A couple of years ago I wrote about using Search the Scriptures (StS) as a part of my daily Bible reading regimen.
Between April and June 2021 I used StS when reading the first nine chapters of Luke across 25 daily studies, and the first 26 chapters of Genesis across 19 studies.
At the time I quite appreciated the discipline of answering specific questions based on the passage. I will often make notes on passages I read but this may take the form of observations about the text, or some historical or contextual information. It may be some reflections on how I see the passage relating to or affecting me, or (rarely) a prayer that forms in response to my reading. The point is my discipline of writing in response to the passage is variable and not always intentional or focused. StS offers an alternative because if I seek to answer the two or three questions more than superficially then I need to reread parts of the passage and give some thought to the issues that the questions seek to raise.
So why have I recommenced using StS midway through 2023? Last year I followed the M’Cheyne Bible reading plan of reading two chapters a day and also reading the companion commentary/devotional provided by Don Carson in For the Love of God. I started using his second volume in 2023 but stopped several months ago. Since then I have been reading the Old Testament portion of M’Cheyne’s plan but not the New Testament portion.
Earlier this month I started reading Isaiah and was journaling some thought in response to my reading. A few days ago I thought it may be helpful to use StS as an accompaniment to my reading and provide some focus to my writing so I began using StS with Isaiah from chapter 33.
As I wrote two years ago, StS does jump around a little between Testaments and genres, but I intend to use it to complete my reading of Isaiah. I may then continue to use it with Jeremiah and onwards through the remainder of the prophets. We’ll see.