The Value Of Reading Scripture

Feature 2 –October 2016 – Grace & Truth Magazine

The Value Of Reading Scripture

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” —Revelation 1:3 NKJV

The book of Revelation about judgments also mentions seven blessings 1 – a study in itself that I commend to you. The first of these seven blessings is linked to the reading of Scripture.

In Bible times even private reading was usually done out loud, like the eunuch, a high official of Queen Candace, did as he read Isaiah on his way home from Jerusalem to Ethiopia (Acts 8:26-35). The verb “to read” (Greek: anaginosko) usually refers to reading audibly (v.30) – reading in public so others can hear, especially people who are not able to read or because no other copies of the text are readily available. The Lord Jesus often read publicly in the synagogues or at other occasions.

The reading of God’s Word causes the reader to be blessed. Whether one reads out loud or in silence, in God’s eyes he is blessed (Rev. 1:3). This is the first value or benefit of reading the Scriptures. Obviously, the Lord wants us to read with attention and care, ready to obey. With that mindset, the reader – and the listeners also, if they have such an attitude – will be able to understand God’s thoughts.

In contrast, many Jewish leaders had their eyes closed, ears stopped and hearts hardened, or covered, when reading or hearing Scripture (Acts 28:26). When they did read or hear, it was without a proper understanding because of God’s judgment of hardening (Isa. 6:9), which is still in effect today (2 Cor. 3:14). This explains why the very well-taught rabbi Nicodemus was unable to understand what Jesus was saying (Jn. 3:10). The same applied to the highly educated Saul of Tarsus when the Lord from heaven appeared to him. Blinded, God sent Ananias to touch Saul’s eyes, from which scales then fell off. God’s healing hand, using Ananias’ hand, had an effect on Saul – physically, morally and spiritually – which enabled him to see (Acts 9:1-20). Many people who read or hear God’s Word do not really “hear” it, unless they repent and turn to the Lord (2 Cor. 3:16) and begin a process of transformation.

The second part of the blessing found in Revelation 1:3 is hearing God’s Word – hearing with the intention to put into practice the Word that was read. This issue is closely linked to the third part of the verse: to “keep2 those things which are written in it.” For this reason the Lord told His disciples, after He had washed their feet, “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (Jn. 13:17). Later the apostle James, half-brother of the Lord Jesus, wrote, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (Jas. 1:22).

Hearing in order to do God’s Word is an urgent matter, “for the time is near” (Rev. 1:3). The Lord may come any time (1 Th. 4:14-18), as will God’s judgment, so hearing and doing His Word should have top-priority. Furthermore, if someone hears and does not obey, this will have consequences under God’s moral government, for He will deal in discipline with that person (Gal. 6:7). This is why Paul wrote to the young believers in Thessalonica, “I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren” (1 Th. 5:27). The apostle Paul realized the importance of reading God’s Word in public to those gathered to the name of our Lord Jesus, and he put them under a solemn oath to indeed read his letter, inspired by the Spirit of God. What a lesson for us: Do not take God’s Word lightly.

Before we go further, I refer to John 20:31, which says, “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” No matter how much you read or hear, the first requirement that God puts before every person is to believe who He is, to trust and obey Him, and to cultivate a personal, ongoing relationship with Him.

Old Testament Examples Of Scripture Reading
“Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” —Exodus 24:7

Moses had received instructions from the Lord and wrote them down, including the Ten Commandments. Then God told Moses to read this text to the people, after which they testified to their willingness to obey. They had not yet learned what the apostle Paul, who lived much later, found out, saying, “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Rom. 7:18). “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good” (v.12).

Respecting God’s rights always comes first! But then we discover that we need His help to put His thoughts into practice. Christians are not under the Mosaic law as was Israel, who through even their best efforts were unable to keep it. Looking back, only the Lord Jesus was able to do God’s will in perfection, even dying to be the Sacrifice in their stead and ours (Gal. 3:13; 2 Cor. 5:21).

Christians believe in the Messiah and His work as they belong to a new company, taken by God from among the Jews and the Gentiles and placed under the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). The Holy Spirit, who indwells the believers, is their Helper (Jn. 14:16). God also has given Christ, who lived on earth as the perfect Model for the believers, as their Helper (Heb. 13:6, 2:18). As such, He is working in them from the glory where He is now. This enables us to put His thoughts into practice, that God’s righteous requirements may be fulfilled, or practiced, by those who love the Lord and walk in fellowship with Him (Rom. 8:3-4).

“And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes.” —Deuteronomy 17:19

It was in God’s heart to give His people a king, so He instructed Moses to write down what the king should do. One of these instructions was that the king should write a copy of the Law. Scripture reading was to be a top-priority for Israel’s kings, but this was sadly neglected. When the King according to God’s thoughts had come, as presented in Matthew, the Devil tempted Him three times, but the Lord Jesus answered him (Mt. 4:4,7,10) by quoting from the very Book each king should copy for himself (Dt. 17:18, 8:3, 6:16,13; also see Ex. 25:21).

