Are You Reading the Bible Cover to Cover Without Understanding It?

By -
George H. Guthrie
I remembered when I was in high school and one of the biggest questions asked from a classmate of mine who got saved some time later was, "Did you try reading the Bible like a novel?" This is a very touchy question and I had to answer no back when I was still a new Christian. The idea of reading the Bible like a novel can be a controversial issue. Some pastors say you have to read your Bible cover to cover at any pace possible. Others try to say you must try to read the Bible in a year. But what about those with a busy schedule?

Here's the problem - the Bible is not just one book but a series of books. The way it's arranged makes you realize that it's a very complicated book that you must diligently study. I remembered how I got through a lesson called Walk Through the Old Testament. Now let's consider the divisions of the Bible. You have the Old Testament (which can be a very difficult subject) and the New Testament. Then you have different types of books which makes it even more complicated if you ever try to read the Bible cover to cover and you are at the beginner level.

Understanding the divisions of the Bible is a must

The Old Testament is divided into the Pentateuch, Historical Books, Wisdom Literature and the Prophets. The prophets are divided into major prophets and minor prophets. I remembered how there were several handouts handed over by the pastor. There was the main lesson and a series of lessons under the main lesson. How they are arranged can be very confusing since they are seldom arranged by topics and not by chronological order. You can think of the arrangement of Genesis to 2nd Kings is chronological - then you have a review chapter of 1st and 2nd Chronicles which also includes details not found in the 1st and 2nd Kings. Some even say that Job is supposedly the oldest book of the Bible yet it's not the first book of the Bible. The wisdom literature is mostly written by King Solomon - you read Solomon died in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles yet you later find reading his books. Then you find in Proverbs that another writer emphasized that Hezekiah later copied the Proverbs. Ecclesiastes is Solomon's longer version of David's Psalm 51 regarding in repentance. Song of Solomon is an earlier love song of Solomon. Confused? Well the prophets aren't always arranged chronologically either. While Isaiah to Jeremiah are chronological yet it's very hard to determine the time frame between Ezekiel and Daniel.

The New Testament also has these divisions. The first four books are the Gospel Accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - you will find a repetition of certain accounts such as the birth of Jesus (Matthew and Luke) and some parables are repeated across the Gospels while others are not. Mark even talks about the first and second crowing while the other three talk about only the final crowing. Then you have the only historical book there in Acts which is written by Luke which obviously takes place after the first four Gospel Accounts. Then you have the Pauline Epistles which were written by Paul. The Book of Hebrews was more of an anonymous letter which some assume was written by Timothy or even by Paul who purposely left it anonymous. Then you have the other epistles which are written by James, Peter, John and Jude. The only prophetic book is Revelation.

The divisions make it hard to understand the Bible cover to cover. But even if you do so but the retention rate would be zero. I soon started reading cover to cover and had some mistakes like forgetting about Jephthah's rash vow or that Joab was David's nephew. There are times I even forget about Mary's father Heli or Judah's incest with his daughter-in-law Tamar. It was easier reading the New Testament than the Old Testament. 1st Chronicles can be hard to read because of the genealogy. The human memory is a very unreliable tool. Ever tried looking for your car keys while you are driving your car or looking for something that was just right under your nose? It's also very easy to do that with the Word of God. The answer is just right there but you failed to get it!

That's why there's the need for frequent fellowship and Bible study

 Ephesians 4:11 gives the spiritual offices needed and that's why we do have pastors and teachers. A pastor is a teacher yet he still needs teachers to help him teach the Bible. The idea of Sunday school is only for children is a dumb idea. Why I honor the idea of Sunday school for different groups is because the pastor cannot do an exposition all on his own. There are different topics in the Bible which makes it more feasible to have different authorities. Do you remember the advice that Moses got from his father-in-law Jethro in Exodus 18:17-26? It made sense because Moses can't handle everything. The pastor can't handle everything either. Why do you think Peter still had to need 11 more people to help him in his pastorate? It's because Peter as the first ordained pastor had a tremendous responsibility to feed the sheep.

So how does Bible study help? It helps cut down the Bible's topics into different portions. I remembered how someone said that you never swallow a roasted lamb whole. You have to eat it by portions! The Bible is the soul's spiritual meal and it must be taken in by portions. Having different lessons is a better way for beginners. What can help aside from Sunday school is through expository or verse by verse preaching. A good example is how Grace Community Church's Dr. John F. MacArthur preaches one verse at a time and divides the topic as much as possible. Other pastors would make it into several parts which soon require Sunday evening services or even midweek services.

I remembered how a pastor gave the code for the Old Testament. It was designed to help understand with the following sequence - creation, fall, flood, nation, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, 400 years bondage, Moses, let my people go, Pharaoh says no, ten plagues, Red Sea, Ten Commandments, wandering, second law, Joshua, Judges, sin cycles, everybody did what was right in their own eyes except Ruth and Samuel, Saul no heart, David whole heart, Solomon half heart, united kingdom, divided kingdom, prophets, 400 years silence then Christ comes. Then that's just one idea to help make the first half of the Bible understandable. Then you have lesson handouts such as each book of the Bible has an outline of events. Then after the outlines, the higher levels would soon devote themselves to spiritually digesting food by digging deeper into chapters and verses than just the outline.

Do you ever remember why competent teachers usually encourage group study even when one is outside the classroom? I remembered how I had a hard time with several lessons. Group study managed to help people get better at subjects that they didn't understand that much. People who were slower in Mathematics got better in Mathematics and people who were slower in English got better in English because of a group study. Attending Sunday school and Sunday services does that effect. Everyone is in fellowship and learning new stuff. Sunday school would be a time to participate and learn more new lessons. Hebrews 10:25 after all says that one should never forsake the assembly. Just think a lion would never attack unless the intended prey is all alone. Satan wouldn't want Christians grouping together either.

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