If you have a Bible in your language; it is all of God’s grace. You have in print what countless people in ages past did not. We can so easily become numb to the cost of having a Bible in our language. The men who preserved it risked torture, imprisonment, and death to preserve and translate God’s Word into the common language of the day.
My Bible reading today was in Joshua 8. Israel had just been defeated by the city of Ai because of one man’s disobedience to God, by taking possessions from Jericho (Chapter 7). After this person was addressed Israel fought against Ai and God gave them the victory. At the close of the battle, Joshua has an alter built to the LORD and does something interesting:
“He wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel” – Joshua 8:32 NASB.
God’s word has always been in the possession of his people; from Israel in the Old Covenant to the believers in the New Covenant. Even today we do not have the “original document” (manuscript) for any book of the Bible. We do however have thousands of manuscript copies. It is most encouraging to me that within God’s Word he has given us an example of copying His Word. It is the role of God’s people to carry on His Word to the next generation and beyond.
As I think about Papua New Guinea I am thankful for God’s providence in Joshua as well as other faithful men that have copied His Word. It is this “copied Word of God” that we now want to take to a tribal tongue in PNG. Lord willing they will continue the noble responsibility to copy what has been entrusted by God to them.
Next time you open your Bible thank God for the men that endured suffering so you could read it and know Jesus Christ.
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