Have you ever been reading the Bible and thought “that reminds me of something else from Scripture”? Well, that may not be an accident.
All text is written in a certain way, with certain goals in mind. Poems pay close attention to word choice and sentence structure in order to communicate their ideas artistically. Novels are usually written dramatically in order to entertain the reader. Reports are written without flair, making it easier to understand the information it contains. Well, the Bible is also written in a specific way too. It’s a literary style called meditation literature. Ancient Jewish meditation literature communicates using symbols, patterns, repetition, and overarching themes. It even intentionally leaves out and misplaces details, and almost never explains anything to the reader, leaving them with a ton of questions after they finish a story. Sounds confusing, doesn’t it? Not only is mediation literature hard to understand, It’s intentionally written to be hard to understand. But… why?
Imagine the person you know best. Maybe it’s a spouse, a best friend, a family member, etc. Somebody who you have spent years of your life getting to know. Now, picture them in the following situation: You and this person are at a restaurant. The waiter brings your meals out, and you notice you got exactly what you ordered, but they didn’t get what they ordered. Take a moment and think about what they would do. What they would say. How they would react…
Would they flag the waiter down to let them know about the mix-up? Would they shrug and eat the food anyway? Would they think it’s funny, or would they be annoyed? Would they not even notice until they’re halfway finished with their food? Does it depend on what mood they’re in? You probably have a pretty vivid picture of how they would react because you know this person so well.
Well, that’s why the Bible is written the way it is. It is written in a way that forces you to become intimately familiar with it. The Bible doesn’t just want to be an acquaintance, it wants to be your best friend. To understand what it is trying to communicate, you must re-read it, ponder it, and interpret it in light of other parts of the Bible, all over the course of a lifetime, together with your fellow Christians. It forces you to have a deeper understanding and since the Bible is the unique witness to God, understanding it more intimately is understanding Him more intimately.
Now why is this so important? Next week I will walk with you through an important chapter of the Bible. The book of Psalms is a collection of poetry and songs, which are reflections on a wide variety of ideas. The first Psalm in the book is a reflection on what it’s like to live a fulfilling and happy life. In it, the psalmist shows us how we ought to engage with scripture.
See you next week!
Matt
