Bible reading | Knowable Word

Announcing Our 2022 Bible Reading Challenge

November 5, 2021 By Peter Krol

For this year’s reading challenge, we’re giving away a Silver base package of Logos Bible Software! Logos 9 Silver comes with many Logos features, such as the text comparison tool, sermon manager, interactive infographics, and the Bible books explorer. In addition, it comes with a library of over 250 resources, including the complete Tyndale and Holman New Testament commentaries, Tyndale Old Testament commentaries, 11 Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias, and John Goldingay’s 3-volume Old Testament Theology. See my reviews of Logos 9 here and here. This feature set and library of resources (which you can browse here) would cost over $10,900 if purchased separately, and as a package Logos 9 Silver normally costs $999.99. But—thanks to the generosity of Faithlife for sponsoring this year’s grand prize—this silver package can be yours for free if you can prove you’d know what to do with it.

If you’ve been with us for the last few years, you’ve probably been expecting this post. Here I come, like the sun rising, going down, and once again hastening to its place to rise again. Like the wind blowing round and round, north, then south, and back again. Like streams running to the sea, and yet the sea is still not full. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Viruses and societal turmoil are no match for our inevitability.

If you’re new to the blog, you’ll be delighted to know we do a reading challenge here annually. This is our sabbatical (7th) year for the challenge, so we searched high and low for the best prize we could think of to reward your toil at which you toil under the sun. We are deeply grateful to Faithlife for sponsoring this year’s grand prize.

Screen shot of Logos 9 Bible study and sermon builder

In our former days, most excellent Theophilus, we issued a 90-day Bible-reading challenge that had to begin on January 1 and end by March 31. But many folks have told us they would like to be able to get started over the holidays. While many are eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, or chasing a spirit of stupor, we hear that you—the readers of this blog, the champions of the covenant, the heroes who shine like stars in the midst of a present evil age—would prefer to redeem the time when you already find yourself away from your usual responsibilities.

And who are we to stand in your way? You think about all his commandments; you will not be ashamed. You are continually overcome with longing for his judgments. Though your life is down in the dust, you seek life according to God’s word. Therefore this year’s Bible reading challenge may commence immediately. In fact, perhaps it already commenced for you, and you’re only now realizing it.

Here are the rules:

You must read (not scan or skim) all 66 books of the Protestant Bible. You may choose the translation and reading plan (canonical, chronological, etc.). You don’t have to stop and meditate on every detail, but the Lord sees and knows when you are being honest about reading and not skimming. Listening to an unabridged audio Bible is acceptable. You may also use any combination of audio and visual reading, as long as you’ve read or listened to the entire Bible within the allotted time period.
You must read the entire Bible within a 90-day period.
The last day of that 90-day period must be between today and March 31, 2022. If you’d like to understand why we recommend such fast-paced reading, see our Bible reading plan for readers.
To enter the drawing, you must fill out the survey below, letting us know the dates you read and what you thought of the speed-reading process. Your thoughts do not have to be glowing, but they should be honest; you’ll still be entered into the drawing if you didn’t enjoy your speed-read.
Any submissions to the form below that don’t meet the requirements or appear to be fabricated will be deleted. For example: multiple entries with different data, date of completion not between November 5, 2021 and March 31, 2022, “What I thought about the experience” has nothing to do with Bible reading, or date of completion is later than the date of entry submission (please don’t try to enter the drawing if you plan to read the Bible; only enter once you have completed reading it).
In the first week of April 2022, we will randomly select one grand-prize winner from those who have submitted the form. To celebrate the reading challenge’s 7th anniversary, we’re also planning to have several second-prize winners. We’ll keep you posted on what those additional prize packages will include. We will email the winners for confirmation. The grand prize winner will need to set up a Logos account if they don’t already have one, and second-prize winners may need to submit shipping addresses. If a winner does not respond to our request for confirmation or a shipping address within 1 week, a new winner will be selected in their place.
Unfortunately, though they are terrific people doing marvelous work for the sake of Christ, staff members of DiscipleMakers are not eligible to win the drawing.

We will occasionally post links to the submission form on the blog between now and March 31. But you might also want to bookmark this page for easy access when you’re ready to submit your entry.

If you’d like a checklist to help you stay on pace, here are three. You may make a copy and update the dates, if you plan to start on a date other than January 1.

Or here is an iOS app that can help you track your plan. You may also want to consider making a reading plan in the Dwell listening app if you prefer audio.

You may now begin any time, and may this be the ride of your life.

