Do you know the bones of your Bible?

While the heart of the Bible is Jesus, the bones of the Bible can help us find our way to him.

But in this age of Bible apps and tablets and iPads, just how well do we know the bones of our Bible? When we can type in the verse notation or do a word search, is there any reason to memorize the books of the Bible anymore?

Why learn the bones?

1. See the big picture
Without knowing the overall skeleton, you can lose sight of the central theme of God’s consistent love that holds the stories together. When you work a jigsaw puzzle, you look at the picture on the box first and often, then you can more easily put the pieces in the right place.

2. Delight in details
But while the Bible is one big love story about God, it’s also a series. Many smaller stories are captured in its 66 individual books. Each story holds value. By keeping books in context (Song of Solomon is a book of poetry; Ezekiel is a major prophet), you can more accurately interpret what you’re reading and can better apply it to your life.

3. Look for help
Once you know the overall purpose of each book, you can look more efficiently for specific helps. If you have a friend in deep mourning, direct her to the Psalms for comfort. Or if you’re struggling with a child’s rebellion, turn to Proverbs for wisdom.  Be prepared for opportunities to share Jesus through your knowledge of his truths.

4. Use it easier
The more familiar you are with the books (Luke come before Acts), the easier it is to find your way around. You’ll be less frustrated when looking up verses to share and you’ll waste less time in your studies.

5. Find your story
Will you be more Christ-like by memorizing the books of the Bible? Nope. But the more you know the book, the more you’ll discover—and love—about the Author.  And you’ll realize he’s inviting YOU to be a part of his story as well.

Where to start

Begin with the big bones. Learn how men have set up the library: two main divisions (Old and New Testaments), which are subdivided into smaller sections (books of Law, books of History, etc). While these are man-made categories, they’re still helpful in interpreting that poetry books are more metaphorical, for example, and that Pauline epistles are more practical.

Then, if you haven’t already, memorize all 66 books. It’s not too late, regardless of how old (or young) you are. And it’s not that difficult (music helps greatly!).

To go deeper, review a summary from each book; read more about the approximate 40 authors; put a timeline together.

God breathed life into the people in our Bibles. As we read about them, we learn about him. And the Word becomes flesh again in us.

Resources

Some of my favorites:
Bible Gateway – a searchable online Bible in over 100 versions
E-Sword - free downloadable Bible study software
Do Not Depart’s top 10 online Bible study tools
66 Love Letters by Dr. Larry Crabb
What the Bible Is All About for Young Explorers based on the classic by Dr. Henrietta Mears
Reproducible Maps, Charts, Time Lines & Illustrations by Gospel Light

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Do you have a favorite Bible study resource?

REVISED FOR THE ARCHIVES
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT DO NOT DEPART

A people of the Book?

Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:10

It’s not bad to be known as people of the Book.
     But isn’t it better to be known as people of God?

In my younger years, I thought only my religious tribe was a people of the Book. The “walking Bibles.”

     I was wrong.

The more exposed I became to other Christians in other churches, I discovered there were many who diligently studied the Bible. Many who quoted scriptures. Many who believed in God’s Word just as much as I did.

While we didn’t always agree on interpretations, we each held the Bible as our standard.

But there was more we had in common.

     It was Jesus.

The Bible by itself is a story tale unless it’s backed up by the living, breathing Savior written about in its pages.

As I’ve tried to focus on main things this Lent, I keep returning to this main truth: It’s Jesus.

• It’s not church
• It’s not perfect doctrine
• It’s not even the Bible

Those are good things, important things, but they’re about more...about Jesus. He’s the point. He’s the center. He’s who I want to be identified with.

While I will continue studying my Bible—it teaches me truths about Jesus!—I don’t want my identity to stop there.

     I want to be known for who I worship: the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I won’t stop with the written word; I can’t have a relationship with a book.
The written word leads me to the Living Word. He’s the One who can love me. And whom I can love back.

A Being, not a book.
A Savior, not a system.
     Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
John 5:39-40

* * *

What is your church or denomination most known for?

