| “The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting” (Proverbs 12:27). |
| Most of us today do not have to go out and hunt in order to have food to eat; we can simply go down to the grocery store and buy it. But in the past, it was common for people to have to go out and hunt, if they wanted food. Before Europeans came to North America, the indigenous people here were excellent hunters with bows and arrows, and spears. A large part of their diet came from hunting. Later, when the continent was being settled, many of the first pioneers got their fresh meat from hunting. You may remember too that in the Bible, when Isaac wanted his son Esau to prepare some nice meat for him, Esau had to go out hunting to get it. Even today in North America some people like to go out hunting for deer, elk, or moose in the fall, in order to have meat in their freezers for the winter. |
| It takes effort to go hunting, and sometimes real persistence, for it is not always easy to find something. However, according to our verse, a man might go out and get something in hunting, yet not be willing to prepare it and roast it, so that he could eat it. After all, hunting can be a bit exciting, but preparing meat and then roasting it is not nearly as much fun. But unless the man roasted the meat, it would not do him any good. It takes effort to hunt, but it also takes effort to prepare the meat and roast it, so that it is ready to eat. |
| In spiritual things, it takes time and effort to read the Word of God, and this is good, but it is not enough. In order to profit from what we have read, it is good to meditate on it. This means to think about it, and then to put it into practice in our lives. Simply reading the Bible, but then forgetting what we have read, will not really feed our souls in the right way. No, we must be willing to let it form our thoughts and be part of us. Then what we do in our life will be according to God’s Word, and His Word will be like food for our bodies. |
