The Scriptures (Part 4 – How to Read the Bible)

Give Online: Tithes & Offerings

Catch up on our series HERE

 

The Scriptures

(Part 4)

Turn in your Bibles to Luke 24 – Welcome to JC

We are in the middle of a series on the Bible

• Reason: B/C it’s important that we answer questions like…
  • What is the Bible… why is it important
  • How do we relate to the Bible
  • Is the Bible really crucial to my relationship with Jesus
• Last week we looked at the question: What is the Bible for (answer)
  • 1: To know who God is, we are, how we relate to Him
  • 2: To tell real, true story of human history
  • 3: Shape people of God into image of Jesus
    • So we can be part of what God is doing in the world

Today our question starts with: How do we read it

• If you were to open you Bible to Lev. 24 tomorrow morning
  • First Question would be: How do u read it
    • So you meet w/ God
    • So you are shaped by it
    • So you become more like Jesus (How do u do that in Lev)
  • Little heads up: This is gonna start out a little nerdy
    • But then we’ll get super applicable
    • But I need to start with some seminary type stuff
    • Interesting to me… if that means anything

Luke 24:13-20 (Story right after resurrection – 2 disciples on road)

Luke 24:25-27

Luke 24:44-45

• If there was ever a podcast I’d give anything to get hands on
  • Imagine: Jesus navigating u through the entire OT
  • Opening your mind to the Scriptures
  • Showing you how it all points to him – that’s just fascinating

But I wanna focus on what LUKE calls the Bible

He calls it Scriptures 2x… Jesus calls it: Law of Moses, Prophets & Psalms

• Remember point learned couple weeks back
  • Bible never calls itself Bible
  • Other Popular name is – The Word (of God)
    • Bible rarely if ever calls itself the Word of God in the NT
• Both are somewhat misleading because…
  • Bible means book: This isn’t a book – It’s a library
  • “Word” anywhere in NT: Talking of Jesus or Gospel of Jesus

What the Bible IS called: Scriptures/Law & Prophets/Psalms/Writings

• This comes from the way Bible of Jesus day was put together
  • B/C book order was way different than today
  • Today’s library is a bit odd – Not bad – But its not like it was

[Example]

• Today read: 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, and then 1&2 Chronicles
  • Weird because it’s the exact same story u just read
  • Just a little different angle
• Scripture of Jesus day (3 major parts to Hebrew Bible – OT)
  • 1^st was the LAW – Torah
    • Genesis to Deuteronomy
  • 2^nd was called Prophets – Nevaheem
    • Former Prophets
      • Joshua – Judges – Samuel – Kings
    • Latter Prophets
      • Isaiah – Jeremiah – Ezekiel
    • Book of the 12 (Minor Prophets)
      • Hosea – Malachi
  • 3^rd was a junk drawer of writings – Ketuvim
    • Psalms
    • Wisdom Lit – Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs
    • Random stuff: Ruth, Esther, Laminations, Ezekiel, Daniel (Prophet way later), Ezra, Nehemiah
• At the VERY END you had Chronicles
  • Which made total sense at the end of OT
    • Chronicles starts with Adam
    • Tells entire story up to exile
  • If 2 Chronicles is last thing you read
    • It’s a story in search of an ending – It’s Cliff hanger
    • Waiting for messiah to come
    • And its a perfect setup for Matthew
• So that is framework still used today in Hebrew culture
  • Now I know what u are thinking – Who cares… this is lame
  • Promise you… it’s not lame

For years scholars didn’t really care about the Bible’s book order

• Just thought: This is the order in Hebrew Bible
  • Different one in Xian Bible
  • Different one in the Catholic Bible
  • Different one in the Septuagint
• That has all started to change – New field called Kenontics
  • Where all scholars do: Study not actual books of Bible
  • But the canon (meaning the Bible as a whole)
    • How it was Shaped/Why it was Formed like it was

Scholars have always said there are signs of an EDITOR

Example: 1^st five books called Books of Moses (Moses – Author)

• Last 2 chapters of Duet. are about Moses death
  • There is this line: Moses was most humble man ever
  • Odds are that Moses did not write that
    • For one he was dead
    • 2^nd – Talking in 3^rd person about how humbler u are
      • Kinda self defeating
• So last 2 chapters of Duet. put there by editor – later on
  • And that’s 1 example of many throughout OT
  • And we don’t know how many editors
    • Was it over time
    • Was it one guy that went through all of it
• Leading theory – It was done by Ezra
  • After exile – Ezra & Israel come back to Jerusalem
  • Ezra starts whole new move towards scholarship
    • Out of that… couple centuries later come Pharasees

