Wed.6.24.15...Unsung Heroes...Prov.25:1-14

Our reading today is from Proverbs 25:1-14. I'd like to do things a bit differently today. Please read that passage through first and pick out your favorite verse before I reveal mine below. Thanks! 

1.- Please share your verse with us and what you liked about it. As always, write down your MP3 and seek to share it with others. 

Okay, I'm guessing that none of you picked the verse that I did- v.1- "These are more proverbs of Solomon, copied by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah." Why that one Dave? Thanks for asking. Hezekiah reigned as king over Judah (715-686 BC) some 250 years after Solomon. Hezekiah was a good king who wanted to preserve more of the wise sayings of Solomon. Aren't you glad for his decision and the diligence of his copyists? Humanly speaking, if it wasn't for those "behind the scenes" workers, we would not have chapters 25-29 in the book of Proverbs. For that matter, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to countless men, down through the ages, who carefully copied the word of God that we have today. 

Bible scholar Kenneth Barker writes the following of those diligent copiers- "The Jewish sopherim, or scribes, held such a high regard for the Scriptures as the Word of God that they regarded the copying of any error as a sin. No imperfection, no matter how small, was tolerated. The successors to this meticulous scribal tradition were Jewish biblical scholars known as the Masoretes...The Masoretes developed a system of checks to ensure that every copy was as nearly perfect as humanly possible. To make certain they had not added or left out even a single letter, they counted the number of times each letter of the alphabet occurred in each book. They noted and recorded the middle letter of the entire Old Testament. They recorded the middle letter on each page and the number of letters and words in each column. They examined every copy of the Old Testament and withdrew from circulation all copies in which any error was discovered. These carefully copied Hebrew texts have remained virtually unchanged since about 600 to 700 AD. In 1947 the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls yielded copies from all the major sections of the Old Testament, except Ruth, dating back more than a century before Christ. When compared to these ancient copies, the Masoretic texts were found to be virtually identical." (This excerpt is from Dr. Barker's excellent online article- http://ift.tt/1BA7Shz. It's well worth the read to help you gain a better understanding of how we got our Bible. There are also some very good videos on this subject in the Resources tab of our greatestminimovies.com site.)
It took special skill and diligence to be a scribe. Not every man qualified.

So kudos to the unnamed men who carefully copied God's word that we have today. They are our unsung heroes. But they are not the only ones. You are such men as well. Your name may never be a household word as King Solomon or King Hezekiah (yet without such careful copiers, few would know the names of those kings today). You also play an important copier role today. You too are copying down God's word on your MP3s and sharing it with others. You are seeking to be a good example of a follower of Christ Jesus for others to copy. It shows in part on the GREAT scoreboard. And the men that you enlist and encourage, are in a sense, a living copy of God's word that you are passing on to others to read. Paul put it this way- "You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God" 2 Cor.2:2-3. 

One day we will get to meet those unsung heroes and one day they will get to meet you. May we then hear their names and ours called out by our Lord himself, declaring, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

2.- Thank God for the copiers of the Bible. Share a memory of one of the first times you remember reading the Bible and how it struck you. 

Announcements 
Congratulations for perfect participation on Monday's blog! I'm holding my breath to see if this is going to be the week for 100% participation and each man scoring 25 points by the end of the week. Please get into the helpful habit of going to the scoreboard as soon as you finish typing your good thoughts here.

Due to busy schedules, we will need to reschedule this Sunday's fellowship meal. 

Happy Birthday Ricardo Guardiola! May this year be one of great growth and impact in and through your life. It was just last week that Ricardo graduated from Basic Training, having earned his Unstoppable award pin and earning the rank of R1. Congratulations Ricardo!