Don’t be mislead by the title. This is not an article about the merits of knowledge gained from books rather than from direct personal experience. There is much to be said for having a healthy and well-rounded combination of both. Instead, these thoughts are about knowing The Book—God’s Word as revealed in the pages of Holy Scripture.
God said to Joshua: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Josh. 1:8)
First, Joshua was commanded to dwell upon God’s Word so that he would know it intimately. Next, he was to make sure that he put into practice—that he lived out—what he read and came to know in the divine law. Finally, the result of this knowledge and obedience would be success!
Specifically, for Joshua and Israel at this time, this meant success in the sense of defeating their enemies and having dominion over the land of Canaan. But, in the general sense, it meant that the people would enjoy fellowship with God and would be blessed by Him in numerous ways.
The same remains true for us today! Our knowledge of God’s book leads to our success.
No, this does not mean that the more Bible we know the more money we will make. Not by a long shot.
We will prosper and be successful in a different type of way:
· We will know peace. (Rom. 5:1-2)
· We will have a righteous and permanent solution to the problem of guilt. (1 John 1:9)
· We will not fear death. (Heb. 2:14-15)
Of course, much more could be said along these lines. However, this is sufficient to demonstrate the point: Book Knowledge makes all the difference in the world.
