Bible Study: Part 2
Unquenchable Appetite to Know the Word of God
“Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word…..” Matth.4:4
At the beginning of our treatise on Bible Studies, we quoted a very popular instruction and command from the Book of Deuteronomy on the paramount importance of God’s Word over fleshly needs. To drive home this profound truth, Jesus Christ in His earthly sojourn was intentionally driven into the wilderness by the Spirit of God after a forty days fast. I see a remarkable similarity and an insightful contrast in the outcome of the stories.
God had delivered His children, the Jews, from Egyptian captivity and bondage and was preparing them to advance into His divine purpose for their lives. But first the people will not only learn God’s ways but must have an unshakeable determination to uphold divine principles regardless of the cost to carnal desires and needs. Time and time again the power of fleshly lust frustrated and hampered their ability to wait on the Lord or follow His precepts. A journey of forty days turned into a forty years struggle. It was a terrible ordeal and a season of crucifying the flesh to empower spirituality. It was an enforced form of fasting from carnal desires to mature into a mindset of heavenly perspective.
Jesus Christ prior to advancing into His promised land and purpose understood the power of deliberate fasting and prayers. He subjected His body to denial of material things for forty days while His mind and heart relished the goodness and power of the Word of God. He was consumed with the majesty and absolute authority and finality of God’s Word. In this spiritual exercise of intentional fasting and prayers, Jesus excellently prevailed where the Israelites failed woefully. There is a powerful insight He discovered and clung onto as the Tempter came forward to check Him out with the intention of hindering Jesus from successfully gaining approval to advance into His purpose.
“For You have magnified Your Word above all Your name.” Psalm 138:2
There is no doubt that the word that proceeds from the mouth of any king carries the majesty of his person. It is laden with authority and enforceable, otherwise the majesty of the throne is compromised. This is much more true with the King of kings. The Word of God is inseparable from His Person. It reflects His character and the majesty of His eternal existence. When one comes to God through Christ, you are gradually transformed from a carnal being to a spiritual child of God. The Spirit of God begins to train, rehabilitate you from being a material minded being to a believer with heavenly pre-occupation. For you to grow in this glorious relationship your desire to enrich yourself with God’s Words continues unabated. As you feed on His Words daily and meditate on His goodness, strongholds are loosed and the ability to abide by God’s ways are made possible. His Words become the final authority in your life. Hallelujah!!!
“ But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:2.
As you pray before studying the Word of God, you will find out there is inner joy and delight in discovering new things about the Lord. His Words bring clarity and dispel confusion. There is an inexplicable sweetness to your soul and covetous appetite for more. Meditation on God’s Words helps you from making so many foolish mistakes that stem from our errors in judgment and poor decisions. As you delight yourself in the Lord, through His ways revealed in the Word, there is a promise of God that follows such practice. Yes, as you turn your back to the counsel of worldly wisdom, the Lord promises to grant you the desires of your heart. Meaning your desires are in synchrony with His precepts. Psalm 37.