What is a Good Strategy for Bible Reading? (Part 4)
As we continue to focus on the spiritual discipline of Bible reading, let’s hone our focus on the different sections of the Bible.
The Bible is composed of sixty-six books, and each book offers a unique perspective of our faith and practice. Those books with similar characteristics may be grouped into sections that pertain to readily apparent and consistent subject matter. For instance, the first five books of the Bible are commonly known as the Law, or Torah. Sometimes this section is also called the Pentateuch. Although the Law contains rather diverse information, it remains cohesive as a section. In fact, the Law, as a whole, repetitively records and highlights revelations such as: there is only one God, human beings became corrupt through their choices and those choices have complex consequences, and God cares for the hopeless and offers redemption.
One of the major criticisms of the Law has to do with its seeming monotony. When we especially read the latter portion of Exodus, along with lengthy legal discourses in Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, a reader may ask, “Why and how is all of this relevant to me?” For example, a person could read a verse such as Leviticus 19:19 and wonder if the admonition to refrain from sewing two different kinds of fabric together is still against God’s will!
This is why context is so important. If a reader investigates the historical and cultural situation under Leviticus 19:19, then he/she would find that God desired for his people to dress differently than those who were engaged in idolatry and Canaanite cults. A law concerning how to sew clothes was not meant to extend fully into 21st Century American life, but the principle remains the same—Be holy, even in how you dress. Even if some of the Law materials appear monotonous on the surface to us, we can know that there are highly relevant reasons for God’s instructions in the depths of the biblical context.
Other sections of the Old Testament include the History books, Wisdom Literature, and the Prophets. These sections contain everything from swashbuckling adventures, to poetry, to love prose between spouses, to detailed theological analysis of historical events, to ethical advice for the confused, to worship chants and hymns. There is even an entire book dealing with innocent suffering (Job). Who said the Old Testament was boring?!
When reading through the sections of the Bible—especially in the Old Testament—it is also quite helpful and advisable to “think forward.” The Old Testament leads us to Jesus Christ. Think forward to him in your Bible reading. A great question to ask ourselves is, “How does this passage point forward to Jesus?” In Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, he even illustrated how King David’s writings in the Psalms looked ahead to the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 2:31). We can accurately and confidently say that all roads in the Bible lead to Christ.
In our next article, we will offer a brief analysis of the New Testament, its sections and last impressions.