44th International Bible ConferenceJuly 31, 2012For the Word of God Is Living and PowerfulLet’s turn to Hebrews chapter 4 and read verses 12 to 16.   For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.   It says here that the word of God is “living” and “powerful,” and then it says it is sharper than any “two-edged [double-edged] sword”. It says the sword is so sharp that it even pierces “to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow.”Let’s think about these verses in more depth. When we say certain weapons or armies are powerful, it is usually in reference to powerful missiles or nuclear bombs. We do not, however, think of knives as being particularly powerful, even though robbers may use them as weapons to threaten people. Yet the expressions used in this passage are quite unusual. Even in Old Testament times, before the author of the letter to the Hebrews wrote these verses, there were horse-drawn wagons and chariots that were used in war and all kinds of weapons including swords and spears. The author of Hebrews wrote that the word of God is living and powerful and not only powerful, but also very sharp.When doctors open up a patient’s body and perform surgery in order to heal him, they cannot use a weapon for this, no matter how powerful it may be. In order to perform surgery, they need sharp knives and precision instruments. From the patient’s perspective, the knives and other instruments in the doctors’ hands will be more effective than any powerful thing in the world such as weapons or money, and the patient will be more grateful for these instruments.Let’s think about this matter from this point of view. Why does the Bible say the word of God is not only living and powerful but also sharp? When we come across such verses, we need to think about how this has been manifested in the course of history.At some point in our lives, the seed of God’s word was planted in our hearts and our stubborn hearts were shattered. We found Jesus Christ in God’s word and received assurance that we had been born again. Such a testimony is within each one of us, and yet it is not easy to define this powerful word. The Bible says that “the Word was God” (John 1:1). We need to take a look and see what role God’s word has been playing in our lives and in the course of history until now.   The History After the Creation that Shows the Power of the Word of GodIn a past sermon, we considered the light and the darkness. The Bible says, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkeness” (Genesis 1:2-4). It says that God divided the light from the darkness, but when we think about it, the entire universe is enwrapped in darkness, as far as we know. Even in photographs, the universe is not all bright; there are just flickers of light, like random candles shining in the darkness. Nevertheless, there is a place where God has put His will within the universe that He created. Sunlight shines on this land called earth; one side of the earth receives light as it floats like a ball in the darkness. This one landmass has two sides to it—just as a hand has a palm and a back—and it is rotating. The Bible contains explanations of this visible light, and it explains the origin of light. It also explains the light that transcends the light that we feel and see with our eyes: “That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:9-12).In Genesis, when the light appeared as God commanded, “Let there be light,” God saw that it was good. Concerning the darkness, there is no mention of whether or not He saw that it was good. Also, the moment God said, “Let there be light,” this earth on which we live began to move. The earth started to rotate. We can see this in the Bible where it says, “God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day” (1:5). Then, with the words, “God said,” a power unfolds before our eyes, a power that pulls tremendous amounts of waters down to the earth and gathers them into one place to divide them from the land. We see this in Genesis chapter 1, on the very first page of the Bible. Then God created man in His image and according to His likeness, but the man took some of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and ate it.We need to understand that when the Bible says, “God said,” in this account of the creation it is just as it says in Hebrews, “the word of God is living and powerful.” In the Bible, “God said” many things in regard to the Israelites, so we might think these matters have little to do with us. It is good to distinguish between different passages in the Bible, but we should not read the Bible as though sitting at table and being picky about which foods we eat; we need to consider deeply how these words relate to us personally, and when we do not understand something, we need to keep it in our hearts and wait, like Mary, till the answer comes (see Luke 2:19). Now let’s consider what God said from the beginning. First, He said, “Let there be light” and He “divided the [light, waters from the waters]” (see Genesis 1). After He had created man, He said, “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). When man ate the forbidden fruit, God said, “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (Genesis 3:11), and to the serpent He gave the commandment and the words of promise as He said, “He [the Seed of the woman] shall bruise your head” (Genesis 3:15).God made the prophecy concerning the Seed of the woman, and from that moment on He governed the course of the history of mankind. He called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans and led him into the land of Canaan. God told Abraham, “one who will come from your own body shall be your heir” (Genesis 15:4). This was a promise that one day, through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, a nation would be established—a nation through which God would come to this world. God told Abraham that “one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” At that time Isaac was the “one” who came from Abraham’s body, but from the standpoint of God who guides the course of history, the one who would come from Abraham’s body was God the only begotten Son who would later stand in the land of Israel. God looked far into the future as He made this promise.So, Abraham begot Isaac and Isaac begot Jacob. God continued to give them His promise. “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3) “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore.” (Genesis 22:17) God continued to guide them with His promises. Then when God appeared before Moses, He referred to Himself as “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). He said to Moses that He was “the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6), and with this name, He instructed Moses. Content like this in the Bible seems to rush by before our eyes, just as quickly as the lines of books written by men. It may be that some great writings by certain people of this world may instruct the heart and give direction to a person’s life, but they are