3 Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
I also want to look at:
How did Jesus respond the temptations that were placed before him by Satan. Quite a bit to discuss here.
We have possibly all read an instruction manual of some type. A how to maintain that piece of machinery, connect the tele to the internet in the old days the VHS player or in more recent history the DVD player to the TV and the aerial, oh yah the frustration. Just as a matter of interest does anyone here still have a reel-to-reel tape recorder. Well kids there’s some ancient history that fell out of use in the 70’s. What about a recipe book, who’s used one this week, or more likely googled a recipe? There’s an electrical trade saying that goes like this, “As a last resort read the instruction manual.” Most tradesmen would like to give it a go whatever it is first eh. God in the Bible has given us a manual for our very existence
We see these passages in the Old Testament that refer to God’s Word and what to do with it; that say something like; write it on your heart, keep it in sight, commit it to memory, pass it onto your children…
In Proverbs 3:3 and 7:3 there’s even a reference to writing them on your tablet. Pretty high tech for the time.
The Bible when it refers to the heart generally does not mean that organ that pumps blood around your body but refers to the whole being, all of a person from head to toe, emotions, intellect, spirit, so that we are completely engaged in the matter it is referring to. Write scripture on your heart so that your heart…your whole being from the centre out is engaged in it.
Lets’ have a little look at the context of these scriptures that are referring to the writing of the word on our hearts and the other actions that we should engage in .
The passage of Deuteronomy 11:18-19 is an interesting one. The Hebrew people had escaped Egypt, that had passed through the Red Sea as God had drawn the waters back on each side and trapped the Egyptians beneath the waves. The law was given to Moses, who had come down from the mountain to find his people worshipping a golden calf idol. Moses broke the tablets in anger and fasted and plead with The Lord for him not to destroy his people. God heard Moses and preserved the nation.
I just want to point out here there is a common theme we come across in scripture and you will hear this a bit from me is that the nation of Israel sins, the nation of Israel is judged and then God in his mercy forgives them, the theme is sin, judgement, grace. If we look at our own journeys this is a common theme. Often this is the pattern we have seen in our own lives that has us in this place.
So, this passage in Deuteronomy after new tablets of the law were made and God rewrote the law on them and Moses came down from the mountain and placed them in the Ark of the Covenant, sounds like a God movie title. Moses instructs the people to fear the Lord. Interestingly he uses these words about God; “He is your praise, he is your God, who performed those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. Your forefathers who went down to Egypt were seventy in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.’” Deuteronomy 10:21-22.
It is an interesting picture, we see this nation blessed by God, rescued by God, possibly three million people who have seen great miracles of God, now doing dumb stuff, while Moses is up the mountain being given the law. Why do they do something so stupid? The same reason we all do dumb stuff. Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 10:13; “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.” However, in the following verse Paul says this; “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
This passage about fixing the words of God on their hearts and minds is part of a teaching about following what God wants for his people to love, remember, observe, worship, obey, teach and walk in the Lord’s ways. Moses made it clear, “Love the Lord and observe his requirements.” If they didn’t do so there would be outcomes, there would be no rain, crops would not grow and harvests would fail. How often do our lives head off course, things get tough, when we are not obedient to God. I think this is a good reason to write the words of scripture on our hearts to saturate ourselves with a deep understanding of the word. It is harder to go off course when the direction you are travelling is well known to you. Does that make sense, I’ll repeat it, it is harder to go off course when the direction you are travelling is well known to you.
What the passages in proverbs are about, again writing the scriptures on the readers heart, the first, Proverbs 3:1-3 “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” This teaching is written in the way a Father is teaching their child, teaching that the outcome of not forgetting but keeping the commands of God is an extended life, peace and prosperity. Being obedient to God has resultant good outcomes, I would go as far as to say awesome outcomes. Follow God’s law don’t forget it or move from it and be faithful and trustworthy. The result is a better life than it would have been, because to bring honour to God and respect to our fellow man. The writer is saying that the words of scripture written on the disciples heart, become part of their nature, their personality and character. This occurs out of respect for God and the rest of humanity.
Proverbs 7:2-3 are in an interesting context, about avoiding sin, in this chapter about sensual relationships, sexual relationships outside of marriage. The likes of adultery and fornication, the writer says this. “Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” Why this instruction, because temptations will come, and without a deep understanding, of God’s word and a solid relationship with God, it’s easier to avoid to as verse twenty-two says, being “like a deer getting snared.” Knowing the word of God, not only helps us avoid sin, it sets us up for the best life we can live; a good reason to write the words of scripture on our hearts to saturate ourselves with a deep understanding of the word.
For instance, Psalm 139 verse 14 is a good cure for when you are feeling like you don’t measure up, the Psalmist says “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” I wish I had that as a comeback when I was being bullied at school. Take it on board you are fearfully and wonderfully made, no mater who you are.
We see scripture used to defeat evil and the evil one. James tells us in chapter four of his book; “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” In having the word of scripture written on our hearts we are set up well for spiritual battles. A few weeks ago we studied the armour of God, What was the sword of the Spirit? That’s right the word of God. Your feet what were they to be fitted with? That’s right the gospel of peace. Knowing scripture and living drenched in it is key to a life that is right with God and our fellow man.
Being engaged with, knowing, reading, reciting, memorising scripture sets us up to win spiritually, it establishes our understanding of where we are in the eyes of our creator. A deep understanding of scripture establishes us well for life no matter what age we are. Knowing this why would we not saturate ourselves in scripture?
Can you turn with me to Matthew 4:1-11. (Read)
We know that Jesus being the divine as he is could not give into temptation. However how did he respond to the devil. Even when Satan used scripture to tempt him, Jesus was able to put that temptation in its true light and use scripture to counter that temptation, “It is also written, ‘do not put the Lord your God to the test.””
As a tool of the faith our knowledge of scripture, our understanding of scripture, all of it, not just some select verses will stop us from straying into dangerous places of misguided doctrines and beliefs, as many have.
We have the word of God, not just as a history book or as a guide but the scriptures are inspired but God and as such according to Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” We have a great opportunity, to take the word of God, to write it on our hearts, to saturate ourselves in it and live life to it’s greatest potential.
I would ask, as a response to this message if it is not your practice to put in place a reading plan, a plan to engage daily in the word of God, when you wake, before you sleep, to write his word on your heart, your whole being, and see this tool of the faith, change your life.
