How to Read The Bible
I recommend only three methods
I have given this a fair amount of time, and I am concluding that there are many ways to read the Bible. No, there are only three ways to read the Bible.
Book by book.
Chapter by chapter
Verse by verse
The rest of the methods do not work. (This is a bold statement to make). But think about it. The Bible was written in books. So if you desire to understand it, you should read it book by book. And there are 66 books in the Bible.
When you read the Bible book by book, it doesn’t matter which book you start with. What matters is you understand the purpose of the book, who wrote it, and why it is in the Bible. All you want to know is the general flow and design of that book.
This method is cool because you know you have 66 books to understand. It is the easiest way to read the Bible. I might have discovered this method by mistake, but it worked for me. I liked it so much that I took notes on all the books of the Bible. And came up with two books.
The Complete Guide to the Old Testament and The New Testament; Book by Book.
The second method is the chapter by chapter reading. Having understood the 66 books, you now change focus and concentrate on understanding the chapters in each book. There are 1189 chapters in the Bible. This can become a year’s resolution. You don’t read any other book. You only focus on understanding all these chapters.
I have not yet written a book on this, but for now, I recommend Matthew Henry’s commentary on this. I like how he starts by telling you the divisions in every chapter and whatever is happening.
Lastly, the verse by verse method of reading. You have understood the books in general. You have understood the chapters in general. And now, it makes sense to dive deeper into the verses. There are 31,102 verses in the Bible. It is easy once you know your chapters.
This gives you an opportunity to examine the verses individually. Once you understand the verses, these things will stick with you and guide you. They will always come to remembrance when you need them.
This is not what you expected. But it works. You are doubting because you have never tried it. Don’t mind about the Greek and Hebrew words. Focus on understanding the meaning of what you read.
This is how the love for the Bible develops. These methods require one thing and one thing only: PLANNING.
These methods double as steps. And once you have applied all three, then you can employ all the other methods you have heard and read about. They are just derivatives of these three methods.
Don’t forget to take notes.