What about you?

4 Ways to Give Away the Word

Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Luke 2:10

We’re diligent to take the Word in.
Through daily Bible readings, sermons, books, memorizations, songs.

But how diligent are we to give it back out?

The Gospel—it is Good News!—isn’t meant to sit passively inside us. The Word is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12). What God gives to us He wants us to share with others, not hoard for ourselves.

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Hebrews 13:16

So how can we give the Word away?
How can we bless others with the words of God so they also can be encouraged and equipped?

Here are four suggestions...

     please read here.

(I’m at Do Not Depart today.)

* * *

How do you spread the Word?
Which ways are hardest for you? Easiest?

Related:

May I also suggest OneVerse? They translate the Bible into native tongues. Join Katie and Lara in reaching their crazy, big goal to fund the translation of 104 verses for the Vidunda people.

What does Bible study do to you?

Exegesis is loving God enough to stop and listen carefully to what he says.
~ EUGENE H. PETERSON, Eat This Book

Oh, sometimes the word itself—exegesis—sounds so boring to me.

Exegesis: Critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text.

But what happens when I do it is not boring.

I’ve been engulfing myself in Philippians 3:1-11 the past several days.
May I admit it is slightly painful?

But tremendously joyful!

When I dig in deep, my attention slowly drifts away from what I am doing for me and for him, to what he is doing for me and for him.

It humbles me.
Is that what exegesis is supposed to do?

Is that what words can do?

Exegesis is an act of sustained humility: There is so much about this text that I don’t know, that I will never know. 

But what else can words do?

But this text was never intended to train up and equip us into competence, graduate us into an expertise that establishes us as a superior class of Christians, certified and sent off to do God’s work for him among the biblically unwashed. 

If the knowledge we acquire through our reading and study of this text that involves us in following Jesus, diverts us from the very Jesus we started out following, we would have been better off never to have opened the book in the first place.

There is a knowledge that puffs up (1 Corinthians 8:1).
A knowledge that is steeped in pride.
It’s not the kind of knowledge I want.

What I want to know is the One who knows.
That’s what I’m learning. Over and anew. 

It’s pure power, this Word reshaping me through words.
May I ever be humbled through its grace.

* * *

What does Bible study do to you?

Find the Word in words

Dependence upon a word of man would be slavish, but dependence upon God's word is life.
    ~ J. GRESHAM MACHEN

I grew up reverencing the Book probably more than the Author.

But the Book isn’t enough. The Book is meant to take us beyond itself.

Its words lead us to The Word. The Living Word.

Yet the Living Word continues to take us back to the Bible to learn even more about God. It’s a reliable cycle.

While reading Chapter 4 in Christianity and Liberalism with the Reading Classics Together group at Challies.com, the statements below from author J. Gresham Machen (1923) stood out to me.

They show a healthy perspective between the Bible and Jesus and our experience. I pray you’ll find meaning here as well.

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Salvation does depend upon what happened long ago, but the event of long ago has effects that continue until today.

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Christian experience is rightly used when it helps to convince us that the events narrated in the New Testament actually did occur; but it can never enable us to be Christians whether the events occurred or not.

It is a fair flower, and should be prized as a gift of God. But cut it from its root in the blessed Book, and it soon withers away and dies.

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The Christian man finds in the Bible the very Word of God. Let it not be said that dependence upon a book is a dead or an artificial thing.

* * *

Is the Bible alive for you?

Why I am NOT reading the Bible in a year

Pausing
We lingered in bed longer than normal yesterday morning, the first day of the new year. Jeff snoozed off and on, catching up from a sleepless night chaperoning the teens’ lock-in. I read off and on. We chatted in between.

Doing nothing important. But everything important. Just spending time together. Unrushed. 

Relationships can’t be hurried. They need pauses. 

That’s why I’m not reading the Bible in a year in 2011. I did in 2010. I’m glad. It was good. But it felt rushed. Hurried. It left little time for pauses.

