#165: Listen, Obey, and Live!
So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years. It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land.
II Kings 8:2-3 NKJV
What makes the Bible unique? Walking through the airport recently I saw the best selling book, “How to Win Friends & Influence People.” Another nearby was, “How to Do the Work.” There are books teaching readers “How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids,” “How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free,” and how to “Live Your Best Life Now.” So many books telling us how to do things that should make our lives more fulfilling. What we don’t find in these books, however, is what we need most, eternal life.
The Bible is altogether unique and superior to the plethora of other books for two reasons: 1) its author; and 2) its message. No other book in the universe has the same author as the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God (1). God is the author of the Bible. At a fundamental level the message from God in the Bible is how to have eternal life.
As we read the Scriptures we see from the beginning that God, the author of the Bible, is the giver of life because He is life itself. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).“In Him was life” (John 1:4). Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6).The author who tells us how to have eternal life also tells us the source of eternal life, and it is Himself. Christ is our life (2). It follows then that in order to have life we must listen to the One who is life and gives life, Jesus Christ Himself.
The Shunammite woman demonstrates the life found in Christ’s Word in her obedience to the Word of God. She listened to God’s warning – famine was coming. She heard God’s instruction – get away from here! She obeyed God by leaving Israel and going to the land of the Philistines. Seven years she was away from her home and country. During this time another occupied the home she had so carefully kept. But by listening to and obeying the Word of God she received the benefit, she and her family lived! “It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines.”
God who is life and gives life, promises life to all who will listen to His voice today and believe. Will you believe and live or reject and die? Let us learn again from the Shunammite woman that this day life and death are set before us. The Lord our God, He is our life. Therefore choose life that both you and your children may live!
Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. (John 6:68)
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(1) Isaiah 40:8; John 17:17; II Timothy 3:16
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(2) Colossians 3:4
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