Honor And Obey!
"The Bereans were more fair-minded than those in
Thessalonica, in that they received the word with
all readiness, and searched
the Scriptures daily
to find out whether these things were so."
Acts 17: 11
Many churches have the tradition of standing as a
congregation when the Word of God is read during
the Sunday worship service.
This practice may be based on Nehemiah 8 when Ezra the
priest read God’s Word to the assembled crowd of
Israelites
in Jerusalem: “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all
the people, for he was standing above all the people; and
when he opened it, all the people stood up” (verse 5).
The people standing for the Word of God signified two
things. First, it was an act of honor. The people returned
to Jerusalem after seventy years of exile in Babylon, and
they honored God by honoring His Word
(verse 6).
Second, it signified willingness and readiness to shape
their lives and practices around God’s will for them. Their
actions foreshadowed actions of Paul’s Jewish audience
in the Berean synagogue as they searched the Scriptures
to verify what Paul was teaching them.
When you read the Word of God,
do so with honor and a readiness
to obey.
"Study God’s Word for the
purpose of discovering
God’s will."
Unknown