An Honest Look at the Scriptures

October 13, 2021 By Peter Krol

One of my greatest privileges at this blog is getting to share the space with one of my longest and closest friends, the sage essayist and mathematician, Ryan Higginbottom. Ryan also blogs at his own site A Small Work. If you haven’t been following him there, you really ought to consider it.

Ryan recently composed a wonderful piece called “The Weight and Wound of the Word,” a brief reflection on the piercing swordplay of Scripture well worth your time. Here is a taste:

While many today look to the Bible for comfort or inspiration, an honest look at the Scriptures reveals that not all of it was given for these purposes. If we randomly dip a ladle into the depths of Ezekiel, the brew that emerges is more likely to be sharp than sweet…
Some—perhaps much—of the Bible was given not for our comfort but for our discomfort. The Scriptures are profitable for reproof and correction, after all; they provoke, unsettle, and rebuke us. Far from harsh, this is a sign of God’s love. It is damaging for our souls—indeed, for our humanity—to turn against God in rebellion. The fact that he steers us away from sin and back to himself is evidence of his care.

Ryan goes on to describe some particular ways we may be prone to dulling the sharp edges of Scripture, thereby throwing ourselves in front of the Holy Spirit’s bulldozer. This is well worth your time and consideration.

Check it out!

5 Reasons to Read Your Bible Beyond Practical Application

September 10, 2021 By Peter Krol

I believe in practical application. Here are more than ten biblical reasons why you should do it. But the dangers are legion if you come to your Bible reading with nothing but practical application on your mind. You might rush—or even worse, skip!—your observation or interpretation for the sake of that practical nugget. Your application might come unmoored from the text and take you in exactly the wrong direction. You might fall into the well-worn path of failing to identify any applications beyond the Big Three.

And there is a major opportunity cost involved. Treat personal application as the only consistent outcome for your Bible reading, and you may simply miss out on these other benefits the Lord wishes for you.

1. Storing up now for the coming winter

A regular habit of Bible reading is worth maintaining, even when no urgent or timely application comes readily to mind, because you are depositing divine truth in the storehouses of your soul from which you can later make withdrawals. “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Ps 119:11). “My son, keep your father’s commandments … bind them on your heart always … When you walk, they will lead you … For the commandment is a lamp … to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress” (Prov 6:20-24).

We ought to consider the ant and be wise (Prov 6:6-11, 30:24-25), not only with respect to our work ethic but also with respect to our truth ethic. It is foolish to abstain from Bible reading because it’s not practical enough for today. When the time of temptation arrives, you will have an empty storehouse—an empty heart—with no stockpile of resources available to supply your resistance.

2. Receiving comfort amid sorrow

It is true that suffering people need time and space to process. Yet may it never be that our “time and space” isolate us from the Lord, when they ought to bind us more tightly to him. The laments of the Bible are wonderful for giving us words when we don’t know what to say, and feelings when we don’t know what to feel. The Spirit who intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (Rom 8:26) is the same Spirit who inspired the words of the prophets and apostles to give expression to such groanings (1 Pet 1:10-12).

“My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!” (Ps 119:28). Such strengthening does not typically result in an item for the to-do list or a practical application to go on the calendar. These words are shaping us to know where and when to find true solace.

3. Motivating future obedience

Reading your Bible saturates your mind and heart in the love of God for you, which will motivate you to even greater obedience in the future. Though you may not get a nugget of practical application right now, the good news will inflame your desire for such obedience in perpetuity.

“Let your steadfast love come to me, O Yahweh, your salvation according to your promise; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me … And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth … I will keep your law continually, forever and ever, and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts” (Ps 119:41-45).

4. Learning to both love and hate the right things

Sometimes Bible reading does not produce immediate behavioral change, but instead trains our senses to distinguish good from evil, to discern right from wrong. And it trains not only our mind’s acuity but also our very affections, that we might love what is good and hate that which is evil. “Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that Yahweh, the God of armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph” (Amos 5:15).

Our Bible reading shapes our hearts in immeasurable and incremental ways, with respect not only to ourselves but also to those around us. “Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law. Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning” (Ps 119:53-54).

5. Spending time with the Beloved

A marriage relationship is not merely a socioeconomic contract wherein two parties engage in mutually beneficial transactions and improve their financial benefits. Yes, it is at least that, but more often than not, a relationship characterized by love involves simply spending time together. There is a delight to be had from communing together, living life together, sharing experiences, and growing old together as lovers and companions. So, too, in this marriage between the Lord Jesus and his Bride. We meet together corporately to worship the father through him. And we read the Bible that we might simply know him and enjoy his sweet companionship.

