Did God Really Say . . . ?

How many questions are there in the Bible? Not questions about the Bible. Questions in the Bible. The original languages did not use question marks like we do, so it is hard to give an exact number. Estimates run over 3,000. God asks questions. Prophets ask questions. People ask questions. The devil asks questions. Even animals ask questions. 

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1 NIV

Did God really say? This is the first question in the Bible. Who asked it? That old serpent, the devil. The question was directed to Eve in the garden of Eden. Eve knew what God had said. But the serpent raised doubts in her mind. Did God really say that, or did I misunderstand? Did God really mean what he said?

You and I, and everyone, are asked this question all the time. And we answer by what we say and what we do. We live in a fallen world. We’re told “Look out for number one. Life isn’t fair. Lie. Cheat. Steal. Take advantage of anyone you can. Do unto others before they do unto you.” But Jesus said … Do unto others as you would have them do unto you… Love your neighbor as yourself. Did Jesus really say that? The Jesus Seminar, a group of about 50 biblical criticism scholars and 100 laymen, takes a vote to determine what Jesus really said. What hubris. What an ego trip.

But don’t we all do the same thing? I’ve done it. That verse doesn’t sound like something God would do. God is love. Would He condemn someone to eternal Hell? So I twist that verse until it doesn’t mean what it says. And here’s another verse. That doesn’t sound right either. So I twist that one too. Pretty soon I have a Bible like Thomas Jefferson’s, with everything that I don’t agree with cut out.

I’m convinced that the Bible is the Word of God. All of it. And God means what he says. I didn’t always believe that. I believed in evolution and the big band. I twisted the Bible to make it conform to what I thought was science. But it wasn’t science. It was the philosophy of scientific materialism. Science has always confirmed what the Bible says. Once I started reading the Bible, really reading it, and letting it speak for itself, without forcing it to conform to ideas from outside the Bible, it all made sense. The Bible was right all along.

That’s why the 730 challenge is so important. And anything else that gets us to read the Bible as the word of God, without preconceived notions about what it says or what it means. You can trust what the Bible says. You shouldn’t necessarily thrust what someone says the Bible says. Read it yourself. 

Pondering questions with you

Michael Shaffer

Reflect

Did God really say? How do you answer this question? Do you know what God said? Do you still listen to God speaking?

As you read or listen to the 730 Challenge, what surprises or challenges you? In what ways do you hear God speaking though Lectio 365?