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Read The Bible - 2015
Read The Bible
The Bible has made the top of book selling lists for many years. I have my suspicion that it has not been at the top of everyone’s reading list though. Before private copies of ‘books’ (originally scrolls or clay tablets) a lot of reading was done publicly.
· When the covenant of Moses was given they read it to the people (Ex. 24:7).
· When the 2nd generation of Israelites were ready to go into the land, Moses had the law read to them (Deut. 31:9-13).
· Joshua had it read yet again (John 8:34-35).
· The king was to make his own handwritten copy and read in it all the days of his life (Deut. 17:18-19).
· When Josiah brought reform to Israel he gathered the people and had the book of the law read to them.
· Nehemiah and Ezra gathered the people and read the law to them (Neh. 8:1-8).
When the synagogue had developed among the Jewish people, they would gather and have a reading from the various parts of the Old Covenants scrolls and then an exhortation to obey what they had heard.
· We see Jesus reading such texts in a synagogue meeting and then expounding on it (Luke 4:
· Paul also preached in the synagogue following the public reading from the Law and the Prophets (Acts 13:15).
· He declared that the ‘voice of the prophets were read every Sabbath’ (Acts 13:27) and "Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath” (Acts 15:21).
The early church also gathered together in assemblies and in such gatherings the writings of both the Old Testament and the apostles and prophets of the New testament were read aloud.
· Timothy was told to give attention to ‘reading,’ by which was meant the public reading to the Christians as they gathered together (1Tim. 4:13).
· Paul instructed that the letters he wrote would be read to the brethren, then shared and read in the other churches (Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27).
· Revelation pronounces a blessing upon both the one who reads (publicly) and those who hear (and do) (Rev. 1:3).
God expected his people to know what He had revealed. The apostles and prophets wrote these things down so that when we read we can understand their insight into the plan and purposes of God (Eph. 3:3-5). Peter said they wrote these things down so that when they were gone the disciples would have a way of understanding what was revealed to the apostles and prophets (2 Pet. 1:13-18). John wrote that through his writings we could know what they had seen, observed, heard, and even touched (1John 1:1-4).
Yet there was in addition to such public reading, the private reading of these sacred writing. The Ethiopian nobleman was reading from a scroll containing Isaiah’s writing (Acts 8). Paul request that Timothy bring to him the scrolls and parchments (2 Tim. 4:13).
As scrolls gave way to books and hand copying gave way to the printing press, more and more people had access to their own copies. With the reformation movement came the access to bibles in the native languages of the people so they could read it for themselves. At first copies were expensive AND, since such translations were ‘unauthorized’ by the Catholic church, they were dangerous to possess. Many people paid great sums of money for a copy and many also paid with their lives for owning such.
I own many copies and translations. One can get many different translations for free on their smartphones and tablets. You can just ask countless organizations and they will provide you with a free copy. Yet for all its availability it is not a well-known book.
It is pathetic how many quotes from ‘the good book’ are a mangled mess of thoughts that either are a mixing of biblical sounding phrases from scattered passages OR a complete fabrication. Even more sad is that people don’t know the difference.
We need to make sure that the very reading / hearing of the text of God’s revelation is front and center in our assemblies. We need to each procure a copy and have a reading plan that acquaints us with all parts of God’s word. We need then to ‘give all diligence’ to understand what we are reading. This means we need to do more than just read but we are to read with comprehension and understanding. This entails study, thought, reflection, and even memorization. This allows us to ‘hide the word in our hearts’ that we don’t sin against God (Ps. 119:11). This is how we “let the word of God dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16-17). This is how we ‘receive the engrafted word that is able to save our souls” (James 1:21).
We will read together through the New Testament by reading one chapter per day, Monday through Friday. This will give us the 'week-end off' (to catch up on what we may have missed). This is a schedule that allows for one to think about what they are reading, to reread the passage, or to read other parts of the bible at the same time and yet by the end of the year to have read all of the New Testament. We invite you to join with us. I will have printed copies in the foyer on Sunday morning. The reading schedule can be downloaded in a pdf document at https://www.dropbox.com/s/l59fusuwfuq0tp4/2015%205x5%20reading%20plan.pdf?dl=0. We begin Jan. 1stwith Mark 1, and Jan. 2nd with Mark 2. Hugh DeLong
