Recently we watched “The Book of Eli.” For those of you who have not seen the movie it is pretty good but does have some violence and language. The movie is set in a destitute world where everyday life is a struggle about 30 years after a war. At the end of the war every Bible was destroyed except for one. Eli is on a mission to get the Bible to safety. Carnegie is on a mission to have the only copy in his possession so that he can have access to the powerful words within its pages in order to rule the world. Despite the violence and language in the movie it spoke to me of the importance of hiding God’s word in my heart.
The “Book of Eli” made me stop and think about the fact that we do not know what tomorrow holds. We may wake up one day to it being illegal to have a Bible or read a Bible. I have never really focused on memorizing scripture because I have always had access to a Bible when needed. With our current technology scripture is just a few clicks away. Even if you don’t know the entire verse or reference, the verse can be located just by typing a few key words into the computer. Will it always be this way or may we one day find ourselves without access to the technology that we currently have? I think that many of us have taken our access to the Bible for granted and crippled ourselves with our lack of scripture memorization. Many of us have not done a great job at hiding the words in our hearts. Its something to think about.
Verses for Reflection:
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you (Psalm 119:11).
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 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 (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16).
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 2:14-17).
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).
While technology is great and allows us to find and read any verse in multiple translations… it doesn’t compare to the feeling of looking up and reading a passage in a printed bible you hold in your hand. Book of Eli was an awesome movie.. I just wish our leaders today understood how “powerful” those words are.
David, I agree a reading a printed Bible is so much more emotional (for lack of a better word), than reading verses off of a computer screen. I loved the movie and hope that others took from it what I did, that we need to treasure the Bible and keep its words in our minds.
Del Thorne via Facebook: Get’s you thinking, that’s for sure.