Why doesn't God speak to people?
Q: Why is God always speaking through people or animals? Why does he just speak TO people?
A: He did speak to people. 1. He spoke to them and thru them but only to Adam & Eve, the forefathers of Israel, Moses, and to some in Israel (in the OT era) whom he chose to do so with or through, for His purposes and reason.
Israel was a chosen nation God brought about to be the holders of, examples of and proclaimers of the oracles of God to all the nations.
In fact 2. when God did speak directly to the people in the wilderness (as they were headed to form the nation of Israel) they freaked out and almost died. They didn't want God speaking directly to them out of fear (and so instead God spoke thru Moses and Aaron).
And God gave special word here and there thru the Temple Priests in Israel. 3. God had to say "do not fear", when he spoke throughout Scripture, and even when Angels were sent by God to Israel (to certain people).
But mostly He used certain chosen prophets since then, and
3. then God came to Earth and spoke to mankind as Jesus, [fully God and fully human having put on the human flesh], and then thru the Apostles (filled with the Holy Spirit).
4. But also remember, most importantly, He did speak to us - through Jesus. Jesus is God.
Before God (the 2nd person of the Triune God) came to earth and took on flesh, before he was known here as Jesus, He was eternally known as The Word of God.
5. God chose to speak to us through the Word; also called the Scriptures and the Bible. It doesnt change. God has completed what He wants man to know (about God & man) given to us thru the Bible, the Word of God. And we are blessed in this era to have it and so readily.... all we need to do is open it, read it to learn what He wants us to know.
Today we have that full Revelation of God that most people prior to 325 (and at some points up to1600's) didnt have access to. Unless they went to the Temple in Jerusalem and learned from the daily reading.
The Scriptures of the NT were already circulating and known to be the Word of God, but some forgeries/ fake writings were brought to the church by evil people trying to change the Word of God and In 325 AD a Jewish Council re-confirmed the 66 books are the Inspired word of God. They easily debunked those other ones. In around 400 AD the OT & NT was compiled into one book. For precise dates visit "Timeline of Bible Translation History" section at bottom of link "reformers" below.
And since the Reformation, people have been getting access to it and now can freely access it globally. 🌟👍
Out of mankind's 6,000 years of existence...for about 4,000+ years most people never personally had access to God's Word. There was 1 copy in usage in the Temple of the OT scroll, and recorded so by the time it wore out from reading, the new copy replaced it; mostly there was only 1 copy in the Israel Temple.
Later, among the 33 Churches in the region, they go a full copy of the NT and them had the full 66 books. It took forever to write out a full copy, and share around to the churches that existed from Apostles era.
Churches outside the control of Rome, continued in the faith, but later started adding traditions and getting away from the truth. And the Churches in the Roman empire region were eventually hijacked by (false) Catholicism and keep the Bible hidden from the people. They made up teachings and traditions that were not biblical and were burdensome to sincere religious people. It wasnt until the reformers (1400s-1700's) arrived, that they all risked their lives (and many if not all were martyred for) making copies just to get the truth into the hands of all common people. The printing press helped that cause and eventually more and more had access, still few, but it was more. The Geneva Bible was eventually published distributed widely (as much as short print runs and funds allowed), and later in the West, England's King commissioned a full copy in English [after fighting reformers].
Because of the Reformers, today, the Bible is available to all, translated into most languages, and is the best selling book of all time. And.... now we have very easy access to it, plus now quick free digital format as well.
The people in the OT and NT could never have imagined such a thing, the scribes from OT to reformation spent their life just writing a copy of Scripture. The reformers couldnt imagine it either. People spent decades, entire lifetimes copying or translating to get just 1 copy. And few could afford a Bible till 19th century.
Today, we have easy to understand versions [*most till recent times only had 4th grade or 8th grade reading level, most were illiterate], we have word for word translations and thought for thought translations. Though theres horrible versions 😬😑 to stay away from that have altered Scripture, (such as the niv, lb and message), there are still some good ones to help those with low reading skills like nlt.)
Reputable versions are: the reformers old English versions, including Geneva and kjv, the oldies which you can read online 😀, the better translations in modern English are NASB 1995, ESV, the modern Geneva Bible, and the NKJV is ok too. For kicks, You can compare the modern ones in parallel reading format such as like this (at BibleGateway.com) to the old ones.
In 2021, Now there's a new version that is the best translated version of them all - the LSB. It is basically a better literal translation of nasb95.
Globally people who have limited access, or just getting access (in their language) celebrate receiving a copy and treasure it. God is still reaching peoples with no knowledge or access to Him, and there's hard long work to do still through missionaries and translators.
In the West, & other parts of the the world we all have access to the Bible now and have the ability to read it. God preserved and safely moved His Word thru History to bring it to you and me today.
It is the best era to be in, and we all should read it.
Reading the Bible - resources
God has spoken to us through His Son and by the Scriptures, which are the completed Word of God to mankind. Jesus came to bring salvation and both He and the Apostles explained and taught and preached this. Jesus said Repent and Believe the Gospel. Do you know what the Gospel is? Have you obeyed it, and have you come to Jesus yet? I believe God sent you here today to hear this life saving message. You do not know when your last day on earth will be. Many think it will be a long life, but just a basic look at the news today and we can see everyone from babies to middle aged folk die young. 160K die every day. Make sure you are right with God so you can have a relationship with Him now and when you die you will go into a sin free eternity where other believers and Jesus will be.
Make sure you get right with God today.
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