“When all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.” —Deuteronomy 31:11

The Law was also read publicly to the people.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” —Joshua 1:8

“... Afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them.” —Joshua 8:34

Joshua was instructed to read and meditate on Scripture for himself, which later he shared with all the people in Israel.

Even though we, believers during the age of grace, are not formally placed under the Mosaic law, we certainly learn from these examples how important it is to read the Word of God regularly, whether privately, as a family, or when meeting with God’s people. From several passages in Acts we learn that the Law was read in the synagogues when the people were gathered together. This kind of reading was done since the time Moses read the “Book ... in the hearing of the people” (Ex. 24:7). When those Scriptures were explained to those in the synagogues and the passages were shown to relate to Jesus the Messiah, many rejected God’s message and His messengers. Nevertheless, in nearly every place there was a remnant of true believers, as is the case today.

How Do We Respond To The Reading Of Scriptures – Accept Or Reject?
The Bible gives several reports about how God’s Word was reintroduced among His people in days of decline. One example is when the high priest Hilkiah found the Book3 during the renovation of the temple. This impacted Shaphan, the king’s scribe to whom he gave the scroll; King Josiah, who then introduced a true revival; and Jeremiah, who lived in those days (2 Ki. 22; Jer. 15:16). The king read “all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the LORD” (2 Ki. 23:2), which led to a great revival and return to God.

However, a few years later, after faithful Josiah had passed away, one of his sons, Jehoiakim, showed no respect for God’s Word because he despised God and His prophet Jeremiah. When the scroll – given by God, dictated by Jeremiah and recorded by Baruch – was read to the king, he cut it section by section, and threw the pieces into the fire (Jer. 36). How terrible! These responses to the public reading of God’s written Word are very different: accepted by some, rejected by others. These things have been written for our warning and encouragement (1 Cor. 10:6,11-13).

How God Uses The Reading Of His Word
The book of Esther shows God’s control of events, especially during difficult times for His people. Just before the wicked Haman planned to avenge himself and have Mordechai killed, the LORD caused King Ahasuerus to be sleepless. An account was read to him about how the same Mordechai had saved the king’s life (Est. 6:1-3). If God can use man’s writings to help His people, how much more will He use His written Word to guide and sustain His own!

We find examples of this in Ezra and Nehemiah too. Both books record events that took place about the same time as Esther. The remnant that had returned from the Babylonian captivity to Jerusalem in at least three different phases was faced with many challenges. Ezra, a faithful priest in the family line of the high priests, read the book of the law before all the people. God used His Word to lead those who listened to repentance, humiliation and restoration (Neh. 8-9). A number of years later, Nehemiah, who had rebuilt the wall and the gates, returned to the king of Persia as he had promised.

Later, after going back to Jerusalem, Nehemiah found things wanting, or not what they should have been. He introduced God’s Word again (Neh. 13:1), and the Word was rightly applied to various challenging situations. They then experienced God’s support. Again, this does not mean that we should place ourselves under the Mosaic law as they needed to do. But these examples show us that in every situation we need to search God’s Word and apply it, in obedience and with His help.

When the Lord Jesus had started His public ministry, He came back to His hometown and read from Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth (Lk. 4:16-21). Isaiah was probably the passage the synagogue leader assigned for that day, but this event shows that God is in control of everything and that He overrules even when something is not according to His thoughts. The Scripture portion that the Lord Jesus read points to His control because He stopped in the middle of a verse (Isa. 61:2). He then explained that this specific Scripture was fulfilled that day, up to the point in the verse where He had stopped reading. The Lord Jesus did not read the second part of the verse about the day of wrath, which refers to a future day that will come after the age, or day, of grace has concluded. How precise is the Word!

Today is the day of grace during which people can be saved (2 Cor. 6:2). Are you saved, dear reader?

The people in the synagogue initially liked what they heard (Lk. 4:22). But when they understood from the examples the Lord gave about God’s grace reaching out to the Gentiles, they became very angry – to the point of wanting to kill the Lord immediately. If people reject God’s grace for themselves, they don’t want it to reach others (see 1 Th. 2:15-16).

Conclusion
Believers may easily find excuses not to read God’s Word or practice it. They may say, “It is too difficult to understand,” “It is too hard to practice,” or “It is only for a certain educated class.” The reasons given can be multiplied. But let us do what Psalm 1:1-3 describes about walking with God, reading and appreciating His Word: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

Meditating does not mean emptying your mind, as people teach today. Rather it is to be occupied with the Word and its Author, enjoying a living relationship with Him in the power of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the Word. Then we will “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).

ENDNOTES
1. Rev. 1:3, 14:13, 16:15, 19:9, 20:6, 22:7,14.
2. The verb “to keep” (Gr: tereo) occurs 70 times in the New Testament. The same concept is found many more times in the Old Testament, often linked to putting God’s Word into practice.
3. This may have been the book the king should copy, referred to by Moses (Dt. 17:18), or that was read to all the people (Josh. 8:34).

By Alfred Bouter