Why Read Chronologically?

Last year, I read the Bible in its entirety in chronological order.

When I started this journey, my goal was two-fold. I wanted to read the bible in its entirety in chronological order. I also wanted to journal in my fancy journaling bible my husband gifted me at Christmas.

After diving in, I had a few realizations along the way. This became more than just “getting through it.” I began a spiritual journey which allowed me to see clearly many things I had missed.

If you grew up in the church, you probably have heard the highlights. David was a boy warrior. Goliath was a giant. Noah built an ark. Eve ate the forbidden fruit. David ended up being the king. Jonah spent some time inside a whale. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, leaving Lot’s wife as a pillar of salt.  So many treasured childhood stories. Yet, I had new lessons in each one.

The one thing which has impacted me the most has been the lesson in obedience. Man are we awful at this. God says “hey humans, do this”, and we respond with disobedience in some form. We are not meant to be perfect, but we are meant to be obedient to our Creator. He found a way to solve the obedience problem by offering eternal forgiveness through Jesus. It doesn’t mean we do it better, it means he has given us an opportunity to make it right.

If you would like to read through the entire Bible, I am going to post the schedule I used here. I looked at several, and this one was broken down into manageable chunks. I followed the guide in order, but I did not take a year to read it. I am an avid reader, and when a book is this good, I continue on.

It has no study guide, which I loved because I was able to use my imagination and intellect to learn by reading it myself, instead of having someone else teach me. It’s nice to have teachers in the word, it’s amazing to figure some things out on your own. By allowing the words to speak their own truth, I am more educated than I started out.

Why chronologically?

I sometimes wonder about certain things when I read them, and I have my study bible to thank for that. With its endless notes and references, I am able to quickly find answers to burning questions. I realized most of my questions had to do with timelines and sequences of events. Reading it in some semblance of time-order made sense to me. (and I hadn’t done it before, so why not?) I also believe context is everything.

If you would like to start, I would love to hear your feedback.

What is something you learned which is new? What is something which surprises you? Is there a story you only knew the half of? Are you journaling in some way as you read?

I simply printed the list and got started.

XOXO

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-reading-plan/chronological.html