Eugene Peterson who created The Message paraphrase version of the Bible also wrote a book called Eat This Book, referencing John’s actions in Revelation 10 when he eats the scroll an angel gives him. The argument is that we are often too analytical and systematic about our study of scripture, when we should be consuming it like food. “He put away his notebook and pencil. He picked up his knife and fork. He ate the book.”
We should be consuming scripture for sustenance, sucking the marrow out of it, absorbing all the bitterness) nutrients and tasting every nuance. We should be chewing the cud of scripture!
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
That’s what the psalmist expresses here, deeply desiring the instruction and laws of God. This is not natural! We typically react against rules and constraint, but the psalmist sees wonder in the Torah of God – not only the words, but the living ethos of life with God.
We see this attitude also in Psalm 1:
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
We know we should seek God’s word in this way, but often this is a struggle for us.
It is notable that the psalmist calls himself a stranger or immigrant in the land, out of place, unrooted, in a transitional state. Where do our roots come from, then? This is what drives the deep desire for God’s commandments our dependence on God’s word like a tree depends on the streams of water.
Let us feel that need, that wonder deeply into our bones. Let us consume the scripture not as a textbook or instruction manual but as the transformational word of God.
— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, November 13, 2022