Bits and Pieces – 149th Edition – January 15, 2023

“The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them”  [Proverbs 20:12].

     How marvellous is the faculty of hearing!  Within each ear is a space not much larger than a hazelnut.  This space is crammed with enough electrical circuits to provide a telephone service for a good-sized city.  The auditory nerve leading to the brain is only the diameter of a pencil lead yet contains more than thirty thousand circuits.

     How sensitive is the eardrum, a tough, tightly stretched membrane less than half an inch across!  The faintest vibration, causing a minute displacement of perhaps only a millionth of a centimetre, is wonderfully transformed into intelligible sound.  All this is testimony to the creative handiwork of God.

     The natural man has no ear for spiritual things.  It is the work of divine grace to unstop the ears of the spiritually deaf.  The ears of Christ’s sheep have been opened.  “My sheep hear my voice”  [John 10:27].  Yea, more, “they know His voice” [v4]. He has called them by name.  Remember Mary, lingering in the garden? Just one word fell from the Saviour’s lips, “Mary”.  She cried out, “Rabboni.”  She knew His voice!  “The sheep, though the most simple creature, is superior to all animals in this, that he hears his shepherd’s voice, and will follow no other” [Martin Luther].

     The Lord speaks to us through the Scriptures of truth.  “The Bible is none other than the voice of Him that sitteth on the throne” [Dean Burgon].  In the secret place, ever seek the better part, to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear His Word.  Be like young Samuel, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.” [1 Samuel 3:9].  Be ready to hear for there is much attendance without attention, much hearing without hearkening.  It should be our greatest joy to truly hear the voice of our Beloved.  [Rev. Michael Patrick].

     Many Christians begin the New Year by starting to re-read the Bible from Genesis.  They soon come upon two genealogies which some pass quickly over quickly thinking there is little of interest there.  But that is a mistake,  for many interesting facts are found.  Chapter 5 gives the descent of Noah from Adam, while chapter 11 records the lineage of Abram from Shem. Here are some thoughts to whet your appetite for further study.

     Adam was 687 when Methuselah was born.

Methuselah, the oldest man in the Bible, at 969, has a unique name.  It signifies, “When he is dead, it (the flood) shall be sent.” [Newberry Bible].  Methuselah died in the very year the flood came, so Enoch named his son almost a 1000 years before God judged the world.

     Scientists who ponder the history of man tend to disregard the Biblical testimony.  They would do well to peruse the Genesis genealogies for within them there are evidences of events that must have had important effects on the life of man.

     The average pre-flood age (excl. Enoch) was 912.2 years.  The average age (Shem to Eber) dropped to 483.7 after the Flood.  Then it dropped again dramatically in the time of Peleg.  Something catastrophic obviously occurred for Peleg means, “In his days was the

Earth divided.”  In conclusion, do not miss the great fact of the divine preservation of the Messianic line.  God indeed works all things “after the counsel of His own will” [Eph. 1:11].

     Every morning we awaken to a fresh miracle – the miracle of daylight.  During the night season all is black, dark and foreboding. No earthly beauty is visible, the wonders of nature are hidden under a thick mantle of darkness.  None of nature’s radiant colours can be seen, the absence of light has robbed them of their glory.  Without daylight the world is black.  Then, quite suddenly, the first faint shafts of sunlight appear and soon the whole land is bathed in the light of a new day.

     There is a spiritual lesson in the dawning of a new day.  The Bible teaches, “all have sinned” [Romans 3:23].  Sin is dark, and foreboding.  Jesus said, “men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil” [John 3:19].  But what a message of hope Jesus Christ brings to a darkened world.  He is “The Light of the world” [John 8:12].

     When a person accepts Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord the transformation in that life is no less dramatic than when daylight dispels darkness.  If any man or woman “be in Christ” they become “a new creature, old things are passed away; behold all things become new” [ Corinthians 5:17].

     Dear reader, confess the darkness of your heart, and take Christ today as your Saviour.  What a transformation you will experience.