How Much is Enough?

                                 

Reading the Bible is important. All believers should agree with that statement. Between sermons, Bible studies, daily scripture readings, etc..., most believers probably encounter most passages of the Bible over the course of their lives, particularly if they were raised in the church. However, we all tend to zero in on certain stories and books and, as a result, some characters, stories, principles, and context probably go unnoticed. To ensure that you truly partake in everything the Bible has to offer, you really should read the whole Bible at least once end to end either in the natural order or a logical one based on the connections between the various books.

Is reading through it once enough? Is that mission complete for Christians?

The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out. - Proverbs 18:15

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. - 2 Peter 3:18

The Bible tells us that we should constantly seek knowledge especially with respect to Jesus and God. The Bible is the best source of knowledge we have. It is not like a standard novel or the other types of books we read. You can’t really just read it once and truly understand everything it has to offer. You have to go back to it again and again. You could very likely live your life studying the Bible and never truly get all the insight God is trying to deliver. Reading and understanding the Bible has to be a lifelong endeavor for all believers.

So is it enough to just read the Bible routinely? That is an interesting question. For Believers, the Bible is inspired by God, so you can’t get a better source of knowledge than that. It represents everything God wanted us to know about himself and our salvation, so what more can we get from other sources and texts?

The fact is that while most of us can understand a lot of the larger points that the Bible makes, some of the more subtle details are lost to many of us because we don’t have all the right knowledge or tools to make sense of what the Bible is saying. All Believers have access to the Holy Spirit, which can grant us understanding and insight beyond our own capabilities, but it’s also true that sometimes God may work through others like preachers or biblical scholars to bring understanding that we may not gain on our own.

For example, consider the story of Elisha and the taunting “boys:”

From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria. - 2 Kings 2:23-25.

Most believers have encountered this story either through reading the Bible or hearing sermons on it. In most instances, people probably come away from this story thinking that it’s point is that God will react harshly to those that mess with his servants or that God will deal harshly with youths that do not show due respect to their elders. Perhaps both of those points are true, but it might surprise some to know that neither of those interpretations is correct.

As Bible scholar Chad Bird points out:

This misunderstood story is not a moralistic tale about bald prophets and child-eating bears, designed to teach youths to honor their elders and preachers. Rather, it's a brief glimpse into the age-old war that began in a garden and ended at an empty tomb.*

With regard to his own experience with the story:

The moral of the Bible story from 2 Kings 2:23-25 was this: pay honor to your elders, your church leaders, or you too might suffer a similar fate from the God who will not be mocked—or let his prophets be mocked.

As I reflect on this story some 40-odd years later, it seems I’ve spent just as much of my life unlearning bad biblical interpretation as I’ve spent learning good interpretation. What has come to my aid are three indispensable tools: [1] Knowledge of the original languages (in this case, Hebrew); [2] understanding where smaller stories fit within the larger biblical story; and [3] something the rabbis called ma‘aseh avot siman l’vanim (“the actions of the fathers are a sign for the sons”).*

With his knowledge of the Hebrew language and the overall story being told by the Bible, Mr. Bird is able to reveal the true meaning of the story that many of us don’t see. It’s not about God killing little kids in a gruesome manner because they made fun of His prophet. It is about God dealing with young men who have chosen to serve false gods and are trying to prevent His prophet from delivering the truth.

With that context, we can see how the story fits into the greater narrative about how committed to sin and to turning away from God we humans have been. The passage changes from being a weird example of brutal punishment from God and in turn becomes another important part of the picture being painted by the Bible.

There is no shortage of examples like this in the Bible, so yes we have to continuously read it, but we also have to indulge in any and every other resource that God provides. If the question is “At what point can a believer conclude that he or she has read and done enough to understand God’s lessons?” The simple answer is that no such point exists. No matter how long we live, we can never do enough, so we should never stop trying.

*Source: https://www.1517.org/articles/the-misunderstood-story-of-bear-attacks-a-bald-prophet-and-forty-two-mouthy-kids

Chris Lawyer

Image courtesy of www.thinkandletthink.com