But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to declare My statutes, or take My covenant in your mouth, seeing you hate instruction and cast My words behind you?” (Psalm 50:16-17)
In contrast to the promise given to the people of God, particularly those who are dedicated to walking upright before Him, the Lord speaks to those who only offer lip service. The whole purpose for God’s Word is to provide us with proper, righteous instruction in how to live life. But those who hate that instruction and the discipline that comes with it, simply recount what it says but never undertake to do what it says. As it is written: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).
There are countless people who can quote Scripture without it having any personal effect upon them. In fact, to some the Bible is no more than a collection of stories or, at best, an intellectual exercise for the mind. The problem with this position is, those stories are meant to teach us what to do and what not do. Moreover, the Bible presents innumerable situations that simply do not make sense to the limitations of the human mind, and why? Because His thoughts, which are beyond ours, requires us to sacrifice devotion to our own logic and intellect and exhibit faith in the One who is above all. In other words, if we believe that a Biblical precept must make sense to us before we will believe, then we elevate our own intellect over the One who created us. In short, we have become our own idol.
It is this type of person who conveniently casts His Word behind them, which in my view is the same as saying, “out of sight, out of mind.” Anything that is out of mind will have no real influence upon us, in fact, it is likely to be forgotten. In this case, when we forget what God has said, either by deliberate choice or indifference, we become easy prey for what others have to say, the most dangerous of those being the enemy of our soul, Satan. So let us not be as these we’ve described here — those that God calls “wicked” — but a people who declare the Word of the Lord with boldness and passion because it has been written upon our hearts. May His Word always be before us, in our hearts and minds, as a constant guide and Teacher and, as wise children, may we always be ready and willing to receive His instruction.
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Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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