Who “owns” the Bible? Scholars? Academics? the Church? a denomination?
My initial response tells me that God owns the Bible. It is his from start to finish. And he gave it as a gift to his people: Israel in the Old Testament and the Bride of Christ in the New.
God intended common, ordinary people to be able to access the Bible. He encourages us to read it, eat it, devour it. We often hear testimonies in which someone says they began reading the Bible and became a Christ-follower. God wants his children, all of them, to read his word.
Isaiah has always been one of my favorite biblical books. It speaks the gospel of Christ. As I was considering recently, What book shall I choose for my devotional reading, I detected an eagerness in my heart for Isaiah. Therefore, here we are!
But quite frankly, I am too old to begin an academic study of Isaiah. The book is huge, and there are volumes and volumes of commentary that have been written about it over the centuries. In these commentaries, author contradicts author. There is no way I can sort through all that material. Nor would I want to.
Therefore, I have decided to read Isaiah as just a small person taking her daily walk within the boundaries of her own neighborhood, enjoying and paying attention to the scenery and small details of the path. And, because I love to write, I decided to keep a journal of my musings in my own small voice. I pray, Lord, that you will lead and guide me along your way, give me your eyes, point out to me what you want me to see and hear, smell, taste and touch along the way. I pretend to have no authority, other than the Holy Spirit as my guide. Lord, I give this journal to you. Bless, please, according to your will. Hallelujia and praise your name, Love in Christ, Christina.
Yes great great post and wisely said…let’s all take a sabbatical and walk the garden with whatever author you want…
Thank you Sonshine!