"I have not departed from the commands of [God's] lips; I have treasured the words of [the Almighty's] mouth more than my daily bread." - Job 23:12
In chapters 23 and 24 of the Bible book of Job, we learn two things: 1) what God has always desired for us, and 2) what tragically usually is instead.
What God desires for us is that we would treasure the words of the Almighty's mouth more than our daily bread (Job 23:12). For therein lies eternal life; in the Word of God, God gives us the best life in and with the Lord.
What tragically usually is instead is an impostor. Straying from the Word of God, we find what we seek, namely, earthly comforts that lull our souls to sleep, like the man who Jesus warned in Luke 12:15ff,
"Then [Jesus] said to them, 'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.' And he told them this parable: 'The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.'"
In chapter 24 of Job, Job is God's mouthpiece to give the same warning about "resting in a feeling of security" with anything other than God's Word by saying,
"[And Job said,] But God drags away the mighty by his power;
though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
He may let them rest in a feeling of security,
but his eyes are on their ways.
For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are cut off like heads of grain.
If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?" (Job 24:22-25)
What God desires for us is that we would treasure the words of the Almighty's mouth more than our daily bread (Job 23:12). For therein lies eternal life; in the Word of God, God gives us the best life in and with the Lord.
Dear Lord, deepen our appetite for your word that we may speak from our hearts with Job. "I have not departed from the commands of [God's] lips; I have treasured the words of [the Almighty's] mouth more than my daily bread." (Job 23:12)
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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