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FEASTING ON THE WORD "Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." (Job 23:12) "I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." (Psa. 81:10) Alright, that first verse from Job compares God's word to food and says that it's more important than food, just like when Jesus said that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word of God (Mat. 4:4). Then the second verse in our text, Psalms 81:10, is where God gives the command for us to open our mouths wide and let him fill it. The allusion is probably to Deuteronomy 32:11 where God compares his care for the children of Israel to that of an eagle caring for her young. If you've ever seen a mother bird feeding her little ones, you've surely seen some mouths wide open. That's what God expects from us when it comes to his words. He told Ezekiel, ". . . open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee." (Ezk. 2:8) So the word of God is our spiritual food. Let's dwell on that thought for a while as we make some comparisons between physical eating and spiritually feeding on God's words. What are some common things that we do when eating a meal? I. ESTABLISH A MEAL TIME One thing we do is establish a time for eating. Very few people just rush through a day without planning set times for food. In fact, if you do forget to eat, your body will remind you, and it won't be long until you find something to eat. But most folks plan it without having to be reminded. You have a routine for some kind of food at different times throughout the day, and weekends often mean a bit of special food, maybe eating out, getting together with family or friends, eating at church, etc. We plan for meals. To properly feed on God's word, we must develop a "time to eat" mentality. Bible reading is time to eat, Bible study is time to eat, Sunday school is time to eat, and preaching is time to eat. Everything else must become secondary, because God's word must be a priority for our spiritual meal. We must plan for it and remain faithful to it. Don't let it be said in the day of judgment that you placed a higher value on physical food that on the word of God, you didn’t make a time to eat. II. BE HUNGRY I left work on Friday and one of the ladies offered me a big and fluffy blueberry muffin. I told her, "No, thanks; I have supper waiting." I didn't want that muffin to ruin my main meal. On the way home I thought how I could have saved it for desert and coffee, but at the time I was focused on my meal, because I had been working and saving my appetite, and you just can't enjoy a good meal after you'll filled up on snacks or junk food. That's why some folks don't get into the preaching and teaching. They've been feeding on junk food all week, so they have no appetite for anything spiritually good. Jesus said to hunger and thirst after righteousness (Mat. 5:6). That means to not allow your soul to be filled with unrighteousness. Get hungry and then get filled by feasting on the word. III. SET THE TABLE Whether your table is the kitchen table, the dining room table, the lamp table by the recliner, or the passenger seat as you're driving to work, you have to set the table. The food is there, a drink is there, a napkin is probably there, maybe a fork or spoon is there, and maybe even some ketchup, mustard, or some good ole' A1. Maybe even some relish, some pickles, or some pickled beats like I have in the fridge. You get organized by setting the table and preparing to enjoy a good meal. So it is with feasting on the word. Get your Bible, a pen, a highlighter, a notepad or notebook, and maybe even a concordance or a phone app with a concordance. Now you can eat and enjoy the meal because you set the table, you prepared to have a good meal. Whether it's a private Bible study or a church preaching service, the word of God is food, so set the table and be prepared to feast. IV. WASH YOUR HANDS Isn't that normal, especially when you know that you have dirty hands? Have you ever sat down to eat and then noticed how dirty your hands are? You got up and washed them, didn't you? That's what we must do when feasting on God's word. Any known sins or faults should be confessed and repented of so that God knows that his investment in us will be a good one, that we'll be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22). Hiding iniquity in our hearts (Psa. 66:18) when feasting on the word is like eating with dirty hands and can be counterproductive. The Lord is looking for clean hands (Job 17:9; Psa. 24:4). Let's not disappoint him. V. GIVE THANKS We do that, don't we? We just take a moment to bow our heads and thank God for the food and ask him to bless it. Well, how much more thankful ought we to be for his words of life! Just take a moment before any Bible reading or study and express gratitude to God so that he never gets the idea that we're unthankful or taking anything for granted. I try to stay in the habit of just thanking God for everything, since Paul said, "In every thing give thanks . . ." (I Ths. 5:18) I had a couple pretty good baskets on the disk golf course yesterday, so I chuckled and said, "Thank you, Lord." It's just a good habit, and it's definitely a good habit when feasting on the word. Just think of all the people who never had the opportunity. Give thanks! VI. CHEW YOUR FOOD WELL I was told that by my parents, and I told that to my kids. It's just good health, and you should want to taste and savor the food as well. Some foods you will acquire a taste for, if you'll give it a chance, especially as you grow older. When I was five years old, I had to be told to eat my vegetables, but today I will say, "Please pass the turnip greens" and "Do you have any pepper sauce?" That's called growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord! Amen? Even this world uses the expression, "Let me give you something to chew on,” yet it has nothing to do with literal food. They’re talking about words and information. Well, God has given us about 700,000 words to chew on, and he has told us to make sure that when we chew the cud that we also part the hoof (Lev. 11:1-7). We should allow the word to direct us into a new walk that is separate from the will of the flesh. David said God’s word was his meditation all the day (Psa. 119:97). God help us to chew on his word and get the most from it. VII. EAT SUFFICIENTLY Let me show you something from Proverbs. Chapter 25, verse 16: “Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.” The word of God is said to be like honey in a few different places, so God is saying to eat a sufficient amount. Proverbs 23:2 says, “And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite” One might say, “Well, that’s not true with God’s word, for you can’t eat too much of God’s word!” Yes, you can . . . Look at James 1:22: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Sure, we should fill up on God’s word, but then we should DO SOMETHING. No one fills a tank with gas just so he can park his car in the garage. A sponge full of water will sour. We must have output, not input only. God help us to eat sufficiently, so that we maintain a good balance of hearing and doing. After all, we know what God has said about having a FALSE balance (Pro. 11:1). Speaking of balance, let’s wrap it up with one final point . . . VIII. MAINTAIN A BALANCED DIET I won’t run you through all the references, but the word of God is compared to many kinds of food, not just our favorite kind. It’s likened to meat, to bread, to milk, to apples, to honey, to water, and maybe a few more. Then we are told that ALL scripture is profitable (II Tim. 3:16). So, we must read and study it all, not just our favorite parts. There’s nothing wrong with having our favorite parts where we spend more time, but we still need the not-so-favorite parts as well. If I go to a steak house buffet, I’ll walk right past the salad bar every time. I’m spending good money for good food, not rabbit food. But throughout the week I will make sure that I eat a fairly balanced diet. I can’t just eat meat all the time, and I can’t just eat veggies or sweets. We must all discern what works best for us individually and maintain a healthy diet. Let me show you one more thing from Psalms, and we’ll be done. Psalms 119:128: “Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.” It’s ALL good, so we should feed on ALL of God’s word in order to have a good balanced diet, not just the sweet parts and not just the meat parts. We need it all, which is why Jesus said EVERY WORD in Matthew 4:4. God help us to make the most of his word by feasting on it daily and by enjoying a very special feast each time we sit under preaching and teaching.