Are we Commanded to Read the Bible?

[Guest Zayit]

Are we, as believers in the one G-d of Israel and his son, commanded/required to read his Holy word?

In all or part?

Or is it OK to just listen to others talk about it or preach on it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Greetings Zayit,

Consider:

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Psalms 119:105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Deut 11:18-22 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: 21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. 22 For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;

There are many more relevant verses, these are but a cross-section of some of them.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very Good! someone posted part of the Shema! And good in the other verses!

I prefer the first rendering and this is what is called the Shema traditionally

Deut 6 4:9

6:4

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

6:5

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6:6

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

6:7

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

6:8

And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

6:9

And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

For those wondering about not everyone having a scroll, or book to read from, if you read the Shema, you will see that they were to internalize these laws and teach them to the children and speak about them in everyday duties.

In Acts 15 we see a way, or actually the way for the new believers to know this, and that was because Moses (the Torah ) was "preached" or read every Shabbat in the synogogue. The new converts could not of course read Hebrew, but would learn a little Torah each week. The Torah was read and still is today read each week in the synogogue on a perpetual yearly basis so all can learn it, even if you can't read or are blind. In Jesus/Yeshua's time they were using a three year cycle which would have been even easier for new believers to follow.

[JesusisGod2]

Hi Zayit,

I believe that Jesus definately encourages us to read His Word. He has a special promise to those who do. Here is one of my favorite verses.;

John 8:30-32

30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Jesus calls us true deciples (not just saved) if we abide in His word and promises us that we will know the truth, (which Jesus is the truth) in other words, we will know Him, and He will set us free.

Its really an awesome scripture to me.

Now to one who chooses not to read, they are no less saved, but I believe they are missing out on so many blessings and stengthening of their faith..

Romans 10:17

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Good topic by the way, and great scripture responses from all.

In Jesus

kevin

[Christ's Free Servant]

Greetings Zayit,

Consider:

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Psalms 119:105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Deut 11:18-22 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: 21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. 22 For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;

There are many more relevant verses, these are but a cross-section of some of them.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cool, those were some of the first ones that came to my mind, too. Others:

John 15:1-11: "

[other one]

How long does it take to drive to work?????? you can listen to the bible both to and from work in your car. You'd be surprised how many times a year that you can listen to the bible and it is not that expensive...... If you have an mp3 player you dan download some versions off the internet for free,

[yomotalking]

Rob did you mean to say this:

It's cool to hear someone tell you about scripture but if you do look for yourself then it can be used as a weapon against you.

or did you mean, if you DON'T look for yourself????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wondered what that was supposed to mean!!!!!!!

[Christ's Free Servant]

How long does it take to drive to work??????  you can listen to the bible both to and from work in your car. You'd be surprised how many times a year that you can listen to the bible and it is not that expensive......  If you have an mp3 player you dan download some versions off the internet for free,

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My husband has been doing this for years and he loves it. He drives 30 min. to an hour one way each day. He has the Bible on CD in the NIV, the NL and the Message. I'm not crazy about The Message, but he likes it. I think it is too watered down, but then that's my opinion. It is not an actual translation. Anyway, I think he has listened to the hole Bible numerous times in various translations (which gives a new perspective and helps you to listen to things you may have missed before). So, this is a very good idea!!

[Pipit]

I don't ever remember reading anything in the Bible that COMMANDS us to read it (Deauteronomy 11:18-23 is the closest we get, but that was a command to Isreal regarding God's law, which He was about to pass down to them--but it is still a good passage of scripture, as its message echoes true today that we are to obey God's commandments and laws).

However, reading the Bible and meditating on God's Word is something that the Bible upholds as beneficial to one's spiritual growth (Read Psalm 1, and Psalm 119, and the many passages of Scripture people have shared here that reveal reasons and benefits for reading/listening to/meditating on and most importantly obeying God's Word.

So, though we are not commanded to read the Word, it is beneficial for us to read. Also, we are commanded by the Word to obey what it says--so, reading the Word is a good way to find out what the Word (and more so, God, who gave us His Word) commands us to do.

[Dad Ernie]

I don't ever remember reading anything in the Bible that COMMANDS us to read it (Deauteronomy 11:18-23 is the closest we get, but that was a command to Isreal regarding God's law, which He was about to pass down to them--but it is still a good passage of scripture, as its message echoes true today that we are to obey God's commandments and laws).

So, though we are not commanded to read the Word, it is beneficial for us to read. Also, we are commanded by the Word to obey what it says--so, reading the Word is a good way to find out what the Word (and more so, God, who gave us His Word) commands us to do.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Greetings Pipit,

I spent 21 years in the Navy. During my time I worked with many Admirals, Generals and Secretaries of the Navy and the Assistant Secretaries. More Captains and Kernals than you can shake a stick at. Now if my chief was to make a suggestion to me, I may or may not do it, just depends. But if one of the above high muckey-mucks were to make a "suggestion" to me, I would certainly do it unless it was against Navy regulations and they suggested that I do some evil.

So what do you think this means:

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Do you take that as a COMMAND? How about a "SUGGESTION"? But even a SUGGESTION coming from the inspiration of God should be enough to cause you to DO WHAT IT SAYS. Don't you think?

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[Guest Zayit]

That reminds me of the G-d signs

'What part of "Thou shalt not" don't you understand? ...

They aren't the 10 Suggestions

---------------------------------G-d

[Keith]

The Bible gives us a lot of reasons in itself as to why we should read it.

1. It equips us to serve God.

2. It helps us know how to be saved from our sins and what the ultimate penalty for sin is.

3. It tells us that if we meditate on the Word, it can bring us success in life.

4. Its helps us see the sin in our lives and helps with how to get rid of it.

5. It will provide instruction and guidance in life, even making us "wiser than your teachers."

6. It shows us how to tell truth from error and how to be on guard from false teachings.

7. It tells us who God is and about how much He loves us.

8. It tells us how to get to heaven.

9. Because God is unchanging, the Bible is just as releveant today as it was in the days it was written. It instructs us how to speak, act, what to do, how to forgive, how to love, etc.,

10. It tells us how to have lasting joy and gives us the only path by which we can be saved!

11. It is the inspired Word of God; God-breathed!

12. It tells us where we come from and what happens after death.

13. It tells us every day things like what to look for in a spouse, how to handle finances, how to be thankful, how to ask for help from God and Christians, how to raise our children.

14. It tells us how to please God!

15. It promises us that this life isn't all there is! We have hope! It bears testimony to the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross for the sins of all mankind!

I'm just shooting all of these out of my head and the list could go on for days on end... Not reading the Bible would be a bit like having a new computer (or whatever) and, not understanding how to use it effectively, refusing to read the instructions. That's what the Bible is. Basic Instructions Before Leaving Eearth.

So, are we commanded to read the Word? If you want to view Joshua 1:8 as a command, then yes. But who needs to be commanded when the Word offers everything? Being a Christian, shouldn't we want to read and meditate in it daily - eagerly?

Joshua 1:8 says: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.