The Lord threatens to “require” it of those who will not listen to His spokesmen. That’s not a very clear warning, but it has, we can agree, an ominous tone. God calls us to read His Scripture, but not to be satisfied with that alone. We might imagine ourselves standing before the Lord of glory at some point to give an accounting of our stewardship of His Word. Do we, at that time, want to say only, “I have read your Word, and I have sought to understand it as best I could”? And if the Lord should ask, “Were you faithful in listening to the voice of My prophets?” how shall we reply?

Faithful preachers, teachers, commentators, and devotional writers are a treasure we should make good use of, listening and reading carefully, reflectively, and in the Spirit of Christ, so that we might gain the benefit God intends for us through them. Each of us must consider the meaning of that command to “listen” to the Lord’s spokesmen and take up a regime of doing so that will enable us to search the Scriptures daily, that we might know and love Him as we should (Acts 17.11).

T. M. Moore

The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.