Reading: “Has God indeed said…” Genesis 3:1
We come again to the Word this morning and see that God has spoken. The words of Satan, designed to undermine God and unravel humanity, suggest surprise with a negative implication; “yea, hath God said.” However, if we are seeking direction and correction from God, then His Word ought to come with an element of surprise; a comforting surprise, a surprise of excitement or of correction. Perhaps a “light-bulb moment” surprise, having read the same words over many years, we see for the first time something lying on the surface and we find ourselves pleasantly surprised.
This is the glory of the Living Word and it ought to be this freshness, like the Israelites in the wilderness, that draws us to gather daily food from the Word. We don’t come to the Word then with skepticism or malicious intent as Satan did. We don’t come merely with cold logic looking for “book, chapter and verse” either to rubber-stamp our intent or looking for a text to forbid something we already know to be wrong. This method has many faults not least that it would have God speak to us like an over-indulgent parent.
We come with a heart warmed by the Spirit of the Living God. He is the LORD of lords and KING of kings and He alone demands our strictest attention. He speaks however, as a friend, a loving friend, indeed as a groom to his bride (See Song of Solomon). He speaks to the heart not simply the head. This is the difference between the “letter of the law” and the Word written on the heart by the living Spirit (Romans 7:6).