Spiritual DisciplinesSample

Bible Study

Jesus famously quoted at the devil that "man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). Also found in Deuteronomy 8:3, that’s a tasty truth about the nourishment we get from a steady diet of Spirit-breathed scripture.

But the Bible is a big book, so it’s hard to remember everything in it. Apart from God’s Word being food for life, constantly returning to it is almost like being able to discover anew what we already know. Take 2 Kings 18, for example. I have read this chapter before about Hezekiah but filed it away under "part of the repetitive history of Israel’s and Judah’s kings" and never thought about it. I went back to it recently because our church is going through the book of Isaiah. In case you forgot like I did, swathes of 2 Kings (and 2 Chronicles) map directly upon the events outlined in Isaiah. Indeed, some chapters are virtually identical (compare Isaiah 36–39 with 2 Kings 18–20).

I got so much understanding and insight from God’s Word by refreshing myself in how these sections complement and enhance each other. The character profile of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18 is very helpful in weighing up the prophecy fulfilled in Isaiah 36-39 and has further encouraged me to keep "rediscovering" God’s Word.

Written by BEN McEACHEN