Dusty Bibles
A young American Christian musician named Josiah Queen produced a song this year which seems to have hit the spot with a lot of young people. Together with a catchy tune it highlights the need to get back to reading our bibles. The chorus goes:
We got dust on our Bibles, brand new iPhones
No wonder why we feel this way
We walk with our eyes closed, blind leading blind folks
And I'm donŠµ with those idols and dusty Bibles.
We all know how easy it is to be distracted. This song is a reminder to all of us, young or old, that we don’t get distracted from reading God’s word.
I was speaking to someone and said I was sad that I couldn't remember verses like I used to and he said ‘well that's why we have it written down’. One sad recent statistic is that many Christians are not reading their bibles – that which God ensured was written down for us to read.
2 Kings 22:1-13 records a time when the Bible, or the portion they had then, needed dusting off.
The young King Josiah began a project to repair the run-down, cluttered temple that had been deserted during Manasseh’s evil reign. During the renovation, Hilkiah the high priest found a copy of the book of the law of Moses. He carried the book to Shaphan the secretary, who read it and reported the find to King Josiah and read it in his presence. The king realized the calamity that had come upon God's people was rooted in ignorant disobedience. God's people were disobedient because they didn't know the truth. Once they knew the truth, they were all to act differently. The loss of God's Word was both the result and the cause of leading His people away from Him. The rediscovery of the Book of the law brought a turning back to God. The Book was found, the Book was read and most of all the Book was obeyed.
Someone penned this.
"I would like a job as tutor, teacher and advisor to your family. I will never take a vacation. I will never be out of humour. I will be up in the morning as early as anyone in the household and will stay up as late as anyone wishes. I will help solve any problems your children might have. I will give you the satisfaction of knowing that no question your children ask will go unanswered. For that matter, I will answer any of your own questions on subjects that range from how we got here to where are we headed. I will help settle bets and differences of opinion. I will give you information that will help you with your job, your family and all of your other interests. In short, I will give you the knowledge that will ensure the continued success of your family. I am your Bible. Do I get the job?”
Let’s make sure there is no dust collecting on our bibles this summer!
Julie Shimizu