An auction took place last month in New York at Sotheby’s, an agency famed for auctioning rare and valuable objects. When the closing gavel fell only six minutes into the bidding, the Codex Sassoon had sold for $33.5 million. That put this codex among the highest-selling objects of all time (a copy of the U.S. Constitution’s first printing sold for over $43 million in 2021).
A codex is similar to our modern-day book, an advancement over the scroll. The Codex Sassoon has been described as the earliest most complete Hebrew Bible in existence. Dating from the 10th century A.D., it has all but eight pages of the books of the Bible, 782 pages in all. It is bound in leather and is handwritten on sheepskin pages. As you might expect, it’s a large book.
The Codex Sassoon was last sold in 1989 to a banker for $3.19 million. The new owner has vowed to keep this treasure in Israel where it will be on public display. It can truly be called a national treasure.
I have beside me a leather-bound Bible that has not just the Old Testament but the New as well. I purchased it about 20 years ago for around $50. I have other Bibles in my possession that I purchased for even less money. But each one I regard as a treasure, not because of what they might bring at auction, but because of the value they have for me personally.
In 2 Timothy 3:16,17 we learn the value of Scripture, whether contained in a scroll, a codex, or in electronic characters: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” That one statement shows the Bible’s immense value.
First, this Book is from God. Paul noted that it is the product of inspiration, a word which means “God-breathed”. This is no ordinary book, but one that has come directly from God to each of us. The second point Paul makes is this: it will show us how to live righteous lives that please the Father. Without this book we will stumble in the darkness; as Jeremiah 10:23 states, “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”
So here’s my question to you: What value do you place on your Bible? Sotheby’s would never consider my budget-priced volumes, but do I? I should, based on what Jesus said in Matthew 16:26: “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Regardless of what we paid for our Bibles, here’s how we should view them: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Even if I only have a weathered paperback Bible, it can shine divine light on my path and show me the way to heaven.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2023, Timothy D. Hall
