Psalm 1:2 says that people who do not do the things in verse 1 are delighted in the Law of the Lord. For New Testament Christians we need to understand that we are not under the Law of Moses, or the Old Covenant given at Sinai. Jesus fulfilled that Law for us and we have his active righteousness placed on us when we are saves. So a modern, Christian way to view the first part of verse 2 would be, delighted in the Bible. So what does it mean to be delighted in the Bible?
First and foremost it means to read it. When God gave the Law to Moses, the command was to read it to the people. Every year the Law was to be read to the people. Deuteronomy 17:18 commands each and every king of Israel to take the Law given at Sinai and make a copy for himself, in his own handwriting. Then he is to keep that copy with him and read it all the days of his life.
So going back to God’s first interaction with his people, his command was to read. Now we have Bibles everywhere. Bibles flow like water. A study many years ago found that Americans have an average of 9 Bibles in their homes. Bibles are given as gifts, that can be downloaded as apps, they can be bought on DVD and CD to listen to and many churches give them away free. Bible’s are everywhere. When missionaries sneak into hostile countries, like Iran, they take Bibles. Telling people about Christ is the core of witnessing, but people must have their own Bible. Christians need to read their Bibles, daily, deeply and completely.
Second Christians need to study their Bible. There are thousands of Bible study helper books available. There are seminary level Bible courses on YouTube and there are apps, hundreds of apps to help people in their Bible study. Opening the Bible up for people is the goal of every educated Christian. One reason preachers use the expository method of preaching is that it opens up and explains Scripture. Reading and studying for knowledge, understanding and wisdom is essential for the Christian life.
Once these activities are in place and regular, the Christian will begin to gain an appreciation for the Bible. The Holy Spirit will work to draw people into the Bible. A hunger will develop to know more of the Bible. A delight will begin to emerge where people want to know what God says about a certain activity, or Christians will just want to know what God says. The Christian who delights in the Bible, reads it, knows it, studies it and applies it. This all can only happen when a person is involved in a church. A person cannot get to the point of delighting in the Bible all on their own because the application would fall flat. Christians must work, must serve and must belong in a church or their are not an obedient Christian.
First and foremost it means to read it. When God gave the Law to Moses, the command was to read it to the people. Every year the Law was to be read to the people. Deuteronomy 17:18 commands each and every king of Israel to take the Law given at Sinai and make a copy for himself, in his own handwriting. Then he is to keep that copy with him and read it all the days of his life.
So going back to God’s first interaction with his people, his command was to read. Now we have Bibles everywhere. Bibles flow like water. A study many years ago found that Americans have an average of 9 Bibles in their homes. Bibles are given as gifts, that can be downloaded as apps, they can be bought on DVD and CD to listen to and many churches give them away free. Bible’s are everywhere. When missionaries sneak into hostile countries, like Iran, they take Bibles. Telling people about Christ is the core of witnessing, but people must have their own Bible. Christians need to read their Bibles, daily, deeply and completely.Second Christians need to study their Bible. There are thousands of Bible study helper books available. There are seminary level Bible courses on YouTube and there are apps, hundreds of apps to help people in their Bible study. Opening the Bible up for people is the goal of every educated Christian. One reason preachers use the expository method of preaching is that it opens up and explains Scripture. Reading and studying for knowledge, understanding and wisdom is essential for the Christian life.
Once these activities are in place and regular, the Christian will begin to gain an appreciation for the Bible. The Holy Spirit will work to draw people into the Bible. A hunger will develop to know more of the Bible. A delight will begin to emerge where people want to know what God says about a certain activity, or Christians will just want to know what God says. The Christian who delights in the Bible, reads it, knows it, studies it and applies it. This all can only happen when a person is involved in a church. A person cannot get to the point of delighting in the Bible all on their own because the application would fall flat. Christians must work, must serve and must belong in a church or their are not an obedient Christian.
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