Pastor David B. Curtis

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Media #1096 MP3 Audio File Video File

Yahweh is Speaking

(Hebrews 1:1-2)

Delivered 12/26/21

It's that time of year when I encourage you to get a reading plan picked out and to read through your Bible in the coming year. How important is this? To me it is extremely important. Most Christians have never read through the whole Bible and that is a sad fact. If we are going to know and walk with Yahweh, we must spend time in His Word.

Let's begin our study this morning with a question. Do you want to hear Yahweh speak? Have you ever said in a moment of desperation or frustration, "O God, if you would only speak to me! If I could only hear your voice. If you would only talk to me and not be so silent." Believer, Yahweh is speaking—through His Word. The writer of Hebrews said,

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 ESV

The word "living" is the Greek word zoa. It means "to live, be alive." The Word of God is alive, actively alive. And it is "powerful," (from the Greek word energes, from which we get our word energy). It means "active, energizing." Its effectiveness derives from it source, which is God himself, and from its purpose, which is the will of God. Neither God nor his will is ever subject to frustration or defeat.

With such a "living" and "powerful" word at our disposal, we would be foolish to neglect the blessings it offers or the warnings it gives!

The first two verses of the book of Hebrews teach very loudly and plainly that "God has spoken!" God is not silent. God is not withdrawn and uncommunicative.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. Hebrews 1:1-2 ESV

These verses teach us that God has spoken in two phases: (1) before the coming of the Son of God into the world and (2) through the Son of God's coming into the world. Read them again. Consider these two phases of God's communication for a moment. Before the coming of the Son, it says, "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets." Notice some crucial things. God spoke! He was not silent. God communicates. He means to connect with us. He is not an idea to be thought about. He is a Person to be listened to and understood and enjoyed and obeyed. He is a speaking Person. There is no more important fact than this: There is a God who speaks that we might know him and love him and live in joyful obedience to him. God has spoken! If we're going to know anything about God, we'll learn it from what He has revealed in the Bible.

An old Puritan preacher used to say that there were just two things he desired to know: (1) does God speak (concerning any matter), and (2) what does He say?

God spoke by the prophets. This means that God's typical way of communicating with his people as a whole was by inspiring human spokesmen as go-betweens. It was not God's way to write his word in the sky, or to shout it from mountains for all to hear, or to whisper it one by one in the heart of every Israelite. His usual way was to call a prophet and then inspire the prophet to speak and to write to the people what God wanted said. But don't miss what this text says. When God spoke to the fathers in the prophets, God spoke to the Fathers! When the fathers heard and understood the prophets, they heard God speaking. God used chosen, inspired human instruments to speak to the fathers. But it is God speaking to the fathers when the prophets speak and write. For a good definition of a prophet, look with me at Deuteronomy 18.

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.' And if you say in your heart, 'How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?'— when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 18:18-22 ESV

So, a prophet is someone whom God speaks through. When they spoke of the future, they were to be 100% accurate or they were to die. A prophet is the mouthpiece of God.

And the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. Exodus 7:1 ESV

Aaron was to speak for Moses, who was as God to Pharaoh. A prophet is someone who speaks for God.

A biblical prophet is someone who has met with Yahweh, someone who has stood in the Divine Council and has been sent to speak for Yahweh.

Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: "Behold, I will feed them with bitter food and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has gone out into all the land." Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, 'It shall be well with you'; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, 'No disaster shall come upon you.'" For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened? Jeremiah 23:15-18 ESV

It seems best to understand this as referring to the previously mentioned false prophets, of whom it is later said:

"I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds. Jeremiah 23:21-22 ESV

This tells us that true prophets had access to the council of God, the decisions of which are the substance of their prophetic proclamation.

The word "council" here is from the Hebrew sod which means "a session, that is, company of persons (in close deliberation); by implication intimacy, consultation, a secret—assembly." Many texts in Scripture clearly depict a heavenly council in the skies. This is speaking of the divine counsel which is made up of Yahweh and the sons of God—or the "watchers" as Daniel calls them.

