Read & Re-read

 Good morning!

 One of my social media friends recently said, in response to a re-post I did of Farmer Girl’s take on Psalm 22, “Scripture is truly amazing sometimes.  We just need to read and reread both the Old and New Testament.”  Side note here:  Farmer Girl, if you don’t know, is a woman in Washington State whose job is caring for newborn Jersey calves.  She doesn’t own them…it’s her job to care for them.  She also writes prolifically, many times regarding some portion of Scripture.  She has, get this, over a quarter of a million followers.  I “found” her several months ago.  Since then, several of my friends have also begun to follow her on social media.

However, I want to concentrate today on my friend’s comment rather than Farmer Girl’s post.  Her amazement, I believe, came about because of the specific wording in Psalm 22 having to do with Jesus being crucified centuries later than the Psalm was written.  The Psalm speaks of people gambling for clothing, pierced hands and feet, bones out of joint (not broken, dislocated), and extreme thirst.  Jesus quotes a portion of the Psalm on the cross.  The religious leaders also, unknowingly, quote a portion.  The Psalm, written dozens of generations before crucifixion was even a thing, is uncanny in it’s similarity with the reality of the crucifixion.  That is what my friend was referring to in her comment.

But, why does she advocate a reading and re-reading of Scripture?  Why take the time to read Scripture in the first place?  And why would someone want to read something a second time?  Or a third time?  Why, perhaps, re-read something that one may have memorized long ago and can still quote verbatim?  Why is it that people the world over recommend reading and also re-reading Scripture?

First, if one doesn’t initially read Scripture…that is, read it the first time…that person won’t know what is there.  Oh, someone may hear snippets and portions of the Bible in sermons, classes, or in conversation with others.  But to really know what is there means to be reading it in some way.  Reading can consist of the normal way of reading.  It can also be audio Bibles or other means of absorbing what is in the text.  How foolish it is to think one knows the content of a book…any book…not having read it.  And, that needs to be virtually a cover-to-cover reading…not just here and there reading.  Not just a Cliff’s Notes reading.

Second, why re-read?  Like much good literature, the Bible is a book that, when read a second, third, or tenth time, spills out additional information and truth that a first reading just doesn’t allow.  A first time read is one that allows a general, overall view of the material.  It takes a re-read, or several re-reads, to absorb much of the content that is overlooked on first read.  Farmer Girl, when reading Psalm 22, already knew what was in the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion, and could easily compare the two.  She also knows something of the history of the text…that the Psalm was written centuries before there was even such a thing as crucifixion…that it was written by King David…that it foretold in exact detail the happenings of centuries later.

But perhaps most of all, Scripture needs to be read, re-read and read yet again because of its source.  All Scripture, Paul the great Apostle said, is inspired by God.  We believe, on good authority by Paul as well as untold thousands of other sources, ways, and means, that God is the ultimate author of the Bible.  Yes, humans wrote the text.  Those humans, we believe, were guided in their writing by God Himself as they set down the words, phrases, and books of the Bible.

You may say, “Well, that’s really a hard line to swallow.  I just can’t buy that.”  And many people say exactly that.  But, what if it’s really true that God inspired humans to write the words that became the Bible?  What if it really is that way?  Are you willing to take a chance and turn your back on what may just be God’s message to humanity?  Are you willing to gamble your life and your relationship with the God of the universe on the fact that you find it really difficult to accept the notion that God is the ultimate author?

It seems to me that’s like playing Russian roulette.  Only one bullet in the magazine.  Six possibilities.  Surely, it won’t fire this time.  But what if it does?  Are you willing to take that chance?

I hope and trust you will see the Bible for what it is…God-breathed truth.  The more you read…the more you study…the more you compare various texts of the Bible…the more you understand its history and the times referred to in it…the more you see the overall, overarching story of God’s love for His creation…you’ll become, I believe, one who is knowledgeable enough of it that you can put together a story of love, forgiveness and redemption…God reaching out to His creation in order to reconcile it…mankind included…to Himself.  May you receive blessing today as you read, study, and ponder God’s word.