RIGHT ATTITUDE TO GOD’S WORD (4)

“…I have TREASURED the WORDS of His mouth more than my necessary food” – Job 23:12b

To be seen and handled as a Treasure is the proper and RIGHT ATTITUDE to GOD’S WORD: “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have TREASURED the WORDS of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). Job regarded the Word of God as being greater in his daily life than the food necessary to keep him alive! In sharp contrast, the Bible speaks of those “Whose god is their belly, and whose glory is their shame – who set their mind on earthly things” (Phi.3:19). Job knew his God and trusted His Word, even though he didn’t understand why he had to go through so much suffering. Like Job we may not fully understand the divine purpose behind the trials that we are obligated to bear, but His Word reminds us that God knows His plans for each our lives, plans for good and not for evil (Jer.29:11).

When we understand that the will of God is to rid each of His children of all the negatively accumulated dross and clutter of our lives, we’re better equipped to face the purifying furnace of trials, in the knowledge that the challenges that we are facing are but for a moment. God knows the way that we take and when He has tried us, we shall come forth as pure gold (v.10). Job was a fulfilled and faith-full man to be able to make these confessions in the face of trials: “My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside” (v.11). Can we as believers, if tried with severe bodily pain and depression of soul, say through divine grace, “I have not turned away from God”?

Job heard God and he obeyed God: “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips” (v.12a). He cherished the Words of God like Treasures, more than his necessary food (v.12b). Job was a Doer of God’s Word, not a mere hearer: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was” (Jam.1:22-24). The result was that he did not just know about God but that he really knew God. He knew God’s Character. He knew he could trust God. The times call for people of principle, who can put their foot down, and keep it down; believers who cannot be turned aside as they hold fast the Word of Life.

Job's hunger for God's Word was related to his obedience to the Word (v.12b). It follows that our hunger for God’s Word will be in direct proportion to our obedience to the Word. Because Job treasured God's Word, he knew God's character and this grew not only his trust and faith, but also his endurance. That’s why the writer of Hebrews endorsed Job's example of faith and patience: “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb.6: 11-12). James was more pointed: “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord – that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (Jam.5:11).

Job obeyed God's Word; hence, he knew the God of the Word. Although he could not see Him, he knew enough of God's character to trust that despite being sorely tried, the purpose was not to destroy him but to remove the dross and bring him forth as pure gold (vv.8-10). Job had the Hebrews 11 type faith exhibiting “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb.11:1). Though not sinless, Job was faithful to follow the Lord and to not deviate from what he knew God had commanded, even as God Himself testified (Job 1:1).