The idea of a divine council may sound strange to you because most Christians today simply view God as ruling and Satan as opposing Him. Yahweh is seen as the only good deity, and Satan is seen as the only bad deity. But in the Hebrew Bible, we see a divine council, a ruling body consisting of Yahweh as the supreme monarch and various supernatural attendants.

Back to Hebrews. In this first verse of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit establishes the accuracy of the Tanakh and its divine authorship.

"God spoke to our fathers"— "fathers" is referring to Old Covenant believers in general.

"At many times and in many ways"— "many times" is the Greek word polumeros, which comes from plus, meaning "many" and from meros, meaning "parts." The idea of the word is "many portions." "Many ways" is the Greek word polutropos, which is from plus, meaning "many" and from tropos, meaning "manner of fashion." The idea, then, is "different manners or many ways."

This is where I get the assurance that God is not withdrawn and uncommunicative. This verse stresses the lavish variety of God's communication: "At many times and in many ways, God spoke"—this is a great comfort and encouragement to me, God has spoken.

God has spoken in a variety of ways. He spoke to Moses in the burning bush, to Elijah in a still small voice, to Isaiah in a vision in the temple, and to Hosea in his family circumstances. God might convey his message through visions and dreams, through angels, through Urim and Thummim. You are all familiar with Urim and Thummim aren't you?

Urim and Thummim were objects that Israel, and especially the high priest, used to determine God's will. They are first mentioned in Exodus as being kept by the high priest in a "breastplate of judgment" (Ex. 28:15-30). Later, Moses gave the tribe of Levi special responsibility for their care (Deut. 33:8). After Aaron's and Moses' death, Eleazar was to carry and to use the lots to inquire of the Lord.

So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation." And Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the LORD directed through Moses. Numbers 27:18-23 ESV

They were apparently two objects that served as sacred lots. That is, they were used to determine God's will or to receive a divine answer to a question. Saul called for their use, for instance, in determining who had broken Saul's vow in a battle with the Philistines.

Therefore Saul said, "O LORD God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O LORD, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim." And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. Then Saul said, "Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan." And Jonathan was taken. Then Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." And Jonathan told him, "I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die." And Saul said, "God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan." Then the people said to Saul, "Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! As the LORD lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day." So the people ransomed Jonathan, so that he did not die. 1 Samuel 14:41-45 ESV

This text also hints as to how the objects were used. They were "given," perhaps drawn or shaken from a bag. One object gave one answer. The other lot gave another answer. Probably, whichever lot came out first was understood to be God's answer. The Urim and Thummim were not, however, automatic or mechanical. God could refuse to answer. Saul sought the spirit of Samuel through a witch, because God would not answer Saul through Urim or dreams or prophets (1 Sam. 28:6-25).

I'll bet that most of you would like to have an Urim and Thummim to use in determining God's will in specific areas of your life.

God also spoke through symbols such as a pillar of fire or a pillar of cloud. You can probably recall several incidents in the Tanakh in which God spoke directly to an individual or He appeared to someone in a dream or vision. God spoke directly to Abraham. He told Abraham, in Genesis 12:1, to go out from his country to a place that God would show him. God spoke directly to Moses. God gave Moses the Law when he was on Mount Sinai. God spoke to Jacob in a dream (Gen. 31:11), and many others as well. The point is this: God provided a lot of possibilities in the Old Covenant where he could be heard. He has spoken, and he is not silent. He is not withdrawn and uncommunicative.

"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers"—long ago is referring to the time before the coming of Christ. The Tanakh was fragmentary and incomplete. It was written over a period of about 1500 years by more than 40 different authors, each book having its own element of truth. The Tanakh was progressive revelation that was unfolded in time, just like children are first taught letters, then words and sentences. God gave his revelation in the same way.

When you read the Tanakh, you are reading the Word of God. The voice of God is heard through various forms and circumstances. Open the book of Genesis and read the simple, majestic tale of creation and the flood. Then follows the straightforward narrative of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the thunderings of the Law, the sweet singing of the Psalmist, the exalted beauty of the prophets, the homespun wisdom of the Proverbs, the delicate tenderness of the Song of Solomon, and the marvelous mysteries of the prophetic writings, such as Ezekiel and Daniel. All of it is of God, but all of it is incomplete. It never brings us to ultimates and absolutes.

