Walking with the Wise #447: Eat This Book!

“My son, eat honey, for it is good,

and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.

Know that wisdom is such to your soul;

if you find it, there will be a future,

and your hope will not be cut off.”

—Proverbs 24:13-14

Eugene Peterson wrote a book entitled “Eat This Book,” which gives careful thought to how to read the Bible spiritually. Like many of the Old Testament prophets, we are to eat the Word of God, to feast upon it, and feed our souls. As the psalmist wrote, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”—Psalm 34:8.

We taste of God by entrusting ourselves to Him for salvation. But we continually feast upon Him by eating and consuming His Word, as Peter encourages us:

“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good”—1 Peter 2:1-3.

If we have tasted of God’s salvation, then we are to crave His Word. And if we want to be wise, then we must eat it! And we must do so eagerly. We go to the Word of God hungry—longing for God to speak to us—to teach us who He is, who we are, and the path we are to pursue so that we might experience the true joy of knowing Him. And when we do, we will find a reason for living—a sure future of peace and true prosperity—for only in Him lies our true hope.

What are you eating? Are you eating of God’s Word? Or are you filling up on the junk food from the table of the world? Eat this book! Crave the Scriptures, for in them are your future and your hope. Amen.