high on sinai
May 11, 2009
Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true (v.9).
READ: Psalm 19:7-11
As far as Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don’t believe, or a legend, which I don’t believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics. —Benny Shanon, Time and Mind journal of philosophy
I don’t know about you, but the suggestion that Moses got high on Mount Sinai and imagined his encounter with God makes me grit my teeth! As I state that, I’m aware that we are all capable of reading God’s Word in a way that colors it with our own biases. So how do we avoid this?
It begins with respecting the author—the author being God. David wrote, “Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true” (Psalm 19:9). Respecting Him means we’re more concerned with His intended meaning than our own souped-up or watered-down spin on Scripture.
As we read the Bible with eyes to see God’s messages instead of our own, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us. Jesus assured us that “the Holy Spirit will teach you everything” (John 14:26), but the careful handling of God’s Word doesn’t stop there.
With His Spirit helping us, we need to read the entire Bible. We know that “All Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16), yet some biases may cause us to emphasize certain parts of the Bible while overlooking others. David assured us that “the instructions of the Lord are perfect” (Psalm 19:7).
Our respect for God and His Word must always override human ideas about the Bible—even our own ideas! David said, “The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy” (Psalm 19:8), so let’s trust His Word completely, rather than “getting high” on our own thinking. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
In what ways do your words and actions reveal God’s grace? How will you change to become a bolder witness for Jesus?
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