Blessed by Understanding

Matthew 13:16-17 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men long to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. 

​In Nehemiah 8:8, the people were rejoicing because they had the Word read to them so that they could understand the law for the first time. They grieved for the way they had turned from God and had forsaken Him.  Nehemiah told them to go out and rejoice and celebrate and share food and drink because now they knew the law and could follow it. 

We are deeply blessed with the abundance of material available to help us to understand God's Word. We take for granted the thing other Christians desire so much. Many nations have laws against the possession of a Bible or even portions of one. Being martyred for owning them is not unusual in today's world.  

An average Christian family may have several Bibles as well as multiple versions of it. A glance in a Christian bookstore will show several shelves containing every size, shape and color of Bibles available. Bibles for every age help provide us with information for each level of a Christian walk. 

We can understand the parables of Jesus. We can study the prophesies of The Revelation. We can look at the Old Testament and see the footprints of Jesus throughout. We are truly blessed. The only book of the Bible to offer a blessing for studying it is Revelation. 
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Matthew tells us Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a hidden treasure or a pearl of great price. Gleaning the depths of God's love through His Word can be a lifetime of study and joy. He offers us insight into our weaknesses and strengths. He shows us His plan for our future. He tells us of His love and the extent He was willing to go to give us an eternity with Him. Rejoice that for now, we can still freely worship. The days are coming when that will no longer be allowed.