The Dog Ate My Bible – And Other Excuses For Not Reading The Good Book
Furniture, toys, and electronics often come with an instruction manual. Most of us don’t read it from beginning to end, though it would save time if we did. We’re more likely to refer to the manual only when there’s a problem. The Bible functions as an instruction manual for humans, and we often treat it just like any other manual—hunting for the information we want or need, and ignoring the rest.
Most Christians would readily admit the need to spend more time in God’s word but find it difficult to actually do so. In this series we’ll discuss common reasons for not reading the Bible and how you can avoid being hindered by them. Today we focus on a common obstacle to reading the Bible: The Bible is a big book.
The Bible contains:
- 66 books
- 1,500 pages (depending on Bible type and translation)
- 1189 chapters
- 32,000 verses (depending on Bible translation)
Regardless of how you slice it, that’s a lot of information to read. But while those numbers can make the Bible seem even more intimidating, they can assist you in successfully reading it.
Suppose you want to read the Bible in a year. Simply break the numbers down into manageable increments:
- 66 books divided by 12 months = approximately 5 books a month.
- 1,500 pages divided by 365 days = approximately 4 pages a day.
- 1189 chapters divided by 365 days = approximately 3 chapters a day.
- 32,000 verses divided by 365 days = approximately 88 verses a day.
In addition, the entire Bible can be read in 70 to 80 hours (depending on the translation). How long are you willing and able to read each day?
- If you read an hour a day, you will read the Bible in approximately 80 days.
- If you read 30 minutes a day, you will read the Bible in approximately 160 days (a little over five months).
- If you read 15 minutes a day, you will read the Bible in approximately 320 days (about 10 months).
Yes, the Bible is big, but you can read it book by book, page by page, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, or hour by hour. If you need more structure, use one of the many Bible reading plans available. Until next time, happy reading.