Began at 50: my first time reading the Bible straight through
I have always "read around" in the Bible, reading individual books, or a sub-set of books. I've read many books many times, but could not tell you with any confidence that I have read every book.
A while ago I started reading it from front to back, starting at Genesis 1. It is interesting how you get an entirely different perspective when you read it this way. The way the stories unfold, first flying over, then getting closer in and revealing more detail. It is incredibly beautiful how all the books fit together into a bigger whole. That aspect of it was a complete surprise to me.
It has been slow going, just a few chapters a week. I am now at Isaiah. I've always loved this book, but wow! what an amazing book when read as part of the sequence of the entire Jewish Testament narrative. I'm closing in on the NT books, and though I have read them many times over, I'm wondering if their message will have the same newness of perspective that Isaiah now has.
If you're like me, and you have never read the books of the bible straight through from the beginning, I HIGHLY recommend it. It can be difficult at times (the genealogy records, and the engineering descriptions of the temple, for example), but it is worth the effort. It is very different from reading a book, or a sub-set of books from within the whole. For me, the best way to deal with those many times my attention starts to wonder, is to simply put it down, and come back to it later when I'm ready to be fully engaged (hence, the slow going).
For those who, like me, have not yet done this; when you're ready to do it you will, and you will not be disappointed.
-John