Why read?
But I am still going to read through my Bible again. I hope you will, too. However long it takes us. Spending time in God’s book has no substitute.

It’s personal.
It’s about your relationship.
With God. With those you live with. Work with. Play with. Worship with.

That’s why you read the Bible, right? To learn about God and His will and your purpose and destiny. For His honor, for your good. For strength, for wisdom, for love, for direction.

Print your plan
So do you have a plan to do that? I’m planning on two years this time, maybe three. Time enough to journal and meditate and have conversations with the Author.

Here’s my plan, swapping 2 weeks in the Old Testament with 1 week in the New Testament. I switch versions every time I read through, but I check against the ESV for passages I’m studying. This year I’ve chosen the Holman Christian Standard Bible for the Old Testament, and the Common English Bible for the New Testament.

Plan your time
After you print your plan, prayerfully decide when you’ll read. You don’t have to be rigid about it, but a set time will increase your likelihood of succeeding.

Pause to listen
Then read. Listen to his stories. Grow more in love with the Lord as you do. See how your story fits in to His. Take the time to linger in your relationship, pausing to talk, growing, changing.

The more you let His Word in you, the healthier you’ll be. And the healthier you are, the healthier your relationships will be. Not just with God. With everybody.

So print off your plan, plan your time, then pause to listen.

Your Father will be honored.

* * *

• 7 tips for a 2-year journey at Gospel Coalition
• Bible reading record from Matthew Weathers blog
• Ten plans for yearly reading from ESV.org
• Why I’m Reading the Bible in 10 Different Places by Bob Kauflin

Daily—Corner View

Everybody’s thirsty.
Daily. 

My outside plants wilt without water.
Daily.

Even inside, a certain pampered plant thinks he’ll die without a drink. Daily.Deeper in, I’m drinking from the Psalms on Twitter, #sclp.
Daily.When I don’t drink enough, 
I wilt.
I thirst.

This year my daily drink is measured.
It satisfies.
Daily.

I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
          to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
          that they might declare my praise...
Isaiah 43:20-21

. . . daily.

* * *

Have you committed to drink daily in Bible reading this year?
How’s it going? 

For a variety of daily around the world, visit the links at Jane’s place.

Why I changed my mind—the Bible in a year

Our church leaders are encouraging everyone to read the entire Bible this year.

At first I resisted. I like my own plan of taking 2-3 years to read through the Bible. It works for me. It allows me to go slower, better absorbing what I’m reading, and journaling along the way.

I don’t want to sacrifice meaning for speed.

So at first I gave myself permission to say “no.” But when I kept seeing great yearly plans, and then this one popped up, I caved. I’d do it.

Why? Because it hit a nerve. It was a couples’ plan. 

Jeff had already decided he wanted to give the one-year thing a shot. He had even encouraged me to not feel guilty that I wasn’t. 

But when this plan showed up that we could do partly together, God nudged me that he could use this to work on a weak area of our marriage: our lack of time spent studying the Word together.

I’m not proud of it. While we have had some limited times of success with joint Bible study through the years, we’ve never sustained it over the long haul.

So Friday night when I couldn’t sleep, I spent awhile catching up on reading week 1. And I loved hearing God through the longer readings.

Doing this to enrich my marriage may have propelled me, but doing this to improve my relationship with God will sustain me.

Hopefully I can do both. So count me in. I won’t give up my original long-term plan along the way; I’m on track to finish the New Testament in a few months with it.

And if you’re reading through the Bible this year, too, let’s encourage each other to keep at it. Not just for the camaraderie, but so that we’ll be changed through it.Changed for God. Changed for each other. 

God’s purposes are always bigger than our own. 

* * *

The Word is my answer

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
John 1:1

Ann asks this week, “What one spiritual practice has most deeply affected your relationship with Jesus?”

One? That’s hard to answer.

I’ll say:
Worship. Or, maybe meditation. Or journaling? No, study. Definitely study. But what about fellowship? Ooh, don’t forget memorization. Or should it be prayer? Yes, prayer.

