“My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 7:1-3, ESV)[1] [1]
I have heard of boys who wanted a BB gun for their birthday or Christmas. Their parents would say they were not getting one because they might put one of their eyes out.
Most of the time people are very careful about protecting their eyes. In fact, there are all kinds of goggles, masks and protective glasses that people wear for different jobs and leisure activities in order to provide eye protection.
In the above Scripture, the apple of the eye refers to the pupil of the eye. If we are so protective of our eyes, why aren’t we as protective of God’s Word? Too often we take it for granted. Most of us have a number of bibles around the house available for us to pick up and read, but how many of us read it as much as we should? For it to be written on our heart, we need to read it more and even memorize it.
What would you do if someone came and took all your bibles away? You might say that you can read the bible on the internet, but what if that was also taken away? What if there was no access anywhere to God’s Word? We would all wish we had taken it more seriously.
We need to read the Word not just for information or to memorize it, but so that it will affect our lives. As the Psalmist wrote: “I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11, HCSB)[2][1]
If you really know your bible you might be able to solve a crime:
A Haifa policeman, who knew his Bible, was on the trail of a gang of smugglers using an ass-drawn caravan to escape. The policemen managed to capture some of the asses, though the smugglers got away. The clever officer let the beasts of burden go without food for several days and then he turned them loose. Just as he predicted from Isaiah 1:3, “the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib,” the starving animals led the police directly to the smugglers’ hide-out! World Christian Digest [3]
Dean W. Masters
Unedited redistribution approved
[1][1] The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Standard Bible Society: Wheaton
[2][1] The Holy Bible : Holman Christian standard version. 2003. Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville
[3]Tan, P. L. 1996, c1979. Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers]. Bible Communications: Garland TX