How the Bible Reads You When You Read It

The Bible is intertextual. In literary theory, the term intertextuality refers to the interrelationship between texts, especially works of literature; the way that similar or related texts influence, reflect, or differ from each other. And just as many works of literature reference the Bible, whether knowingly or unknowingly, we, too, are texts that interact with every book that we read.

Think of it this way. I am a collection of experiences, memories, and acquired knowledge. I have a library in my mind. As I read any work, I access this library of the mind and interact with whatever I am reading. In a sense, everything I read is now understood in a whole new way. I create a new book that no one has ever read before, at least not the way I am reading it. I bring something new to everything I read.

When it comes to the Bible, this relationship is a little more reciprocal than in other texts. After all, I have a helper in the Holy Spirit who leads me through the scripture. Because the Bible is living and active, when I read the Word, I engage in a conversation, one in which I am being read as surely as I am reading. Hebrews 4:12 says this:

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Even the Bible sees itself as an active entity rather than passive words on a page. But exactly what is the Bible reading? I think of the verse in Malachi 2:16 as one that often reads us in the way we interpret it.

For the LORD God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,
Says the LORD of hosts.
“Therefore take heed to your spirit,
That you do not deal treacherously.”

That the Lord hates divorce is clear. But I often hear people repeat this Bible verse with a harsh tone of voice. At least they quote the first part but never the second. Preachers have railed against divorce over and over from the pulpit. And I think most agree that divorce is painful and often very ugly, damaging to the kids as well as to society. But how we see this verse says far more about us than about God.

If we see God as thundering from on high, angry at the guilty mortals below committing the sin of divorce, we show our hand, not His. I know a great many women who stayed in abusive marriages because their understanding of this verse was that if they divorced, God would hate them. I know I felt this way. If we believe in our hearts that God is a vengeful, wrath-filled God, then our interpretation of the Bible reflects that.

When I reread this passage after experiencing God’s love firsthand, I realized that while God may indeed be angry at some, He isn’t angry at me. Because my sins are paid for, I can now read this verse in a voice filled with empathy. God hates divorce because it hurts people. It is filled with betrayal and ugliness.  Many are its victims. My divorce was necessary as are a great many people’s. God hates that my divorce had to happen. He hates betrayal and adultery and abuse. His heart aches for spouses who endure these things. He is angry at the sin that caused the divorce. He still extends forgiveness to adulterers, abusers, and the plain foolish. It’s just that they often don’t take Him up on the offer.

We must learn to discern our filters as we read the Bible or we will read a Bible that isn’t true, or at least, not fully true. Just as slave-owners used scripture to justify slavery, abolitionists used it to justify freedom. We know now who was correct. Why wasn’t it obvious then? We must be careful that our desires and emotional and mental filters do not distort the Word. If you read God as something that He isn’t, that is about you, not Him.

The picture I want to leave you with is of the Molten Sea. A giant bronze bath, it sat in the inner court of Solomon’s temple. The priests would jump in and bathe after burning the sacrifices at the Holocaust altar. This is a picture of the word given in Ephesians 5:26 where we are cleansed by the washing of the water with the Word. The Word of God is a cleansing agent for us. But bronze in the Old Testament is symbolic of something that must be judged. Why would a symbol of the Word be subjected to judgment?

Because when we bathe in the Word, we interact with it. We interpret, we reject or believe, and we explain it to ourselves. We are responsible for what we hear when we hear the Word of God. Our interpretations of what God has said will be judged. I don’t say this to frighten or discourage anyone. After all, reading your Bible can’t be a sin. But what you do with it, how you interact with it will bear either good or bad fruit. And our heavenly Fruit Checker knows that throughout history, many misinterpretations have borne terrible fruit. When one faction of Christians raises arms against another, interpretation of the Bible has been twisted.

I invite you to pray this with me, to allow the sword of the Spirit to separate our soul and spirit:

Heavenly Father,

I ask you to show me any way in which my interpretation of Your Word is not a true representation of what You are saying so that I might repent. Instead of the eyes of my flesh, I ask you to open the eyes of my heart to see to the truth of Your Word. I want what is true and good, not what is assumption or hearsay. Help me rightly divide Your Words that they may bring life to me and those around me. 

Amen

Finding Your Self and Why it Matters

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