Length, width and depth. Reading the Bible in 3-D is pretty cool.

20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver [metaphor]… 25 When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone [metaphor]… 29 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggard to those who send them [simile].

I’ve been doing a lot of extra-curricular reading lately. One of the books talks about the three ways to read Scripture. I tried it yesterday morning and it worked!

The three ways are:

1. Literal– it is the grammar part, the skeletal layout of the text. Is it narrative? Poetry? Story? Who wrote it? To whom was it written? When? Under what circumstances? What is the CIT (Central Idea of the Text)?
2. Moral– it is the questioning part: How does this passage apply to my life? Is there a “moral” to draw from the text? What was the author trying to say? What can we draw from the story, either to do or not do (cautionary tale)?
3. Spiritual– Jesus said that all Scripture points to Him, so we ask, “How does this passage point to Jesus?” Seeing Jesus in every passage is difficult, especially in the Old Testament. Many times, we must realize that people’s veiled hearts are exactly what we are supposed to see: distorted, confused, and incomplete views of God and His Son.

Jesus came to give us clear sight. To see Him is to see the Father,

⁹ Jesus answered, “For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? John 14:9

There are two passages where Jesus claims that all the (OT) Scriptures point to Him. They are:

³⁹ You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me [these very Scriptures point to me- NLT]; ⁴⁰ and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. John 5:39-40

²⁵ And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. Luke 24:25-27

Finding Jesus in the Scriptures is what we will do tomorrow as we look at Psalm 101.

Abba, I begin this trek into the Scriptures with great trepidation because it challenges how I have looked at Scripture all my life. May I seek You constantly in prayer even as I read Your story through time. Show me on every page and in every verse how You are involved with every person and every account. May the Scriptures come alive to me, Abba. I’m counting on it! Amen.