Or, maybe I just don’t know. 

But I see a common thread running through all those ways of connecting with Jesus. It’s the Word.

The Word is the foundation for song lyrics and purposed thoughts and focused studies and interactions with believers and memorizing truths and conversations with God.

Yes, the Word is my answer.  

The Bible is home base. It grounds me. It's a sure spot to see Him, to learn about Him, to believe in Him, to worship Him. To know Him.

I am ushered into His presence through the knowledge of His truths (John 8:31-32).

There I uncover His grace. His holiness. His glory. His love.

I come to the Word to be changed by it. To be changed by Him. Yes, He is my answer.

* * *

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14

The Word Is Alive
LYRICS

Looking out from His throne, the Father of light and of men
Chose to make Himself known and show us the way back to Him
Speaking wisdom and truth into the hearts of peasants and kings
He began to unveil the Word that would change the course of all things

With eyes wide open, all would see

CHORUS
The Word is alive
And it cuts like a sword through the darkness
With a message of life to the hopeless and afraid
Breathing life into all who believe
The Word is alive
And the world and its glories will fade
But His truth, it will not pass away
It remains yesterday and forever the same
The Word is alive

Simple strokes on a page
Eternity's secrets revealed, carried on from age to age
It speaks Truth to us even still
And as the rain falls from Heaven, feeds the earth before it returns
Let Your Word fall on us and bring forth the fruit You deserve

With eyes wide open, let us see

CHORUS

* * *

How would you answer? What spiritual practice has most deeply affected your relationship with Jesus?

My Walks with Him

Curios - 20

1. God, tell me where to go
Are you where God wants you to be? Are you sure? Need a sign? This one is good.

If you don’t read this blog by Jon Acuff, Stuff Christians Like, you’re missing out. Spiritual humor with an insightful edge.

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2. How many at one time?  
Are you a media multitasker? Are you doing multiple things right now? E-mail going? Twitter up? Multiple tabs?

You might need to stop everything you’re doing and give this one your full attention.

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3. I like it
But I’m a woman, if that makes a difference. I don’t necessarily want it to change. But is it different for a man? Listen to Matt Redman address the issue of romantic language in worship songs.

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4. I fight because…
“Why do you fight? It’s not ‘because of my wife/husband…’—it’s because of something about you.” ~ David Powlison

Listen to this short interview with David Powlison and C. J. Mahaney. Better still, listen to all four mini-interviews. They’re worth your time.

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5. Are you too balanced?
Are you playing it safe in your Christianity? Too safe? Pastor Francis Chan from Cornerstone Church, author of Crazy Love, gives a great visual lesson you’ll remember.

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6. Do the little words count?
What do you do with the ones that just don’t quite fit the text when you’re reading your Bible? What if they just disappeared?

John Piper explains the importance of using a Bible translation with all the words during his weekly sermon.

Best Kept Secret - CORNER VIEW

Hiding His word in your heart

This week’s Corner View is: Best Kept Secret. (Uncover more secrets at Jane’s site, SpainDaily.)

Since a secret is “something hidden from view,” this verse fits exactly:

I have hidden your word in my heart 
that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11

In my deepest, most secret place—my heart—, I want to find God’s Word. It’s the best place to keep it—not just on some pages or in a sermon. Reading it is one thing (sometimes hard); memorizing it is another (always hard for me).

Here’s my latest Best Kept Secret (well, Secret-No-More) for hiding His word in my heart: 

Fighter Verses

These are selected Bible verses to arm us in our fight against sin and in the fight for faith. Many churches use them for a church-wide memory system. They’re good for adults and children.

I started using them last year in our homeschool as an easier way to have a “verse of the week” rather than coming up with my own list each year.

We’re still working on Set A (50+ verses) out of 5 sets. You can download it here for free.

Or order all the verses (more than 500) in a mini-binder for $12 from Desiring God. (I did; money well spent). The set also includes a handbook with helpful hints and a review verse sleeve.

Memorizing scripture is one of the best ways I know to keep God’s promises and power available and active for use.

