(Exo 17:14 KJV) And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
There is a great irony about shepherds and scripture, since what need has a shepherd to learn to read or write?
All a Shepherd really needs to know is how to tend and care for the land and the creatures in his care, this knowledge can be passed on from father to son through observance and practice - not from a visit to the library or from surfing the web.
So who documented the history of creation in words on stone and papyrus, obviously not the shepherds, since they were busy tending their flocks.
What did Adam write, what did Noah write, what did Abraham, Isaac and Jacob write? These men were not writers or scribes, they were Shepherds, they lived their word.
It is not until Joseph and the enslavement of the Israelites, when an educated Prince of Egypt - Moses emerges, that the five books: Genesis; Exodus; Leviticus; Numbers and Deuteronomy are ascribed to him.
(Gen 46:34 KJV) “…for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians”.
As a writer, my mind boggles at how prolific these ancient writers were. How did Moses find time to document not just current events, but the history of the Jews?
Even with our modern day technology: the paper, printers, mobile phones, PDAs, handhelds, laptops, the internet, blogs and twitter - one would still be hard pressed to keep such an accurate account of events, so how was this achieved with chisel and stone or feathered quill, ink and papyrus?
(Jer 30:1-2 KJV) The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.
The questions have to be asked, why write down something, that no-one will ever read and why write down something, that so few will ever understand?
Also, how come these ancient scriptures were miraculously preserved over the centuries and not only preserved, but often translated by so many sincere seekers for truth?
Reference books are only necessary for those who need some guidance (Shepherding), that they did not receive from their father (or mother). In this day and age there are so many books and so much written knowledge that we have no excuse, except that we are now in danger of being lost… in the confusion of it all.
(John 1:45 KJV) Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
(John 21:25 KJV) And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
SCRIPTURE