It might be worth making a note of that.
This was the thought that nudged me when someone went out shopping. There was quite a lot I wanted, so I told my dear wife to make a note of it. She duly made the note of the various items I wanted. She went to the shop, referred to the note and communicated what was required to the helpful shop assistants. She did a great job and gave me exactly what I wanted because she made a note of it. Not only did she make a note of it, but she valued the relationship we had and so was keen to ensure that what I wanted was accurately noted and acted upon.
That was a shopping trip for items of a finite nature for a limited audience in a largely inconsequential episode of life.
Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.
Exodus 24:3-4
God had spent some time informing Moses of a number of things following on from the initial Ten Words that He’d spoken in the presence of the people. These rules and outlines were crucial in establishing the people as God’s own, set apart to reflect His standards and point the nations to the one, true and living God.
The impression given is that Moses was listening to what God was saying. Moses, however, did not just keep it in his head to recite it to people and leave it at that. This measure of the covenant of God and the nation was something that had to be written down. So it was that Moses fulfilled the role not just of the Lawgiver, but also as the scribe of the covenant.
What’s so important about that? Why is that so important?
There are key moments in life that some like to capture on video today and others want to get recorded in audio. They are all of great merit and all have their place. Before those technological developments, the retention and progression of valuable cultural elements was passed on with the power of the oral tradition. Moses, however, took advantage of the technological development that was writing to ensure that there was an accurate word noted on the crucial revelation of God’s desire for His people. The word written and stored about the covenant between God and His people was not something that would just be passed on via the oral tradition. People would be able to repeat the words as the words were written.
Moses was not noting down the words as though the written word gave life. There is a life-giving Word that was to be expressed generations later that embodied what Moses had written. Moses, however, was literally setting in stone that which would go onto be the standard by which God’s people would be measured. It’s that important to God. It’s that important to the people of God. Moses in valuing that, made sure it was written.
There would be a reference point for people down the ages. Generations would come to see God’s standard and see how far they had veered away from it and be suitably chastened by this written standard.
Civilisations, administrations, cultures and corporations have all been heavily influenced by that simple practice of making sure the standards are written. What Moses did, however, was distinct and unique in that His word was not just a matter of a law and a covenant. It was the expression of the heart of the divine to a people redeemed. It was an expression of God’s plan for a people liberated from slavery to ensure they would never be enslaved again. These were not arbitrary instructions given on a whimsy to enforce a power play. These were words that would help a people see what it was to operate in ways that were fair in their dynamic with their Liberator, fair in their relation to each other, fair in their relation to the stranger and even fair in their relation to the environment.
That was something worth making a note about.
As we recall the Living Word and how He wrote the agreement on our hearts by is Spirit, can we reflect on the significance of someone making a note of the precious agreement? Can we see value in keeping a note of key developments in our ongoing relationship with God for us and those who follow in our footsteps? Can we see the benefit in our own way of being a covenant scribe?
Think about it.
It might be worth making a note of that.
(Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 