Thursday, September 07, 2006

Thirst is a Liar

Did you know that thirst is a liar? You can't always trust your sense of thirst to keep your water intake above the minimum required for good health. An hour of hard work or athletic competition that involves heavy sweating, for example, can dehydrate the body far beyond what a person would ordinarily feel like drinking. Similarly, people who are sick or elderly often have a dulled sense of thirst. In instances like these, it's better to trust objective guidelines than your own feeling of satiety.

In the same way, we don't drink long enough or deep enough from the Word of God on a regular basis. If we trust our "felt need" for Scripture, we would be spiritually dehydrated, indeed. Many times when we are spiritually "sick" through unrepentant sin, for example, or some lengthy trial, we don't even realize our desparate need for the Word of God to nourish our souls. I have found that an objective reading schedule is very helpful. There is no right schedule. Just pick something that is consistent and gets you deeper into study than the casual reading of the newspaper.

Here's one I like for a good overview:

Old Testament


  1. Genesis (History of Creation, Fall, and Covenant in Patriarchal History)

  2. Exodus (History of Israel’s liberation and formation as people of God)

  3. Joshua (History of military conquest of promised land)

  4. Judges (History of transition from tribal federation to monarch)

  5. 1 & 2 Samuel (History of emerging monarchy with Samuel, Saul, and David; the golden age of Israel)

  6. 1 & 2 Kings (History of Solomon and the division of the kingdom; the fall of Israel and the beginning of the age of the prophets)

  7. Ezra/Nehemiah (History of return from exile; restoration of Jerusalem)

  8. Amos and Hosea (Examples of Minor Prophets)

  9. Jeremiah (Example of Major Prophets)

  10. Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon (Examples of Wisdom Literature)

  11. Psalms and Proverbs (Examples of Hebrew poetry)


This gives an Old Testament overview to which you can fill in the gaps later on.

New Testament

  1. Luke (Life and teaching of Jesus)

  2. Acts (History of early church)

  3. Ephesians (Introduction to teaching of Paul)

  4. 1 Corinthians (Teaching in the life of the Church)

  5. 1 Peter (Introduction to Peter)

  6. 1 Timothy (Introduction to Pastoral Epistles)

  7. Hebrews (Theology of Christ)

  8. Romans (Paul’s theology)


After this is finished, go back and fill in the gaps. This gives an overview of the component parts of the New Testament.

I read an article once where a teacher suggested starting in three different places: Genesis, Job, and Matthew. Apparently, that's almost the Bible in thirds. The idea is that it breaks up the reading so that you get several types at once. I’ve also heard that 3 chapters on the weekdays and 5 chapters each on Saturday and Sunday will get you through the Bible in a year. That would certainly get us through the New Testament several times a year. However, that pace is not the best for "study". But after reading the Bible through a few times, you'd be amazed at how you remember other passages and statements that shed light on what you are currently reading. I guess the point is: start somewhere and read it systematically.

I've also included 10 Rules for interpreting Scripture, just in case you find that helpful.

    Rule 1: Read it like any other book. In other words, read poetry like poetry, narratives like narratives, and doctrinal treatises (i.e., Romans) like, well, doctrinal treatises.

    Rule 2: Get under the skin of the characters. Get into the context of why the book was written and under what circumstances.

    Rule 3: Historical narratives are to be interpreted by passages that teach or explain. Don't look to the life of David as a complete pattern for living. Look to the books that teach those principles. It may be that a story of David's life was included to show what not to do, for example.

    Rule 4: What is implied should be interpreted by what is expressly stated.

    Rule 5: Determine carefully the meaning of words

    Rule 6: Note the Presence of Parallelisms in the Bible

    Rule 7: Don’t make a Proverb into a Law…and vice versa

    Rule 8: Note the difference between the Spirit and the Letter of the Law

    Rule 9: Be Careful with Parables

    Rule 10: Be Careful with Prophecy
Please note that we shouldn't ignore parables or prophecy and just accept what those with credentials would tell us. Study parables and prophecy, but study them carefully in light of the rest of Scripture. Scripture interprets Scripture.

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