Jó 23

Jó 23:12

Guzik - Job 23 – Job’s Desire to Appear Before God) John Wesley expressed a similar heart hunger as did Job for God's Word… I have thought I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God and returning to God; just hovering over the great gulf, till a few moments hence I am no more seen. I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing, the way to heaven—how to land safe on that happy shore. God Himself has condescended to teach the way: for this very end he came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price give me the Book of God! I have it. Here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri [a man of one book]. (John Wesley “Preface to Sermons on Several Occasions, 1746) A PLACE FOR THE WORD In Spurgeon's notes on John 8:37 he addresses what place the Word of God should have in our hearts… The Word comes from Jesus, the appointed Messenger of God; it is true, weighty, saving; and, therefore, it must have a place among those who hear it. It ought to obtain and retain— 1. An inside place: in the thoughts, the memory, the conscience, the affections. "Thy Word have I hid in mine heart" (Ps. 119:11. See also Jer 15:16; Col 3:16). 2. A place of honor: it should receive attention, reverence, faith, obedience (Jn 8:47; Lk 6:46; Mt 7:24 25). 3. A place of trust. We ought in all things to rely upon the sure Word of promise, since God will neither lie, nor err, nor change (Is 7:9; 1Sa 15:29; Titus 1:2). 4. A place of rule. The Word of Jesus is the law of a Christian. 5. A place of love. It should be prized above our daily food, and defended with our lives (Job. 23:12; Jude 1:3). From his Sermon - "God’s Word is never truly known till it is loved. “I hate vain thoughts ("double-minded" NAS), but Your Law do I love,” (Ps 119:113KJV) said David. He esteemed it more than gold, yes, than much fine gold. In religion, to love is to know—I wish it were always true that to know is to love. When we love the Word and it saturates our whole being so that we cannot relinquish it, but take an intense delight in it, and have a fervent affection for every part of it—then it is that we put the Word of God into the place it ought to occupy— not in the attic of the brain, but in the parlor of the heart, and there let it take up its permanent abode!" 6. A permanent place. It must so transform us as to abide in us. (Place for the Word - Sermon Notes) (Read his corresponding sermon on this vital topic - Place for the Word) O Book! Infinite sweetness! Let my heart Suck every letter, and a honey gain, Precious for any grief in any part; To clear the breast, to mollify all pain. — George Herbert THE EXAMPLE OF WILLIAM WILBERFORCE A brief entry from the life of William Wilberforce presents quite a convicting example of a man who esteemed God's Word more than his necessary food. In 1877 William Alexander records in his treatise "The Witness of the Psalms"… Incident. In the midst of a London season; in the stir and turmoil of a political crisis, 1819; William Wilberforce (biography) writes in his Diary -- Walked from Hyde Park Corner repeating the 119th Psalm in great comfort. What was the source of the strength and resolve of William Wilberforce in the face of tremendous opposition to his efforts to see slavery abolished in England? Although, the answer is undoubtedly more complex, there is little question that the fact that Wilberforce had treasured the words of His mouth in his heart (see Memorizing His Word) and was able to meditate (see also Biblical meditation) thereon, provided the nourishment of his soul which enabled him to stand fast. He had eaten God's Word and girded himself about with His Word of Truth (Ep 6:10 11 12 13 14-see notes Ep 6:10; 11; 12; 13; 14), and God blessed his efforts mightily (Ps 1:1 2 3-see notes Ps1:1; 1:2; 1:3). On his deathbed in 1833 Wilberforce received word that the British Parliament had forever abolished the horrendous practice of slave trading! One wonders how Wilberforce would have been enabled to persevere (see Jas 5:11 "endurance of Job") had he not partaken of the firm foundation of God's Holy Word! May his tribe increase (He 6:11, 12-note)! Aldous Huxley (who I don't think was a believer) made a statement that relates to treasuring (hiding) God's Word (especially Memorizing it) more than one's necessary food declaring that… Each man's memory is his private literature. (Interesting thought!) THE ONE THING NEEDFUL Luke records the NT picture of Mary who was treasuring the Words of Jesus' Mouth more than her necessary food (or the preparation thereof!)… Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening (imperfect tense = pictures Jesus saying a Word and Mary grabbing it, eating it like a baby bird, doing this over and over) to His word. But Martha was distracted (perispao = drawn in two different directions at the same time) with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried (merimnao = from merizo = divide ~ divided mind or heart) and bothered (turbazo = make a noise or uproar ~ pictures a disturbance of one's mind) about so many things; but only one thing is necessary (needful), for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42) Wiersbe Comments: Would you rather have your Bible than food?… Mary chose the Word, but her sister Martha got involved in making a meal (Lk 10:38-42). Mary got the blessing while Martha lost the victory… God's Word is the heavenly food that nourishes our spiritual life, and we must feed on it daily… Instead of feeding on the things of the world that bring death, let's cultivate an appetite for the holy Word of God. Spurgeon (Sermon on Job 23:10-12) II. Secondly, let us take a peep behind the wall to see how Job came by this character. Here we note Job’s Holy Sustenance, I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. First, then, God spoke to Job. Did God ever speak to you? I do not suppose Job had a single page of inspired writing. Probably he had not -even seen the first books of Moses; he may have done so, but probably he had not. God spoke to him. Did he ever speak to you? No man will ever serve God aright unless God has spoken to him. You have the Bible, and God speaks in that book and through it; but mind you do not rest in the printed letter without discerning its spirit. You must try to hear God’s voice in the printed letter. “God hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son”; but oh, pray that this divine Son may-speak by the Holy Ghost right into your heart. Anything which keeps you from personal contact with Jesus robs you of the best blessing. … you can make an idol of your Bible by using the mere words as a substitute for God’s voice to you. The book is to help you to remember God, but if you stick in the mere letter, and get not to God at all, you misuse the sacred word. When the Spirit of God speaks a text right into the soul, when God Himself takes the promise or the precept -and sends it with living energy into the heart, this is that which makes a man have a reverence for the word: he feels its awful majesty, its divine supremacy, and while he trembles at it he rejoices, and goes forward to obey because God has spoken to him. Dear friends, when God speaks be sure that you have open ears to hear, for oftentimes he speaks and men regard Him not. In a vision of the night when deep sleep falls upon men God has spoken to His prophets, but now He speaks by His word, applying it to the heart with power by His Spirit. If God speaks but little to us it is because we are dull of hearing. Renewed hearts are never long without a whisper from the Lord. He is not a dumb God nor is He so far away that we cannot hear Him: they that keep His ways and hold His steps, as Job did, shall hear many of His words to their soul’s delight and profit. God’s having spoken to Job was the secret of his consistently holy life. Then note, that what God had spoken to him he treasured up. He says in the Hebrew that he had hid God’s word more than ever he had hidden his necessary food. They had to hide grain away in those days to guard it from wandering Arabs. Job had been more careful to store up God’s word than to store up his wheat and his barley; more anxious to preserve the memory of what God had spoken than to garner his harvests. Do you treasure up what God has spoken? Do you study the Word? Do you read it? Oh, how little do we search it compared with what we ought to do. Do you meditate on it? Do you suck out its secret sweets? Do you store up its essence as bees gather the life-blood of flowers, and hoard up their honey for winter food? Bible study is the metal that makes a Christian; this is the strong meat on which holy men are nourished; this is that which makes the bone and sinew of men who keep God’s way in defiance of every adversary. God spake to Job, and Job treasured up His words. Let God’s Word fill your memory, Rule your heart, and guide your feet. Adam Clarke… I have esteemed the words of his mouth -- Mr. Good has given a better version of the original: In my bosom have I stored up the words of his mouth. The Asiatics carry every thing precious or valuable in their bosom, their handkerchiefs, jewels, purses, etc. Job, therefore, intimates that the words of God’s mouth were to him a most precious treasure. (Job 23 Commentary) The word of God reveals the will of God and Spurgeon aptly said of Job that… God's will had taken the helm of the vessel, and the ship was steered in God's course according to the divine compass of infallible justice and the unerring chart of the divine will. HOW DOES ONE TREASURE THE WORD? Here is one of the most poignant and convicting illustrations of treasuring the Word I have ever read… The first requirement for keeping that TREASURE is to recognize