We Must Read

Then a letter came to Jehoram from Elijah the prophet, saying: This is what Yahweh God of your ancestor David says: "Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or in the ways of Asa king of Judah but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves like the house of Ahab prostituted itself, and also have killed your brothers, your father's family, who were better than you, Yahweh is now about to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a horrible affliction. You yourself [will be struck] with many illnesses, including a disease of the intestines, until your intestines come out day after day because of the disease." - 2 Chronicles 21:12

Have you ever gone to the mailbox and received a letter that you knew you didn't want to open?  Or, rather seen an email pop up that you knew might lead to a difficult conversation? Maybe it was a bill that you knew you would have difficulty paying. Perhaps it was a note from someone you feared you had offended. The return address was enough to spark a visceral, personal response. Whatever the reason, we have all had these type of experiences, but can you imagine how Jehoram (the evil king of Judah) felt when he received a letter from the prophet Elijah?

Yeah, busted.

As Elijah's letter was to the king, all of the Scriptures are, in effect, a letter from God to all of us.  The multiple messages within their pages can often be very difficult to read and, perhaps, this is why so many rarely read them.  For a time it may seem easier to avoid the encounter altogether than to embrace the truth that they transmit. If we don't read them, then maybe we can forget we aren't heeding them.

The avoidance of truth may allow us to claim ignorance, but it will not allow us to avoid fault. He has written. We must read.

The Bible is the inevitable outcome of God's continuous speech. It is the infallible declaration of His mind. - A. W. Tozer