February 23, 2022
Wednesday
The Priority of Scripture
2 Timothy 4:2
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."
Parents sometimes restrict a teenager’s use of the family car when the rules for driving the vehicle are broken. Through discipline, the young driver learns that using the car is conditional based upon obedience to the parents’ expectations for its use. When the conditions set by the parents are broken, the privilege is rescinded.
Such is the nature of conditional covenants—like the Mosaic covenant in the Old Testament. Priests in Israel would enjoy God’s blessing as long as they were good stewards of the covenant, that is, the Word of God. As long as they taught the people God’s laws and statutes, and led them in walking faithfully in those laws and statutes, they would remain as priests. Failure to teach the people the Word of God would mean they would be removed as priests. And that’s what happened as recorded by the prophet Hosea. That’s how central the Word of God is to the community of God’s people.
The responsibility to embrace the Word of God is not only for leaders (2 Timothy 4:2) but for everyone (1 Peter 2:2). Adherence to Scripture is non-negotiable.
A point to ponder…
If there’s a mist in the pulpit, there’s a fog in the pew.
Haddon Robinson
Read the Bible through in a year
I love you!!!
© 2000-2022 B. Michael Goerlich