“…Our fathers understood not Thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of Thy mercies; but provoked Him at the sea, even at the Red Sea.” Psalm 106:7
Dear Ones:
Several are the passages in Scripture where we find God’s command to the believer to “meditate” on the word of God, even day and night. For Joshua, who was the successor to Moses, commanded by God to bring the people of Israel into the promised land, the Lord specifically told him: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt mediate therein day and night.” (Joshua 1:8) Why is this “remembrance” of the law so very important? Why does the Psalmist write concerning the believer, “…his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night?” (Ps. 1:2) The answer is very simple. God has never promised to bless the “thoughts and ways of men,” as opposed to those revealed in the word of God. In the word of God, that “law” of which Scripture speaks, is revealed the TRUTH of God, by His words, works, and ways. God will only work according to truth, the truth as it is in Christ, according to His word. The word that “goes forth out of the mouth of God,” will prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Is. 55:11) So, what happens if the believer forgets the word of God, the truth, and begins to believe a lie, or a distortion of the truth? The blessing of God will be revealed only according to the truth. An illustration of this was Samson, who experienced the blessing of God, according to His word. but when the truth was compromised, the blessing ceased. As long as Samson believed, according to the word of God, that he was abiding by the Nazarite vow in truth, the blessing of God was upon him. But, Samson’s vision became skewed by his own inattention, and adherence to the truth of his calling. When Samson’s attitude of faith no longer adhered to the truth of His calling, the blessing ceased. Hence, the power over his enemies ceased to be effective.
True faith always has for its basis the revelation of the Person and nature of God according to the written word of God. In spiritual conflict, one of the primary points of attack by our enemy, the devil, has to do with the word of God, either by tempting us to neglect reading and studying it, or simply by accepting part of it to the exclusion of the entirety. The perfect example of this is found in the Garden of Eden, when Satan seeks to put a question into the mind of Eve, first with regard to WHAT God said. “Yea, hath God said?” (Genesis 3:1) So, the first thing Satan does is seek to bring Eve to the place where she questions God, with regard to what He had declared, and what He will do. The second thing that Satan does, when he sees that Eve is unmoved in her resolve, is to blatantly lie to her: “You shall not surely die.” (v.4) Satan puts himself at this point in the place of God, defying the authority and TRUTH of God. He knows that if Eve believes the lie, and quietly, or overtly, defies the authority of God, she will be putting herself under the authority of God’s enemy, a position of falsehood and death. So then, how important is it to KNOW the word of God, and to adhere to that word, all the days and nights of our lives?
In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, knowing that Timothy would be his successor, he wrote: “Meditate on these things; give thyself wholly to them.” (1 Tim. 4:15) He lays out the importance of meditating upon the word of the Lord. It is then that he instructs Timothy to take heed to himself, and his doctrine or teaching. “…Continue in them.” Why? It is one thing to begin well, quite another to finish well. Remembering rightly the truth is essential for faith to be effective, glorifying God.
Dear Father, Teach us the ways of Thy word, remembering…ever remembering Thee. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad