Sharper Than The Sharpest Sword

The word of God is sharper than any two­edged sword, and divides between "soul and spirit" so many times that my head is inclined to start spinning when I hear it again. I’ve heard deep explanations of how that is possible, and I’ve heard all about the bone and marrow and all the rest. What I’ve yet to hear, though, is something that makes any sense.

So when I was browsing through the third and fourth chapters of Hebrews this morning, something popped up that did make sense, and it caught my attention.

Hebrews, as I see it, is about Jesus. It isn’t about Melchizidek; it isn’t about faith; it’s about Jesus. From time to time the writer steps aside to add some explanatory notes, but he always comes back to Jesus.

One of his explanatory notes has to do with rest, and how God’s offer of rest was not actually fulfilled by Israel entering the Promised Land. He uses Israel, however, as an example, and he gives simple steps for entering that promised rest. Today, he says, when you hear God’s voice, believe, obey, and enter that rest. It obviously isn’t a type of rest that you just ’fall into,’ because diligence and careful consideration are required.

And then, apparently out of the blue, he comes in with this comment about the word of God being sharper than a two­edged sword. Because we so often associate The Holy Bible with the word of God, I believe we can miss something here.

You see, today, this very day, God is likely to speak to you. If you believe, you’ll obey Him in whatever it is that He says, and you’ll enter His rest. Understand, however, that He isn’t dealing with surface issues. This isn’t your mother telling you to make your bed, simply because she wants your room to be tidy. If God tells you to make your bed, He’s getting at something a lot deeper than a tidy bedroom. His word is sharper than the sharpest sword, and it is getting down into things you didn’t even know existed. It’s differentiating between things that you don’t think can be differentiated.

And I’m not actually exaggerating there, either. Every word that God speaks is that sharp. Every command that He gives has a deep purpose. Every time we obey Him we enter His rest.

I know-I simply know-that I am supposed to make myself a fresh vegetable juice every day. I may say that I forgot, but the truth is that not one day goes by without that little reminding voice, "Make your juice," popping into my head. But I’m involved in something else. I’m comfortable on my couch. I’m ready to go out. I’m ready to go to bed.

And it’s not really that important, anyway.

I suspect that therein lies the "deceptiveness of sin" that "hardens our hearts."

It’s not really that important.

It is that important, though.

Every single word He speaks.

If this message has been forwarded to you, and you would like to be added to Charissa’s mailing list please send your request to info@charissaschalk.com. Thank you.