Jeremiah 23: 28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. 29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
The Lord is being specific concerning his Word. The men who wrote the words were spokesmen for God; he is the author. A prophet is a preacher or teacher. In a broad context anyone who follows God in their daily life is such. We have a relationship with Jesus as we continue in his Word. It’s underscored by the writers of both the Old and New Testaments. We continue it in for our sakes, yes. But we do it for others too.
The Bible stands out because God helps us understand it. When Jesus was here on earth he referred to the scriptures as the Word of God. He’d say “thus saith the Lord” or “it is written.” He looked the devil in the eye during the temptations and said “it is written” showing us the importance to study the Word as the Holy Scriptures.
God gave it to Moses and the prophets, to the psalmists and Solomon. When he came he spent his young life studying the Word he had given to man. He condescended to become a human, even as a child, and learned his own Word from the rabbis and scribes. Jesus was willing to learn his own Word and used it to defeat the devil and the Pharisees. “It is written” is how he overcame showing us the possibilities there are in the Bible. Many have tried to destroy it. The Lord is serious when it comes to his Word. Where would the church be without the Bible? The most important presence here is the Word.
Mommy kept a big Bible on a table in the living room and gathered us around every night to read it. She made sure we saw it there and I thank God for the influence of the Bible. We learned what the church was from exposure to the Bible. Think what life would be without it. God only wrote one book. It has no sequel. There are 66 books from Genesis to Revelation and we know that Jesus is the first and the last. We read about the beginning and eternity everlasting. We have the sum total of what God wanted to reveal to us. It came on parchments as 40 some writers gave us God’s Word.
We have it and we need to speak it. Before we can do that we need to know it. There’s power in it. Verse 29 here says is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? It will keep our engines going burning out the dross in our life. The more we study, the better. When we hear it in the singing or preaching it ignites a fire in the heart.
People are warming up to all kinds of other bibles and religions but they go nowhere. We’re going to a City, heaven, with Jesus as Savior and God as Father with a kingdom to come. Soon and very soon God, being true to his Word, will break this world into pieces with the hammer of his Word. Everyone whose name is not written in the Book will be cast into the fire.
No matter how the devil hammers you, use the Word as the other end of the hammer to pull out his nails. The greatest influence in life is the Word of God. Let’s let it influence us every day. Open it each day. It will get us through no matter what the day brings. We need it as much now as we ever did. One day we’ll meet the author. Value it. Believe it. Obey it. When each day ends we’ll have lived it in the council of the Lord.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 