Essential Skills for the Journey with Jesus

Reading the Bible Well (Pt. 3).

The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

‘I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him… -Genesis 12:1-4a

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“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” -Ruth 1:6a

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Lesson #1 for reading the Bible well is to enter into the world of the story we are reading. Lesson #2 is the more we know the Bible the more we will understand it.

The Bible isn’t a “one-and-done” book. The more you read it the more meaning you find. One of the reasons for this is that the Bible is self-referential. This is the second key to reading the Bible well. Passages of Scripture build upon one another to develop meaning. The more familiar you are with different parts of the Bible, the clearer and deeper the message of each story becomes. The book of Ruth is a perfect example of this.

A depiction of intertextual references in the Bible.

As mentioned in Sunday’s post, the genealogy at the end of Ruth’s story connects her life to the life of King David and to Jesus. It picks up from Genesis 46:11-12. The family lineage there ends with Perez’ sons Hezron and Hamul. Ruth’s family tree follows Hezron’s branch, continuing the line through Ruth to King David. But the meaning of Ruth’s genealogy doesn’t end there for readers of the Old and New Testament. For in Matthew 1:3-16 the family tree grows further placing Ruth’s story within the wider story of the coming of Jesus.

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

and Josiah the father of Jeconiah^[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus

who is called the Messiah.

This example from Ruth should encourage us to redouble our efforts to read the Bible. We all have to start somewhere. It will be worth the effort. A simple way to practice this skill online is a keyword search on Google or in a Bible app like Biblegateway. Look for other passages that share words or phrases and see if that clears things up. “How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth” is a great resource for going deeper with the Scriptures. And know that I will continue to post reflections on the Bible to help you on the way.

Next post: Skill #3!