“Adam, Seth, Enosh; Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared; Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech; Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” I Chronicles 1:1-3
One of my favorite ways to read the Bible is a way that I don’t always have time for: reading an entire book of Scripture without stopping. It is similar to watching a movie. The best way to watch a movie is to do it without stopping. As a parent of a young child, I seldom get to do this. Often, it takes a few nights, and it often takes some rewinding because I fall asleep during it. While it is a fragmented and choppy way to see a movie, I get the gist of it, and still get to enjoy it. The better way to watch it, though, is to do it without stopping, like how movie theaters do it.
Often, we read the Bible like how a parent gets to watch a movie, in small chunks, and there is nothing wrong with this approach. This is often how I read the Bible. Reading the Bible in chunks allows me to have time to stop, think, focus, and pray on the text that I’m reading for that day. With that being said, it takes me quite awhile to work though a book, and I can miss the little nuances, details, and themes that the inspired writers of Scripture have put in their books. It can be hard to remember those things when you take your time to work through a book.
When I have the time, or opportunity, I enjoy reading the Bible like watching a movie. When I read the Bible that way, or in longer sections, I am often amazed at the new things I can see, or notice. I can see the themes of a book better, or even notice them. I can see how little details or sayings come into play later in the book, or get a fuller meaning. I enjoy seeing what sticks in my mind after absorbing so much in one sitting. When I struggle to come up with a sermon idea, or to make sense of a reading, the wider context of the chapter or section can help to give clarity and understanding.
Once I began to feel better during my quarantine, I tried this with a book that many might be unfamiliar with: 1 Chronicles. If one pages through 1 Chronicles, one notices an intimidating roadblock very quickly: genealogies, and lots and lots of them! In fact, the first nine chapters are just genealogies, and more come later in the book.
As I read through them, I began to see connections. I picked up on repeated names. I saw the names of people from other books of Scripture. When the story unfolds in Chronicles, I recognized names from the genealogy in the story. The genealogies show how our faith is grounded in history. These are real people with real lives.
They also show how God notices us, however important, or insignificant, we may be. Many of the people in those lists are only mentioned there, or we know very little, or nothing, about them. However, God knows them. He knows their lives and acts of service. He knows their name and stories. He knows their hopes, dreams, and fears. He knows every detail about them, and they are His.
It is the same with us. If we were in the book of Chronicles, we might be just be one of those unknown names on a list, and that is okay! Why? It is because we are His people through baptism. God knows us. He knows our lives and acts of service. He knows our name and story. He knows our hope, dreams, and fears. He knows every detail about us. He knows our sin, and He forgives every one of them. We might go unnoticed, or seem insignificant, but we are a part of the story, and will be used by God for His plans and purposes.
As you read your Bible this Advent and Christmas season, I encourage you to add a little variety to your devotional life. Read the Bible differently than you normally would. Perhaps read smaller chunks, and ponder them longer. Perhaps look at a verse, and break it down word by word. Maybe, do a Bible Study that you find online, or get from CPH. Perhaps read a larger chunk, or whole letter of Paul in one sitting. You could listen to it read on your way to work, or to the grocery store. You could even try reading it at a different time of day, and see what that impacts. You could try memorizing a verse while cooking dinner, or while going on a walk. Who knows how the Holy Spirit will bless your reading and understanding of His Word. Who knows how He will use this word to work in your life.
As we celebrate and prepare for the coming of the Word made flesh, I encourage you to get into His life-giving Word.
In Christ,
Pastor Nick Kooi
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XXIII, Number 5, December 2021)