not living and actively controlling the events within the long course of the history of mankind from start to finish. You will not find this in any other book or teaching. The creatures of this world do not have such power. The word of God, however, is sharper than a double-edged sword and has the power to pierce through all things. The history of the nation of Israel displays this power.We are not Jews—we were born into this world as Gentiles—so what relation do we have with Israel? While you know that Jesus was a Jew, that He is the Son of the God in whom you believe and that He died on the cross for your sin, and you are grateful for this, it is also possible that you have no interest in talk of God’s chosen nation and think it has nothing to do with your life. This is, however, a great mistake made by many of the people in this world who call themselves Christians and teach the Bible. In the letter to the Ephesians it says, “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (2:20). When we stand on the foundation of the word of God including both the Old and New Testaments, we wield a powerful strength.   The History of Israel Moved Under the Law Jacob had twelve sons, and when he was old he gathered his sons before he died and prophesied concerning the future of each of them. He prophesied about each son individually, except for Levi and Simeon who received one prophecy together. Let’s read Genesis chapter 49 from verse 8.   Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.  verses 8-12   It contains the prophecy regarding Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. When we read passages like this and then turn to verses that appear later in the Bible, we can see these prophecies are true. It says here, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet.” Many kings were born within the lineage of Judah, starting with David. In Matthew chapter 1, you will see that Jesus was also born of this lineage. We are all aware of these general facts. Yet, we soon forget this prophecy regarding Jacob as we continue to read the Bible. We remember them as part of the big picture, but once we start reading Exodus, all mention of Jacob’s family seems to disappear, and there is only mention of the Levites. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and across the wilderness to the land of Canaan. Many children were born during the wilderness years, and all those who had first come out of Egypt died during that time. We read all of this in the five books of Moses. Interestingly, we see in the book of Numbers that the number of the descendants of Judah right before they entered the land of Canaan had increased significantly compared to their number at the time of the exodus.The numbers of each of the tribes of Israel are recorded in the book of Numbers. We need to understand why it is necessary to read this book. Then if we continue to read the Bible with the book of Joshua in mind, we can see that the passages we are studying now are like seeds that have been planted. We will not be able to see this if we do not study the Bible carefully. Even if we only study the numbers of just one tribe, it becomes clear that the word of God is living. In the case of Levi and Simeon, they committed a grievous sin and were cursed as their just reward, but the fates of these two men turned out to be completely different. The men of the tribe of Levi had the glorious duties of the priests, adorning the history of the Israelites in this way and testifying of Jesus Christ who would later come as high priest. The tribe of Simeon, on the other hand, barely managed to survive by depending on the tribe of Judah. In the Bible, there are many references to standing at a fork in the road. The book of Leviticus talks about the role of and the authority entrusted to the Levites, the tribe of the priests. The books of Numbers and Deuteronomy talk about how Moses, who was of the tribe of Levi, led the Israelites and gave them the words that he received from God, in other words, the law. The book of Joshua tells how, after Moses’ death, a general named Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan and conquered it. Then he divided up the land of Canaan and gave a section to each of the tribes. With the River Jordan running through the middle, he gave the land on one side to two tribes while the land on the other side was divided among the remaining tribes. In the process, Jerusalem, the capital city (also called the City of Zion) and the most important city in the history of Israel, was given to the tribe of Benjamin. Jerusalem was not located on the land that was allotted to the tribe of Judah. In this way, the Israelites settled in the land of Canaan and gradually formed into a nation. This process was similar to that of a child growing up. Of course, this is also true of the development of many countries, but it is only in the case of the nation of Israel that God’s law and His promise was there with them as they grew. Israel developed into a nation in this way and then as the period of the judges drew to an end, Samuel, a man born from a line of priests, became leader of the country.As history continued to unfold in this way, the events in the book of Ruth were slotted in. A person who does not know the Bible at all or who has no interest in the Bible may think God placed this romantic story in the midst of the other books so that people would not get bored while reading the Bible since the books of Ruth and Esther are entertaining. The book of Ruth is short and hushed. We come across people gleaning in a field against a backdrop of a setting sun, very much like a scene from a painting in an art gallery. It is not an account full of fast action; a story quietly unfolds of two women—a woman and her daughter-in-law. When I read the book of Ruth, it occurs to me that even the way the events in this book are recorded is very detailed.The way in which a child is conceived and grows in the womb is just the same. Once a child is conceived, the members of the household rejoice, but the developments inside the child’s body proceed quietly in a place unknown to us. The Bible says, “you do not know … how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child” (Ecclesiastes 11:5). God the Creator has established the laws by which life is passed on. In the same way, He continued the history of one family.God guided the history of a certain family in this manner. They were surrounded by chaos, wars and conflicts with neighboring nations, but God’s most important promise was alive in their midst. Hidden away here in the Bible we have an account of how this promise continued to be fulfilled through one particular family. We tend not to be aware of how very powerful this is since it is hidden away here and there and presented very briefly and quietly, but this is the way God always works.Even as God governed the history of one nation in this way, He was also guiding the events within one particular fami

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