Thursday, May 3 All the things that were written beforehand were written for our instruction.​—Rom. 15:4.

[GrumpysWife]

Thursday, May 3

All the things that were written beforehand were written for our instruction.—Rom. 15:4.

 

Have you ever thought about the personal conflicts recorded in the Bible? Consider just the first few chapters of Genesis. Cain kills Abel (Gen. 4:3-8); Lamech kills a young man for striking him (Gen. 4:23); the shepherds of Abraham (Abram) and Lot quarrel (Gen. 13:5-7); Hagar despises Sarah (Sarai), who becomes upset with Abraham (Gen. 16:3-6); Ishmael is against everyone and everyone’s hand is against him. (Gen. 16:12) Why does the Bible mention such conflicts? Well, one reason is that it helps imperfect humans learn why they need to keep peace. It also shows us the way we can do this. We benefit from reading Bible accounts about real people struggling with real problems. We learn about the results of their efforts and may thus be able to apply such points to some situations we encounter in life. Indeed, all of this helps us to consider how we should or should not deal with similar issues. w16.05 1:1, 2

[Spechellekaye]

This text is a reminder that the Bible was not only written for our benefit, but it instructed God’s people in the past. Some gems in the Bible may be hard to see at first, but if we ask for Jehovah’s Holy Spirit and do some digging, we will see the value of those gems. When we really dig for these gems our appreciation for the sacrifice that Jesus made will deepen. So we must never take the Word of Jehovah for granted. It must be the energizing force in our life.