Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee
DAILY READING Colossians 3:18-4:18; Ezekiel 31-32; Isaiah 56
If we are asked to choose between a pile of salt and a pile of gold, many people would probably choose the gold. But that was not the case many centuries ago. To the ancient people living in the deserts of Africa, salt was more valuable than gold.
Once cultures began relying on grain, vegetable, or boiled meat diets instead of mainly hunting and eating roasted meat, adding salt to food became an absolute necessity for maintaining life. At that time in history salt was very difficult to obtain in many parts of the world. The Akan people, of what is today Ghana and Ivory Coast, lived in the forests of West Africa. They greatly lacked salt and always needed to trade for it. Gold, however, was much easier to come by, every Akan knew how to find tiny grains of gold sparkling in the river beds after a rainfall.
While the Akans lacked salt, the people who lived in the desert of North Africa could easily mine salt, but they lacked gold. They craved for the precious gold metal which added to their splendor and prestige and was used to make jewelry for their kings. These mutual needs led to the establishment of long-distance trade routes that connected very different cultures. The north had salt mines. The south had gold. Trade was even – an ounce of gold for an ounce of salt. The ancient kingdom of Ghana who had a very strong army, served as middlemen to this trade.
For the Akans salt was of more importance than gold. While gold decorated their outward body they craved rather for the salt that would preserve their life. They valued salt because it was essential to their staying alive.
Spiritually today, we need to seek that which will keep us alive. Often times in the Bible, salt represents The Word of God. Just as salt is a preserver, the incorruptible seed of The Word preserves us from decay. All curing processes for the preservation of meat, fundamentally depend on the use of salt as the primary preservation agent. likewise, when we have the salt of the Word of God in us, we are kept alive and preserved from decay and corruption. The way not to sin is to treasure the word of God in your heart. It is also the way to succeed ultimately in life.
Psalm 119:11 says ‘Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.’ Just as The Word is incorruptible and indestructible, when you are full of The Word you also become incorruptible and destructible. The knowledge of The Word delivers from destruction.
Hosea 4:6 says ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.’ It is the lack of The Word that leads to destruction. But instructions of scriptures delivers from destruction. Therefore we need to prioritize The Word above all else. Indeed when we seek God, and His kingdom first, then every other thing is added unto us.
PRAYER: Father please grant me renewed appetite for Your Word. Enable me to continually fill my heart with Your Word so that i can be preserved from the corruption that is in the world in Jesus’ Name.
quote :
For you to enjoy victory in the Kingdom of God, you need to develop a Kingdom mindset, that thinks in line with the Word of God. – WORDBITE 222.
[ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK TRIUMPH OF LIGHT OVER DARKNESS]