Neh 8:5 | KingComments | STEP | Because of his elevated position Ezra can be seen and heard by all. All see how he opens the book. When he opens the book, a wave of reverence goes through the people. They all stand up out of reverence. The Lord Jesus also stood up to read and the eyes of all in the synagogue are also fixed on Him ( ). Do we, do I, get impressed every time we read the Bible or hear it read out? Can I say: “I rejoice at Your word, as one who finds great spoil” ( )? Is God’s Word so special to me? Or has it become so mundane that we no longer feel the uniqueness of God’s speaking through His Word? It is not about reverence for a material book, but about every letter in it. Every letter comes from God, “all Scripture is inspired by God” ( ). We do not have God’s Word in the Bible, as if there were words in the Bible that were not given by Him. The Bible doesn’t include God’s Words, it IS God’s Word. The whole Word of God “is the truth” ( ). Words spoken by the devil and written down in the Bible are also in it because God wants them to be in the Bible.

‏ Nehemiah 8:5

The Book Is Opened

Because of his elevated position Ezra can be seen and heard by all. All see how he opens the book. When he opens the book, a wave of reverence goes through the people. They all stand up out of reverence. The Lord Jesus also stood up to read and the eyes of all in the synagogue are also fixed on Him (Lk 4:16 ; 20b).

Do we, do I, get impressed every time we read the Bible or hear it read out? Can I say: “I rejoice at Your word, as one who finds great spoil” (Psa 119:162)? Is God’s Word so special to me? Or has it become so mundane that we no longer feel the uniqueness of God’s speaking through His Word?

It is not about reverence for a material book, but about every letter in it. Every letter comes from God, “all Scripture is inspired by God” (2Tim 3:16). We do not have God’s Word in the Bible, as if there were words in the Bible that were not given by Him. The Bible doesn’t include God’s Words, it IS God’s Word. The whole Word of God “is the truth” (Jn 17:17). Words spoken by the devil and written down in the Bible are also in it because God wants them to be in the Bible.