“But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him.” Matthew 12:3 KJV

The Pharisees (religious people) had this annoying habit of trying to prove how ‘wrong’ Jesus was whenever they got the chance; turns out their ignorance of the law was what was displayed every single time. I like how Jesus made reference to the mere fact of reading by simply going ‘have ye not read’ to dispel their accusations of wrongdoings on His part. 

Reading – such a common and simple art, yet loaded with so many benefits whose knock-on effects beat imagination. During those times, the Torah wasn’t readily accessible by mere people, they had to come to the synagogue or temple and hear it read out; religious leaders and scholars however had access. You can understand therefore, why every ‘have Ye not read’ statement Jesus made was addressed to supposed experts of and/or those with privileged access to Jewish religious law, rather than ordinary people (Matthew 12:3,5; 19:4; 22:31; Mark 2:19,25; Luke 6:3).

Thankfully, we live in a day and age where the Bible is readily available to us in very many forms. If Jesus expected those with access to the law to have a knowledge of the law, we as believers shouldn’t think He expects any less from us who have the Bible. We are supposed to increasingly know Him, and the Bible tells us what we need to know. Remember, ETERNAL LIFE IS TO KNOW GOD AND JESUS! (John 17:3)

Just a few benefits reading especially the Bible offers:

1. Reading helps us know God’s character and person:

Daniel, a native of Judah and captive of Babylon, kept up with happenings as per God’s prophetic agenda for Israel and Judah by reading. He was quite the watchman; went before God in fasting, prayer and intercession basically saying: God, You promised these in times past; the time has come for its physical manifestation. Only one with such a knowledge of God can confidently approach God like Daniel did, and get his/her answer (Daniel 9:2-27). As you read the Bible, you’ll find that you can too.

2. Just as Jesus found God’s purpose for His life through reading the Scriptures, we can find out God’s purpose through reading (Luke 4:17-23).

3. Reading together with praying, keep us alert about the signs of the end of times, as we watch out for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 13:37; Matthew 24:3-25:46).

4. Reading allows us to be partakers of God’s grace upon the various members of the body of Christ, especially those with the ministry gifts (Eph 4:11-13; Phil 1:7).

Just in case you thought you got out of reading because you’re out of school, newsflash: IT’S SCRIPTURAL TO READ! 😆

God bless you🙂

© Lydia Ndagilaya for PneumaWord

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