Did You Learn Something New?
Two months ago Barb and I studied with Pat (not the actual name), who knew the Bible very well and had highlighted several verses. We sailed through the first two studies in complete agreement, but then came the third study, which concludes with a study of baptism's role in salvation. Before beginning, I cautioned that we would discuss some truths Pat probably did not know. "All of the Scriptures are in the Bible," I said, "and you have probably read them, but their significance may have escaped you. You know how it is when you read a verse and see something there you failed to notice before?" I was stunned when Pat answered, "No." "No?" I was dumbfounded. "You've never seen an additional insight in a text that you had not noticed before?" "No," Pat insisted. "That's never happened to me." Right then I knew the study was in trouble. Who comprehends everything that a verse has in it at the first reading? Pat enjoyed the study and seemed to learn, but when we finished, the response was, "That's what I've always believed." That was the last study we had. Pat had apparently learned enough.
I am not ashamed to say that, as many times as I have read the Bible through, I still learn a great deal each time—and that's not entirely because I'm slow to catch on. The reason is that God inspired the Holy Scriptures, and He made it so that we are always learning and adding to our knowledge of the basic fundamentals we already know. Thinking about Matthew 6:33 earlier this year caused me to consider that Jesus' audience must have understood what righteousness is—probably better than most folks today do. This prompted a search of the Scriptures and two sermons on the question, "What is righteousness?" Even so, I overlooked one of the best verses on the subject—Luke 1:6. Speaking of John the Baptizer's parents, the verse describes Zacharias and Elizabeth as "both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." What a great summary!
The idea for the article, "You Are The God Who sees Me" (1-22-17) came from this year's journey through the Bible, as did today's inside article. How can someone not learn new things from reading? Generally, I have always thought that the first example of providence was in Genesis 22:8 and 13 with God providing the ram for a sacrifice in place of Isaac. However, the first time may have been in Genesis 20:6, where God told Abimelech, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore, I did not let you touch her." How did God stop Abimelech from committing adultery with Sarah? Was it providence?