Week 4: Scripture
We have considered the issue of prayer, which is us talking to God. Scripture is God’s way of speaking to us. The Scriptures are composed of the TaNaKh (or the Old Covenant) and the B’rit Chadashah (the New Covenant). The Hebrew word TaNaKh (pronounced ta-nakh) is an acronym, based on the letters T (for “Torah”),N (for “Neviim,” or the Prophets), and K (for “Ketuvim,” or the Sacred Writings). Also sometimes referred to as the Torah or the Scriptures. These are texts that anticipate the coming of Messiah.
B’rit Chadashah (pronounced be-reet ha-da-sha, the “ch” sound in Hebrew is a guttural sound and is largely silent) are the writing of the Apostles, those immediate disciples of Yeshua who were who were authorized to give His truth. In many circles this is called the “New Testament” (as Testament is another word for Covenant).
The TaNaKh is God’s promise of life, and the B’rit Chadashah is the fulfillment of that promise. The Scriptures are reliable in all its claims about life, both temporal (on earth) and eternal (in heaven).
Please read the following scripture: Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him (Proverbs 30:5). The word for pure in Hebrew is tserufab, meaning to make or prove true through refining. God’s Word is tested and found to be eternally true and pure (without error). Like the character of God Himself, the Scriptures can be trusted. In the verse above, how much of God’s Word is pure and proven to be true? ___________.
The Scriptures reveal that every word of God is completely reliable. The word every in Hebrew is kol, meaning all. Therefore, it is a totally trustworthy testimony of God and His priorities.
According to Proverbs 30:5, what are you guaranteed if you trust in Him (that is, believe in His Word)? _________________. Not necessarily from physical harm, but shielding your testimony and salvation.
Yes, He is a shield to those who trust in Him and His Word. A shield is protection against an attack from the devil, like the shield of faith, which can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). The safest place to be is in God’s will, and God’s Word is His revealed will for you. Thus, as you trust and follow His Word, the Scriptures, you are in His will and your testimony and salvation is shielded. The LORD is not obligated to protect us physically from harm. Our salvation is secure (see Week Two: Your Identity in Messiah), but our safety in this world is not. He is our spiritual refuge, and our physical refuge when He chooses to be.
Now consider this verse: Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You (Psalm 119:11). The Hebrew word for hidden is tsafan, meaning to hide, treasure or store up. The practical application of having God’s Word hidden in your heart is memorizing, personalizing, trusting and following the Scriptures. If you ever have to choose between your feelings and God’s Word, choose to believe, trust or have faith in God’s Word. According to Psalm 119:11, what is the result of having God’s Word hidden (or treasured) in your heart? _____________________________.
When Yeshua was confronted by Satan in the wilderness the first time (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13), the Lord used the Scriptures as a shield to temptation. In His first temptation when hungry, Lucifer tempted Yeshua to turn stones into bread, the Lord quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 where Isra’el was tested with hunger so she would learn dependence on God. But she failed to do so. However, Yeshua succeeded by saying: It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of ADONAI” (Mattityahu 4:4; Luke 4:4).
In the second temptation the devil led Him to the holy city of Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest point of the Temple Mount and tempted Him with the words: If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. To make the temptation more persuasive, the great dragon quoted Scripture, as Yeshua had just done. Quoting Psalm 91:11-12, he said: For it is written, “He will command His angels concerning You to guard you carefully; and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:5-6; Luke 9-10). Yeshua responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 where Isra’el was tested with thirst so she would learn dependence on God. But where she failed to trust God, Yeshua succeeded by answered the devil by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16: It is also written, “Do not put ADONAI your God to the test” (Matthew 4:7; Luke 4:12).
In his third temptation, the old dragon then dropped all pretenses and made one final, desperate effort to corrupt Yeshua. He finally revealed his ultimate purpose: to induce Messiah to worship him. Again, the great dragon took the Lord to a very high mountain and, in an instant, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor and said, “If You will bow down and worship me, all that You see will all be Yours.” But Yeshua responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13 where Isra’el was tested to serve ADONAI only; however, she failed to do so. But Yeshua said to the devil, “Away from me, Satan! For the TaNaKh says, ‘Worship ADONAI your God, and serve only Him’ (Matthew 4:8-10; Luke 4:5-8).” If the Word of God was His only resource to fight Satan, shouldn’t we recognize that it should also be ours?
Since Yeshua used Scripture to defend Himself against the enemy. We should do no less!
You have a Bible now . . . know the Scriptures! When we treasure God’s Word in our heart and obey it, He enables and enlightens us to follow and not rebel against Him. The way to keep from sinning against the Lord and to please Him is to believe in, and follow His Word.
Having His Word in your heart is to have the Word deep within your being; in the place where you make decisions and choices to either trust and follow the Lord in every area of your life or not. God wants all of you, not part of you. Please read the following verse: To the Torah and to the testimony! If they do not speak according this word, it is because they have no light (Isaiah 8:20). According to this verse, where should you turn to for the truth? ______ ________.
We need to say yes, to the Torah and to the testimony, God’s Word. The Torah and the testimony refer to the Scriptures, or God’s Word. The Torah means instruction, literally, what is pointed out, essentially authoritative instruction. The word testimony, te’udah, is used in reference to the tablets of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 31:18), as well as referring to the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle that contained the Ten Commandments (Exodus 40:21).
As the Psalmist wrote: the testimony of the LORD is true (Psalm 19:7). God’s Word is His authoritative and fully trustworthy testimony of what is always right and true for your life. When you have a problem to deal with or a decision to make, pray for guidance, then search the Scriptures, for in them you have light for your path.
Looking again at Isaiah 8:20, above, whoever may be teaching, if they do not speak according to God’s Word, why should we NOT listen to them? ____________________. To be without light (or true enlightenment) means to be without the truth; if the teacher is speaking contrary to the Word of God, they cannot be trusted for spiritual matters of guidance for your life. The New Covenant reiterates the same thing about the full authority and sufficiency of God’s Word.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (Second Timothy 3:16). According to Second Timothy 3:16, how much of Scripture is inspired? _____ __________. It is just as relevant today, as the day it was written. All of it. Inspired literally means God-breathed. In Genesis 2:7, God’s breath gave Adam life. Therefore, the inspired or God-breathed Scriptures are God’s life-giving Word to you.
As First Peter 2:2 teaches: As newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow toward salvation. New believers are like babies in the faith. As babies desire milk, so your desire should be for God’s Word, the pure milk, which nourishes us spiritually and helps us grow up in the truth. As with babies, regular feeding as well as nourishing meals are vitally important. As Messiah taught us to pray, give us this day our daily bread (Luke 11:3), so we need ot have daily meal times in the Word. Can you imagine a baby eating once a week? God’s Word is “the bread of life” (John 6:25-59) for our souls. We need to regularly read and personalize Scripture, praying and seeking to apply God’s Word to our daily life. This is the way a “baby believer” grows to be mature in the Lord.
Personalize these verses. Add “me”, “my” or “I” for them, they theirs, us and ours. Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to ____ when __ trust in Him (Proverbs 30:5).
Give ___ this day ___ daily bread (Luke 11:3).
For further reading regarding the Bible, see Psalm 19; Psalm 119; Amos 8:11-13; First Peter 1:23-25; Second Peter 1:20-21, 3:15-16; and Revelation 1:3, 22:18-19.
For our next lesson, please memorize, or hide in your heart, Second Timothy 3:16
Also please start memorizing the order of the books of the Bible. This will make your Bible study much easier.
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