The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 8:20-21a,
"Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart..."
I stopped my quote of this passage in the middle of verse 21 because of the note made in the first half of that verse, "The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart.." Just how could Moses, who wrote the book of Genesis, know what the Lord said in his own heart?
How does a man tap in to the the inner thoughts of God? Who can read God's mind? How could we ever know what he says within himself? To himself?
I think those are all great questions and each one finds its answer in an aspect of the Lord that is very important to us: God is a communicator! There are things he wishes to express to us and he does so through the prophets he has appointed for this very purpose. "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21.
He does not communicate just anything to us, but specifically, he communicates those things he deems important for us to know, things he intends for us to know.
Have you ever asked yourself why we know nothing of the childhood relationships Jesus had with his siblings? Or, say, whatever happened to his mother's husband, Joseph? The Lord deemed we don't need to know. There are all kinds of things we might wish to know from the Scriptures, but we don't, because the Lord has determined they are not important for us to know. This raises the understanding that what the Lord has provided us in the Scriptures is important for us to know and so it is there intentionally and he intends we know it - all of it.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart..."
I stopped my quote of this passage in the middle of verse 21 because of the note made in the first half of that verse, "The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart.." Just how could Moses, who wrote the book of Genesis, know what the Lord said in his own heart?
How does a man tap in to the the inner thoughts of God? Who can read God's mind? How could we ever know what he says within himself? To himself?
I think those are all great questions and each one finds its answer in an aspect of the Lord that is very important to us: God is a communicator! There are things he wishes to express to us and he does so through the prophets he has appointed for this very purpose. "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:20-21.
He does not communicate just anything to us, but specifically, he communicates those things he deems important for us to know, things he intends for us to know.
Have you ever asked yourself why we know nothing of the childhood relationships Jesus had with his siblings? Or, say, whatever happened to his mother's husband, Joseph? The Lord deemed we don't need to know. There are all kinds of things we might wish to know from the Scriptures, but we don't, because the Lord has determined they are not important for us to know. This raises the understanding that what the Lord has provided us in the Scriptures is important for us to know and so it is there intentionally and he intends we know it - all of it.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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