God’s desire from the very beginning was to move toward His people…to give Himself to His people…to be in a special relationship with His people…so that through this special intimate relationship they might become a blessing to all the world! So, the Lord met with Moses and told him what He expected from Israel, His chosen people. “Moses returned from the mountain and called together the elders of the people and TOLD THEM EVERYTHING the LORD had commanded him. And all the people responded together, “WE WILL DO EVERYTHING THE LORD HAS COMMANDED.” (Exo. 19:7-8)
So, now a very wonderful event was going to take place, the Lord was going to come down and speak to the people. “When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, TREMBLING WITH FEAR. And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But DON’T LET GOD SPEAK DIRECTLY TO US, OR WE WILL DIE!” (Exo. 20:18-19)
What was their problem? David tells us, “…they did not BELIEVE IN GOD, And did not TRUST in His salvation.” (Psa. 78:22)
What about us today? According to George Barna only 24% of Christians believe strongly that the BIBLE IS TOTALLY ACCURATE in all of the principles it teaches. Even though the Bible says, “ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD–BREATHED and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…” (2 Tim. 3:16) Most translations say, “is given by inspiration of God” but in the original there is one word, “theopneustos” which means, GOD–BREATHED.
KNOWING THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD TO LIE AND THAT GOD DESIRES TO HAVE AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH US, WE BEST RECEIVE NEW INSPIRATION ABOUT READING OUR BIBLES AND LISTENING TO AND OBEYING GOD’S WORD.
-Bill Stockham