And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? Acts 8:30
On my bookshelf is a set of thick red paperback books. Each of those books was given to me by the publisher during a period in which I worked as a technical reviewer for that company. The company published books that were primarily related to computer programming, with much of its material based on the Java programming language. After we finished work on each of the books, and the book was published, copies were sent out to each of the technical reviewers. They look impressive on the shelf, although most of them are badly out of date by now. Sometimes, just for fun, I pull one of the books from the shelf and pass it to a visitor, opening it to a page that has a section of Java code on it. Usually, their eyes glaze over as they make no sense whatsoever of that code. They simply do not understand anything about what they are reading. Unfortunately, that is true of too many people when it comes to the Bible.
Just as only a Java programmer (and possibly programmers of other computer languages) can make any sense out of Java code, so only a person who has the Holy Spirit to guide them can truly make any sense of the Word of God. It is the Holy Spirit, He Who indwells every born again believer, who removes the scales that are on the eyes of every person who is not saved. Literary experts have always touted the Bible as containing some of the world’s best and highest literature. Historians have always remarked at the accuracy of the historical record of the Scriptures. Teaching of the Bible have always been popular sources for wisdom on a great many topics. And yet, its unfathomable depths of spiritual truths remain a mystery to most, just as they were a mystery to the Ethiopian eunuch. But they do not need to be a mystery to Christians.
Even the most serious Bible students will confess that they are able to barely skim the surface of the unmeasurable depths of the Bible. But even the newest saint, the least learned child of God, is able to understand something of what they read. With the Spirit’s guidance, our reading opens up the truths hidden to the unconverted. The more we read and study, the more we understand. The greater effort that we put into exploring the Book, the greater return we will receive. Listening to the teachings of good Bible scholars can open up our understanding even more, as does the use of good tools such as Bible dictionaries, concordances, and commentaries. These days, Christians can opt to use these valuable tools in both paper and electronic forms. Sadly, too many Christians these days place too little emphasis on learning the Word of God. Even though they can understand what they read, they don’t read enough to understand much.
Understand thou what thou readest? Thou canst, if thou wilt work hard enough at it. -Jim MacIntosh