Seventh, we should not seek a thorough understanding when reading the Bible. It is necessary to understand what we are reading, but to seek too much understanding may turn out to be harmful because it causes us to be preoccupied with matters that we are not prepared to understand. We should simply understand what we can of what we read and lay aside whatever we cannot understand. We should simply let them go because it is important that we read a portion of the Bible daily.
For example, the first half of Matthew 1 has many names, such as “Abraham begot Isaac, and Isaac begot Jacob.” There is no way to understand the significance of these names the first time a person reads the Bible. For this reason, we should read this portion without even trying to understand the significance. There will be some understanding because even though we do not know who Abraham is, we will know that Abraham begot a son named Isaac. Verse 17 reads, “Thus all the generations from Abraham until David are fourteen generations, and from David until the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon until the Christ, fourteen generations.” After reading this verse we will at least understand, at a minimum, that there are three sets of fourteen generations even though we may not understand the events related to the deportation to Babylon. We should not insist on seeking profound understanding when reading the Bible. This will delay our effort and often ruin our practice of reading the Bible. In the end, we still may not be able to understand.
We should not be concerned if we do not have a thorough understanding of the Bible because it is impossible to understand everything when reading the Bible. Regardless of how experienced and how thorough we are, it is impossible to understand everything in reading the Bible. We should read according to our level, receive as much as we can understand, and let go of the things that we cannot understand. This is the simplest and most spontaneous way to read the Bible. This is the same as eating a meal. When there is a piece of bone with our chicken, we simply put the bone aside. It would be terrible to think that we must chew a bone to pieces in order to deal with it. Before we can “deal with” the bone, our teeth will have been broken and our mouth bruised. This can only bring us harm. Some people read the Bible in this way. They do not eat the meat but instead chew on the bones. Eventually they not only harm themselves but also suffer from hunger since they have not eaten anything. Our reading of the Bible must never be like this. Although everything that is presented in the Bible is meant for us to eat, there are some things that we cannot eat now; they must be saved for later. We should not waste our effort; we should eat whatever is edible and put aside what we cannot eat until later.
Eighth, if time permits, we should also muse on the Word. This includes comparing portions and making cross-references. We should do this as we read through the Old and New Testaments. For example, we may remember the point concerning the seed of the woman in Genesis 3 when we come across the portion in Galatians 4 that says the Lord Jesus was born of a woman. At this moment, we may spontaneously muse on the fact that since the Lord Jesus was born of a woman, He must be this seed of a woman. In comparing Christ, who was born of the woman in Galatians 4 with the seed of the woman in Genesis 3, there will surely be some light.
Such musing does not need to take place while we are reading the Bible. We may read the Bible in the morning and muse on what we read on the way to work. Some people have half an hour or one hour to spare during the day, and during this time they recall and muse on the Word that they have read in the morning. They may recall what they have read and consider it with a portion they read in the past. This is very beneficial. We can do this kind of recalling, musing, and comparing during our free time apart from the time allocated for reading the Bible. It can even be done when sightseeing. All these are included in the reading of the Bible.
It is sufficient to read the Bible according to these eight points. There are many books in Christianity that offer many suggestions on reading the Bible. We have considered them and have practiced some of them, but our experience shows that the ways presented in these books should be simplified. In particular, it should be very simplified for new believers. It will be very good if all of these eight points can be practiced.
Anything that we do requires time. The best time to read the Bible is in the morning. This is based on Psalm 119:147-148, which says, “I anticipated the dawn and cried out; / I hoped in Your words. / My eyes anticipated the night watches, / That I might muse upon Your word.” This reveals that in ancient times, those who sought God hoped in the word of God before dawn and before the exchange of the night watch. Exodus 16 speaks of the Israelites gathering manna in the wilderness. The manna had to be gathered in the morning before the sun appeared, because once the sun appeared the manna would melt away. Manna is compared to the bread of life in John 6:33 and 35. Like the Israelites, we are walking in the wilderness, and every day we need a supply of spiritual food. Thus, we need to rise up every morning to gather manna from the Bible. Our Lord Jesus is the Word of God, and the content of the Word of God is the Lord Jesus. When we come to the Bible every morning to gather manna, we are actually seeking to touch the Lord and to receive Him as our bread of life.
This manna will melt away when the sun appears. If we do not take advantage of the quiet time in the morning to read the Word of God but instead, wait until the children wake up, the newspaper is delivered, and those selling vegetables have arrived, it will be impossible for us to read the Bible and receive benefit because of the appearance of all of these “suns.” Hence, before dawn, before the sun appears, we should spend time in the Word of God to gather manna, to gather Christ as our nourishing food for the day.
If for certain reasons some people are unable to read the Word in the morning, other times will do. However, these are exceptional cases. It is best to read the Word in the morning.
Apart from reading the New Testament every morning, we should also find another time during the day to read the Old Testament. We should allocate a certain amount of time every day for this. This time may be after dinner or before going to bed at night. We should find time to sit down to read the Word of God. It is best to have these two times every day for reading the Bible.
If possible, we should spend at least twenty minutes to read the Bible, and it is better to spend even more time. Spending thirty minutes to an hour is very good. If we are unable to spend twenty minutes, we should at least spend ten minutes. We should never spend only five minutes; we should at least spend ten minutes. This applies to our reading of the Bible in the morning as well as at other times. It is best to spend about twenty to thirty minutes each time we read the Bible.
We should also set aside extra time, apart from our daily reading schedule, to study the Bible. We may spend half a day just to study an important truth. We may even spend a few weeks to study the Bible in the morning, in the afternoon, and again in the evening when on vacation. This is an additional reading of the Bible. It is to study important and deep matters in the Bible. This is not part of our usual routine but is an additional reading.
I believe enough has been spoken on the new believers’ reading of the Bible. May the brothers and sisters establish such a practice in reading the Bible as soon as they are saved.