To ensure we don’t wander off with a “Jesus” of our own invention, our communion with Christ must involve a communion in his word. God is revealed most clearly in his word, so knowing God must involve knowing his word. “Yahweh is my portion; I promise to keep your words … The earth, O Yahweh, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes!” (Ps 119:57, 64). “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

Conclusion

Whoever desires practical application to result from Bible reading desires a noble thing. But it’s not the only thing. Please keep reading your Bible, even when you can’t see immediate, outward life change by the end of the day. I assure you: Though you may not see quick and immediate change in yourself, others will certainly perceive the gradual and lasting change that transpires in you as the seasons come and go. As you spend time with your Beloved, you can’t help but become more like him.

What We Miss When We Skip the Book of Lamentations

August 30, 2021 By Ryan Higginbottom

As a book, Lamentations is overlooked and ignored. Bible readers often don’t know what to do with it. It’s short and poetic, but it is found among the major prophets instead of within the wisdom literature. It is full of lament, so inspiration-seeking Christians cannot easily hop between uplifting verses. The book is heavy and sad, filled with the sorrows of the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem.

But this book is a gem. God has given it to us as his inspired word, and if we’re willing, we have much to learn from this volume.

An Extended Lament

The main thing we miss if we bypass Lamentations is an extended look at lament.

Many books of the Bible contain lament—including as many as one third of the Psalms. But Lamentations is the only book which is only lament. When we read this book, we face sorrow and grief from beginning to end.

Most Western Christians are not familiar with lament; it makes us uncomfortable. With Lamentations we are forced to wrestle with lament as a legitimate, biblical form of prayer.

The laments in Lamentations differ from those in many of the Psalms in important ways. The author of Lamentations confesses guilt on behalf of the Israelites (Lam 1:5; 1:8–9; 1:18; 1:22; 4:13–16) and recognizes God’s hand in the destruction of the city and the holy temple (Lam 2:1–10). Even though God’s anger is justified against his people, their sorrowful cry in the midst of a terrible situation is still legitimate.

This book of laments also makes Bible readers grapple with the issue of complaint. Complaining to God cannot be inherently wrong because most of Lamentations is a detailed list of all the ways the people are suffering. Therefore, we must learn to distinguish between godly complaint and ungodly complaint. (It may be helpful to use the term “grumbling” instead of “complaining” to make this distinction.)

Repeated readings of this book also force the reader to learn to live with the tension inherent in lament. Each of the five chapters of Lamentations is a separate prayer of lament, and none of these prayers resolve in a way that is satisfying to the modern ear. Far from being a problem, this feature of lament naturally turns the sorrowful Christian back to God, again and again seeking his face.

Trust in the Midst of Destruction

Lamentations helps us to acquire a taste for biblical lament, but it also gives us a brief glimpse into the moment in history after the fall of Jerusalem. The walls are down, the temple is demolished, and most of the population has been captured; how will the people who remain react?

We read the people confess their sins and the sins of their leaders (Lam 4:13–16). We see them cry out to the Lord in pain, wanting to be seen in their affliction (Lam 1:9,11,20; 2:20; 5:1). And we also witness these believers cling to the promises of God (Lam 3:31–33; 4:22).

A Lesson in Waiting

The most famous verses in Lamentations (Lam 3:22–23) have been quoted and misquoted at length, and they have inspired a wonderful hymn. But the middle section of the middle chapter of Lamentations is worthy of extended reflection.

In this passage we learn the importance of looking to God’s character—not our circumstances—for hope. We see that waiting on the Lord is not something we may need to do occasionally, but rather it is a baked-in part of following Yahweh (Lam 3:25–33).

Pointing to Christ

Reading Lamentations is a healthy challenge for those who believe that all the Scriptures speak of Jesus (Luke 24:44). How could a book so sad and filled with devastation speak of the Savior?

The judgments described in Lamentations are devastating and, in some cases, graphic. The people have been justly visited by God’s wrath, through the vehicle of the Babylonians, because they turned away from him.

In Lamentations we have a detailed picture of the wages of sin. We have a faint sense of what we deserve when we stand before holy God. And, therefore, we also glimpse a shadow of the judgment Jesus suffered for his people when he took their sins upon himself (1 Peter 2:24).

Lamentations is worthy of our attention. If, as the Church, we soaked in this book more regularly, we would develop greater sympathy for others, firmer trust in God’s promises, and a deeper understanding of God’s character and what it means to seek him.

