Wisdom's Corner
The Pen of a Ready Writer

In Old Testament times people did not have the kind of writing pens that we have today. The pens we use have a very small ball in the end that rolls as you write. And the ink is inside a little tube that is connected to the little ball.

The pens back then were made of a sharpened reed or of a piece of sharpened iron. The reeds were used to make markings in a soft wax that was on a piece of wood. The piece of iron was used to make markings in soft lead.

The pen was always close to the writer. And the writer took care of his pen. He wanted it ready so that when he had something to write down he could pick up the pen and do so. Sometimes writers of books get thoughts very quickly and will write just as fast as they can.

God had prophets who spoke what he inspired them to say. In Psalm 45:1, we read, "My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer." The person talking is saying his tongue is like the pen of a ready writer. In this case, the writer is God. And God's pen is the tongue of the man speaking this psalm.

We do not have prophets today, but our tongues should be ready to speak the words of God. And we get the words of God today from the Bible. We must study the Bible so that we can know what God wants us to tell people today.

Until next time, keep reading your Bible. And if any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.

Mark McWhorter

Copyright 1999

Published by The Old Paths Bible School
(http://www.oldpaths.org)