But when you open the pages of the New Testament and read the four-fold picture of Yeshua, you find that all the Old merges into one voice—the voice of the Son. The syllables and phrases by which God spoke in the Tanakh are merged into one complete discourse in Yeshua. Therefore, God's word to man has been fully uttered in the Son. There is nothing more to be said. Yeshua is God's final word to man.

Hebrews says that God spoke in two phases: one before the coming of the Son of God into the world, and one through the Son's coming into the world.

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. Hebrews 1:2 ESV

Now, the point here is that if God seemed ready and eager to communicate in the Tanakh, how much more is he ready to communicate in the sending of his Son! What the writer wants us to see is that this latest communication from God is greater and better than all those portions and ways in days of old. So, when I complain to God  ("Lord, I want to hear you. Would you speak to me? I need to hear your voice."), is my complaint well placed? What would God's response be in view of these words?

The speaking of God in the Son in the last days is better than God's speaking of old. God has now spoken not just by prophets, but by his Son. Notice it does not say, "Formerly God spoke by prophets, and in these last days he has spoken by apostles." That's true. And you can see their crucial role in Hebrews 2:3-4. But the point here is that in the last days, God has done something very different in order to communicate. He sent his Son.

This is different. The Son of God is not just a prophet. Some thought he was just a prophet.

So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."  John 9:17 ESV

But he was not a mere prophet. Here, Islam makes a great mistake about Yeshua. Yeshua is not only a prophet like Moses or Isaiah. He is the Son of God. And that means he is God.

But Yeshua answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working." John 5:17 ESV

Yeshua justified His Sabbath healing by reminding the Jews that they admitted Yahweh worked on the Sabbath. They knew the sun came up, they knew the wind blew, they knew the rain fell, they knew the grass grew, and they knew Yahweh continued to do His work of judgment and His work of redemption. Their belief that only Yahweh was permitted to work on the Sabbath explains the violence of their reaction in verse 18. The Sabbath privilege was peculiar to Yahweh, and no one was equal to Yahweh.

In claiming the right to work even as His Father worked, Yeshua was claiming to be Yahweh, the I Am! Now the Jews knew exactly what He was saying. He was saying that as the eternal God does His work all the time, so Yeshua was claiming to do the same thing; that is, to work the same pattern that Yahweh works. This shocked and angered the Jewish leaders, but it shouldn't surprise anyone who is familiar with God's Word.

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. John 5:18 ESV

Yeshua's contemporaries clearly saw Him as claiming to be equal with God. JW interpreters, who say that Yeshua never claimed to be God, have a difficult time with this passage. He has clearly claimed to be God! There was never any question in the Jews' minds that He said He was God. They got it. That's what they said was His ultimate blasphemy. They charged that he made Himself equal with God.

In the very next verse in Hebrews the writer says,

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Hebrews 1:3 ESV

The point of those words is to warn us against the mistake that Islam has made. Yeshua is the unique image of God's divine glory and bears the very stamp of his divine nature. He is not a mere prophet. The whole point here is to show that he is superior to the prophets. He is the eternally begotten Son, without beginning and without ending.

In other words, God has not just spoken by inspiring prophets and apostles. He has spoken by coming to us in the person of his Son. Who Yeshua was, what he said, and what he accomplished by dying and rising from the dead is God's Word to us. This is what God has said and what we should hear, what we need to listen to far more earnestly than we do.

The opening statement of verse 2 then sets the tone and introduces the main theme of the whole epistle; namely, the uniqueness and supremacy of Christ in comparison with the transitory and incomplete character of all that preceded his coming.

Yeshua is greater than the prophets and greater than any revelation in the Tanakh, because he is the embodiment of all revelation. God has fully expressed himself in Yeshua the Christ.

Why would the writer of this letter not address the readers in the customary way by making himself known, specifying the address, and pronouncing a salutation of grace, peace, and mercy? The answer must be that the author wants to focus attention primarily on the ultimate revelation of God—Yeshua the Christ, his Son.

The author of Hebrews has an unusual method of citation. He almost always neglects the human author of his quotations from the Tanakh. No other New Testament writer shares this way of quoting the Tanakh. The effect is to emphasize the divine authorship of the whole Tanakh. For the author, what Scripture says, God says.

