OT is hard to get through. Help!
Hard time Reading the OT.
Q: How do you do to read in the Old Testament? Whenever I try to read a book in the O.T, I never finish it because it's always too complicated for me to follow. There are too many nouns (cities, characters, tribes, etc) to remember and it makes the reading very unpleasant and difficult. I feel like I don't have the intellectual capacities to get through a book of the O.T. How do we read the Bible and get anything useful out of it as well as get through books??
A: I actually had the same problem in the beginning, but also because back then we only had the archaic kjv language so it was double difficult! Today we have modern laguage versions of Scripture. Yay🎉
My suggestion for a new reader is: to Listen through the OT using a dramatization audio Bible.
As you listen through, focus on the key stories. Somewhere in front or back of a good Bible it shows the main stories by book and chronologically by key person/story. Focus on those. One chapter/story and book at a time. Just look at that little cheat sheet before you dive into each story within each book, one by one. It will help.
When reading the portion or story... what is good to mentally note is:
1. who is this about,
2. what time in history past (Eden, pre Abraham, after Abraham, Moses, Judges, Prophets),
3. what God revealed about himself in that section, what we learned about sinful man,
4. what was God working out (what he was doing thru those people & how he worked it out for good of the person and others),
5. what was the holiness/righteousness/right & obedient example/principle we are to learn here, (that we can we apply it to our daily Christian living),
6. what it shows about how we can trust God in all situations no matter how messed up it is or how bad a circumstance they faced.
7. Does any (of what the story is or theme of the book) point to Jesus Christ the Messiah.
Of course you can use a notebook to write those things in there as a bit more of a deeper study, (and you can reread what you learned that day, at night before bed).
Once you get a good grasp of that by reading each OT book, you will see how it all connects when you get to the NT reveal of Jesus; OT hid him in types and shadows and promises and prophecies, NT revealed Him, showed him fulfilling those for His 1st Coming for man's Salvation, showed Him completing the salvific work for Believers, and points to the 2nd Coming to culminate, and bring us into eternity to evermore be with Him.
This is the simplest way to go through the Bible.
If it helps, listen through the story/book for first time, then listen and read it again at same time, then read it again and take notes (stated above) on it. You can also read the intro page to each book for a bit of summary and history. And if you have a solid study Bible like NASB MacArthur one, you get a bunch of great notes included as you read through verse by verse. 😀
I typically fast read through and ignore all the list names of people, (and numbers noted in Numbers), when reading for reading sake. There's not much need for Believers today in general to be deep diving into those particulars (which were important for the Jews and for historical records). Just focus on the ones who have stories who matter.
You should have a good grasp on the OT by the time you read it through 3 times. What I mean is, Read the history of Creation in Genesis 3x in a row, then move to the next story and go through it 3x and the next, and so on. Then by the time you read OT and NT that way, you will have a general firm understanding of basics. That's when you can begin to go deeper in understanding and connecting all things across all of Scripture. And helps give a fuller picture of who God is and how to live holy.
Before you begin reading, every time, Pray for understanding. Ask God to help you comprehend what you read and help you store in your heartband mind the righteousness principles of what you're reading, so you can live it out. After reading, pray thanking God about things you learned, and glorify Him over amazing things you learned about Him.
Celebrate small victories. Finishing a chapter or book is an accomplishment! Be encouraged and keep going.
Remember, the goal is to grow in your understanding and relationship with God, and apply it for holy living, not to become an Bible expert. Be patient, and don't give up!
🙂🙂🙂
The Bible is a library. It has 66 books. It's not something you can absorb in a week. Though you can read all the intro pages of each book for an overall summary, it does take a year to read through and a lifetime to learn from. And that's OK. God loves to see you grow in the knowledge and apply it as you live out your sanctification. God will perfect you in Christ by the last day.
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