Reading the Bible Today Without Losing the Benefits of Reading Like the Ancients

August 25, 2021 By Peter Krol

I haven’t read Reading the New Testament as Christian Scripture, but I appreciated this interview with its authors. In it, they speak of some of the differences between how we read the Bible today and how the ancients used to read it. We’ve certainly made many great gains in our understanding. But there remain some strengths of yesteryear we ought to be careful not to lose.

Every culture and age has particular insights and blind spots. This applies to biblical interpretation as well. In the West we’re a few hundred years into particular modes and habits of reading the Bible, what we can call modernist hermeneutics. Modernist hermeneutics serve us well in providing a depth of historical background, insights from literary analysis, and a focus on hearing the human author’s intent. But modern approaches to interpreting the Bible often fail to read theologically, canonically, and tropologically (for moral formation). Believing interpreters will also seek to interpret the Bible in these latter ways, but the modern hermeneutical commitments are ironically contrary to these good reading habits.
Premodern interpreters operated with different priorities and sensibilities when reading Scripture. Theological, moral formative, intra-canonical, devotional, and homiletical interpretations were seen as primary and ultimate because this is why God has given Scripture to his people—to shape us to be like him, to be holy as he is holy.

Check it out!

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Stretching Application Beyond the Big Three

July 5, 2021 By Ryan Higginbottom

Read the Bible more. Pray more. Share the gospel more.

Christians know what’s likely coming at the end of a sermon or Bible study. If there’s any application discussed, it will be one of the big three: read, pray, share.

It’s easy to make Christians feel guilty in any of these areas. None would boast of having a check mark next to these boxes.

Even so, why do we land in the same places every week, regardless of the Scripture we study? One effect is that we become callous to these exhortations, ignoring actions that are good for us and for God’s kingdom.

The Good Kind of Repetition

When I go to my annual physical, I know my doctor will touch on diet and exercise. This isn’t because he lacks creativity or because he’s a bore. He returns to these topics because they are essential to my body’s health. Other patterns and activities are also important, but if I’m not paying close attention to what I eat and how much I’m moving, most other things won’t matter.

Similarly, Bible reading, prayer, and evangelism are central parts of our Christian lives. We cannot obey the first great commandment (love God) without hearing from him and speaking to him. And we cannot obey the second great commandment (love your neighbor) without considering ways we might point our friends to Jesus.

These application topics are repeated because they are of vital importance. We need the repetition both because we forget them and because we resist them. Let us not despise the good repetition that our souls need.

Go Beyond the Basics

It is good to be reminded to read the Bible, pray, and talk to our friends about Jesus, but that doesn’t mean these are the only applications we should draw from Scriptural truths. In some situations, these serve for a preacher or teacher as a too-easy fallback or blanket prescription.

This is precisely where I find the grid on our application worksheet so helpful. Thinking systematically can help spark ideas and push us in new directions.

Application has two directions—inward and outward. Inward application has to do with personal obedience, piety, and growth. Outward application refers to the influence we have on others—both other individuals and institutions of which we are a part.

It may also be helpful to think about Bible application in three spheres—head, heart, and hands. Head application is concerned with what we think or believe. Heart application refers to our affections—what we value, long for, or love. Finally, hands application is about our actions—what we will start or stop doing.

Overwhelmed by Application

When we put together the two directions and three spheres, we have six potential application categories. (See an example here.) For some readers, this may give you whiplash—from only three familiar application topics to an overwhelming number of possibilities.

Six may well be too many applications for any given sermon or study. A smaller number works better in most cases.

We should be drawing our application from the main point (or, occasionally, main points) of a passage. And most main points lead naturally to some of these six application categories more than others.

Finally, we must remember Jesus in our application. Feeling overwhelmed often means that we are not resting in God’s grace. The gospel reminds us that we obey and apply the Bible because we are God’s beloved children, not in order to be beloved. Jesus has bought us with a price, secured our salvation, and made our Bible application possible.

The Word of God, at Work in You Believers

June 21, 2021 By Ryan Higginbottom

In the opening chapters of 1 Thessalonians, Paul is effusive in his thanks for these new believers. And in the midst of this gratitude, Paul makes some astonishing claims about the Bible.

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thess 2:13)

It Really is the Word of God

We must, as always, read this passage in context. But some things are plain from this verse alone. Paul thanks God that the Thessalonians accepted their preaching of the gospel (1 Thess 1:5; 2:2; 2:8; 2:9) as what it really is, the word of God.

