Keep the Word Pure

Yesterday Laura brought home a "replacement" bunny (now named "Oreo") from the pet shop.  This morning I overheard my son say, "Oreo!  Don't sit in your food pellets!"  One casual observation I have made over the years is rabbits are quite senseless when it comes to maintaining the purity of their food and water.  They will foul their water with their feet, tip over bowls which aren't heavy enough, and throw their food everywhere!  Our rabbits do not respond to verbal cues, but only seem to understand the universal language of food.  Yet as much as they like certain foods, it doesn't keep them from polluting it with their own waste.

Sheep are similar in many respects.  A shepherd must carefully clear the field of poisonous, noxious plants.  In Phillip Keller's book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, he goes into great detail on this point and in addition the necessity to clean out water holes where the sheep drink.  The shepherd also creates dams to slow the flow of water so the sheep will be able to easily drink.  But like rabbits and other animals, sheep have no comprehension of the labour which went into their food and drink preparation.  Without the care of a good shepherd, the water holes would no doubt soon be contaminated by waste, be filled with litter and debris, and give rise to disease and sickness.

Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-14).  David writes in Psalm 23:5:  "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over."  Followers of Jesus Christ are lovingly and descriptively called "sheep."  Jesus is the Bread of Life, and has provided in Himself salvation through faith by His atoning sacrifice.  He is the Living Bread which all can eat and live forever, even as the Israelites daily ate manna in the wilderness.  Jesus is also called the "Word of Life" (1 John 1:1) and has given us words of life found in the Bible which is food for our souls.  Even as the presence of the shepherd would ensure good grazing in safe pastures free from predators, our God provides sustenance for our souls and all that pertains to life and godliness.  Jesus says in John 10:14:  "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own."

If left to our own, we would certainly do no better at reading and understanding the Bible than a rabbit that is senseless to understand how to keep her water pure.  In fact, the Bible warns that many will do just this in the last days in which we live.  An exhortation and warning against heresy is seen in 2 Timothy 2:15-19 which reads, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. ¹⁶ But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. ¹⁷ And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, ¹⁸ who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. ¹⁹ Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."  Christians are told to rightly divide the Word of Truth because heresy is a real potential!  We can foul the truth of scripture by our own personal bias, limited understanding, or when we are hardened with the deceitfulness of sin.  To misrepresent the King by twisting His message is a great sin indeed. 

We are told to rightly divide the Word of truth, recognizing that it is of divine origin and therefore necessitates divine aid to do so.  Praise God that He has provided not only the pure Word, but the Holy Spirit who enables us to "rightly divide" the Word of God.  Jesus says in John 16:12-15, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."  The purity of the Word has been divinely preserved, and only through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit can we maintain this purity in our preaching and churches.  We are spiritually senseless until the Spirit fills us, and 1 Corinthians 2:12-13 teaches, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. ¹³ These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

I appreciate the purity of God's Word!  Proverbs 30:5 states, "Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him." May all take to heart the necessity of being filled with the Spirit and seek to be led by Him so we will not foul it with our flesh!  Unlike rabbits, which cannot comprehend the value of food carefully cleaned and prepared or know how to maintain it, may we be thankful and mindful of what treasure we hold when we open the Word of God!  Have you taken time to let God know you love His Word?  Psalm 119:140 says, "Your word is very pure; therefore Your servant loves it."  We can show our love through reading the Bible, believing, obeying, and teaching it faithfully.  In this God will be glorified!