Chew On This

This memory pops into my mind. I’m a Cub Scout. Mom is the pack leader. We are at the community center in Seabrook, Tx with our Pack Meeting. It was an old log building that was musky and dusky. We are putting on a skit of Jack and the Beanstalk. I’m crawling around on all fours pretending to be the cow that Jack is taking to the market. Someone whispers out, “Chew your cud”… I’m just 7 or 8 years old and I have no idea what this meant. So I simply chewed on my shirt sleeves.

What a memory!
Out of nowhere!
Nor will it leave me alone.

Since those early days of Scouting, I’ve learned a lot about Chewing the Cud.

A cow eats the same food more than once! She grazes and loads up on the succulent grasses. Then she settles down and immediately her system sends some of that chewed and partially digested grass from the stomach into her mouth and she chews it up to a finer grain so her system can handle it, and sends it down into another stomach.

It’s part of her system to rehash that which she had already ingested. She’s ruminating. That’s part of her identity as an animal. She’s a ruminate. Which means she re-chews food already ingested.

This is how we identify our actions of “thinking deeply about something we’ve already ingested.” We ruminate. Rehash.

Some call it meditation, which is slightly different in that it’s focused thinking about something. It’s burning up brain calories as you contemplate something you may have never thought about before, or rethinking something that has consumed you. Or simply refreshing and repairing for specific actions.

This brings me to a favorite portion of scripture dealing with the Word of God.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,
but you shall meditate in it day and night,
that you may observe 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. (Joshua 1:8 NKJV)

Joshua was not a young man… when these words were spoken… and his life experiences were varied and many.

• He is obviously one of those who leaves the captivity of Egypt
• He had fought against Amalek and was successful as long as Moses’ hands were lifted (Exodus 17:9)
• God had Moses write this event down as a memorial to rehearse in the ears of Joshua (Exodus 17:14)
• Joshua became a minister unto Moses (Exodus 24:13) and went to the mountaintop with him to receive the three tablets of stone
• Joshua stayed in the tabernacle after Moses had his face to face conversation with God (Exodus 33:11)
• Joshua (along with Caleb) was one of the 12 spies that ventured into Canaan (Numbers 14) and they both survived while the 10 died of plagues, and they both had a positive report while the others saw only themselves as grasshoppers in the sight of giants.
• Joshua becomes the Shepherd of Israel by God’s command  (Numbers 27)
• Joshua and Caleb – the only 2 men over 20 who survived the wilderness (Numbers 32)

Here I am looking at retirement in the nearer future, but Joshua was probably over 60 when it came time to lead…

Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel,
“Be strong and of good courage,
for you must go with this people to the land
which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them,
and you shall cause them to inherit it.
And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you.
He will be with you,
He will not leave you nor forsake you;
do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:7-8 NKJV)

What weight must have rested upon his shoulders! Is it any wonder that Joshua depends upon the Word? Joshua wrote that when you meditate, you become “careful to do everything written in [the book of the Law].” This is so important. When we meditate, we look to the Word to make sure that we are doing everything written on those precious pages.

I ask myself this question, then, what was the book of the Law?

During his leadership, Moses kept a written record of God’s words and acts and committed this record to the care of the priests (Deuteronomy. 31:9). Among other things, the “Book of the Law” included:

• A written reminder to Joshua to wipe out the Amalekites (Exodus 17:14).
• “The Book of the Covenant” (Exodus 24:4, 7), a record of the journeys of the people from Egypt to Canaan (Numbers 33:2), special regulations dealing with inheritance (36:13), and the song that Moses taught the people (Deut. 31:19).
• Moses kept adding material to this record until it included everything God wanted in it (v. 24).
• The entire five Books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy) comprised “the Book of the Law,” the greatest legacy Moses could leave to his successor.

God affirms the validity of this recorded word and calls it the “Book of the Law.” It is placed in the Ark of the Covenant (Deuteronomy 31:26) and Joshua is commanded to meditate on it day and night, observe to do all this is recorded within this legacy, and then a prosperous way and good success will be his result.

So, how does one meditate? Let’s chew on this a few minutes.

Much later in time, the psalmist will give us things to meditate upon, mentioning it sixteen times, and urged us to reflect on aspects of God’s character :

• His unfailing love (Psalms 48:9)
• His works (Psalms 77:2; 143:5; 145:5),
• His precepts and ways (Psalms 119:15)

In fact, the psalmist book begins with the concept that a man’s delight is the Law of the Lord and he mediates in it day and night! (Psalms 1:2) This action sustains a man much like a tree planted beside “rivers” of water and he will bring forth fruit at the proper time, he will prosper, and he will not wither!

One writer describes meditation as something best done with all the faculties of one’s being, namely the senses. We taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalms 34:8), we hear his voice, we touch him with the feelings of our infirmities, our worship is a sweet smelling savor and we yearn for the time that we will see Him face to face.

If our five senses are to be used, then when we ponder a scripture we should put ourselves into the realm of the scripture and use our senses to observe and meditate.

Furthermore, I enjoy looking at scripture from multiple viewpoints. Instead of looking at it from the voice of the teller, how about considering the story from another viewpoint. Think about the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:7-22) who went away sorrowfully because he had so much. Did this ever prevent him from meditating on his choice and perhaps making another commitment later on? No. We just don’t have all the details. As far as we know he is never referenced again unless he’s in the nameless crowd of followers.

Use your five senses as you consider the scripture from the standpoint of the Rich Young Ruler. In verse 21, Jesus “looked at him and loved him,” then immediately challenged him to give up what he apparently loved best: his wealth.

• See yourself as Jesus sees you
• Listen to your voice patterns
• Touch that wealth that you hold in your hands
• Smell the surroundings
• Taste the words of Jesus as He commands your actions
• Imagine life as a follower of Christ more than a generator and protector of wealth

Now, imagine yourself as a bystander hearing the words of Jesus to this man

• How did the young man approach Jesus? Full of self-assurance or Timid?
• How were his words spoken to Jesus? Full of pride or subservient?
• How did Jesus look at this man? Haughtily or with compassion?
• Could it have been that Jesus knew him from other surroundings?
• What did you hear from the voice of Jesus? Condemnation or Love?
• How did the young man react to the word of Jesus? Angry or thoughtful?
• What were his immediate thoughts connected to? The sacrifice of wealth?
• How did the young man walk away from Jesus?

Finally, imagine yourself in the shoes of Jesus…
Oh, that we could see ourselves as He sees us!

Here’s my thought. In my years of yearning for biblical knowledge, I have used Bible Study to dissect the scripture looking for its root of meaning and depth of application. Meditation, on the other hand, gives me the savor of the Word without looking for all the technical data that in-depth study supplies.

• Reading the word is like preparing for a BBQ experience later on.
• Bible Study is like digging into fresh BBQ hot off the grill
• Meditation is enjoying the BBQ smell as we prepare it, and long after the food is gone the memory that comes and goes with that enjoyment.

Let the meditation of scripture be a driving force of our time in the Word – what prosperous and successful beings we will become!

(This post was originally written in 10/31/2010 and has been updated 8/30/2018)