How many say they’re going to do it; start at Gen. 1:1; quit by summer partway through? So they try again another year. And another. That person has read Gen. 1:1 numerous times by the time he dies but never Revelation nor the rest of the books of the Old Testament, usually. Some do not know the book of Hezekiah does not exist nor Malachi 4:7.
“Start” reading the Bible, perhaps: year 1 in Genesis, but if you’ve petered out, for year 2, Joshua might be a better place to start. God’s gracious dealings with His Own are recounted in the books right after that.
Jump-off points for following years:
Year 3 Job (Treasured poetry starts here)
Year 4 Isaiah (Seeing reality through prophets’ eyes)
Year 5 Matthew (Jesus’ words are available free of charge!)
Year 6 Acts (Church and Christian relevance today)
Year 7 James (Final fulfillment & unshakable anchor)
Maybe it’s still spotty, incomplete. But after 7 years, a reader such as the one above will have a more well-rounded understanding of what God said than the one who says sincerely, “No; I’m reading the entire Bible straight through! from Genesis!” but actually manages only the first few books every year.
If even that much. Some start reading only the first few chapters of Genesis, and then they’re heard saying things like, “The Bible is not for me—it’s out of touch with reality.”
I noticed Pharaoh’s dream of 7 years’ famine was accompanied by 7 years’ plenty. Joseph told him the God of Heaven had revealed to him what action was to be taken: fill up storehouses with grain from the fruitful years in preparation for severe worldwide drought. When it came, that pharaoh became the most sought-after ruler on the face of the earth.
Someday, there will come a famine—not of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord (Amos 8:11). Are we filling our hearts with the plenty He sends our way today?
P.S. (By the way, feeling good about storing knowledge shouldn’t be the only reason for Bible reading!)
