Daily Bible Nugget #252, Job 23:12

The Nugget:

Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

My Comment:

Saints esteem the Scriptures above all things. This topic is taken from The New Topical Textbook, an entry under the heading “The Scriptures,” on page 240. I believe the subtopics gathered under this main topic are among the best and surely most important topics ever compiled about the Bible from the Bible itself. I post these topics, the related Scriptures, and comments followed by a careful cross reference study to build you up in your faith. You really need to fall in love with the Bible. To Job the Scriptures were clearly a most central source of spiritual delight in his life. He knew God’s Word. He valued it even more than his necessary food. Sometimes what you value is reflected in how you spend your time. If you are a true believer in our Lord Jesus Christ, you surely spend time with Him by means of prayer and reading and studying His word in the Bible. Job did. It is an interesting question to consider just how much of the Bible as we have it did Job have access to in his own day? Of course the New Testament had not been written yet. Strangely, there seem to be no overt, discernible references to either Moses or the Mosaic Law, or such centrally important events in Hebrew history as the Exodus from Egypt in the book of Job. I have been watching for any thematic connections of the book of Job with the books of Moses as I’ve worked on expanding the cross references for the book of Job, and have found very few. Just recently I spotted an interesting reference in Job 4:18 that might relate to fallen angels as discussed in the book of Jude (Jude 1:6) and possibly in Genesis 6:1-4, but if these verses pertain to the same event, the event occurred and was known about long before the time of Moses, so it may not actually be a direct reference to anything Moses wrote. The lack of any reference to Moses and Hebrew history in Job has led some scholars to believe that Job lived in Patriarchal times long before Moses. If that is so, then it may possibly be that Job is the oldest book in the Bible. Other scholars believe it was written during the time of Solomon or thereabouts. I prefer to believe that the book of Job is much older than that. What ever the case may be, surely Job is an admirable character, and his love for God’s Word ought to inspire us all to a similar commitment to the Bible. Job is also remarkable for his sensitivity to matters of social justice. He was surely a very wise administrator whose voice was much respected “in the gate,” the place where legal and governmental functions took place. Interestingly, he was also one of the wealthiest men of his day.

For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:

(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 511 for Job 23:12.

(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 567 or in Logos 5 Bible software for Job 23:12.

(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:

Job 23:12. Neither. Jb 1:1, 8. 4:6. 24:13. Is 38:3. *Jn 6:66-69. *Jn 8:31. *Ac 14:22. +*He 10:38, 39. *1 J 2:19. gone back. Ps 44:18. +*Ga 4:9, 10n. from the commandment. Jb 33:9. 1 K 9:4. +**1 K 13:9n. I have esteemed. Heb. hid, or, laid up. T#1083. *Jb 22:22. Ezr 8:12. **Ps 1:2. +**Ps 19:7, 9, 10. **+Ps 119:11, 14, 20, 47, **Ps 119:103, 127, 143. *Pr 2:1, 10. 10:21. **Je 15:16. Ezk 3:3. Jn 4:32, 34. Ro 7:22. **1 P 2:2. Re 10:9. the words of his mouth. Jb 6:10. Ps 40:8. Is 40:8. +*Lk 8:15. Jn 15:7. +**Ac 17:11. +*Col 3:16. more than. *Ge 24:33. Ezr 10:6. necessary food. or, appointed portion. FS171E9, +Ge 47:22. ver. Jb 23:14. Jb 14:5, 13. Ezr 10:6. Pr 30:8. 31:15. Mt 6:11. +**Lk 12:42, 46.