Podcast version available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Anchor!
If you’re familiar with the Scriptures, or even just mildly interested in the Bible, see if any of these resonate with you:
- You’re curious about the Bible, but you don’t get it. So many metaphors, parables, cultural or geographical references that mean absolutely squat to the average person from the 21st century looking for an ounce of hope amidst this dumpster fire of life.
- You’re committed to following Jesus. You prioritize spiritual disciplines like fasting, tithing, prayer, worship, or serving. But the Bible? You’re ashamed to admit how dryyyyyyyyyyy it is. Maybe you’ve got a favourite psalm that’s encouraging, or practical reminders from one of Paul’s letters when you need it. But mostly… it just doesn’t draw you in. The Bible is confusing, contradictory, or downright boring.
- You’re very familiar with the Bible. You know the Scriptures super well, and have several passages or books memorized. You even enjoy different translations for different perspectives depending on what’s needed. However, a fresh word hasn’t actually hit from the Word in awhile. Your time in the Scriptures is growing stale. You hate to admit it, but what you loved about the Bible seems to be gone.
If you can’t relate, then I’m sorry to be such a Debbie Downer. However, I have a feeling some parts of that resonate for many of us.
So what can be done?
Whether you’ve only taken a nibble, or are feasting regularly on huge helpings of the daily Bread, it’s not uncommon for Scripture to taste stale at some point.
I believe a huge part of the problem is that we’re actually missing a significant approach to how we we’re meant to engage with the Scriptures in the first place!
See, the last several decades of Christian tradition have encouraged the discipline of a regular quiet time in God’s Word as the main indicator of a vibrant, personal walk with Jesus. I’m guilty of this too!
However for much of Christian history, individual access to the Scriptures was impossible. Until books could be mass produced and distributed, the Bible was not accessible to the average Christ follower.
So how did people grow in their faith?
How did anyone become familiar with the Scriptures in the first place?
As is true of the Christian walk…
The Bible was meant to be experienced in COMMUNITY!
It was written over thousands of years within cultures of a predominately oral tradition. Meaning, all important information was transmitted orally. The Bible included.
Biblegateway.com put together a great list of Scriptures where the Bible was read aloud. I’ve included the list here:
- In Exodus 24, Moses read Scripture to the Israelites on Mount Sinai.
- In Deuteronomy 31:9-13, the Jews were instructed to read Scripture publicly every seven years at the Feast of Tabernacles.
- In Joshua 8:34-35, Joshua read Scripture to the people of God as they entered the Promised Land.
- In 2 Kings 23:1-3, the King Josiah read the Scriptures publicly AND STARTED A REVIVAL!
- In Nehemiah 8:1-12, after the return from the Babylonian exile, the priest Ezra read the Bible publicly FOR HOURS EACH DAY FOR A WEEK, WHICH ALSO STARTED A REVIVAL.
- By New Testament times, Jews were reading the Scriptures as a normal part of their weekly synagogue service. During one of them, Jesus began His public ministry after publicly reading God’s Word (Luke 4:16-21).
- The Apostle Paul wrote to various churches that they were to read his letters publicly (1 Thessalonians 5:27; Colossians 4:16). Very specifically, in 1 Timothy 4:13, Paul tells the young pastor Timothy to “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” The public reading of Scripture was put at the same level of importance as preaching and teaching!
- Finally, a fascinating blessing is found in Revelation 1:3, “Blessed is the one who reads ALOUD the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near”.
In the early Church, followers of Jesus gathered together and read aloud any Scriptures they could get their hands on!
Why?
They recognized what has been lost to many of us: God’s Word is LIFE. It is living and active, and something incredible happens when the Scriptures are read aloud in community.
My Story
I have the immense privilege of leading a small group of women in studying the Bible. I don’t take this lightly. When I say that it’s an immense privilege, I really mean it.
This won’t be news to anyone, but I don’t always know how to answer questions that arise. I don’t know everything there is to know about passages we study together either.
In fact, there are moments when I don’t feel particularly inspired or would ever prefer be someplace else!
But then we gather together…
A passage is read aloud and without trying, there’s a shift in the atmosphere. Something about the words being read aloud changes the way your ears and brain and heart receive them. Something is heard in the passage that was just never noticed before. We get to talking, conversation flows, observations are shared. Suddenly we’re learning, growing, and finding ourselves on holy ground in a way that happens as God’s people gather and hear His Word collectively. It’s magic. It’s the Holy Spirit.
Don’t assume we always agree or draw the same conclusions. We don’t. And that’s ok! The point is that we’re exploring the Scriptures together as they were meant to be: in community. And that’s all that matters.
I may never have the honour of hosting you in a group, so I’d like to end the way I do for our gatherings. I always close in prayer, but like I tell the group: I don’t like to end with my own words. So I read Scripture aloud as a prayer.
I’d like to do that here too. Trusting that God’s Word would do what my own could not: which is to transform lives. So if you’re reading this, read this passage aloud to yourself!
“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money!
– Isaiah 55
Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free!
2 Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.
3 “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.
6 Seek the Lord while you can find Him. Call on Him now while He is near.
7 Yes, turn to our God, for He will forgive generously.
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.
10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth.
11 It is the same with My word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
What’s in the Ears
I hope this inspired you to connect with others in God’s Word. Let me know if it resonated with you! And please share this with a friend too!
Podcast version available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Anchor!
From The Overflow 