Contracts, work agreements, wills and other documents all contain language that is designed to inform, and to protect. Sometimes there are hidden dangers in such documents. These dangers are rarely understood until there is a problem that crops up. One recent example of this has been the modification of credit card agreements. Inherent in most new card agreements is the forfeiture of all rights to engage in a legal dispute with a creditor. Instead, any complaints are to be settled by arbitration, and a refusal to accept this change means that the card, and the agreement, are void. Many people, according to the nightly national news about a year ago, were completely aware of these changes. Folks just didn't read the fine print. The Bible is a lot like that. There are a lot of details that if not read and understood can cause problems down the road at some time. Most people, however, still won't read the fine print. Now by fine print what I mean are the details of what God says. The difference between the Bible and manmade documents is that God's word is printed in a size that we can read and there is no attempt to cover it up. Most manmade documents literally contain print that is so hard to see that one needs a magnifying glass to read it. Why is it that things can slide by us? Well, one reason is that we do not take the time to read and study things for ourselves. This is why God made a point over and over for his people to read his laws, understand and obey them. God instructed the people, as they prepared to enter Canaan, that they were to assemble between Mount Gerazim and Mount Ebal. At this place the blessings and the curses were to be read aloud. It was at Mount Ebal that great stones were to be plastered with plaster and then the Law was to be written on them. (Deut 27.1-8). In one of the most frequently used passages in the Bible, Paul tells Timothy to study and expresses the critical nature of this activity (2 Tim 2.15). But we still fail to read, carefully, and there are some things that we miss. The Bible is filled with treasures and here are a few of them to fuel some thought and perhaps a greater desire to read more.
When Noah took the animals into the ark, the unclean animals went in by two's while the clean animals went in by seven's. The Birds also were to be taken in by sevens as well. (Gen 7.1-3). That means that the clean animals entered the ark as seven pairs of male and female. Did you know that God invented the concept of the latrine! Sure did, and it's in the Bible. "Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee..." (Deut 23.12-13). Did you know that Christ commanded and taught baptism (Mark 16.15-16, Matt 28.18-20, John 3.5)
Some of these things come from the obscure backwaters of the scriptures. Places where many will never go. The same holds true for the more visibly visited areas. There are things that are plainly stated that seem to be just as foreign. For instance, until believers were baptized, immersed in water, in the New Testament, they weren't "saved". Don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself, Check out the fine print because just like in a manmade document, not knowing what is there can really burn you, and it will be all your fault. Check it out. Read the book!
TLC