A Lamp Unto My Feet

Along with our church, my wife and I are now engaged in the process of reading through the entire Bible from beginning to end during the 2009 year. I must admit that I have never done this before. I feel as though I have been an avid student of the Bible and have read much of the Bible, but I have found during this process there is much of the Word of God that I have missed using topical, thematic or many of the other methods of Bible study. Most of my adult theological life has been a pursuit of Systematic Theology, i.e., a study beginning with the doctrine of God, followed by the doctrine of Man, to the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of Redemption and on through to the doctrine of Last things.

Now, this pursuit of reading the Bible through from cover to cover would come more under the heading of Biblical Theology, i.e., learning to read the Bible from it’s own narrative..or basically in story book fashion viewing the unfolding story of scripture as it occurred. I was exposed to expository teaching preaching by a godly Pastor for several years who began every sermon with the same prayer: "Open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of Thy law." (Psalm 119: 18) That is my continual prayer as this venture is begun.

At this date we have completed Genesis and Exodus and are now beginning the book of Leviticus. I have been overwhelmed by the number of "types and shadows" found in these first two books of the Bible. I suppose that had I not been an avid student of the Word many of these "types and shadows" would go unnoticed. I Corinthians 10:11 has a deeper meaning to me as I have begun this journey: "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." And of course, II 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: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." I have also found it extremely helpful at this point to read Hebrews Chapters 8 through 10 during or prior to the reading of the first five books of the Bible. These chapters explain many of the shadows and types that have been fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you would like to join in this Bible reading venture you may find a reading schedule in PDF form HERE You may notice when you print this out that you rest from your reading of scripture..every seventh day. A Matthew Henry on-line commentary is available HERE and The International Standard Bible Encylopedia is available HERE. Two wonderfully helpful tools. Discussing the portion of scripture read daily with a spouse or friend makes this task even more enjoyable. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119: 105)