This is an excerpt from the book I just finished An Echo In The Darkness by Francine Rivers.
Having finished his meal, Marcus sank back onto the bed. "What Scriptures are so important you have to wear them on your arm and head and post them on your door?"
Ezra Hesitated because he was not sure he should share Scripture with a Gentile dog of a Roman. However, something compelled him.
"'Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.'"
Marcus listened intently as the words flowed from Ezra. His voice was full of refernce. He spoke the Scriptures precisely, but in a way that made it clear they were written in his heart and not just ingrained in his head after years of copying them.
"'You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you (for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth...'" Ezra went on, his eyes closed. When he finished reciting the Scriptures for the Roman, he fell silent. No matter how often he said or heard them, those words were like music to him. They sang in his blood.
When you read the scriptures do others see that they are written in your heart? Is God's word singing in your blood?
Crunchy Chicken
10 years ago
2 comments:
Mindy -- how many times have I read those scriptures and yet reading them here - I "heard" them differently. Why? Not necessarily better than reading them from my Bible but just another way.
I finally got over to the library and checked out A Voice in The Wind. Can't wait to get started! I also found The Lucky One just sitting on the bookshelf waiting for me. I couldn't believe it wasn't checked out - so now I'm finally going to get to read it. Just in time before the next book by Nicholas Sparks comes out!
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