For Bible to be most meaningful, read it fresh each time

John F. Yeaman
University UMC,
Austin

We read the Bible through lenses of our assumptions, beliefs, expectations that may control what we recognize and receive from the Bible.
If you are familiar with the Bible, beware, for you know what is coming. That may make you miss something.
For the Bible to become meaning-filled, read it fresh, consciously as if you never read it before. Look to learn what is fresh and even different.
I believe the Bible presents a broad range of heights and depths in the experiences of people with whom we can identify or from whom we may learn.
Read the Bible the way you look at a work of art. You may study the artist—where and when the artist worked, what school or movement that artist was related to. That is important background.
To “see” the art, you look at it in a very receptive mood, trying to let your feelings receive what the artist was trying to “say.” You look to see what you had not noticed before. You look at it up close, at a distance and from different angles. Above all, your attitude is open and wanting to receive from the work of art. Read the Bible in the same way.
Answering four questions helps us understand the meaning of Bible passages.
> What type literature are you reading: poetry, history, law, letters?
Poetry in the Old Testament uses repetition; a good example is Psalm 103:1: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me bless his holy name.” The two lines say the same thing two different ways.
Notice how often through the prophets, Psalms, Proverbs and the Old Testament writers used this poetic repetition.
If poetry, the writing is filled with images and pictures and is not to be taken literally; the Lord is like my shepherd. Creation stories in Genesis 1–3 and Proverbs 8 are poetic images of God.
Law and history are literal. Leviticus condemns equally mixing breeds of animals (ranchers depend on that for healthier animals), mixing cloth (as cotton/Dacron), homosexual acts, menstruating, and hundreds more.
> What is the situation underlying the passage you consider?
Leviticus says all those are equally unclean as a defense against the Canaanite religion. Paul in his letters often responds to particular situations. The prophets often tell particular situations that prompt a word from the Lord.
Isaiah 7 tells vividly how King Ahaz and the people were shaking with fear at the threat of immanent invasion, and Isaiah tells them why not to fear. When Ahaz still shakes with fear, Isaiah has a word from the Lord: a pregnant woman will bear a child, call him Immanuel (a sign of faith), and before that child knows right from wrong, those enemies you fear will be gone.
> Can you see two or more meanings? View scripture passages the way you reflect on a work of art, looking at different angles and implications. Let your thinking and imagination explore possible meanings.
> How are passages different in various translations?
Translations have biases. The New Revised Standard Version tried to avoid limiting passages to men, adding women or using words like people; the New International Version decided to avoid inclusiveness along with other biases. The New Testament Phillips translation often has a revealing way of saying things.
Read receptively and prayerfully.