This morning one of my favorite books (One Year Book of Christian History) rubbed my exegetical nerve raw once again. After telling the story of a 16th century English martyr burned by Queen Mary, it asked if I'd be willing to die so as not to give up my Bible. Then it quoted Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Now, although this is true of the Bible as God's written word, look at the very next sentence: "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." I bold-faced/italicized the reference points for a particular reason. Every Bible in production should have "word" capitalized to indicate that verse 12 is talking about Jesus, not the Bible, as verse 14 further confirms: "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession." Maybe then Christians...lay, ordained, and otherwise...might figure out the proper use of this verse.Hey, if you want The-Bible-Is-Better-Than-Sliced-Bread quotes, go to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." Or Jeremiah 23:29, "Is not My word like fire?" declares the LORD, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock?" Or how about Isaiah 55:11, "So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."
Well, the mellow music from "Lord of the Rings" when the Fellowship escapes from Moria without Gandalf (because he sacrificed himself against the Balrog of Morgoth on the Bridge of Khazad Dhum) is currently mellowing me out as I built up that head of exegetical steam, so just imagine Jesus saying to Satan in the great public domain painting created by the 19th century artist Ary Scheffer, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!!" Or maybe, since Jesus was a redneck carpenter, "I'M GONNA SLAP YOUR HEAD OFF!"...in Galilean Aramaic, of course. Oh, "I'm gonna slap your head off" would be a variant reading of "He will bruise you on the head" from Genesis 3:15, for you exegetical wizards familiar with the NASB...Newly Annotated Sexton Bible!
Got proof texts?
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