LIVING BY THE BOOK

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." - Joshua 1:8

I love to read.  Through the years I have purchased numerous books.  In fact, I have spent a small fortune on books.  The accumulation of books brought a problem:  where to store them all.  Due to a lack of space, I made a great investment and purchased a Kindle Fire.  Now, I can have hundreds of books without worrying about storage space.

I have to confess that I've purchased books that I did not care for.  In fact, I have books I've purchased for my Kindle Fire that were not as good as I had hoped.  But there are books I absolutely love.  I revisit these books from time to time.  But there has never been a book that has impacted my life like the Bible. 

The Bible is God's holy Word.  The first Bible I ever owned was a flimsy Zondervan Bible.  I still have that Bible, although the book is coming apart.  The second Bible I had was a Christmas gift from my parents.  They bought me a Scofield Study Bible, leather edition.  I loved that Bible.  It was compact, yet easy to read.  I read that Bible over and over again --- until it began to fall apart.  

When Moses died, the mantle of leadership fell on Joshua.  Joshua was fearful and apprehensive.  Who wouldn't be?  It is difficult to follow a highly successful and much beloved leader like Moses.  Incredible things took place during the leadership of Moses.  After Moses' death, Joshua had every reason to be reluctant to lead the Israelites. 

The Lord knew that Joshua was filled with fear, yet He gave Joshua a challenge that would greatly impact his leadership.  In Joshua 1:8, God told Joshua, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

The success of his leadership hinged on Joshua's approach to the Word of God.  Keep in mind that Joshua did not have 66 books to read from like we do today.  He had just five books.  Yet the five books he had were inspired by God. 

From our text, there are some important lessons for us to learn about Joshua's leadership --- and our lives.

1.  DEDICATION

First of all, Joshua was expected to be dedicated to God's Word.  "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth ..."   The Word of God was to be his daily resource.  Furthermore, Joshua was told to stay in the Word, "... day and night." 

These days, leaders are more interested in reading journals, trendy books and newspapers.  However, Joshua was commanded to be dedicated to the Word of God.

What about you?  Are you dedicated to read from the Word of God daily?  Many people claim that they don't have time to read from the Bible every day.  Here's the blunt truth:  we find time for the things we consider to be most important.  Thus if you don't have time to read from the Bible, it is because you consider other things to be more important.

Like Joshua, we need to have dedication.

2.  MEDITATION

Secondly, Joshua was to meditate on the law of God.  God told Joshua, "... thou shalt meditate therein day and night..."  Meditation is an important spiritual discipline that needs to be revived among God's people.  Too many read the Bible like it is a novel.  They skim over the words quickly. 

The Word of God is nourishment for our souls.  For me, there is a difference between eating from a bag of potato chips and enjoying a steak.  When I was growing up, Mom always referred to potato chips as "junk food."  Junk food can be tasty, but it is not the same as a steak.  When I eat a steak, I tend to eat it slowly, enjoying every bite. 

The Bible is steak for the soul.  You do yourself (and the Bible) a great disservice when you treat it like junk food.  The world's menu generally consists of junk food.  Junk food tends to take your appetite away so when a steak is placed before you, you have no desire for it.  Joshua would have no time for the world's junk food.  Neither should we.

We savor the Word of God when we meditate on it.  Meditation is the slow, deliberate concentration on the precepts of God's Word.  You can read a chapter of the Bible in about five minutes.  However, meditation on a verse or two may take an hour.  The Word is our spiritual food.  When we meditate on the Scriptures, we tend to enjoy it more, plus it gives us spiritual strength.

3.  APPLICATION

Finally, Joshua was challenged to obey the Word of God.  The Lord told Joshua to meditate on the Word daily, "... that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein." 

Notice that obedience was the expected result of meditation.  These days, Christians are guilty of boasting about Bible knowledge, however Bible knowledge that falls short of obedience is nothing to boast about.

Also, note that Joshua was to be fully obedient.  He was to obey, "...according to all that is written therein."  Partial obedience is not really obedience at all.

Joshua was expected to live by the Book.  His success as a leader hinged on his dedication, meditation and application of the law of God.

These days, many TV ministers have distorted God's Word to make it seem like that Christianity is a "get rich quick" scheme.  If Joshua lived by the Book, God promised him success.  But what kind of success was being promised?  A mansion?  A Rolls Royce?  A million dollars?  No!  Joshua was promised that if he lived by the Book, he would be successful in accomplishing the work God entrusted him with.

God has not promised to make you financially wealthy.  He has not promised that your dreams will come true.  However, if you live by His Book, you will accomplish His will.

When life is over, all that will really matter is whether you lived for Him.  All that matters is not the wealth in your bank account, but the treasures you lay up in heaven.  That should be great incentive for us to be dedicated to God's Word. 

Live by the Book!