Reading All the Words of the Book
When I was growing up, I did not like to read. In fact, I read very few books from cover to cover before I graduated from high school. The opposite was true. Most of the time I only read certain parts of the book before getting tired of it and putting it away. That is a very bad habit, and I am glad I finally broke that habit when I was in college. Now, I have hundreds of books I have read completely. The most important book that falls into that category is the Bible, which I have read through many times. I think that is why the account of King Josiah caught my attention as I read about his reforms in leading the people back to God. (II Chronicles 34:30) After they found the book of the law written by Moses, King Josiah was convicted to his heart because of the many ways that the people had been breaking the law. He knew God would punish them severely for breaking the covenant, so he gathered all of the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem, including the priests and the Levites, into the temple, and he read in their hearing all of the words of the book of the covenant which had been found in the Lord's temple. I believe there are a couple of very important principles here.
When we are asked to sign any document that binds us to do certain things, it is very important to read every word of it before we sign it. This way, we know what our commitment is going to be and for how long we must do it. When we come to know the Lord, we are making the commitment to trust the Lord Jesus as our Lord and Savior every day and forever. The Bible is God's Book of the Covenant for us today. It shows us all that He has designed for us, as believers. It contains all we need to know and to do to fulfill His purpose for us, which is to become like Jesus by His power. That is why Jesus said that we are to live by "every word that proceeds from the mouth of God," the whole Bible. (Matthew 4:4) I wonder how many of us have done this, and I wonder how we are doing at keeping our part of the covenant? That is essential since all of us will give an account of our life before the Lord Jesus one day. It will be our final exam, not for our salvation, which is by grace through faith in Jesus, but for God to show us how well we keep the covenant, how well we did His plans for us. We can't know that fully without knowing the Bible and putting all of it into practice every day. These two factors are why we should read every word of the Book as often as we can to comprehend it and to never neglect to do all of what it says.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read II Chronicles 35-36 and Ezra 1.