The Nugget:
Jos 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
My Comment:
The only effective way I know to “meditate therein day and night” is to first have done the required reading of the Bible.
Many people have Bibles of their own but are not reading them. For that, people have many excuses, I imagine. A chief reason is that they are too busy and have no time for reading. I question that. How much time do you spend on the Internet or on Facebook? How much time do you spend watching TV? How we use our time reflects what our priorities are. I believe that in the light of eternity we all need to check our priorities and learn to make time for what is important in the long run.
“Resolve to edge in a little reading every day, if it is but a single sentence. If you gain fifteen minutes a day, it will make itself felt at the end of the year.” Horace Mann
Horace Mann is correct. I suggest his idea can be applied to Bible reading. If you spend time with the Bible, starting by reading even a small portion of the New Testament each day, you will find yourself getting much better acquainted with its contents. Many years ago I did just that and my reading had a great impact upon my life. That is why I repeatedly recommend this to you. I had a small pocket-sized New Testament which I kept with me. When I had a spare moment, like when I rode the bus to school or waited for the tardy bell to ring, I read from my pocket New Testament. Now, it is even easier to take the Bible with you if you have a cell phone with a screen on it large enough to display the text. So none of us has any excuse. We can all find time to regularly read then meditate on the Bible. We just need to want to.
To dig deeper into what the Bible itself has to say about the themes in Joshua 1:8 read the following cross references that I have placed in The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury:
book of the law. Jos 8:31, *Deut 6:6, 7, 8, 9; *Deut 11:18; Deut 11:19; *Deut 17:18; Deut 17:19; Deut 30:14; Deut 31:11, +*2Ch 17:9; +*2Ch 34:14 note, *2Ch 34:18, +*Psa 19:7; +*Psa 37:30; Psa 37:31; Psa 40:10; *Psa 119:11; Psa 119:42; Psa 119:43, *Isa 34:16; Isa 59:21, Mat 12:35, +*Joh 5:39, *Eph 4:29.
not depart. Deut 6:7, %Joh 5:38.
out of thy mouth. Exo 13:9.
thou shalt meditate. T48, T891. Gen 24:63, Deut 11:18, 19, 20, 21, *+Psa 1:2; Psa 1:3; *Psa 19:14; +Psa 36:9 (T279). Psa 37:31; Psa 63:5-6; Psa 103:17-18; +*Psa 119:11; Psa 119:15; Psa 119:97; Psa 119:99; Psa 119:148, *Pro 2:1, 2, 3, 4, 5; Pro 3:1; Pro 3:4; Pro 3:21; Pro 4:13; Pro 4:20, 21, 22; Pro 4:26; Pro 14:22, Isa 64:5, *+Mat 22:6 (T493), Mat 22:29, +Mat 28:19 (T458). +*Joh 5:39, Act 8:28; +*Act 17:11, +*Rom 15:4, *Col 3:16, 1Th 5:27, *1Ti 4:13, 14, 15, 16, Heb 2:1, **1Pe 2:2, Rev 1:3.
day and night. +*Psa 119:148.
observe. See on *Deut 5:29; Deut 5:32; Deut 5:33; Deut 6:1, 2, 3, Zec 8:9, **Mat 7:21; **Mat 7:24; *Mat 28:20, +*Luk 11:28, *Joh 13:17; *Joh 14:21, *Jas 1:22, 23, 24, 25, *Rev 22:14.
to do. Jos 22:5, Deut 30:6, Psa 111:10.
thy way. +*Psa 119:24, Pro 2:6-7.
prosperous. Gen 24:56; Gen 39:3; Gen 39:23, +Deut 29:9, *1Ki 2:3, *1Ch 22:13, *2Ch 31:21; 2Ch 32:30, *+Psa 1:3, Isa 44:4; Isa 48:15, Col 1:6.
have good success. or, do wisely. Jos 1:7 mg. Jos 2:24; Jos 23:9, Isa 52:13.