The Relevant Word
In Exodus 3:1-4 (NIV) we read the well-known story of Moses and the burning bush:
1Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight–why the bush does not burn up.”
4When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
What an awesome experience this must have been for Moses. A lot of the time we read stories in the Bible and we don’t really grasp how amazing it must have been to witness some of these awesome events. Perhaps we’ve seen so many advances in technology and science we’ve become desensitized. Or Hollywood’s latest and greatest has shown us things already beyond our wildest imaginations.
Whatever the cause, it’s important we read these stories with careful consideration to what God is speaking to us. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:11 (NIV):
11These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
The simple truth is that God made the choice as to which stories we would be left with; the ones we have serve a purpose in our life today–and even during the times when the scriptures were being penned, God spoke this to His people:
18“Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.
–Deuteronomy 11:18-21 (NKJV)
God doesn’t want His Word to be a part of our lives, He wants His Word to be integrated into every aspect of our being (i.e. a lifestyle choice).
11I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
–Psalm 119:11 (NIV)
The reality is that these stories, and every other part of scripture, have the ability to change our lives and draw us closer to God through Christ.