The purpose and power of the stories of Scripture
In the history of Israel, there was a king named Josiah. He began to reign at 8 years old. When he was 18, he instituted repairs to the Temple of God. During these repairs, the Book of the Law (which would be the books of Moses) was found in the Temple. These were brought to Josiah and read before him. His immediate reaction was great grief, which he expressed by tearing his clothes. Here is what he said (2 Kings 22:13): “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
When Josiah is confronted with the truth of the righteousness of God, his immediate reaction is repentance and confession. This is so different from what we find in Romans 1:18-23, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.”
These deny the written Word of God as well as all physical evidence for the nature and character of God as revealed in creation. Not only do they deny and ignore natural revelation, but the special revelation of God (Hebrews 1:1-4, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”)
May we see a return to a love and adoration for the Word of God, which is God’s map for this plan for all mankind. May we foster in our children a desire not for the stories of the Bible, but the God revealed in each of the stories. We are awed by the boldness of Daniel as he faces the possibility of he lion’s den, but let us not miss the provision and faithfulness of God who shut the mouth of those lions and who changed the heart of the kings of both Babylon and Persia.
We revel in the story of David versus Goliath, but let us remember it was for the glory of God that David answered the challenge of the giant. And that he faced the giant not clad in the armor of Saul the king, but the armor of the Lord of Lords. When we leave the Lord God out of the stories to lift up the characters of men and women in the stories, we fail to communicate and understand the purpose and power of the stories of Scripture.
We are not called to be another Daniel or David, but the man or woman of God He created you to be. Remember the words of Jeremiah 15:16: “Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” It is the God of heaven that calls you, empowers you and who you are to glorify in all you do.
Pressing on…
Ron Tipton, Senior Pastor
