Like so many others, I welcomed in the year by starting another read-through of the Bible1. I begin at the beginning and that means I’m reading Genesis right now. I’ve read it many times before, especially as I was preparing to preach it in 2023.
And even as I just read through it again, I find more there than I did last time. How had I not seen so clearly before that the reason why Lot was rescued was because God remembered his covenant with Abraham2? Why hadn’t I noticed the markers of Abraham building altars or planting trees when he calls on the name of the Lord 3? Why hadn’t I noticed just how insistent God was that the blessing would come through Isaac4?
It is possible to understand the Bible but there is no mastering the Bible. Why? Because the Word of God contains an endless mine with deep veins of gold that can never be exhausted. How could a creature exhaust this?
This is humbling but it’s also exciting.
- I’m using Blue Letter Bible’s Canonical plan this year. ↩
- Genesis 19:29 ↩
- Genesis 12:8; 21:33 ↩
- Genesis 17:15-21 ↩