The Written Word

Exodus 34:27 – Then the Lord said to Moses. "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." (NIV)

I have kept a diary since 1962. It started out as a record of the daily progress of my pipeline construction in northern British Columbia, Canada, including the movement of people and equipment, records of meetings with owners and superiors, and a record of the weather each day.

As time went on, there were more details about personal events. Periodically I look up events which happened on a certain day many years ago, and as I look back, I am often surprised about the details that I wrote. There are a lot of memories for me to recall and for my descendents to read later, if they are so inclined.

Thinking about the details in my diary made me even more aware of how accurate and detailed the writings of the Bible are — so much history, so much detail about people and events so accurately reported. A recent television show on the Bible's buried treasures commented on a great number of biblical facts that are written with so much detail. For instance, they mentioned the return of the Israelites from Babylon and how Ezra gathered the people together so that he could read to the gathered assembly from the Law of Moses.

Nehemiah 8:2-3 – So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. (NKJV)

Nehemiah goes on to list even the names of the men who helped the people understand the reading.

These writings from Scripture, as well as my own diaries, reinforced the fact, to me at least, that it is so important to write our experiences down. My children and descendents will at some point be able to read about us.

Millions of people read God's Word every day, and as we do, we learn about spiritual events which took place over the centuries. In the New Testament, we learn about events which took place during Jesus' time on earth. The apostle John obviously regrets not being able to record even more details:

John 20:30-31 – And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (NKJV)

John 21:25 – And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. (NKJV)

I, too, am sorry now that I did not write more spiritual things in my daily diary. It is certainly good to write a daily journal about our faith experiences. It helps us to notice what is being said and done and to become more aware of the presence of God in our lives. If you don't already do this, I would encourage you to start.

Prayer: Our Father in heaven, it is with thankful hearts that we read the words of Scripture every day, those wonderful words of truth. We thank You for those who were inspired to write at that time, and also for those who do so now, so that we can read and learn more about You. We offer this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.

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