What changes does Paul make?

He drops the reference to the ancient times.  He reverses the word order between what is seen and what is heard.  Perhaps the most significant change comes at the end of the verse.  Paul interprets “those who wait for Him” as “those who love Him.”

These differences beg a question – did Paul get the scripture wrong?  Setting aside the inspiration of scripture for a moment, the answer to that question depends on this distinction between memorization and internalization. 

If memorization is essential – getting things right word for word, without change or variation – we are forced to conclude that Paul quoted the text wrong.  However, if it’s about internalization, if it’s about moving from head knowledge only to more holistic knowledge that engages head, heart, and hands, then what becomes clear is that Paul has internalized the text and this internalization allows for a certain level of creativity and freedom to move within the text. 

Internalization is sort of like jazz – rather than being confined to only one possible way of seeing and playing the music, a much wider range of possibility is present.  There are still confines – you can’t just play anything you want.  That’s just playing a completely different song.  But what jazz provides is the space to rift and flow and move within the limitations established by the song so that multiple iterations of the same song become both possible and encouraged. 

Can’t you hear Paul rifting on the text?  He imagines waiting on God (Isaiah 64) as an expression of love for God (1 Corinthians 2:9).  For Paul, waiting on God, patiently trusting in Him for what you need in the challenges you’re facing, is an expression of deep, dependent love.  Paul has internalized the text.  It’s not rote.  It’s not lifeless.  It’s bursting with life and possibility.  The scriptures can’t mean anything we want them to mean, but under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they certainly mean much more than the limits of our own minds and imaginations can conceive (Ephesians 3:20). 

So, how do we move with Paul from mere memorization to internalization when it comes to scripture?  Allow me to share a few thoughts. 

CHOOSE DELIGHT OVER DUTY 

Seek to meditate (dwell in, reflect on – not just read or even study) on scripture as an act of love, not just learning.  Approach the Bible with delight, not just duty.  Psalm 1 says, “Blessed are those… whose delight is in the law of God”.  Duty, though important, will only take you so far.  Delight is duty maturing in love.

BREAK THE SACRED INTO THE ORDINARY 

In Deuteronomy 6, we read these instructions concerning God’s Word:

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.   Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. ~ Deuteronomy 6:6-9

What does God instruct His people to do?  Normalize conversation around God’s word.  Talk about it with your kids and discuss it wherever you might be.  But don’t just talk about it, write it down, and put it in ordinary spaces.  God essentially instructs us to put His word where we’ll see it and to speak it when we see it. 

Go ahead and give this a try.  Put scriptures in your car and around your house.  Stick them up on your mirrors.  Place them on the fridge or wherever else you might see them, and when you see them, speak them.  Process them.  Teach them.

YOU CAN’T HIDE WHAT YOU’VE NEVER HELD 

Psalm 119:11 calls us to hide God’s word in our heart.  While that sentiment is beautiful, we can’t hide what we’ve never held – in other words, we can’t hide what isn’t ours.  Before we can hide God’s word, we have to behold God’s word.  We plan for what we prioritize.  If you want to hide God’s word in your heart, make it a priority – a habit – to read God’s word daily.  Don’t stress about quantity.  It doesn’t have to be a lot, but if you want to hide God’s word in your heart, you must first hold God’s word in your hands and behold it in your mind.  Start there and if you need help, we have a daily reading plan you can find here.

TRAIN TO RETAIN 

Finally, we need to understand that we keep what we teach.  We retain what we train.  If you want to really move from knowing about God’s word to knowing God through His word, talk to others about what you’re reading, what you’re learning, what you’re discovering in God’s word.  Teaching others isn’t just for them – it’s for us, too.  There’s something about sharing what God is teaching us that reinforces that truth more completely and holistically in our lives. 

You are not just a brain.  You are more than your mind alone and the purpose of the Bible isn’t just to know the Bible itself – it’s to know God.  Here’s how John put it at the end of His gospel:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. ~ John 20:30-31

John didn’t write his Gospel just so you’d know about His gospel and have cool quotes to rattle off; John wrote his Gospel so that you and I might know Jesus and find life in His name. 

In fact, that’s what the whole Bible is – one giant, strange, sometimes confusing, but beautiful book that is all pointing toward Jesus. 

So, may your duty discover delight, your learning become love, and may you meet Jesus in and through His word for the glory of God and the sake of the world.