Point is… All over OT – There are fingerprints of brilliant literary mind

• Who specifically put the Bible together and shaped the Bible
  • Bringing it all into one great work of art

Cannonics Scholar (Study of the Cannon)

The fact that the cannon has now been viewed as a work of art, rather than a gradual growth of text just compiled over 1000’s of years(Meaning this was intentionally put together). It suggests a new way to understand the Bible. The possibility of Bible conscious redaction (editing) at critical junctions in the text suggests a hermeneutical influence, which has shaped the material in a certain way in order to provide a community with interpretive guidance…

• Meaning: When u look at the way the Bible was put together… order
  • 1 – Brilliant literary mind at work
  • 2 – Start to get clues not only about how it goes together…
    • But how we as community are supposed to read it
    • B/C we now understand it was put together intentionally
      • So we would read it the way the editor wanted us to
      • Again of course… directed/lead by the Holy Spirit

[EXAMPLE] – The Bible has very specific transitional points in it

• There seems 2 be places in the Bible that are transitional passages
  • Between one section of the Bible and another
    • Bridge b/w law and prophets is Joshua 1
    • Bridge b/w prophets and Writings Psalm 1
  • Joshua is start of prophets / Psalms is start of writings
• If you are familiar with the OT – They say almost the same thing

Josh 1:7-8 (Check this out)

• In between these major blockchains of the Law and Prophets
  • This is a clue for us to know how to read this library in front of us

Ps. 1:1-3 (Very Similar)

• Notice – In the transition b/w the Prophets and Writings
  • There is a clue on how to read going forward
  • And we see same words: Delight, meditate, prosper, day & night
    • These are saying exact same thing
    • Saying this is how you read the Bible
• There are commands in Josh 1 & Ps 1 that help guide us as well
  • They can be grouped into 3 major ideas

1: Idea of delight

Ps. 1:1

• Hebrew: Delight – Hepas
  • To take pleasure/draw joy from something (to desire something)

Dallas Willard

The Psalm 1 man or woman delights in the law that God has given him. Note that he delights in it, he loves it, is thrilled by it, can’t keep his mind off of it. He thinks it is beautiful, strong, wise and an incredible gift of God’s mercy and grace. He therefore dwells upon it day and night, turning it over and over in his mind and speaking it to himself. He does not do this to please God, but because the law pleases him. It is where his whole being is oriented and as a result is a flourishing life.

• This is the idea of delighting in the scriptures
  • Sadly: that’s not how most people/Xians feel about the Bible
  • A lot of us don’t even read Bible on regular basis
  • Or we read it – But out of religious guilt trip/manipulate God

Main reason is b/c people haven’t developed a pallet for Scriptures

[EXAMPLE]

• My daughter is an insanely picky eater
  • There are so many things I want her to like
  • She refuses to try them – So missing out on all of it
    • Recently she started trying some things
    • Slowly gaining a pallet towards foods
• Same way – Many Xians have immature pallet toward scripture
  • Not that they won’t like it
  • They just don’t have the pallet for it
    • And those people are honestly missing out
    • Feeling – you know how good something is
      • They just don’t know what they are missing

Part of reason: Scriptures can be an acquired taste

• When you’re competing w/ film, internet, video games, social media
  • Best way to change ur pallet
  • Discipline urself to eat less of one thing – More of another
    • And over time your taste will change
• There was a time a hated coffee
  • Michelle loved coffee so I drank it to be with her
  • Now I like coffee – Still only 1 cup a day…
    • But my taste has changed
• In same way as you begin to read the scriptures
  • Not overnight – But things will eventually change
    • B/C it becomes a part of your life
    • And when u go a day w/o it… You will feel that it is missing
  • That’s sorta the goal – To feel that it is missing
    • And you delight in reading it – b/c u feel lacking w/o it
      • Not everyone gonna like Leviticus
      • Just like I’ll never like mushrooms or cats!!!

