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Reading the Bible for
Instruction

When you read, read to find instruction.

Instruction is an important concept in Scripture. It refers to taking in the will of God for your life. There are stories and laws to indicate how God is at work in the lives of his people, what he wants for them, and what he expects of them.

Sometimes, reading for instruction can be time consuming and challenging. Because you now live in so distant a time and place from when these stories and concepts were written, you might need to spend extra time learning about the background of a given time or circumstance, or about the language and words being use, or about the nature of the biblical documents from which you are reading in order to understand more fully.

Reading for instruction means you come with a sense of adventure and wonder. Bring an open mind and a willing heart to what you read, expecting to take a journey. When Scripture says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, and your mind," it is calling you, expecting you, to engage your thinking abilities. Following God is not a mindless or shallow practice of religion, or a thoughtless acceptance of faith. When God said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge," it was not about the failure to learn trivial things, but about the lack of intimate experience which followers of God are called to have of him and his word. That is why the writer of the first Psalm says that the one who is blessed by God is the one who delights in pouring over Scripture day and night. When you read, read for instruction.

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