GOD’S TRUTH IS REVEALED TO MAN
Have You Ever Wondered?
1. What does the word “Revelation” really mean?
2. Is the Bible the only way that God chooses to speak to us?
3. Why is it important that we know the mind of God?
This Is What God Says: (Scripture Reading)
I Samuel 3:1-10 ; Proverbs 2:7
This Is How We Understand It:
“And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, ‘Speak; for thy servant heareth.’” (I Samuel 3:10)
God talked to Samuel in much the same way that he talked to Moses, “And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, ‘Moses, Moses.’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’” (Exodus 3:4)
How would you like for God to call your name out loud while you’re out walking in the woods someday? I would be pretty scared, wouldn’t you? I mean, it isn’t every day that someone hears the voice of God. Well, okay, I don’t think anyone ever hears the voice of God just like that now-a-days, but we’ll talk about the reason for that in just a minute. But there was a time when God did speak to His people regularly.
Just look at a few examples from Scripture:
1. Genesis 15:1 - ... the word of the Lord came unto Abraham in a vision, saying...
2. Genesis 18:1,2 - And the Lord appeared unto him (Abraham) in the plains of Mamre.
3. Exodus 33:11 - And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh
unto his friend.
4. 2 Samuel 12:1 - And the Lord sent Nathan (the prophet) unto David (the king).
5. Luke 1:26-38 - And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God...to
a virgin...and the virgin’s name was Mary.
6. Matthew 2:13 - ...behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream...”
Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” The word ‘vision’ means “God’s revealed word” or “a revelation of God’s truth”.
Think about it. If there were sinful people who never heard the truth of God taught or preached, they wouldn‘t know how to live. These people would want to hate, fight, and kill each other, and they wouldn’t know that God wants them to love, forgive, and help one another. These people would continually die without knowing of salvation through Jesus Christ, and they would be doomed to spend an eternity in hell. Without a “vision” of God’s truth, these people would do whatever they felt like doing, and God says they will perish.
The word ‘revelation’ means “unveiling”. Picture it this way. When people don’t know Jesus as their Savior, its like they have a piece of material blocking their spiritual eyes so that they cannot see God. God wants to remove the veil, or covering so that everyone in the whole world can know Him, worship Him, and obey Him. That’s why it is so important that people called ‘translators’ copy the Bible in as many languages as possible before Jesus comes back to take us home. God did speak to mankind through special men like Moses, and through men called prophets, but now He wants to speak to everyone through the Bible.
“For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6) The Bible is where we have the words of God written down. The Bible is the book where God has chosen to reveal Himself to mankind. It used to be that only a few men could hear from God, but now everyone has an opportunity to know the mind of the Almighty!
Think About It:
1. Hebrews 1:1,2 tells us, “God, who at sundry times (different times in history), and in divers manners (many different ways) spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son...” Do you think that it is important to know God’s Son Jesus Christ before God speaks to you? Why?
2. Can you think of other places in Scripture where God spoke to someone in a vision, in a dream, or even face to face? How did that person respond?
3. What kind of a person do you think you would be if you did not have God’s ‘vision’ or ‘revelation’ to study and obey?
4. What did you learn in this devotional that you didn’t know before?