It’s a secret you’ll never regret keeping.

The [expanded] Bible: A review

Another new Bible? Yes.

If you’re looking to buy a new Bible this year, save yourself some money. You can try New Testament: The [expanded] Bible for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers.

If you like it, go to your favorite bookstore or on-line source on August 11, 2009, and buy the hardcopy. Watch a video here about it.

Because I like using a different version each time I read through the Bible, I’m happy to try The [expanded] Bible. Seeing a little different wording catches my eye and my heart on scriptures that I might otherwise gloss over from common usage.

The primary difference this Bible offers? Its tagline states it well: “Study the Bible while you read.” And that’s precisely its best feature to me—the notes included in line with the text.

Excerpt

I’m in the gospels right now, so here’s an excerpt from The [expanded] Bible that I read last Friday:

Likes:

1. Alternative phrases and words are included in line with the text, instead of footnoted in a margin. Seeing the various possibilities of how a phrase could be translated adds richness to my understanding (similar to The Amplified Bible).

2. Direct cross-references are also included in the text itself. You’ll immediately see the reference and know where the quote came from.

3. Short cultural and historical comments are also incorporated as you read. No flipping pages or using dictionaries.

4. The main text appears in bold-faced typed, while the extra information is bracketed in lighter type. So if you want to skip all the study notes, you can read just the scripture itself by following the bold print.

Dislikes:

1. The base text is taken from the New Century Version, which is easy to read, but is a meaning-based translation, thus not as accurate as more literal translations, such as my personal favorite, the English Standard Version. So I read both together when I have a question or when my goal is to study instead of just read.

2. If you’re compelled to read every word in the text (which I can’t help but do), it takes longer to read a chapter.

3. Because I’m reading the pdf version, it’s a little time-consuming to navigate. The sidebar does include a Table of Contents for a quick click to the beginning of each book of the New Testament. But my daily reading plan keeps me hopping through different books each week, so it takes me a minute to scroll to my appropriate chapter.

Thomas Nelson

Kudos to Thomas Nelson Publishers for making this free offer. The more I learn about them (they’re the largest Christian publishing company in the world), the more impressed I am. They’re willing to take innovative risks to maintain viability in the changing digital world. I follow their CEO, Michael Hyatt, on Twitter and read his daily blog. I’m always learning something interesting (he’s a techno-geek as well as a booklover).

Bottom line: a thumbs-up for this Bible. Check it out for yourself.

Free Stuff

3. Christian Audio Books

If you like audio books, here’s a great deal. Each month, get a free download of a premium Christian book. This month’s offer: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney. Search the site for other free resources as well. I subscribe to their “First Chapters” podcast for unabridged first chapters of audio books.

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2. ESV Study Bible

For the month of March, have free access to the widely-acclaimed ESV Study Bible online. Then decide if you want to purchase, or just let it expire. I like the Study Bible I already have, but it’s NIV. And I’m a huge fan of the ESV ever since reading The Word of God in English by Leland Ryken a few years ago. So I'll take this opportunity for a trial run to see if it’s worth buying yet another new Bible.

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1. Desiring God

This is my most favorite ministry site on the web.

Free. I’ve never understood it. But Desiring God gives stuff away all the time online. I first read the book Desiring God online, which led me to buy a hardcopy. I knew it was good enough for a second read.

So you might think: okay, offer an older book free for online reading. Big deal. But they offer their brand new stuff for free, too. One of John Piper’s newest, Finally Alive, is also free for the reading.

They encourage you to spread their free resources around, as long as you keep them intact and as long as you don’t charge for them.

Why?

I think it’s because they really believe in their mission: to produce and distribute resources that spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.

Here’s how it works for Desiring God:

In general, let’s sell what is packaged, and give what is wired. That is, sell books, CD’s, booklets, etc., but make all that can be read, heard, or downloaded over the internet free.

