Responsibility to Protect

Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.

Isaiah 8:16 (ESV)

Last fall, I taught a lesson on Isaiah 8:11-18, where Isaiah instructs the people of Judah to fear the Lord. In verse 16, Isaiah shifts his instructions to address the faithful and what they should do with his testimony.

As a history nerd, I was immediately intrigued by the idea of binding and sealing Isaiah’s teaching. In Isaiah's time, people placed important documents in a jar and sealed them with clay. This served to physically protect the document and to certify its integrity.

This command is still relevant today. As believers, we have a responsibility to protect God’s Word.

Of course, we wouldn’t roll up the pages of our Bible and put them in a jar. Instead, we study the bible and hide its words in our hearts (Psalm 119:11). Rather than sealing the jar with clay, we stand on the integrity of God’s Word through our thoughts, words, and actions.

This responsibility to protect the Word of God is not only for us, but for the generations that follow. We need the next generation to fear the Lord, which was Isaiah’s message all along. And one way we can do that well is by protecting and honoring His Word.

Lord, help us protect Your Word. Help us honor it and teach it to the next generation. Amen.

Leslie L. Bowers