Daily Devotional: 'X' is for Ahauerus
"Speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability." — 2 Peter 3:16-17 NRSVUE
Years ago, while writing devotions five days a week, I began using the alphabet to inspire. A friend of mine who had been following my journey said, “Can’t wait to see what you do with ‘Z,’ Pastor.”
I remember at the time, thinking that “X” would be the stopper. Having checked my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, there was not a single word in the Bible that began with “X.”
This got me thinking about the things people may be surprised to learn are not in the Bible. For instance, the name of God does not appear in the Book of Esther. And chapters and verses were not in the original texts, though I’m glad someone put them in.
But my favorite story about what is not in the Bible came while I was a student at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana. My friend, Sharon, and I were walking down the hall between classes when one of our classmates came running up to ask us a question.
Out of breath, he exclaimed, “Quick! Which book of the Bible has the story about the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf?”
I looked at Sharon, Sharon looked at me. I’m not positive which one of us turned to the college graduate, second year seminary student, and said, “Try the Book of Hesitations.” Off our colleague ran to look it up.
While humorous, this story is ultimately sad. Saying that we hold the Bible as our guide brings with it the responsibility to know it. For instance, to know that King Ahauerus, found in Esther 8:10, is best known to historians as Xerxes … well, that answered my “X” problem!
During Lent — consider adding time daily to read your Bible. Not sure where to start? Try one Psalm and one chapter from a Gospel each day! You may be surprised what you learn, but mostly, how you’ll be blessed.
Prayer: Lord, You do not call many of us to go to Seminary. But You do call all of us to be faithful students of Your Word. Find me faithful.
Life Lessons from our 4-Legged Friends…and One Bumblebee and other books of devotions by Rev. Dr. Michael Sanders are available at Ken’s Village Market in Indian River and Brewed Awakenings in Saline.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Daily Devotional: 'X' is for Ahauerus
