GOD’S WORD FOR NOVEMBER 15 ~ ~Matthew 4:4 ~ ~ “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

From the book, “How to Read the Bible” by Dr. Michael Youssef

Menelik II was emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 until his death in 1913. He claimed to be a direct descendant of the Biblical King Solomon. He practiced the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian faith.

The emperor was apparently aware that Christians should feed on the Word of God. Matthew 4:4 tells us, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” and 1Peter 2:2 says, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” But the emperor didn’t understand when the Bible should be taken literally and when it should be taken figuratively.

Whenever Menelik II had a headache or digestive disorder, his remedy was to tear a page or two from the Bible and eat it. He believed that literally “feeding” on the Word made him feel better.

In December 1913, the emperor suffered a stroke. He survived, and seemed to be recovering. But one day, he felt very ill. He ordered his servants to bring out a Bible and feed him the entire books of First

and Second Kings, page by page. Before he could finish his meal of Scripture, he collapsed and died.

God has called us to feed on His Word as if our lives depend on it. But God obviously intended that His Word should nourish our minds and souls – not our digestive tracts. God gave us the Bible as Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:15, “to make (us) wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

In that same letter, Paul told Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of Truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15). In those days, before there was a recognized canon of New testament Scriptures, the “Word of Truth” Paul referred to was the Old Testament. Paul didn’t dismiss the importance of the Old Testament –he UNDERSCORED its importance.

In the King James Version, the phrase about a worker who “correctly handles the Word of truth” is translated “rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” the original Greek word for “correctly handling” or “rightly dividing” the Word of truth is “orthotomounta,” a compound word. “Ortho” means “right” or “straight,” and “tomounta” means “to cut.” Literally, Paul is saying that the Bible must be correctly cut (interpreted) in the same way that a skilled carpenter would make straight cuts on a piece of wood.

Paul is not saying that we should “divide” the New Testament from the Old and throw the Old away, as some tragically do. He’s saying we should interpret the entire Word of God rightly and with precision – not in a careless and slipshod way.

I believe we now live in the days foretold by this Old Testament prophecy in Amos 8:11:

“’The days are coming,’” declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.’”

The Apostle Paul also foresaw a time when there would be a famine of the Word of God – not because there were not enough Bibles to go around, but because of neglect, apostasy, and a desire to have our biases confirmed. Paul wrote, in 2 Timothy 4:3-4:

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

May we never partake in a willful famine of the Word of God. The burden of my life is to equip you for the days that are coming upon us. The burden of my life is to teach God’s people how to rightly divide the Word of Truth. (Tomorrow he’ll) give eight principles for correctly handling God’s Word, both the Old and the New Testaments.

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John 6:35

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 6:51

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

Psalm 37:23 & 24

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

John 14:26

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Proverbs 6:21&22

(God’s Words))Bind them continually upon your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
When you roam, they will lead you;
When you sleep, they will keep you;
And when you awake, they will speak with you.

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