Every part of the Bible was written in sections. Just like an author writing a regular piece of prose, the books were pieced together through the thoughts of the author. But in our case with the Bible, the thoughts are from God, and the Author is God. The writers... well, they are the ones with the pens; or quills, or whatever they used.
Did you know, however, that there were no divisions in the Bible when it was first written? Except for the collections of Psalms (being split into different writings then compiled later into one book) and other than the fact that each book was written separate entirely (perhaps except for the Pentateuch (Genesis - Deuteronomy), there were no numbered verses or chapter divisions. Editors and printers have systematically inserted a numbering system into the Bible to break it down and make it easier to read. There was nothing wrong with it, but that's where we got lazy. The books were meant to be read in one sitting. The people of Israel read through the entire Pentateuch on certain occasions (in other times they only read certain parts).
I was told to do this by a teacher from CFNI, and I've been doing this for a while now... at least, when I do sit down for long enough to read this way... and even when I don't, I feel I'm missing something by not doing so.
But I challenge you... read Ephesians.. straight through. All the way, for 30 days. Don't read anything else out of the Bible except Ephesians.. maybe a Psalm or Proverb or something. But read that.. for 30 days and see what you get. When you link it together in your brain, the theme and what the author was trying to say come out boldly and clearly. That's when the change happens.
When a chapter starts with "Therefore," what is it talking about? It's talking about what it just went over in the previous chapter. You should never start a reading with a "Therefore." You have to go back and see what the "therefore" is referring to, or you could be in error in your interpretation.
Try it. It will change your life. After Ephesians.. go for Romans. I PROMISE the book will make A LOT more sense. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment