Reading through the Bible in under 100 days!
YOU MAY THINK this is a bit of an exaggeration—but let me assure you, reading through the Bible in under 100 days was seriously fun! Trust me, I was just as surprised as you might be. Let me take you through my adventure.
During a memorable trip to Guadalajara where my husband Cameron and I had the pleasure of visiting with EMC missionaries Angel and Blanca Infantes and their family, I was inspired to read through the Bible. During our visit, Blanca shared how she meets with three groups of women each week for Bible study. This got me reflecting on how well I know the Bible. It ignited a desire in me to deepen my understanding of the Bible.
For some months prior to this trip, I had been reflecting on the notion that my spiritual life holds greater significance than my everyday existence. Thinking more about this and my new longing to deepen my general knowledge and understanding of the Bible, I resolved to take action and to adjust my priorities accordingly. Reading and becoming more familiar with the Bible seemed like an important step on that journey.
Though I grew up in the church and possessed a general knowledge of the Bible, much remained to explore—and there was a lot more to know. One thing I have learned from Cameron is that the Bible tells a cohesive and connected story. In my past practise of reading the Bible, I have focused more on individual books and passages and hadn’t made many of the connections. I’ve only more recently come to appreciate the presence of the remarkable storyline and unifying threads that exist in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It’s these threads and storyline that help reveal the larger story being told about God’s relationship with the world and with humans.
Flying home from Guadalajara, I found myself wondering how quickly I could read through the Bible to understand better the overarching storyline—and how the various books of the Bible, stories and characters fit into the whole story of the Bible. I discovered a plan to read through the Bible in 100 days and wondered if I could achieve that—if I could make time in my busy life to read through the Bible in 100 days.
I discovered a plan to read through the Bible in 100 days and wondered if I could achieve that—if I could make time in my busy life to read through the Bible in 100 days.
As I began reading, I had no idea how captivating the exercise would become. My work is such that I spend 30–40 minutes in my car on both sides of the day. Typically, I have listened to CBC or to some music on the way to/from work. I started using this time to listen to the Bible. Biblica, Inc., which publishes the NIV Bible, has an audio version narrated by actor David Suchet (whom some may know as “Agatha Christie’s Poirot”). The entire audio version is available for purchase at Audible.com, or can be accessed free from the Bible Gateway website or the YouVersion Bible app.
I quickly got engrossed in the story and found myself reading (and sometimes reading while listening) at home in the evening. Each day, I found myself excavating layers of wisdom and insight previously unnoticed. The seemingly familiar stories took on new dimensions. At times, I thought I was repeating what I had read earlier only to discover it wasn’t a repeat of the story—just a similar story told in another book or chapter. In other cases, I realized it was a repeat of the story being told from a different perspective. This led to many new discoveries about how and perhaps why the story is told the way it is, and how this telling reveals meaning and promotes understanding.
Over the weeks, I noticed a sense of peace and decreased anxiety permeating my life. I felt more attuned to God’s presence in every facet of my daily experiences.
I began seeing repeated themes and stories and was observing connections I had never noticed before. Cameron would hear me exclaim, “I didn’t know that!” or “I’ve never seen that before!”
As an example, I don’t recall previously taking note of the following story in the Old Testament (2 Kings 4:42–44) which reads a lot like the feeding of the five thousand:
“A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said. “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked. But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.”
I had also never noticed that (at least in one example) a parable is used in the Old Testament. The Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine in Ezekiel 17 tells of the demise of the king for “despising my oath and breaking my covenant” (v. 19).
Repetition evokes memory (for the people involved in the story and for us, the readers of the story) and recalls or reinforces earlier teachings or concepts. For example, clouds are used in many stories to represent God’s presence:
“Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind” (Genesis 9:14–15);
“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way” (Exodus 13:21);
“Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him” (Numbers 11:25)
“A bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’” (Matthew 17:5; see also Luke 9:35);
“Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars” (Revelation 10:1).
These literary tools, which consist of repeated themes and stories, highlight and help communicate the overarching theme running through the Bible, namely, the contrast between God’s faithfulness and humans’ (the people of Israel’s) faithlessness (disobedience).
Ezekiel, a book that I don’t recall reading much of in the past, was perhaps the biggest surprise. It landed as a powerful and very moving book. I felt quite emotional reading it after reading through the very depressing history of the kings of Israel and Judah vacillating between following God and following idols—then returning to God only to be led by another king who did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
I felt overwhelmed by the persistent evil of humans and the resulting judgment their rebellion created. I was profoundly moved as I moved through Ezekiel to read of the extravagant and loyal love God offered to restore his people, and to have mercy on his people in order to protect his holy name (39:25). I recognized the parallel to the merciful act of God in sending his son, Jesus, to take on the sin of humans in order that we can be reconciled to God.
I was profoundly moved as I moved through Ezekiel to read of the extravagant and loyal love God offered to restore his people.
After reading through the history of the Israel and Judah, Psalms also felt especially emotional and personal—often retelling and helping me better understand stories I had just read in the earlier books of the Old Testament. The recurring themes of salvation and redemption—of God’s commitment and promise to his people—and of his deep and loyal love for his people was the resounding message and hope that gripped me as I continued reading to the concluding chapters of Revelation.
I completed the project in less than 100 days! Although I was almost disappointed to come to the end, the experience profoundly impacted me.
I’m on another journey through the Bible—this one will take a bit longer—but I expect I will again challenge myself to read through the Bible in three months and by doing so make more discoveries about this remarkable story that is so old and remarkably relevant and applicable today!