Every time I begin to complain that God is silent and that I need God to speak to me, at that moment I should stop and ask: "Have I exhausted hearing this Word and need another word?"

So, the speaking of God is better in the last days than in the prophets of old because he has now spoken in the coming of his Son.

How does Yeshua speak to us, twenty-first century American Christians? He speaks to us through the apostles. Since all the apostles have died, how can they speak to us? The apostle Paul answers this question in Ephesians 3.

how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. Ephesians 3:3-5 ESV

Notice what Paul says: By referring to this revelation that was made known to him, you can understand his insight into the mystery of Christ. How can we understand this mystery? We can understand by reading what Paul wrote. Paul said the following in Galatians 1:11-12:

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Yeshua the Christ. Galatians 1:11-12 ESV

This revelation that was revealed to Paul and to the other apostles wasn't their teaching or some other man's teaching. It was the teaching of Yeshua. He speaks to us through His Word. We can know and have assurance that the word of God, the Bible, is how God speaks to us today. His word was revealed to the apostles and through inspiration, and they wrote it down. This is what we have today to guide our lives. Truly Peter was right when he said the following:

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:21 ESV

The words "carried along" in this verse literally means "to be borne along" or "carried along." Peter says that men were carried along, much as a wind fills the sails of a ship and moves it forward, by the Holy Spirit. The personality of the authors can be seen in their works, but, ultimately, it is a book supremely correct in what it affirms, and without error, because God is the superintending author. It is the very revelation of God Himself.

We are told that God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,  2 Peter 1:3 ESV

The scriptures that we have make the Christian complete or perfect for every good work.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV

Why would we need anything else from God? The answer is simple. We don't!! We have all we need to live a faithful life to the Lord. People need to stop wondering when God is going to tell them what to do and look at what He has told them to do through His word. In Matthew 17:5, God said this of Christ: "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him."

In the end of verse 2, the author of Hebrews gives us a description of the Lord Yeshua the Christ. In this description, we see why the speaking of God in the Son is far superior to His speaking through the prophets.

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. Hebrews 1:2 ESV

The first thing we learn about Yeshua is that he is the "heir of all things." The word "heir" is the Greek word kleronomos, which means "one who receives by lot, getting by apportionment." In Messianic usage, one receives his allotted possession by right of sonship.

The property devised by this appointment is "all things." Here we see the primary reason why the universe was brought into being. It exists that the Father may show His love for the Son.

The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. John 3:35 ESV
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16 ESV

God appointed Christ heir. This shows us that the Son, through whom God has revealed Himself, is Yeshua, the God-man incarnate. Everything that exists exists for Yeshua. He is the heir of all things. That he is lifted to that plane is a testimony of His equality with God.

Think about this—He is the "heir of all things." Now why does the author add this? Because he wants us to dwell on the fact that the one we listen to, Yeshua, the Son of God, can make good on all that he promises. Why? Because he is the heir of all things. In the end (the end of the Old Covenant in A.D. 70), he will have in subjection to him all that is. The writer wants us to think about this. What does it mean to listen to a Spokesman for God who has under his complete control and ownership all things (all land, all water, all fire, all wind, all energy, all natural resources, all nations, all military might, all bacteria and viruses, all angels, all spiritual and material beings except God the Father)? Well, it means that he can make good on all his promises.

If he says, "Nothing in all creation will separate us from the love of God in Christ Yeshua" (Romans 8:39), then he can make good on that promise because he owns all creation; it is all under his control. He says,

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 ESV

Consequently, we can be assured that "all" things are working together for our good.

When you listen to the Son of God, it is different from listening to a prophet. God made good on the word of the prophets. But the Son makes good on his own word.

Then the writer of Hebrews says, "Through whom also he created the world." There should be no doubt that Yeshua is the agent of creation. Scripture clearly teaches this.

All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. John 1:3 ESV

If you don't recognize God as the creator, then you have problems trying to explain how this world came into being. Where did it all come from? Who made it? It can't be an accident. Someone made it, and the Bible tells us that it was Yeshua. He is the Creator. Yeshua has the ability to create, and that set Him apart from men. Only God can create. That Yeshua creates indicates that He is God and establishes His absolute superiority over angels and the prophets.

