The Words of God

In life, and especially in business, documentation is important. Whether it’s a written contract, receipt, instructions, etc., having things written down actually helps more than just the immediate people involved – it helps those who are interested in what’s being documented.

In the ancient Hebrew culture, nearly everything was passed down by oral traditions. But it wasn’t because God was opposed to the written word. After all, He inspired the writing of the bible we have. However, there was another reason that we could speculate on why He began His relationship with mankind (in the formal sense) in oral law.

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph all had a unique relationship with God, where God spoke directly to them. But it wasn’t until Moses delivered the Ten Commandments to the Israelites that we have a written law. In fact, most biblical scholars and historians agree that Moses wrote the first five books (Torah) of the Old Testament.

But rather than just a collection of official documents and receipts, God still wanted something in these opportunities to talk about God to be present. Deuteronomy 6:6-7, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

God’s plan was that we would build the relationship with other humans, sharing God’s will with each other. After all, He spent quality time walking and talking with Adam and Eve in the garden, basically sharing His heart with them.

Proverbs 10:31-32, “The mouth of the godly person gives wise advice, but the tongue that deceives will be cut off. The lips of the godly speak helpful words, but the mouth of the wicked speaks perverse words.”

Whether written or spoken, our words have the power to reveal God’s will; they have the power to build up or tear down, to encourage or discourage, to express love or hate. As followers of Christ, we have not only the privilege but the responsibility to encourage each other with God’s words – written or spoken.

In time, God began inspiring writers to write down the words of God for future generations to be encouraged. One benefit of having something written down is that you can look back on it and see that word of encouragement, instruction, even a word of rebuke.

2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”