Read
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14
Reflect
Imagine repeatedly trying to read something but having no idea about the meaning of anything that you’re seeing. For centuries, that was the case with Egyptian hieroglyphs. Scholars saw the series of pictures and symbols and knew that they held some meaning, but had no clue as to what any of it was.
On July 19, 1799, the soldiers in the army of French Emperor Napoleon accidentally discovered the Rosetta Stone while they were digging to strengthen Fort Julien near the town of el-Rashid (then known as Rosetta). Scholars noted almost immediately that the stone held special importance, as it had an inscription written in three languages — hieroglyphics, Demotic (the language used for everyday documents) and Greek. Over the years, by using the Greek translation of the stone, scholars were able to decipher the hieroglyphs on the tablet and, therefore, come to understand a language that had previously remained foreign to them.
It’s amazing that the only thing that kept people from understanding what had been a dead language was the answer key. Many people feel the same about the Bible as scholars had felt about hieroglyphics — that the meaning of the scriptures is generally elusive.
As mere human beings, we do not have the ability to understand the mind of God. The scriptures are His message to us in a language we can read, but the words can seem random or even foolish to us without the “answer key.” The answer key to scripture — our spiritual Rosetta Stone — is the Holy Spirit.
It is the Spirit that provided inspiration to the writers of the Bible. It makes perfect sense that the same Spirit would provide us the wisdom we need to understand those writings. There’s no way that we will understand the things of God using our natural, human limitations. We need the light provided by the Spirit to illuminate the true meaning of scripture and to allow us to fully comprehend its meaning. Today, as you read God’s Word, make sure that you pray before you start and ask him to impart to you the wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit.
Reflection copyright © 2024 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
