What does the Word of God mean to you? (Job 23:12)
In the verse for our study we see what Job thought concerning the word of God. He said that he esteemed the words of God more than his necessary food. To esteem something is to place a high value upon it. Job then is placing the word of God above everyday food. Note he used the word necessary food. With this thought before us from the word of God we have to ask ourselves how much value do we place on the word of God? In this lesson look at some reasons why someone could place this kind of value on the word of God.
Why is the Word of God so Unique:
1) Its Authority (Eccl 8:4)
- In this verse we see where the word of a king is there is power. The word of God is the most power book ever written. (Just think about the places you cannot carry it or it is not allowed to be read.)
- The world was created by the spoken word (Hebrews 11:1)
- The world is held together and kept in store by the same word (2 Peter 3:5-7)
- We are born again by the word of God (1 Peter 1:23)
We must ask ourselves what other book can do these things, and the answer is there is not one.
2) Its Author (2 Peter 1:15-21)
- In this passage we see two very important things in regards to the word of God. First we see that God himself through the Holy Ghost was the author of his word.
- This means that we have God words to get answers, strength, comfort, help, encouragement, instruction, reproof and anything else from that we could possibly need.
- The second thing we see from this passage is that the written word is better than the spoken word. Note Peter is telling about the mount of transfiguration where they saw Jesus in his glory and God spoke to them directly from heaven. Then he says that there is a more sure word of prophesy and he is referencing the written word through inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
- Thinks about it like this, if someone tells you something if might be misunderstood, or not heard correctly and even forgotten. But if someone writes it down then it is “more sure” than just speaking it.
3) Its Awesomeness (Psalms 119:161)
There are amazing things in the word of God when it comes to numbers, science, medicine, and technology. Below are some examples of these things.
Numbers : The middle verses of the entire Bible are Psalm 103:1-2.
- In a King James Bible there are 31,102 verses. When you add these numbers together you get the number 7 (3+1+1+0+2=7). Therefore we know that when God completes something he does it with the number 7. This will not be true for some of the modern bibles like the NIV because they leave verses out, like Acts 8:37. Try to find that one in the text of an NIV.
- Since the number of verses in a King James Version is an even number then that means there will be two middle verses. That is why we listed Psalm 103:1-2 as the middle verses.
- Now it is also interesting that the numbers in Psalms 103:1-2 also add to the number 7 (1+0+3+1+2=7).
- Both of these verses begin with “Bless the Lord”. Right in the middle of the word of God is two verses that begin with Bless the Lord. That cannot be a coincidence. Only God could arrange his word that way.
- If you count up the total number of words in these two verses you will find that there are 28 words which is 7 X 4.
- Therefore the middle four words are “Bless His Holy Name”. Now that has to be the work of God. There is no way that so many different men writing so many years apart could have made this work out. Right in the middle of the entire Bible is the phrase Bless His Holy Name.
- Now this is interesting because in Psalm 138:2 the word of God says that he has magnified his word above his name.
Science :
Hebrews 11:3 “ Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
- Form this verse we see that things are made from things which do not appear. Science will tell us that everything is made up of electrons, protons, and neutrons which are all found in atoms. The atom theory was first published by John Dalton in 1803. If people had just believed the Word of God they would have known this much sooner.
Job 38:19 “Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,”
- Note that God ask Job where is the way where light dwelleth? The term way is interesting because light is always moving. So it seems that God knew that light was traveling and not standing still way before any scientist did.
Job 38:24 “By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth.”
- In this verse God makes reference to the fact that light can be parted. Sir Isaac Newton discovered this in the 1700’s and used a prism to part light. Once again God and his word are way ahead of science.
In ancient times there was a big debate about whether the earth was round or flat. If people would have believed the word of God they would have known that the world was round. InIsaiah 40:21-22 the word of God say plainly “he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth”.
Job 25:5 “Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.”
- All that the moon does is to reflect the light of the sun to the earth. God and his word knew this way before science ever figured in out.
Ecclesiastes 1:6 “The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.”
- This is an interesting verse because the Word of God says that there are wind circuits. Now pilots in WWII discovered what is called by science today as the jet stream. All you have to do is to turn on your local weather and you can see these displayed on the screen. Once again if someone had read and believed the Word of God we could have seen this truth thousands of years ago.
Ecclesiastes 1:7 “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.”
- Here we see the process of sea water evaporating up into the clouds and then falling as rain on the earth, filling up the rivers and running back into the sea. This is a very unique cycle. The reason that Solomon knew about it many years before science is because God told him about it. Remember that God created this cycle.
Medicine :
Leviticus 15:13 “And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and was his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.”
- Note the verse says to bathe his flesh in running water. This is a very important principle in removing germs and bacteria from your flesh. If doctors had practiced this many years earlier they would have probably saved many more lives.
- In the old days doctors would wash their hands and instruments in a bowl or a basin. And then wash them again. This was transferring the germs or bacteria from patient to patient.
Psalms 75:5 “Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.”
- Speaking with a stiff neck can ruin your vocal cords. Once again the Word of God knows best.
Psalms 119:70 “Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.”
- This is interesting because God knew about heart disease way before the doctors discovered it.
Technology:
Job 38:35 “Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?”
- It would seem that the verse is talking about lightnings that talk. That seems impossible except that we use electricity to talk every day with telephones. Ben Franklin and Alexander Graham Bell were smart men but when it comes to lighting and telephones God had them beat many years prior.
The word of God is the greatest book ever written. Nothing even comes close to comparing with it. It changes lives and makes all the difference in whether you will be a success or a failure, but the key is what does it mean to you? What it means to you will determine how you use it or even if you use it.