Bible Study

*Just for your thoughts.*

The Book of Job
*Bible Study – 25*

Scripture for Meditation: Job 23:12
“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”

— Job 23:12 (NKJV)
It was during the time of Moses that God's Word was first recorded in written form. According to many Bible scholars, Job lived approximately 500 years before Moses. Therefore, during Job's lifetime, God's Word had not yet been written on scrolls. The privilege of reading the written Scriptures became available to God's people only after the days of Moses.
If that is true, how could Job say,
“I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food,”
and,
“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips”?
How should we understand these statements?
1. Historical Background
Many Old Testament scholars believe that Job belonged to the Patriarchal Period, before the giving of the Torah through Moses. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that Job possessed any written portion of Scripture.
2. The Meaning of “His Words”
The expressions “the words of His mouth” and “the commandment of His lips” do not refer to written Scripture. Rather, they refer to God's oral revelation.
Before the Scriptures were written, God's moral instructions and divine truths were passed down orally from generation to generation through men such as Adam, Noah, Enoch, Abraham, and the other patriarchs. This has been the common understanding among Old Testament scholars.
The Book of Job itself contains evidence of this. For example, Job's practice of offering sacrifices (Job 1:5) and the high moral standards described in Job 31 indicate that God's will was already known, even before it was recorded in writing.
3. Personal Divine Revelation
The Book of Job also shows that God communicated directly with Job. In chapters 38–41, the Lord speaks to Job out of the whirlwind.
Just as God spoke personally to Abraham, Noah, Isaac, and Jacob, it is possible that Job also received direct revelation from God.
4. Revelation Came Before the Written Scriptures
The doctrine of the divine inspiration of Scripture teaches that "All Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16). However, this does not mean that every revelation from God had to exist first in written form.
God revealed Himself long before the Scriptures were written—through direct communication and oral revelation. Later, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, these revelations were preserved and recorded as the written Word of God.
Therefore, when Job declared that he treasured God's words more than his daily food, he was referring to the divine revelation that had been made known to him, whether through oral tradition or God's personal communication.
A Warning for Us
Today, the Bible is readily available to us. We have it in printed form, on our mobile phones, and on our computers. We have every opportunity to read, study, and meditate on God's Word.
The question is: How seriously do we value this privilege?
Job had no complete written Bible, yet he treasured the revelation God had given him more than his daily food.
How much more should we, who possess the complete Scriptures, love them, read them, meditate on them, and obey them?
No matter how helpful the sermons, devotionals, or meditations of others may be, they can never replace our own personal time in God's Word.
Each of us must read the Bible daily, study it carefully, meditate upon it, and encounter God personally through His Word.
The person who feeds daily upon the Scriptures and lives in obedience to them is the one who truly walks in the way of God's truth.
Sadly, in many Christian families today, regular Bible reading has become a neglected practice. This must change. We should cultivate the habit of reading the Scriptures every day, meditating on them, and obeying what God teaches us.
"Read the Bible carefully, and then meditate and meditate and meditate."

— C. H. Spurgeon
Truth to Ponder
Job did not possess the complete written Scriptures, yet he remained faithful to the light he had received. Today, we have the entire Bible in our hands. The question is: How much value do we place on God's Word?