I opened the Bible app to check out a verse from Isaiah. Easily distracted by digital squirrels, I click the video on the home page instead.
A bearded man with an artichoke-green shirt and an intentional smile gives a time-efficient talk. Less than two minutes.
He expands on the catchy phrase “Meekness is not weakness”, as much as 90 seconds allow it. And just like Europeans inject gooey chocolate into the depth of a flaky croissant, so did the nice man needle with precision, at minute one, Scripture- Matthew 5:5. He then made a few promises for marriage, job, relationships, then culminated with an invitation “Let’s be meek and enjoy the happiness and the inheritance of being meek.” With 11 seconds to spare, he “sneezed” a prayer. He did not literally “achoo”. It’s just my sneeze is lengthier. There’s a time and place for sneeze-sized prayers. (Our kids are in the sneezy-dizzy allergy season. But, so not relevant.)
The pep-talk message had a tad of Scripture, a bit of practicality, a mini-prayer, and a tiny altar-call. Short of a mini-song, and a mini-offering, and I had attended a mini church service. (I didn’t include announcements. They are never mini.)
Please understand that in my nature to be blunt, I mean no offense to the bearded-nice man, nor to his almost one million viewers.
What I would like to point out is that our Bible app is like a donkey. It either carries our burden, or it holds us back. (A statement true about all technology.)
Our Bible app is like a donkey. It either carries our burden, or it holds us back.
Like a good dancing partner, Matthew 5:5 showed up in my widgets on my phone all day that day reinforcing the devotional. Although I don’t remember setting it up that way, I left it there even if I use my calculator more often than the global-verse-of-the-day.
The intention behind the Bible app is to assist us with daily devotions to Scriptures. I don’t believe the aim was to get us addicted to mini-sermonettes, called devotionals, nor to give our minimum efforts and read an out-of-context verse. When all we do is gulp down what someone else chewed in their Bible reading through a bite-size devotional, and read the global-verse-of-the-day on our widget, we stunt faith. Widgets can make us spiritual midgets.
I speak crazy when I’m this direct. (I blame lots of my blemishes on proximity with Chernobyl as I was only two, and only 200 miles away).
I’m not trying to be Hippolytus of Rome, the first antipope, criticizing the 2nd century bishops being too lenient with sin and doctrine. But I am anti devotions-to-devotionals. The devil knows how to trick believers into shallowness while giving us the impression of good-Christian-performance.
Such an observation when spoken out-loud can be frowned upon by many a good Christian. So, most take a vow of silence to speaking up, lest ye offend thou neighbor. I get it. We all claim allegiance to what simplifies our life, and makes us feel productive as we hit our streaks on the Bible app. We minimize input, while hoping to get maximized output from the Lord. We expect that my 2-minutes devotions should amount to peace in chaos, relational fixing, and a down-pour of blessings.
Be a possibilitarian. Wake up to what is possible.
Be a possibilitarian with me for a second. Let’s wake up to what we’re missing out as we observe the Israelites lingering at the Water Gate, not rushing through the Water Gate app.
When I rake a passage, I read it like a novel for breadth, so I know where to pause and dig. When I dig I aim to include these 3 simple steps: Explore, Explain, and have a Takeaway.
Explore
Exploring the geographical and historical context is important. It gives texture, tone, color to the fabric of the text. We are studying about real people set in a real time in history.
Let me give a little context. The Israelites bookend the history of the Old Testament with 2 slavery seasons. At the front end, they are slaves in the south, in Egypt for 400 years. They have a break of about 800 years, when they rebel most of the time. At the back end, they are slaves to the north, in Assyria (Israel), and Babylon (Judah). After 70 years of Judah’s slavery many return to rebuild Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, and Ezra.
It’s at this spot in the narrative that we find the chosen ones gathered at one of the 10 Gates in Jerusalem. Thirsty for more, here they are at the Water Gate requesting for Ezra to bring the Book of the Law. (No pun intended with “thirst” and “water”. Each name, number, and omit-able detail has significance.)
“…all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel. (a genuine desire accomplishes more than a self-imposed duty)
So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon (unhurried) as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively (focused, not multi-tasking) to the Book of the Law.
The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read. (Reading alone superficially doesn’t make a dent into our soul)
Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing (Hearing it on Audible not enough.) the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.” (Scripture will have impact if we seek for “Ezras” to help us understand. Always leave with a takeaway.) Nehemiah 8
Explain
Our friend Chaim, a Sergeant Major in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), continues to daily post from the frontlines, and he regularly writes insightful takeaways from Scriptures. He is one of my “Ezras” who clarifies the meaning of what we read.
He shared that in Hebrew there isn’t a direct word that means obedience “When you read “obey” in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, the word used for obedience is the Hebrew word שָׁמַע (shama). This word literally means to hear, to listen, or to pay attention. The expectation is that when you “hear” you follow out what it is that you heard.”
In Nehemiah 8:9 we see the same word שָׁמַע (shama). “For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law” That’s why the men, and women wept after listening (shama-ing) with the intent to obey.
Short devotionals limit our ability to listen, to shama God’s Word. It takes longer than 2-10 minutes of shama-ing to move me to tears of conviction.
The minimalist approach to faith is destructive. When it comes to soul smart decisions, “less is less” and “more is more“. Devotionals are training wheels to those unable to ride alone through the Bible. It can be a helpful tool for kids, and anyone young in their faith to create dailyness to our Bible reading. Many believers have adopted a fast-food faith through the Bible app boutiques. We hop from one 7-day shallow plan to another. I speak from experience.
Devotionals can be training wheels to the young in faith to create dailyness
I’m not saying that you must give a fourth of your day to raking and digging the Torah. But am I a daily tourist at the Water Gate stopping by on my way to the Fish Gate, so I can see what’s the latest catch?
The Water Gate is not mentioned to have needed repairing. It’s no mistake that this spiritual landmark represents the power of the Book of the Law that needs no fixing. Its truths are timely and timeless.
Why are the Scriptures hard to get at a first reading?
Let me encourage you with this. The Israelites needed support from the Levites to understand their own law. They had been removed geographically, culturally and historically for only 70 years from their own context, and they still needed support to make sense of it. Now, we are removed even further, over 2,000 years, and most of us don’t have the cultural-linguistic-historical-geographical advantage. So, it’s only normal to need assistance to “making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.”
Takeaways
- Devotionals (book, or audio-visual format) can be marvelous at creating “dailyness”. Devotionals are like a warm-up to a workout. Many a believer expect to build endurance, and tone their muscles while daily driving to the gym for a 5-minute warm up through the global-verse-of-the-day.
- Let’s make the effort to find our online and offline Ezras, so that we give the text a chance to convict our soul. Understanding Scripture is crucial to impact.
- Am I a daily tourist at the Water Gate app?
- Am I gulping down someone else’s chewed thoughts?
Conclusion
If you dip a cucumber in the dill-water-salt solution, it still comes out as a wet crunchy cucumber. If you let the cucumber saturate, it will turn into a pickle. Let’s not fool ourselves that a 2 minute video, or even an hour of chronological reading when it makes no sense, it’s all it takes to be a devout Christian.
Don’t be a wet-crunchy cucumber. Be a pliable-marinated pickle. Be a possibilitarian. Wake up to what is possible by switching from devotions-to-devotionals to a zeal-for-the-Solo-Scriptura.