GOD’S MANUAL

 

 

 

God has not left us to wander in the dark. That would be contrary to his very nature.  

 

1 John 4:8  

Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is Love.

 

He doesn’t have love.  He “is Love.”  Like a loving parent He wants to guide us and teach us the things that will keep us safe and make us happy.  For this reason He has inspired a manual which is much more than an instruction book. We call it the Bible.  Through it, God speaks to us and we can get to know Him personally. Instructions for our physical, mental and spiritual health are found in its pages, but the most exciting thing we can get from it is an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father.  God’s Book of books has been laughed at, criticized, ridiculed and even outlawed, but in spite of this it continues to be the best seller of all times.  It has a life of its own, a life that cannot be extinguished.    

 

God loves us all and wishes that every one of us would love Him back. In order to really love Him though, we have to know Him. The writer of the Book of Job encourages us to do just that.

 

Job 22:21 

Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

 

God does not ask us to love Him blindly but instead says; Let’s spend some time together and get better acquainted. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by a thoughtful, meditative study of the Scriptures. God’s own Son, Jesus Christ, tells us that the Word of God is as important to our lives as food.

 

Matthew 4:4  

But He answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

 

Let’s look at some evidence that validates the authenticity, accuracy and authority of this wonderful Book.

 

Some people have the mistaken idea that the Bible is just a story written by men but Timothy disagrees.

 

2 Timothy 3:16   

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

 

 

Peter echoes this belief.

 

2 Peter 1:21   

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

 

Peter also says,

 

2 Peter 1:16  

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

 

The Bible is not a fairy tale, and although it was written by men, those writers were impressed by God to say what they did.

 

Some have raised questions about the historical accuracy of the Bible and about whether we have accurate translations of the original writings. Archeologists have found much to support the validity of the Scriptures on these points. Consider the three examples that follow.

 

The Rosetta Stone

 

In the year 1798, Napoleon led a military expedition into Egypt.  They found strange markings decorating monuments and temple walls throughout the region. But no one could read those picture writings. In 1799 one of Napoleon's soldiers unearthed a black stone – four feet long and two and a half feet wide. The stone, known as the Rosetta Stone, is now housed in the British Museum.  Twenty years after this stone was found a young Frenchman, by the name of Jean Francois Champollion, deciphered the hieroglyphics found on the stone. With this new understanding, scholars were able to translate ancient Egyptian writings that had been previously been indecipherable. This history of Egypt includes records that confirm the accuracy of the Bible concerning the history of Egypt.

 

Ebla Tablets

 

Recent discoveries at Tell Mardikh, the ancient city of Ebla in Syria, once a rich and sophisticated society of almost 300,000 people, have electrified the world of archaeology. Fourteen thousand clay tablets and fragments were found, dating back at least to 2300 BC. The Ebla tablets refer to a creation and a flood story and also the names of Abraham, Esau, Israel, Sinai, and Jerusalem. But the real bombshell is the mention of Sodom and Gomorrah. These were considered to be folklore cities except in the Bible.

 

Dead Sea Scrolls

 

In the summer of 1947, a Bedouin boy, Muhammed elDhib, stumbled upon the most significant archaeological find of all time – the Dead Sea Scrolls. These ancient writings, penned on rolled up parchment, were stored in clay jars which were kept in caves. The very dry climate around the Dead Sea helped to preserve these documents. Initially seven scrolls were found, but during the ten years thereafter, archeologists uncovered thousands of scroll fragments in eleven caves.  The age of these scrolls has been placed from the third century BC to the time of Jesus. This time period predates, by more than a thousand years, the manuscripts from which most modern Bibles are translated. With the exception of the book of Esther, portions of every book of the Old Testament were found. Our Bible today is the genuine article and can be trusted.

 

Now let’s look at another compelling reason to accept the authority of the Bible.

 

The authority of the Bible is evident when we look at the prophecies found in its pages. These predictions of the future, which were made hundreds and even thousands of years in advance, have all come to pass just like God said they would.

 

Isaiah 46:9-10   

Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.  I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.  I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

 

God’s purpose will be carried out but He says that we’ll be let in on the plan. He does this through prophesy. Let’s look at just a few examples of this in the Bible.

 

God foretold the fall of Babylon while that great world power was still growing and seemed to be invincible.

 

Isaiah 13:19  

Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians' pride, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

The Bible even foretold the power that would overthrow this mighty world empire and the name of the one who would overthrow it…

 

Jeremiah 51:11  

Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields. The LORD has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because His purpose is to destroy Babylon. The LORD will take vengeance, vengeance for His temple.

 

 

 

Isaiah 45:1-3   

This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.  I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

 

Were these prophecies fulfilled?  Indeed they were.  In the British Museum, in the Persian Hall, stands the Cyrus cylinder – found in the ruins of Babylon.  On this clay cylinder Cyrus tells of his conquest of Babylon.

 

The Bible further stated

 

Jeremiah 51:37  

Babylon will be a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and scorn, a place where no one lives.

 

Isaiah 13:20-21  

She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flocks there.  But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about.

 

Was God right? Look at the following quote from, the explorer, Henry Layard.

 

"Shapeless heaps of rubbish cover for many an acre the face of the land. . . a naked and hideous waste. Owls . . . start from scanty thickets, and the foul jackal skulks through the furrows."   Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, page 413.

 

Of Babylon's former glory, nothing remains but its name on a signpost at the roadside.

 

Isaiah 40:8  

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever."

 

The assurances from the Bible writers concerning the Scriptures being the Word of God along with the evidence found by archeologists and the fulfillment of Bible prophesies is evidence enough for me to realize that the Bible is a great book and can be trusted. These things, however, are just the tip of the iceberg. The power to change lives is the Bible’s greatest claim to fame.  It’s not the Book that changes us though.  It is the God-man found in its pages.

 

John 5:39-40  

You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.

 

These words, spoken by Jesus, tell us who is responsible for the miraculous change that takes place in the lives of people who search the Scriptures. In the first four books of the New Testament we see Jesus having this effect on many individuals such as Mary Magdalene, the woman at the well, Peter, James and John, just to name a few. This power that Jesus has to transform lives can be seen in people today. If we study the Bible with the understanding that we are not just finding out facts and figures but are spending time with our God, then we can all have this experience. As they say though, “The proof is in the pudding.”  We must taste it ourselves in order to truly experience it’s sweetness.

 

As you read the inspired words of God’s letter to us, ask Him through prayer to show you what is true. He can and will reassure you of the unconditional love that He has for you and that the Bible is His Book and that we can trust its council.

 

John 8:31-32  

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples.  Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."

 

Freedom is found in knowing the Truth. That Truth is found when we listen to God as He speaks to us through His Word.

 

Let’s start our search for Truth by looking at the central theme of the Bible which we will find in the next study of this 7-part series: Unmerited Favor