Rationale: I know that all choices about what to sell and give are going to be somewhat arbitrary. But this distinction between what is packaged and what is wired is not entirely arbitrary. We distinguish between paying for the gospel, on the one hand, and paying for material objects that contain the gospel, on the other hand. We would rightly stumble over the former but accept the latter.

As technology progresses and the gospel containers change, this particular distinction will eventually become obsolete. But the principle of not requiring people to pay for the gospel will continue to govern the way we finance our spreading strategies. And as we look to the future we are not looking for new gospel containers to sell but rather new, innovative ways to make the gospel more freely available.

You’ll find literally hundreds of articles and sermons and books and other resources, all for no charge. And almost in real-time. When they host seminars, they twitter and blog at the events, and usually post audio (yes, free) within 24 hours. Video follows shortly. I’ve never been to another seminar (church or otherwise) where their speakers’ lectures are made available for free immediately after they're given (well, except for every Sunday morning at our church!).

I realize not every ministry can afford to give away what they can make money on. But as technology changes, and in many cases reduces, our own costs, I pray that we’ll rethink the way we charge for access.

In the meantime, I thank God for ministries like these. Our Savior is worth more to us than all the money in the world, so let’s provide access to Him as freely as possible.

KJV Vocabulary - How many do you know?

I can appreciate this list of words we know from our KJV and hymn-singing heritage.
[from Abraham Piper’s blog “22 Words”]

Count how many you recognize.

22 English words that still exist almost entirely because of hymns and the King James Bible
(A guest post by Joe Rigney)

1. Verily
2. Buffet
3. Diadem
4. Beseech
5. Balm
6. Ebenezer
7. Hark!
8. Begotten
9. Hither
10. Admonish
11. Gird
12. Want (as in “lack”)
13. Hallowed
14. Firmament
15. Brethren
16. Bulwark
17. Countenance
18. Quickening
19. Adjure
20. Brimstone
21. Surety
22. Goad

What others?

Memorize this

B s f t k o G a h r, a a t t w b a t y.

You may not recognize the red letter gibberish at first, but I bet you know it. It is the first letter from each word of Matthew 6:33 (ESV). Go back and look again.

I’m always looking for better and easier ways to memorize. “Easier” doesn’t seem to be out there, but “better” comes along periodically. Like now.

This website, How to Memorize Verbatim Text, uses a Javascript tool to convert any text you copy into all first letters. You then look at the first letters to help you recall the text.

Moving God’s Word from the printed page to an open heart can be a long, twisted journey, but one of the stops along the way has to be a captive mind. My mind has been trying to wrap itself around memorizing the Sermon on the Mount for several months now. Some verses click quickly; others aren’t sticky enough.

B I k i i w s I’l k p o.

That is: But I know it is worthwhile so I’ll keep pressing on.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
~ Matthew 6:33

My Favorite Spooky Stories

The Witch and the Dead Man
      King Saul needed a dead man’s wisdom. So come nightfall, he disguised himself and sneaked out to seek a medium.
      “Whom shall I bring up for you?” the woman asked.
      “Bring up Samuel,” he said.
      So rising out of the earth came Samuel! An old man, wrapped in a robe. He spoke, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” His words were fierce. Saul, full of fear, fell to the ground.
      And no one was more surprised than the medium.
~ 1 Samuel 28:1-25

Jack-in-the-Box
      The Israelites heard the Moabite raiders quickly approaching. They must hurry to rid themselves of the dead body they were burying. In their haste, they threw the dead man into the nearest tomb. Into Elisha’s tomb. Onto Elisha’s bones.
      What happened next was most unexpected—their dead friend walked back out!
~ 2 Kings 13:20-21

Talk to the Hand
      “Go back and forth, Ezekiel. Look at the dry bones, the very dry bones in this valley. Can they live? Talk to them!”
      So Ezekiel talked, and a rattling noise filled the air, bone connecting to bone. Skin from nowhere inched up to cover them.
      “Speak to the breath, Ezekiel. Tell the four winds to breathe life into these bones!”
      So Ezekiel spoke, and the bones breathed in the wind. And stood on their feet. An exceedingly great army was now formed!
~ Ezekiel 37:1-14