that it is a TREASURE. A beautiful and touching story is told of a young French girl who had been born blind. After she learned to read by touch, a friend gave her a Braille copy of Mark’s gospel. She read it so much that her fingers became calloused and insensitive. In an effort to regain her feeling, she cut the skin from the ends of her fingers. Tragically, however, her calluses were replaced by permanent and even more insensitive scars. She sobbingly gave the book a goodbye kiss, saying, “FAREWELL, FAREWELL, SWEET WORD OF MY HEAVENLY FATHER.” In doing so, she discovered that her lips were even more sensitive than her fingers had been, and she spent the rest of her life reading her great treasure with her lips. Would that every Christian had such an appetite for the Word of God! ><>><>><> The Book To Treasure - READ: Psalm 19:7-11 - I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. --Job 23:12 Joseph Brodsky won the Nobel Prize for Literature and was a US Poet Laureate. He proposed that books of American poetry be placed next to Gideon Bibles in motel rooms. "Poetry," he reasoned, "is perhaps the only insurance we've got against the vulgarity of the human heart." Before Brodsky's death in 1996, many books had already been distributed to hotels and hospitals. Those of us who love poetry find in it pleasure, wisdom, and inspiration. But even the best literature cannot be compared to the value of the words of the Bible. Imagine a despairing soul on the verge of suicide picking up a book of poetry and thumbing through its pages. It's highly unlikely that even the noble thoughts of Henry W. Longfellow or John Greenleaf Whittier, to say nothing of a modern poet like T. S. Eliot, would inspire him to fall on his knees and cry out to God for mercy and grace. Yet the Gideons' files are full of testimonies from individuals who, alone in their hotel rooms, have opened a Bible and through its message have been born again to newness of life. A well-turned phrase and words that rhyme Can give us inspiration, Yet nothing but the Word of God Can bring us His salvation. --Sper Many books can inform. Only the Bible can transform. ><>><>><> Are You Starving? READ: Psalm 119:33-40 (See also Spurgeon's Comments) Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. --Matthew 4:4 Hold everything! Wait a minute! Have you read the Scripture for today? It's only eight short verses, and it will take you only 45 seconds. No, don't lay this booklet down and mumble to me, "I'm in a hurry and you're delaying me." I see you're eating breakfast this morning even though you're late. You take time to feed your body, but you were going to starve your soul. Take 45 seconds and read Psalm 119:33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40-Spurgeon's Comments. If you don't read the rest of this devotional, that's okay--as long as you read the Bible. Job said, "I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:12). Jesus taught, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Mt. 4:4). Read Psalm 119:33-40 and make its words your prayer: Teach me (Ps 119:33). Give me (Ps 119:34). Make me (Ps 119:35). Incline me (Ps 119:36). Turn me (Ps 119:37). Establish me (Ps 119:38). Spare me (Ps 119:39). Revive me (Ps 119:40). If you're too busy to read the Bible, you're too busy! ><>><>><> GOLD RUSH - READ: Job 28:12-28 Where can wisdom be found? --Job 28:12 In the late 1970s, thousands of men and women rushed to the American West. In the tradition of the diehard prospectors of 1849, they dredged river bottoms and reopened gold fields long since abandoned. The activity, however, was not sparked by new finds. The same old metal had been there all the time. But because the value of gold had skyrocketed, the dust and flecks were now worth mining. Suppose you knew that 100 pounds of pure gold could be found somewhere in the walls of your house? What you wouldn't do to find it! Now let's change the stakes. What would we do if we knew that a large amount of wisdom was in our house? Well, it is! God tells us that nothing compares in value with the spiritual treasures contained in the Bible--not even gold at the highest prices (Job 28:12-17). More valuable than diamonds rare Is priceless wisdom from above; With purest gold it can't compare Because it's filled with truth and love. --DJD Wisdom is understanding what's really important. MORE THAN MY NECESSARY FOOD: REAL SOUL FOOD Necessary food - Food is necessary for the health of our body, but God's Word is necessary for the health of our soul. That being said, Job places higher value on the latter than he does on the former. The NET Bible has a note on this last phrase writing that… The form in the Massoretic Text (מֵחֻקִּי, mekhuqqi) means “more than my portion” or “more than my law.” An expanded meaning results in “more than my necessary food” (see Ps 119:11; cf. KJV, NASB, ESV). Matthew