Many years ago Queen Mary made a law that no one was allowed to read or own a Bible. However, in the town of Harrant a blacksmith lived who loved the Lord Jesus and His Word. He kept his Bible hidden in a wall of his home. He and his little daughter, Elsie, would spend many happy hours reading it in secret.
After hearing the Queen’s law, Elsie’s father told her, “These are dangerous days for us. The Queen has ordered all Bibles to be gathered up and burned, and anyone found with one in his possession will be put to death. However, I cannot part with our Bible. It is the only copy left in this village. Let me warn you, Elsie, don’t tell anyone that we have it!”
The days that followed were very upsetting for everyone who loved God’s precious Word. Soldiers sent by the Queen were sure there was a Bible hidden somewhere in Harrant, and the town was searched again and again. When the soldiers learned the blacksmith was the only one in town who could read, they took him to prison. Elsie was cared for by their kind neighbors, but the thoughts of her father in prison made her very sad.
One day the soldiers came again to Harrant and searched every house. When they came to the blacksmith’s house they said, “We’ll burn the house and shop to the ground! If a Bible is hidden in there it will be burned!” As the soldiers came near the house, Elsie hid in the bushes to watch. She was heartbroken as she watched them set fire to the house and shop. When the house was burning furiously, the soldiers left.
As Elsie watched her house burning she thought of the Bible still hidden inside. She also thought of her father in prison because he had protected the only Bible in the town. Suddenly she dashed to the burning house and ran inside. The intense heat burned her skin and singed her clothes, but she stumbled to the wall where the Bible lay hidden. She quickly slid it out of its hiding place and hid it in the folds of her skirt. She was barely able to get back through the smoke and flames before collapsing outside the blazing house.
There, an hour later, the villagers found her still unconscious. Underneath her they found the Bible she had saved. They treated her burns, but she had the scars from the burns for the rest of her life.
Most of us have a Bible in our home, but do we value it as Elsie and her father did? Are you remembering to read it every day? Job said that he esteemed the words of God’s mouth more than his necessary food. (See Job 23:1212Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. (Job 23:12).)
How good of God to give us His precious Word. It tells of His beloved Son, that precious Saviour God has provided for sinners. Time that we spend reading our Bibles is never wasted. If we are faithful in reading it, the Lord Jesus will turn that Word to joy in our own souls. “Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.” Jeremiah 15:1616Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16).
ML-12/08/1985