The Dead Live
      “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus cried. Then sent away his very own breath.
      At that very moment, the temple curtain tore; the earth shook; the rocks split.
      And the tombs split apart. The bodies inside? Rose up! They walked out into the city and were seen by many people.
      “Surely he was the Son of God!”
      Surely He is indeed!
~ Matthew 27:51-54

Ribbons of hope

Although not its primary intent, the Law shows us how impossible it is to please God on our own. When we read the Old Testament law, we ought to be humbled to appreciate how unworthy we are to belong to God. We ought to be moved to praise and thanksgiving that he provided for us a way to be accepted in his sight apart from humanly fulfilling the Old Testament law! For otherwise we would have no hope at all of pleasing him.

~ HOW TO READ THE BIBLE FOR ALL ITS WORTH

Romans 15:4
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

More and more reasons why the Old Testament is not a throwaway. It serves a vital purpose even now. The Scriptures of old tie us together to generations of the past and generations of the future with ribbons of hope. Our confidence does not lie in our own abilities to please God, but in the One who pleased him on our behalf. Back then. Right now. In times to come.

Not a throwaway

All of the Old Testament law is still the Word of God for us even though it is not still the command of God to us.

The Bible contains all sorts of commands that God wants us to know about, which are not directed toward us personally. If we are not concerned about building parapets around the roof of our houses (Deut 22:8), we should nonetheless delight in a God who cared that houseguests not fall off a roof with which they were unfamiliar, and therefore he taught his people to build their houses with that sort of love for neighbor in mind.

This fits into our understanding of the Law as part of Israel’s story, since we cannot know the significance of our story, the story of the new covenant, without knowing well how the Law functioned in Israel’s story, the story of the former covenant.

~ HOW TO READ THE BIBLE FOR ALL ITS WORTH

The Old Testament is NOT a throwaway.

God reveals himself through many avenues. One is through the special laws he selected to separate a chosen people for himself, recorded in the Old Testament and sometimes explicitly expounded upon in the New Testament. Many of them make no sense to me, but over time and with guidance, I’m chipping away to understand their relevance to who God is.

The clearer I see the old covenant he gave them, the more sense the new covenant makes for me. And the more I understand the God in their story, the better I understand Him in my own.

Stories about people? Or stories about God?

I love when I come across the same thought in two totally different places. Here’s the latest:

From Hermeneutics and Children’s Curriculum, John Walton:
The Bible is God’s revelation of himself, and its message and teaching is largely based on what it tells us about God. This is particularly true of narrative (stories). While we are drawn to observe the people in the stories, we cannot forget that the stories are intended to teach us about God more than about people.

If in the end, the final point is “We should/shouldn’t be like X (= some biblical character)” there is probably a problem unless the “X” is Jesus or God. Better is “we can learn through X’s story that God . . .”

Then from How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart:
One crucial thing to keep in mind as you read any Hebrew narrative is the presence of God in the narrative. In any biblical narrative, God is the ultimate character, the supreme hero of the story. ...To miss this dimension of the narrative is to miss the perspective of the narrative altogether.

So as I read through the Old Testament and New, am I just learning stories about people? Or stories about God? It’s a matter of perspective.

Where to get wisdom...

1:7 "The fear [reverence] of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools [silly] despise [disrespect] wisdom and instruction [chastisement, reproof, warning]."

It seems so simple--start out by reverencing Yahweh. Don't be so silly as to disrespect wisdom and not heed warnings.

2:6 "For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding [intelligence]."

If we seek it, he will give it. Do I believe that? Where do I go to seek it? From his mouth. So I need to listen to what he is saying. Stay in the word.

3:26 "for the LORD will be your confidence [properly, fatness] and will keep your foot from being caught."

I need not fear "sudden terror..when it comes" (v 25), for Yahweh keeps me shored up in hope--he is the source of my strength. Though I stumble, I will not fall; he keeps my feet from tripping me up.