Sharp or dull?

Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

I read somewhere that a guy was up late watching cable TV and one of those knife infomercials came on and he saw a man use a knife to cut through a cinder block, and afterwards it was still sharp enough to slice through a tomato with razor precision. He said that subsequently he tried it with his bible and not only did the bible not even make a scratch in the cinder block, but when he tried to slice a tomato with it, it just crushed the tomato into a mush. He wanted to know why people are spreading this lie about the bible since it’s obviously untrue.

Hmmm I have often wondered why God used this particular analogy and now I have my answer. He used bone which is calcified, hard, and thick, because it most represents the guy’s head who was watching the infomercial.

Okay that was a little lame and perhaps cruel, but after all it’s four a.m. and I’m trying to entertain myself.

Now that I have started down this path I will continue. Typically one never sees the inside of a bone because it’s concealed by a not so easily penetrated outer casing of hardened bone. The heavy super sharpened swords of ancient times could readily slice through bone and expose the marrow, but otherwise no one ever saw it. Perhaps God is telling us that the bible can slice through the hardened dark exterior spiritual state of a human being to expose what is deep down inside us just like a sword slices its way through a bone and exposes its marrow. The word of God is “a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our hearts” and without the bible they would not be seen for what they are.

Hmmm My thoughts and heart are not always as they should be. Swords are used in warfare and it seems to me that God also chose this analogy to indicate that we should use this tool, (the word of God), as our weapon of choice to fight the raging war of sin attacking our innermost lives.

I don’t know if my analysis of this verse makes any sense to anyone other than me, but it’s fun to take a stab at it; (“stab at it”, get it?).

Now that was really lame.

I need another cup of coffee.

I used to read the Bible like a novel. I would read a chapter or two each day and plod my way through it. One day after reading the above verse I began to read the bible in a different way. Since it is “living” as it states, then it meant to me that God would open it up to me if I intently listened to Him.

As I read various passages of His word I started trying very hard to LISTEN and understand what He was telling me. I began taking a powerful verse like the one above and would break it down into its components and then think about individual words that He used sometimes for hours or even days to try and discern what God was telling me. I questioned why He chose those particular words, or why He used that exact analogy, and so forth. The results were great and God has opened up the Bible to me as never before and it has been very rewarding to me.

Take my word for it, it is far more fun and meaningful to read the Bible in this manner.

I believe the Bible to be the “gateway” to God. He is the manufacturer of all mankind and the bible is His owner’s manual. If we study it and then do what it says, we can find redemption and thereby gain salvation and live out the remainder of our years enjoying the joyous, peaceful, and prosperous life that God intends for us and best of all it will help us to fulfill His purpose for creating us in the first place.

My suggestion to you is to always pray before reading the bible and ask God to open your mind. Soon you will experience the joy of hearing God speak to you through its pages and discover that He loves you and wants you to be part of his family.



Isaiah 41:13
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.