I’m sharing an updated testimony about how God is using Bible reading in my life. I borrowed the title of this entry from my brother, whose church is currently doing a sermon series called “Eat this Book”, about studying the Word of God. It’s also a church-wide challenge to read through the Bible in one year. I blogged last year about my church doing the “New Thru 30” program, a 30-day read through the New Testament, which was the catalyst for me reading through the Bible for the first time.
As I’ve said previously, “New Thru 30” is billed as a “P90X” for spiritual fitness – it helps you develop the discipline to read more of God’s Word daily, consume the complete counsel of God’s Word rather than just picking certain parts you’d rather read, and helps you see the big picture of redemption in a way that you don’t get from reading individual passages.
New Thru 30 truly revolutionized the way I consume Scripture. After I finished it and then the Old Testament, I vowed to make reading through the Bible a constant endeavor. I ended up focusing on a couple other topical studies for the rest of 2011, but decided to start off 2012 with New Thru 30 again. This time, I did a book club (called “The Best Book Club,” for the fact that we read The Best Book ever written, of course)! We read individually, but shared our experiences by e-mail and in a couple group meetings.
It was another profitable read. This time around, God pressed on my heart the personal testimonies of disciples who walked with Jesus while He was on earth and then were pivotal in the launch of the early church and the spread of The Gospel. I came to appreciate even more the life and witness of John, the apostle of love. It reminded me that God is writing a special story for my life too – and the lives of all believers- and He wants to use ordinary people like us to share His Message in unimaginable ways. I am so excited to be part of His kingdom!
The Next Meal
The spiritual toning from New Thru 30 helped me dive into my current Bible reading challenge, which is going through the Word of God in one year using The Chronological Study Bible, published by Thomas Nelson. As I read through the Old Testament last year and saw how several books appeared to overlap or repeat, especially stories in the Kings and Chronicles and Ezra and Nehemiah, I thought it would be interesting to see how they fit in historical order. About that time I saw my dad with the Study Bible and decided to get it as well.
The read’s been great so far! The biblical scholars who organized The Chronological Study Bible point out that trying to rearrange the Bible in time order – which included transplanting particular chapters from within books of the Bible - is a “fallible human effort.” There is disagreement among biblical scholars about when events occurred; there are often accepted ranges within a period of time in which a book, or specific chapters within books, could have been written, but not certainty about precise dates, and the dates of other books are believed to be unknown or defy chronology. The Chronological Study Bible, page xi. The authors provide some insightful introductory comments about the purpose of a read through an imperfectly organized chronological text:
If we are to understand and appropriate the Bible’s message today, we need some sense of the historical and cultural context in which its diverse parts appeared…One goal of The Chronological Study Bible is to help readers join the scholars’ quest for biblical truth…[Another point is that] Historical events are often the Bible’s subject matter, but these events are always reported from a particular perspective. That perspective is theological history. It is in the arena of history that God has chosen to make himself known…The Old Testament was the Bible of the New Testament writers...History writing in the New Testament is certainly theological history. The authors believed that the purpose and meaning of history could be found in Christ. There, the history of what they wrote was salvation history. God’s earlier saving works [seen in the Old Testament] looked forward to the Cross. pp. x, xi-xii.I found these and other comments in the introductory section so enlightening. I am enamored by the fact that we can see the Bible as God giving us revelation about Himself through history – theological history, and this perspective can guide us into a greater understanding of His purposes, ways and will. That God orchestrated events recorded in His Word that reveal His character – and His plan to save humanity – makes every word so essential, life giving. It illuminates what the psalmist said about God’s Word in Psalm 19: 7-8:
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”
The Word of God truly is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path!
Minding My Munch
I've found this biblical chrono-theo-history thing is like, super awesome! The organization of The Chronological Study Bible puts the books Genesis – Ruth in almost the exact same order as in the traditional Bible, with the exception of probably just a psalm associated with Moses, Psalm 90 (there may be a couple other differences, but none that I recall or can see from a quick look back). However, starting in 1 Samuel, chapters and books start to get rearranged in very fascinating ways.
I’m currently near the end of the stories in 1 Samuel, which focus on Saul, King of Israel, and future King David. Intertwined are psalms that relate to events in David’s life that were occurring in 1 Samuel. Right now I’m reading about David running from Saul, who started seeking David’s life after the prophet Samuel told Saul that the kingdom would be taken from him as a result of his failure to obey God (1 Samuel 15:10-35). The psalms that are associated with these events are inserted at relevant points in the story.
For example, after 1 Samuel 24:1-22, when David spares Saul’s life when their paths cross while Saul is in pursuit of David, Psalms 57 and 142, prayers for relief from David's enemies, follow. Several other similar psalms are included throughout David’s story (As often noted, David is believed to have written several psalms, and many others are at least associated with his experiences, if not written by him. However, these psalms still account for just about half of the 150 psalms).
The mix of 1 Samuel with several psalms is really bringing David’s story into focus. Through the order I’m really grasping the trials that David experienced in the period between the time he was anointed king (1 Samuel 16) and his actual coronation. The psalms intertwined in this section, whether they were actually written by David or not, really illustrate the despair that he experienced at times during the wait. At one point while on the run from Saul, 1 Samuel 27:1 says, “And David said in his heart, 'Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.'” (NKJV). David spends about one year and four months living under the Philistines, who were then among Israel’s enemies (Psalm 27:7).
That verse, in the context, really struck me. It was such a reminder of the fact that there can be a lot of uncertain, scary times in waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled – even when we know they will be in the future. In the chapter, the Bible does not say anything of David getting ahead of God or being sinful for aligning with the Philistines; in fact, a commentary I reviewed briefly, despite mentioning that David did not know then that Saul had actually stopped pursing him, still notes David's decision as one that kept him from any more danger from Saul’s pursuit and gave him the opportunity to gain “combat and leadership skills.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary, p. 453. While David waited, he still felt fear, and perhaps doubt. Yet God used the wait as a way to strengthen him for his predetermined assignment of king.
A principle from this story is so pivotal to apply in our times of waiting: even in our fear about the future, God will accomplish whatever He has promised. Our only responsibility it to be obedient to His will even in the doubt and seize the opportunities for growth that God gives us as we wait. David never tried to jump ahead of God by killing Saul – even when he had a clear opportunity to do so. Instead, he made vengeance God’s, gave his fear to God and did what he could without interfering with God’s timing for fulfilling His promise. That's how we should approach our waiting times!
Filling Up
As I continue the chronological read, I’m looking forward to consuming more of God’s Word in sizable quantities! I will share more thoughts about what I’m learning periodically.
Also, if you’re not getting your daily meal of the Word, or need a healthier serving, check out YouVersion.com and the accompanying Bible app! There are hundreds of reading plans, from a few-day topical studies to read-through-the-Bible programs that take just a few months up to two years.
I also recommend The Chronological Study Bible, presented here (Family Christian Bookstore often sells it, and other Bibles, for half off - I got it there for about $27). In addition to the reorganization according to time periods (referred to as “Epochs”), it contains very useful synopses about the historical and cultural context of events throughout scripture and passage summaries that consider the theological history perspective. Whatever studies we choose, it’s essential that we EAT THIS BOOK!
