Have you considered reading through the Bible in 2023? You should! I’m just finishing my 8th or 9th time through, and I know a few people who are considering it for the first time. It made me reflect on what I’ve learned; here are some thoughts.
First, have a plan.
There are several reading schedules out there, probably more than I know. You can try the basic “Read 3-4 chapters a day” schedule which will get you through all 1,189 chapters in 365 days. Of course there are others. I have done three: the Moravian schedule; Chronological Order; and the Great Adventure Bible. There are also different sources of schedules that I haven’t used. For instance, both the Hallow app and the Bible app have “read in a year” schedules, too.
Next, get a great study Bible and/or a couple of good commentaries.
My current study Bible is the English Standard Version Study Bible published by Crossway. It has great maps and lots of good notes and cross-references. I have used in the past and LOVED my Renovaré Study Bible. I also have the Word on Fire Gospels—truly an amazing resource with essays and tons of art.
Be careful in choosing your Study Bible because the notes will reflect the basic philosophy of the people doing the publishing. I bought a New King James translation because I like the language of it, but I didn’t realize the Scofield publishing house is very end-times-focused. The notes are a little limited for me.
A good basic commentary is helpful but not necessary. I use the Macarthur Bible Commentary occasionally, and I also have Halley’s Bible Handbook for a good historical perspective. NONE of these are really necessary.
Podcasts count, no question.
Every time but one that I have read the Bible through I’ve used a podcast and, especially for beginners, I HIGHLY recommend them. I fit it into my day, even though my days have varied over the years. I’ve listened during afternoon walks, while driving with or without my kids, as I pulled weeds, and even while mucking stalls in the barn. It all counts.
Podcasts give you the advantage of a built-in social media community and also a concluding prayer. In addition, Paul specifically calls out a blessing on those who HEAR the Word of God. (I would give you the reference but it’s a busy day and I just want to get this posted!)
Finally, some days it is simpler to just show up and press play than it is to sit and read.
Include a short prayer time with your reading.
Either before or after. Just give yourself a minute to sit with what you have just heard or read.
Expect some dry seasons.
The Bible is made up of many styles of writing. There are narrative, poetry, history, law, general advice, and letters. I think most of us aren’t accustomed to reading all these forms, and Sunday school kind of gets in our way here. It made us expect the entire Bible to be narrative because you get so many stories when you are a kid! Then you grow up and get to Leviticus and NO THANK YOU.
Don’t give up. There is goodness here, too.
Show up.
I heard Jeff Cavins (the Great Adventure guy) say, “The hardest day to read your Bible is the day after you didn’t read your Bible.” That is so true! Just keep moving forward. On the other hand…
Every step forward counts.
The Word of God really is sharper than any two-edged sword. All of it. Any of it. And if you can only do a little, that’s all God needs. Don’t discount what God can do with little amounts. So, don’t sell yourself short on what you can do (you CAN read the whole thing!), but don’t sell God short, either.
Be prepared to hear and see things you don’t expect.
The Bible is so much bigger and weirder than you might have thought, an so much more brilliant than you will believe. There are reasons you can read it many times and hear God’s voice to YOU—the Holy Spirit can do so much. And be prepared to hear things you’ve known for years in an entirely new way.
Now, my thoughts on the three plans I’ve followed:
Moravian: This is the plan followed by Daily Audio Bible. It consists of an Old Testament reading, a New Testament reading, a Psalm and a Proverb or two every day. I think this one might be the best for beginners.
Pros: You spend the most time with Jesus in the Gospels.
Personally I love going through the Psalms twice in a year; I think it’s part of why I love the Psalms so much.
Usually one harder book with have an easier book with it (like Numbers with Luke).
Cons: Usually the readings in the OT and NT don’t correspond, so you need to keep to story tracks in your head at one time.
The OT readings are quite long compared with the NT readings. I had never thought of this as a con until this year.
Chronological: You can also hear a Daily Audio Bible podcast done chronologically. The idea is to read roughly in the order the books were written, so Job is first!
Pros: You get such a sense for how and when things really happened in the Bible. This is so important in the OT.
The Prophets are interleaved with the history readings of Kings and Chronicles. It’s hugely helpful.
Cons: The NT is really short when read this way!
This reading order felt the driest to me, and I’m still struggling to understand why. I’m glad I did it but only see the need to do it this way once.
Great Adventure Bible: Jeff Cavins was a Protestant pastor who has become Catholic. When he was Protestant he came up with an idea of dividing the Bible into time periods that roughly correspond to covenantal periods of the Bible. While the reading plan starts in Genesis, there are “Messianic Checkpoints” throughout the year, where you skip forward and spend a few days in a Gospel. This is the one I am finishing right now.
Pros: Sensibly organized
Personally I got a lot out of the major prophets this year. This plan weaves them together and where I formerly dreaded Isaiah and (especially) parts of Ezekiel, I absolutely loved them this year. I think reading them together helped me.
Either a Psalm or Proverb every day.
Big chunks of Gospels or Epistles in the NT. This has been an unexpected blessing. Reading Paul in huge chunks allows his dynamism to come through. I’m accustomed to reading his letters in 8-10 verse increments, maybe 20 at the most. With this plan, we read Galatians in two days! I get bogged down in Paul’s writing style because he can be so convoluted, but pushing past the individual lines of his writing helped me to hear the energy. BOTH are important (you know your girl loves a close reading) but the big picture is usually left out.
Cons: I miss the Psalms a lot after July.
The NT is so short compared to OT. Just a fact.
It is easy to get stuck in the “hard” books. Leviticus, I’m looking at you. Chronicles, Ezekiel…you know who you are.
Finally…
Do NOT overcomplicate this.
Just show up. Spend time reading every day. Join me, find a group, make a group. Start where you are; just put the Bible app on your phone if you don’t have one yet. Untold riches await you. There’s a reason that on Saturday I’ll finish Revelation yet again, and on Sunday I’ll be turning back to Genesis.
Come and see.
(sorry about the random formatting–I was in a hurry to get this posted on a busy day. And please comment if you need a link. Most things should be Google-able but, again, I just wanted to get this posted.)
