When was the last time reading your Bible made you weep?
Last night in our Home Gathering we were studying Nehemiah 8 and had a decent amount of discussion about verses 8 and 9. It says:
They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.
For most of the people gathered (in Nehemiah 8), this was the first time they had heard God’s word and actually understood it, and their response was amazing; they were so moved by the Word that they all wept.
When is the last time you read your Bible and it so deeply affected your heart that you wept?
I read this passage and I want that. I want to be so moved by the Bible that my heart is pierced and broken. I want to be so moved that I am forever changed by each encounter with the text.
If the Bible really is God’s message to His people, if it really is living and active, if it really was inspired by Him that brought everything into existence simply by speaking a word, then why are we so rarely moved to tears when reading it? Shouldn’t we be humbled every time we read a verse? Shouldn’t we be in awe of how each word has been so miraculously preserved and translated so that we can actually understand it?
In my home I have a least 10 Bibles. Before the invention of the printing press a village was lucky to have one. So I have to ask myself, how would a Christian in say 400 AD respond to having their own copy of the Bible? I think they would read it for hours every day. They would drink it deeply, absorbing it to a depth that few of us can imagine. They would memorize whole chapters and books, not just verses that make them feel good. But what really gets to me is that they would take is seriously, as a tremendous honor to be able to read and understand God’s word to His creation.
I hope and pray that I can have that kind of passion for my Bible. And, I can only hope that my heart will be broken by it as well.
So, when was the last time reading your Bible made you weep? What passage touched you in that way?
March 5th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
2 Samuel 1
It was the first time I realized that David’s love for Saul was genuine and not of duty. Of course he loved Johnathon as a brother but he also mourned Saul. I realized how unlike David I am at times. Do we mourn the leaders of our country or the church when they are struggling? Even if they are bringing it on themselves. Nope, me neither. I wept over that a couple weeks ago.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:21 am
it’s been a while. i need a renewed passion for His Word.