So, Yeshua clearly created the world but when the writer of Hebrews says, "through whom also he created the world," he is not talking about the creation of the earth. The word "worlds" is not kosmos, but aion, which means "the ages."

in these last days did speak to us in a Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He did make the ages; Hebrews 1:2 YLT

His discussion here involves the Old and New Covenant ages. It is these two ages that are contrasted throughout this book. He consistently shows how the New Covenant is superior to the Old. He is not only the cause of the "ages." He is the reason for which they were created.

The author uses the normal Greek word for "worlds" in verse 6.

And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."  Hebrews 1:6 ESV

But in 1:2, he uses the Greek word for "ages." The Bible only speaks of two ages: the Old Covenant age and the New Covenant age.

To the Jews, time was divided into two great periods—the Mosaic Age and the Messianic Age. The Messiah was viewed as one who would bring in a new world. The period of the Messiah was, therefore, correctly characterized by the Synagogue as "the world to come." Throughout the New Testament we see two ages in contrast: "This age" and the "age to come."

And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. Matthew 12:32 ESV

The word "come" at the end of the verse is the Greek word mello which means "about to be." We could translate this as "the age about to come" (in the first century).

So, the New Testament speaks of two ages: "this age" and "the age to come." The understanding of these two ages and when one ended and the other began is fundamental to interpreting the Bible. The New Testament writer lived in the age that they called "this age." To the New Testament writers, the "age to come" was future, but it was very near because "this age" was about to end.

Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 1 Corinthians 10:11 ESV

Paul said very plainly that the end of the ages was coming upon them, the first-century saints.

We now live in what was to the first-century saints the "age to come." When most Christians read the New Testament and see the words "the age to come," they think of a yet future (to us) age. But the New Testament writers were referring to the Christian age. We live in what was to them the "age to come," the New Covenant age.

Since the "present age" of the Bible ended in A.D. 70 with the destruction of the temple and the coming of the Lord, we must be in the "age to come." The Christian age, the New Covenant, is not temporary. The age we live in will never end; it is an everlasting age.

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, Hebrews 13:20 ESV

The Bible doesn't teach about an age future to us. The age in which we live is the everlasting age of the New Covenant.

So, we are to give heed to the Word of the Son of God who is heir of all things. He is appointed heir because he died and rose again to redeem for himself a people and to destroy sin and death and Satan and everything that could make his people miserable.

He can make good on his word because he is God, because he is Creator, and because he is the Triumphant Heir over all evil and misery. This is a better word than anything the prophets ever spoke in many ways in the Tanakh.

I would like to bring out one more area this morning about how superior God's speaking in the Son is over his speaking of old in the prophets. This Word of God in his son is so decisive and so full that there will be no third phase of God's speaking in history.

Notice what the writer says in verse 2:

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. Hebrews 1:2 ESV

The past tense of the verb "spoken" in verse 2 indicates that God's speaking is complete. God's word in Christ has been spoken, fully and finally. The story of revelation is a story of progression up to Christ, but there is not progression beyond Him. Revelation is finished! There are no prophets today who could write something that would have the authority of Scripture. There are no prophets today because the Word of God gives us all we need. If you want to know God's mind on a matter, read your Bible.

For the writer of Hebrews, the Word that God spoke by his Son is the decisive Word. It will not be followed in this age by any greater word or replacement word. This is the word of God—the person of Yeshua, the teaching of Yeshua, and the work of Yeshua.

When I complain that I don't hear the word of God when I feel a desire to hear the voice of God and get frustrated that he does not speak in ways that I may crave, what am I really saying? Am I really saying that I have exhausted this final decisive Word revealed to me so fully in the New Testament? Have I really exhausted this word? Has it become so much a part of me that it has shaped my very being and given me life and guidance? Or have I treated it lightly—skimmed it like a newspaper, dipped in like a taste tester—and then decided I wanted something different, something more? This is what I fear I am guilty of more than I wish to admit. God is calling us to hear his final decisive Word—to meditate on it, and study it, and memorize it, and linger over it, and soak in it until it saturates us to the center of our being.

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