It’s easy to lose sight of this miracle, but dwell on it with me for a moment. The Bible is not the word of man, it is the word of God. This means that the Bible is lasting, not temporary; it is perfect, not flawed; it is given intentionally, not on a whim; it is for our good, not to ruin our fun; it is sturdy, trustworthy, reliable, and holy. The Bible is the word of the most glorious, most blessed king. The fact that this God has given us his word should knock us over flat.

The Effect of the Word

Paul mentions that the word of God “is at work in you believers.” From the first two chapters of 1 Thessalonians, we can see what Paul means.

Paul remembers their “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 1:3). The gospel had come to them “in power” (1 Thess 1:5). The Thessalonians “became imitators” of Paul and his co-missionaries (verse 6), they “became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia” (verse 7), and “the word of the Lord sounded forth” from them (verse 8). By the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s word had transformed them from unbelievers to proclaimers of the gospel.

In the more immediate context of 1 Thess 2:13, the word of God came as exhortation, encouragement, and charge from Paul and his friends. The Thessalonians were told to “walk in a manner worthy of God,” so the word instructed and shaped them. But the word also reminded these believers that God “calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (1 Thess 2:12). The word of God provided encouragement and hope.

This hope was needed as well, because one final effect of the word’s work in the believers was suffering. The Thessalonians received the word “in much affliction” (1 Thess 1:6). As these new believers learned to imitate older Christians, they “suffered the same things from [their] own countrymen” that the churches in Judea had suffered from the Jews (1 Thess 2:14). This is not unexpected, but it is fact: God’s transformed people should expect suffering (see 2 Tim 3:12).

In summary, what effect did the word have in the Thessalonians? It brought them alive in faith and made them proclaimers of that faith. The word instructed and encouraged them. And as a result of their transformation, it brought them suffering.

How Might We Act if We Believed This?

Not only do we have access to the word of God, but this word is at work in us. In other books, the words sit inert the page, but God’s word transforms us. That transformation may happen slowly, but if we believe the Bible we need to agree that God’s word is at work!

How might this truth shape our lives, both individually and as communities of faith?

If I really believed God’s word was at work in me, I would be more eager for it. I would welcome every opportunity to take in the Bible.

I would also meditate on God’s word more than I currently do. I would ponder exactly how God’s word is working in me. How is the Bible encouraging me? How is it confronting or convicting me? This is not a call for any increased focus on myself—God knows I do too much of that now! But if I believed God’s word worked in me, I would have more thoughtful, meditative engagement with the Bible.

Finally, we should note that this is not written to individuals but to a group. The word of God is at work in believers, but it is also at work in the community of believers. Within the church, we should consider how we can exhort and encourage each other with words of Scripture. This will likely include bearing witness to how God’s word is working in us individually. We should plan and expect for God’s word to change our church families over time, because his word is an active word. It works!

Young Moms and Bible Reading

June 16, 2021 By Peter Krol

Abigail Dodds has a wonderful piece at Desiring God called “Young Mom, You Can Read the Bible.” She speaks of the advice she received that never quite worked out: To make sure she woke early before the children in order to spend time with the Lord in his word. While such advice is not bad, it is not for everybody.

Perhaps forsaking the physically necessary (and often-too-few) hours of God-ordained nighttime rest isn’t a sustainable solution for your problem of inconsistent or nonexistent Bible reading. So, what is the solution? First, you must know your desperate need for God’s word every day. Then you must recognize that God’s word is more precious than you could imagine, and your ideals about how to read it are less precious than you might imagine.

She goes on to speak of the many opportunities to make use of brief, scattered moment through the day.

Reading God’s word is something that can be done with children around. It can be done with a baby in your arms. It can be done through your husband reading the Scriptures aloud to you over the dinner table. It can be done in the morning, afternoon, or night.
When you’re a mom of very young ones, an important tool you need to keep yourself fed with God’s word through those very short (yet very long) years is flexibility in how you read, along with consistency that you read. Be flexible about how you read God’s word, and be unwaveringly consistent that you read it.

There is much wisdom here. Check it out!

What We Miss When We Skip the Book of Numbers

April 12, 2021 By Ryan Higginbottom

The majority of people who start a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year plan don’t ever make it to the book of Numbers. They breeze through Genesis and Exodus, hit the quicksand of Leviticus, and give up.

Additionally, Numbers is not a popular book for personal devotions, small group study, or sermons. I think the census that kicks off the book (so many, well, numbers) makes many think this book is little more than a population registry.

