The Most Valuable Book I Have Ever Seen

Last year, I attended an exhibit at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art called Passages. This exhibit catalogs the history of the Bible from the original scrolls to the 1^st printed Bibles. The collection contained some of the most valuable Bibles (at least in price) in the world. Among many other things, I was able to see a fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls, some of the earliest complete Bibles in Greek, a Gutenberg Bible Book of Romans (first Bible ever printed on a press) and a “Wicked Bible” (A bible made famous and rare because of an printing error, they left out the “not” in Exodus 20:14). These Bibles are worth millions of dollars because of their place in history and their rarity.

But the Bible has a worth that cannot be simply measured in monetary value. The wisdom, history, culture, and art found in its pages are some of the greatest of its kind. Charles Dickens said, “The New Testament is the very best book that was or ever will be known in the world”. Thomas Jefferson remarked, “I have said and always will say, that the studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands ... The Bible makes the best people in the world”.

The Bible’s quality and effect come from the fact that it isn’t just a well written, historically accurate, work of literature; it is the literal Words of God. 2^nd Timothy 3:16 tells us that, “All Scripture is inspired by God…”. The word inspired in the original language literally means “God Breathed”. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:21 that “no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” The Bible is the words God wanted to speak to us. That makes it the most valuable book we will ever own!

Comments

Until Midnight

In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back. I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...

The Right to Arm Bears

In the book of 2 nd Kings 2, we have one of the most unusual, violent and curious passages in scripture. It involves the prophet Elisha siccing a couple of bears on some kids that were mocking his bald head. As a guy that is a little light on top that has been around some surly kids, I can feel for the guy. But seriously a bear attack? On kids? What is going on? ….young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!" When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. 2 nd Kings 2:23-25 It might help to explore the passage a bit more. The baldhead statement: This was an identifying mark of the prophet as opposed to Elijah who was hairy (1st Kings 1:8) a jab to say you are not him. The taunt to go up: Elijah has just been taken into heaven by the Lord a sight seen by ...

The Mighty Gulf

It is hard to get people on two sides of an issue to come together. Each has their own viewpoint, their perceptive, their own foibles, their own understanding. To gain any common ground there must be something in common. Something or someone that can bridge the gulf between the two. Could there be a greater gulf than there was between God and man? How could a holy perfect God find a way to connect to the fallen, imperfect mankind? How can one without temptation connect to those who are beset by it? How could limited mortal beings understand an omnipotent eternal God? In 1 Timothy 2:5, we read, “ For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus .” The phrase mediator here describes a person that bridges the gap, a go-between. Jesus was one who could stand in both worlds. A perfect holy one who can understand our temptations, a man who would die yet live eternally, One who was God yet became flesh and dwelt among us. ...

Ecclesiastes 12:10

Search This Blog