And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the Word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. 1 Samuel 3:1
What would you pay for a diamond? I’m talking about a really beautiful diamond, a one caret diamond with the best grade of colour, the top grade of clarity, and a cut graded as excellent. That, the gem experts tell us, will cost you $20,000. American dollars at that! Why so expensive, when you can buy diamonds that are smaller, with lower grades of colour, clarity, and cut for far less? Again, the gem experts tell us, the larger a diamond is, and the better its colour, clarity and cut, the more scarce such a diamond is. And because such diamonds are scarce, they are said to be precious. Just like the Word of God in our text during the time when Samuel was a child in the Tabernacle. The Israelites had the law of Moses, but they had no spiritual leader who was directly receiving guidance and revelation from God. To those who served the Lord, the Word they had was precious. But to the mockers and slackers, the Word became irrelevant. This sounds like our day.
In one way, the Word of God is not scarce, unless you live in North Korea or some parts of China. More Bibles have been printed, and are being printed, than all other books put together. You can buy a Bible with a decent print for a pittance at any dollar store. And you can access not only the Bible but also a vast array of Bible study tools on the Internet. Never was there a time when the Bible was more easily available than today. There is no excuse for anybody not to read the Bible. But there is becoming a scarcity of the truth concerning the Bible. If you research something about the Bible on the Internet, you are more than likely to encounter the distortions of the Calvinists and the cults. And many of those around us point to the Scriptures as being no more valid or relevant than the writings of the ‘great’ philosophers and thinkers of the secular world. What is lacking is the same thing that was lacking in Samuel’s day, there is no open vision.
If you look at the marketing of Bibles today, you would think that the newer, modern-language Bibles are the most popular, and are being accepted by the most people. That is not true, of course. Among North Americans, more than 55 percent of Bible readers buy and use the King James Version and other versions that adhere to the Majority Text, the Textus Receptus. The second most popular version, the NIV, is used by only 19 percent of Bible readers. And yet, this version, and its newer cousin, the ESV, are being used more and more in pulpits and in other public places, including in our own Assemblies. It is little wonder that those who hear these modern-language versions being read don’t consider them different from the writings of men; they don’t sound any different! At least with the KJV, when someone reads it, you know they are reading the Bible. Not only does it present a regal, dignified tone that is appropriate for the things of God, but it also preserves the clarity of truth that is often obscured in the newer versions.
The Word of God remains the most precious book in the world. But how much longer will its open vision be available to us? -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/OwWLDKdu784