But Numbers is packed with interesting and important narratives and instruction. In fact, a great deal of the action in the history of Israel between Mount Sinai and the promised land occurs in Numbers. (Much of it is also retold in Deuteronomy.)

Sure, Numbers has some difficult, slower passages. But the book as a whole is far from a slog. And since all of God’s word is valuable, we systematically neglect a portion of it to our harm.

Wilderness Wanderings

Most church-goers know that Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years after coming out of Egypt. Do you know why? After all, it didn’t take that long just to walk from the Red Sea to Canaan.

The answer can be found in Numbers 13–14. You may remember that Moses sent spies to scope out the promised land. When they reported back, they described a fruitful land—but with strong people and fortified cities (Num 13:27–28). Most of the spies concluded that Israel would not be able to go up against these people (Num 13:31). This led the people to despair and look back with fondness at their bondage in Egypt.

Caleb and Joshua were the only spies who believed that God would give the Israelites victory in the land (Num 14:6–9). The people tried to stone these two men in anger. And God became furious (Num 14:11–12).

Moses begs God to forgive his people. But God still delivers consequences for sin. A whole generation must die in the wilderness because of this faithlessness (Num 14:31–35).

Moses Cannot Enter Promised Land

If you skipped from Exodus to Joshua, you’d be surprised to find that Moses did not make it to Canaan. The man who spoke so frequently and intimately with God was not the one who led Israel into the promised land. Why not?

During a time in their journey, Israel had no water to drink and blamed Moses and Aaron (Num 20:2–5). These two leaders took the problem to the Lord, and God provided a solution (Num 20:6–9).

Moses struck the rock before him twice with his staff, and water gushed out. The people drank. But Moses was told to speak to (not hit) the rock, and God was not pleased with this disobedience. Moses may have thought striking the rock was the right way to go, as that solution had worked earlier in the journey (see Exodus 17:6). However, God told both Moses and Aaron that they had not upheld him as holy before the people, and therefore they would not be entering the promised land (Num 20:12). Aaron died shortly thereafter (Num 20:28).

Why are these two incidents (the spies giving a bad report and Moses striking the rock) such a big deal to God? One of the reasons I’m encouraging you to read and study the book of Numbers is to answer that question for yourself! In the context of the book, you can see why these sins were so terrible and why they warranted such swift and steep judgment.

Other Striking Passages

In addition to these two major historical judgments, there are several other passages in Numbers that resonate throughout the Bible.

In Numbers 21, God judged the people by sending fiery serpents among them. Moses delivered the afflicted by making a bronze serpent—whoever looked at this figure would live (Num 21:4–9). Jesus refers to this incident in his conversation with Nicodemus (John 3:14).

Later in that same chapter of Numbers, Israel defeats two kings: Sihon and Og. These battles are not referenced in the New Testament, but they appear scattered throughout the Old Testament as evidence of God’s deliverance from powerful kings. (See, for example, Psalm 135:11 and Psalm 136:19.)

In Numbers 27, Joshua was commissioned as the leader to succeed Moses. This was the first change in national leadership of Israel. Memorably, the episode with Balaam’s donkey also occurs in Numbers, in chapter 22.

Finally, the most famous benediction in the Bible appears in Numbers chapter 6. If you’ve been in church at all, you’ve likely heard those beautiful words: “The Lord bless you and keep you…” (See Num 6:24–26.)

Give Attention to Numbers

The book of Numbers is crucial for understanding the way God works with his people. I’ve only given a brief description of the passages and events above; we need to study them in context to grasp what’s going on.

When you’re next looking for a book of the Bible to read or study, I heartily recommend Numbers—especially if you haven’t gone through it recently. Like all of God’s word, it will richly repay your careful attention.

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There’s a joke in here somewhere about a mathematician (me) urging people toward numbers, but I can’t quite access it.

Reading Challenge Reminder

March 10, 2021 By Peter Krol

Don’t forget we’ve got a Bible reading challenge underway. There’s still time to finish reading the entire Bible within 90 days, and you could enter to win a free CSB Reader’s Bible, Five-Volume Collection or a one-volume reader’s Bible of your choice.

Reading must be completed by March 31. See this post for the complete rules. We’ve got twelve entries so far! Once you’ve completed your reading, you may enter the drawing with this form.

Entries that do not meet the guidelines (for example, reading period longer than 90 days, reading period is outside the allowable dates, or form is submitted before the reading has been completed) will not be counted in the drawing.

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