Job 19:23-24

23 Oh that [nathan] my words [millah] were now ['ephow] written [kathab]! oh that [nathan] they were printed [chaqaq] in a book [cepher]!

24 That they were graven [chatsab] with an iron [barzel] pen [`et] and lead [`owphereth] in the rock [tsuwr] for ever [`ad]! KJV-Interlinear

23 'Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! 24 'That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever! NASB

Job begins what is probably the most significant passage in the entire book. Sure, God is going to speak later in the book, but God speaks to all of us through His words in scripture every time we read them or recall them in our minds.

The most important portions of the Bible refer to a savior, and to a life after salvation, and to your decision with regard to those truths, and to the repercussions of your decision. Of everything in life, these two questions are by far the two most important questions you have to consider, during, your entire life.

Salvation takes but one instant of your time. Once saved, always saved. You can never unborn yourself out of your new spiritual life once you have believed in Christ. As for your daily spiritual life, that requires lots of decisions each and every day of your life, for the rest of your life. Everyone born a baby, has to grow up, and growing up takes time and comes with lots of decisions.

Job knew that his words were important. He knew that the words that he was about to say, were of extreme importance. Job also knows that his time on this earth is short, and when he is gone, his words will be gone with him unless something remains behind that will help others learn of their importance.

In his day, writing was not as easy as it is today. Back then, various leaves or papyrus were used, linen or cloth, or animal hides were used to write on. And in this case Job refers to the etching or chiseling out of letters or symbols in rock or stone, and then later perhaps filled in with molten lead to preserve the writing.

Books were sequential pages on a subject. A book could be in scroll form, or even made up of several stone tablets.

Good thing that we have paper today. Otherwise, kid backpacks, which seem like they are far too heavy now, would be really heavy if they had to carry around packs of rocks.

Note too, that writing existed in Jobs very early ancient time.

Most very ancient writings are generally attributed to the Assyrians or the Egyptians, but in Jobs day, those cultures were scarcely in their infancy, as were the Indus River Valley and the Yellow River Valley civilizations.

But Job was not hoping for something temporary, but for words that were permanent. And the Word of God has existed since eternity past, it exists today, and will continue to exist forever without ever undergoing any changes, modifications, alterations, or compromises of any kind. The scriptures are the same today as they were yesterday, and they will remain the same tomorrow.

Whether he knows it or not, Jobs words have been preserved for us today, many, many centuries after Jobs time. Very few people have had their words recorded for the benefit of all of history, let alone being known by most of the population of history. That also speaks well of Jobs character and life.

You can probably list a few philosophers of history, and maybe even some of their quotes, but most people throughout the world, throughout history, even in non-Christian countries, know of Job, his life, and of what is probably his best known quote, 'The Lord gives and the Lords takes away '

Who else can you quote? Who else can nearly everyone in history quote? Can you quote anything from Hinduism, from Buddhism, from Islam, or from virtually any of the cults of history? Most people can't.

The Word of God is the single most known and powerful set of words, ever. And they have survived all of history, and can never be obliterated. Isn't that something you would think that people would take notice of? Isn't that something you should ponder for your own personal life?

Now is the time to post a prayer.