Trusting What We Cannot See

“And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.” (De 10:5 AV)

I don’t know why it took me forty years to see this, but the second set of tablets was never seen by anyone but God and Moses.  The first set came down with Moses and when he saw the whole nation given over to idolatry, the stones were broken into pieces.  After dealing with Israel, Moses ascends the mount again.  by the command of God, he climbs the mountain to attain a second set.  However, before he ascends, he was instructed to build the Ark of the Covenant from gopher wood.  Having down so, up he went.  Moses spent another forty days on the mountain witnessing the finger of God carving afresh the second set of commandments.  These two tablets of stone with the law written on them went directly into the ark.  Upon threat of death, no one was permitted to open the ark and gaze within.  The people, the priests, and all who has interest had to take Moses’ word for it the tables of stone dwelt within the ark.  There was no physical verification between the tables of stone and what the Holy Spirit would inspire Moses to write.  When Moses wrote the law, there was no difference between it and what the finger of God created.  Both came from God.  To live by the word of God, one must accept it as such.  This truth must be held in absolute faith without the need for physical evidence to support it.  The truth of inspiration is not a matter of scholastic debate.  It is a matter of the character of God.  Preservation is not a matter of scientific foundations or statistical norms.  Preservation is a matter of God’s attributes.  Translation is not a matter of linguistics theory.  Whether the word of God can retain its absolute perfection while being translated from one language to another is not a matter of man’s intelligence.  Translation is a matter of God’s person and that He desires fellowship with each and every human being.  When Moses shut up the two tables of stone, they had to take it by faith that the inspired scripture to follow was just as perfect and authoritative as the tablets which they could not see.

We take many things for granted as being true without having to have indisputable evidence to back them up.  Depending on where one might be, a yellow sign that is highly recognizable might be seen.  It is a small yellow sign with a distinctive circular shape in the center.  It might say ‘warning’ with additional instructions.  This shape is three arched trapezoids with space between them arranged to form a circle.  Usually seen in medical facilities with imaging equipment, there is a warning that prolonged exposure could be hazardous or even fatal.  You all know the sign of which I am speaking.  The sign warns of radioactive material exposure.  It always makes me chuckle when I see a tech, nurse, or other health care professional with a led vest on, and yet they send the patient in to get zapped by something he cannot see.  One particular facility really struck me as strangely amusing.  This imaging office was an older one that hadn’t been remodeled since the turn of the last century.  I am used to seeing cinder block walls.  Changing areas are usually stone-type walls with metal doors.  Not this place.  The changing area reminded me of some of the outdoor facilities one might see at the beach or at a campsite.  No doorknobs.  Just hook and hoop.  The walls were wood studs and paneling from the forties.  The doors were like the ones you would see at a carnival or outdoor latrine.  What was amusing was all the signs telling the patients that radiation exposure was a risk to their health.  Based on what I saw, I didn’t think the risk was all that bad.  If I was examined and tested in a building that was originally built in the mid-1800s without any medical upgrades, I guess radiation isn’t all that dangerous.  Is it?  There was no evidence radiation was all that big a risk except for the signs which said so.  I had to trust the signs.

Whether we like it or not, God has designed the human race to live by faith.  We do not get the luxury to live by sight until eternity is upon us.  This means we accept things we cannot prove.  Reason is part of what we believe.  But in the end, faith is required.  The writer of Hebrews tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith.  Faith is was says to God, “I love you enough to trust you.”  Without faith, there would be no emotional tie to God.  He would simply be a being whom we have reasoned out to exist and to whom we must submit.  But there is no emotion involved.  When it comes to the word of God, we must accept it perfect and without error.  Even in the translation process.  To do otherwise means to deny God’s sovereignty and attributes.  The people never saw Moses put those two tables of stone into the ark.  They had to accept it by faith.  They had to accept the word of God which Moses wrote would match that which could not be seen.  To do otherwise is to put their judgment above faith.  And that is no good.