“Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.” (2 Kings 22:8, NKJV).
In the early days of my preaching, I experienced the traumatic loss of a Bible that had already accumulated a number of my study notes. The story itself is a good one but we will share that another time.
Allow me to ask you to consider what this world would be like, look like if the Bible were lost. All one has to do is look around and we see the darkness of sin and men’s rebellion to God’s Word … while it remains the number one seller!
Just imagine the complete chaos that would ensue. And our enemy, Satan, would be rejoicing! We might think that a scenario like this couldn’t happen, but the Bible records just such an event, and the picture painted by inspiration before God’s Book was found was dismal at best!
Under the wicked reign of both Amon and Manasseh, the people of God were losing their identity and purpose. They seemed to have forgotten they were God’s people, chosen by Him to bring honor and glory to the Lord through service to Him.
Over time with idolatry dominating the people’s hearts, and lives … the Book of God was lost! But even more pathetic, the people didn’t even miss it.
When I lost my copy of the Bible it made me sick. During this dark time in Israel’s history … God’s people lost their Bible because they were sick!
It seems remarkable that the book of the law should be lost in the temple! Somewhere, something had gone terribly wrong.
You see, Israel went astray and had gone against God to pursue the worship of other gods. Detestable gods. These gods are made out of iron, silver, gold, or wood – the same wood that you use in your fireplace. The same wood that you sit on. These gods are man-made.
And the Israelites worshiped them – putting them as a higher authority in their lives than the living God who blessed them with the land that they were living in … what a sad picture to see!
Given that the Book of the Law was lost in the house of the Lord, we have to assume that it was the priests themselves who lost it. Their “one job” was to preserve, protect, and teach the Word of God.
What does this have to do with you? Plenty! There are a lot of times when we put something above God … finding our lives evolving into something opposite of honoring our God! Are you giving thought … serious thought to these truths? We must be very careful that we do not become guilty of the same thing God’s people of old were guilty of!
Somewhere, something will go terribly wrong when you substitute God with a man-made idol. Even as Christians, when our lives are supposed to be led by the Word of God, sometimes it gets lost in the rubble of our idolatry. (1 Peter 2:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19)
The biggest threat to the Word of God is our own neglect of it in our churches and in our homes. It is incumbent upon every child of God to help ensure that God’s Word is not lost in our time!
Paul calls us to be “children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.” (Phil. 2:15) So, ask yourself if the Word of God is truly “precious” to you … and what are the implications if it is … and what are the implications if God’s Book if it is not!
Have you read your Bible today?
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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