God's Word is our Life

“And he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law" (Deuteronomy 32:46).

In some of the other translations, we are commanded to “Take to heart all these words.”  Take to heart is synonymous with memorization.  For the fourth time in the book of Deuteronomy, the Lord instructs us to memorize His Word.

Matthew Henry said of verses 44-47 in his concise commentary: “Here is the solemn delivery of this song to Israel, with a charge to mind all the good words Moses had said unto them. It is not a trifle, but a matter of life and death: mind it, and you are made for ever; neglect it, and you are forever undone. Oh that men were fully persuaded that religion is their life, even the life of their souls!”  This is not merely something of light importance, this truly is a matter of life and death.  These words are our life as the 47^th verse says:

“For they are not meaningless words to you but they are your life, and by them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

They are our life!

One of the lies that the devil delights to plague us with is that memorization is futile, that God’s words are meaningless.  Yet, looking from an eternal perspective, Moses shows us that these words are indeed not empty, meaningless alphabetic letters stuck together forming what appears to be words.  No!  These words are as air to us, they hold the key to our lives. I read a quote once by an unknown author that said:

THIS BOOK (The Bible) contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers.  Its doctrines are immutable.  Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe and practice it to be holy.  It contains light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you.  It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword and the Christian’s charter.  Here paradise is restored, heaven opened and the gates of hell disclosed.  Christ is its grand object; our good is its design and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet.  Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully.  It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory and a river of pleasure.  It is given you in life, will be opened in the judgment, and will be remembered forever.  It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

How amazing are the Scriptures!  

Anatoli Shcharansky can certainly testify to this. Shcharansky, a dissident Soviet Jew, was detained while his wife fled Russia for freedom in Israel. He wished to join her, but was instead imprisoned.  He spent long years in prison camps and work camps, during which time Shcharansky was stripped of all his personal belongings.  All that is, except a small copy of the Psalms.  He refused to part with it, which once cost him 130 days in solitary confinement.  These words were the only source of life, and he would not let go of them for the world.  Finally, after twelve years in prison, he was offered freedom.  As Shcharansky walked from the guards who had been his captors to those who would escort him to freedom, the guards tried one last time to confiscate his last remaining possession.  Even that close to the freedom he had not experienced in twelve years, he would not give it up.  He fell to the ground and refused to walk another inch without it.  Those words had kept him alive during those long years, and he knew he would need them just as much in the years to come.

What about you?  Are these words your life giving supply?  

Or are you doubtful, wondering how anyone could treat pages of a Bible as food?  I challenge you all, test the Scriptures.  See if they truly are so.  Resolve to memorize a book of the Bible.  Don’t just do it because you “have to” but resolve to delight in the task.  See if these words become your life, your satisfaction.  Watch as before your very eyes the Word takes on a whole new meaning.  You too can learn to love the Scriptures enough to agree with Moses that “they are not meaningless words to you but they are life.”

Now look at verses 44 and 45:

“Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and recited all the words of this song in the presence of the people. After Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel,”

This man had backing.  He wasn’t just saying this because it was what the Lord had told him.  He knew it to be true.  He had the entire Scriptures memorized, and in recitable condition.  How many people today can boast of that?  And based on his intimate experience with the Word of God, he could testify that these words were his life.  Can you?