TAG: My Prayer is that as a whole… you would learn to love Bible

2: Idea of Meditation

Ps. 1:1

Meditation is a buzzword – Somewhat controversial in church

• Reason is b/c all the new age stuff around meditation
  • BUT there is a huge difference b/w Eastern & Hebrew Meditation
    • Eastern: All about emptying your mind
      • Look inward to yourself
      • Mantra: Everything u need is inside yourself
        • Which is total garbage
    • Hebrew: Look outward to yourself and to God
      • All about filling mind with thoughts of/from God
      • As we have them in the scriptures
• Meditate in Hebrew: Digah (meditate, think deeply, growl)
  • Isaiah says – As a lion growls, a great lion over its prey
    • Word growl: same word as meditate
      • Like a dog with its bone (better imagery)
      • They chew, gnaw, play w/ it for hours, digests it
        • This is the idea of meditation
  • We are to chew on the Bible – Get it in our system
    • To draw life, nourishment and strengthen from it
    • We are to for lack of better word “TO EAT IT”

Eugene Peterson

Christians feed on Scripture. Holy scripture nurtures the holy community as food nurtures the human body. Christians don’t simply learn, study or use scripture, we assimilate it, take it into our lives in such a way that it gets metabolized into acts of love, acts of selflessness, acts of grace and mercy, hands raised in adoration of the father and feet washed in the company of the son.

There is a story in Rev. 10 – Angel has a scroll (Apocolyptic lit – get to it)

• Scroll believed to be symbolic of the scriptures
  • Has this scroll and gives it to John
  • John is instructed to “EAT” the scroll – Not read/notes/study
    • John eats it and says that it is
      • Sweet as honey in my mouth (Ps. 119)
      • Bitter as gall in my stomach (indigestion)
• That’s kinda what the Bible is like – You eat it… digest it
  • Come to love it and delight in it
  • And sometimes it gives you indigestion
    • Because we wrestle with the scriptures
      • Search the scriptures
      • Things don’t sit right for awhile

Point is that it is less about a notepad/pen – more about a knife/fork

• To take a deep dive into the depth of body & soul
  • Day and night Ps. 1 says
  • 24/7 we are called to meditate

3: Last idea: Obedience

Josh 1:7-8 (NIV)

• The words OBEY and DO are the same Hebrew word
  • We are to obey and do – To live out the teachings of the Bible
  • It’s not enough to read/study/know and believe the Bible
    • At some point you have to LIVE the Bible
    • This is the best way to understand what it says
• The Jewish Rabbi of Jesus’ day would say
  • You learn the Scriptures more with your feet than with ur ears
  • Meaning – You learn by doing

Ps. 119:99-100 (NIV)

• Honestly… that sounds a little arrogant
  • Todays language it would be: I know more than all my professors
  • Because I actually do this stuff
    • But what he’s saying is… Bible comes alive when u live it out

In the West we have this weird ability to separate belief from practice

• Totally normal to believe something – Not practice it
  • I believe that I shouldn’t eat a whole tray of monkey bread
  • Yet if there is monkey bread – I do not practice what I believe
    • And I’m totally ok with that
    • I believe one thing and practice another
    • Totally normal in our culture

Eugene Peterson

Obedience is living in active response to the living God. The most important question when coming to a text is not, what does this mean, but what can I obey. A simple act of obedience will open our lives to the text far more quickly than any number of Bible studies, dictionaries or commentaries.

• I love his Def of obedience: Living in active response to the living God
  • Not teaching legalism/obligation/guilt
  • No – Living in active response to the living God
• So you come to a passage (Genesis, John, Leviticus)
  • Ask: What does God want me to
    • Feel… hear… think… believe
    • Hear… believe… do or not do
    • Start/Stop… repent of… live out
    • Worship/Lament/Mourn
• How does He want me to put flesh and blood on this
  • That’s the idea of obedience

TAG: Delight/Meditate/Obey

Might think: Seem a ton of work to read Bible like this

It’s ancient… don’t even live under authority of most of the laws of OT

• Why would we want to put in all of that work
  • Well there are several reasons
  • But for now lets just backtrack to Joshua 1/Psalm 1

Josh. 1:8

Psalm 1:3

• So result of reading Bible this way (delight/meditation/obedience)
  • Is success and prosperity
  • Now… disclaimer – if you start talking prosperity gospel stuff
  • I might throw a Bible at you
• But this idea… God wants success/prosperity for His people
  • Must fully redefine success/prosperity around crucified messiah
  • And the economy of the kingdom of God
• So you read success – Don’t think a lambo & mansion on camelback
  • Nothing bad ever happens to you
  • … even though that does sound awesome

But don’t picture that – Picture Jesus

• Life well lived in middle of pain/suffering on this side of resurrection
  • Where ur relationships with God & others are marked by peace
  • Where you thrive and flourish as a human under God’s rule
    • THAT IS SUCCESS AND PROSPERITY

Here’s the thing: This word success is a fascinating word…

• It can also be translated “Wisdom”…
  • So success & wisdom are same word in the Hebrew Bible
  • And there is a theme thru the OT… specifically Psalm/Proverbs
• Basic idea: Wisdom leads 2 success (which is a summary of Proverbs)
  • So as a general rule…
    • Wise people do well in life
    • Foolish people crash and burn
  • And we have an obsession with success in our culture
    • But the understanding of success here is someone with…
      • Talent
      • IQ
      • Work ethic
      • Blind luck (some truth in that)
  • In the Hebrew Bible – Success comes from wisdom
    • Knowing how to live well
    • And wisdom comes from where… God
      • And that thru the scriptures
• So the basic idea (formula) is if you want to do well in life
  • Delight in the Bible
  • Meditate on the scriptures
  • And actually live it out

But to read Bible this way… we have to read slowly

Dallas Willard

Hurry is the greatest enemy of our Spiritual Life

When we come to the Bible – We need to slow down

• That is super hard to do… because our society is already go go go
  • If u want to read the Bible in a year – 4 chapters a day
  • That’s not easy to do SLOWLY… I mean come on!!!
• And we live in the age of digital distraction… addicted to it literally
  • Every time u refresh page on internet/get email/get text message
  • It literally releases dopamine in your brain
  • So ur phone is more addictive than heroine
    • 20 years from now… AA – NA – DA (13 hours off Instagram)
• Not a knock… but digital age has changed the way we read
  • US internet users spend 17 hours online each week
  • Browsing 140 domains & 4200 pages
  • BUT time spent on each website is 56 seconds
    • Most people don’t read at all anymore
    • 78% of Americans never read a full book after education

So our reading experience is a mile wide and an inch deep

• And b/c of that… most people come at the scriptures the same way
  • Not as a meal we feast on…
  • But as a poptart that we grab on the way out the door
    • Quick Psalm in morning before breakfast
    • A verse from a Devo while drinking coffee
• And that is NOT BAD – Better than nothing… well done
  • But I think if that satisfies you… u don’t know satisfaction
  • And u need 2 find out what it means to be “FULL” of scriptures
    • So we need 2 relearn how to read at a whole different pace
• And its hard with all of our distractions (right?)
  • You sit down to read a chapter of some new book
  • First u get a text message – Quick question
  • Then notification that so & so liked your selfie
    • Then you have to tell your BFF that that person likes ur selfie
    • Then you need to know ur friend thinks about that person
    • Then you find out he’s following you in Instagram…
    • Tell 5 friends about that one
• B4 u know it – You’re falling asleep and book can wait til tomorrow
  • Well we all know how that ends… tomorrow where u have time
    • It never comes
    • This is why we don’t read more books

One article from a guy whose job was books… but struggled reading them

Books (think about Bible) Books in ways that are different from digital art, music, the radio or even love force us to walk through another’s thoughts one word at a time over hours and days. We share our minds for that time with the writers. There is a slowness, a forced reflection required by the medium that is unique. Books recreate someone else’s thoughts in our own minds. And maybe it is this uninterrupted forced stimuli that give books their power. Books force us to allow someone elses thoughts inhabit our minds completely.

This is what happens when we read the Bible (note: not study)

• God’s thoughts inhabit our minds completely
  • His thoughts get into our head… heart… life
  • This is why we have to read the Bible slowly

And to close – My appeal to you… Start to read the scriptures

• Open your Bible tomorrow and take your time
  • If you get through a chapter – Great
  • If you get through a verse – Great
  • Try to add a Psalm as well – Great
• And start with a time of prayer… end with meditation
  • Speaking to God – Bringing him questions/requests/worship
  • But even more than that – LISTENING
    • God what do you want to say thru this
    • God speak now as I listen and meditate on your word
• And I want you to notice… this is very conversational
  • That’s what we want: Build a conversational relationship w/ God
  • Where he speaks to you… you speak to him
  • And your relationship dives deep into a solid foundation

And it is there… meditating on the scriptures that you will find God

[PRAY]