Part 1: The Whole-Book Bible Writing Series
The scribes have been writing out the Scriptures for thousands of years. I can envision the effort of carefully writing out the Holy Spirit-inspired words. Today, however, we can access printed Bibles and digital Bibles. So why would we handwrite the Bible ourselves?
Thus, the answer is that we handwrite the Bible to meet God in our writing.
In this post, we will quickly review the history of when the Bible was commanded to be handwritten and look at 7 benefits of writing out the Scriptures for ourselves.
The History: Why The Kings of Israel Would Handwrite the Law
Turn with me to Deuteronomy 17:18-20 as we read these words: “And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of this life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them. That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.” [Bold text for emphasis.]
Since God instructed the kings of Israel to write out the Scriptures, it begs the question: is it still important for believers today to handwrite the Bible? Would we benefit from it as the kings of Israel did? I think so; do you?
Would you like a little more insight into the above verses? Feel free to check out my post, Unlock How Copying the Bible Deepens Your Faith. I’m pretty sure this post will excite you to take on the challenge of whole-book Bible writing!
7 Benefits of Handwriting the Bible
Have you thought about why writing out the Scriptures would be helpful? As I stated already, it isn’t to get another personally written Bible, but to meet God in your writing.
Check out these benefits:
You Will Notice the Details
Writing out the Scriptures is a great way to slow down and savour your time in the Bible. Reading quickly can cause you to miss details you might otherwise notice.
Have Conversations with God
You may study the Bible deeply, alone or in a group. Writing out the Scriptures triggers another response. You’ll find yourself having a conversation with God about what you are reading; you may even ask Him questions about the text. And you know what? God will respond to you!
Your Memory Recall Will Improve
Copying the text carefully means you take your time and give yourself time to think about what you are reading and writing. This also helps you remember what you’ve read, and when you add side research, like looking up cross-references, your understanding becomes clearer. You’ll find that your recall improves.
To Hone Your Memorization Skills
In addition to improving your memory skills of what the text is about, it can also help you with memorization of particular verses. Most of us have memorized John 3:16, but do we know what the surrounding verses are about? When you handwrite the Bible, you will also see the context of the book as well.
The reason to handwrite the Bible is to meet God in your writing.
To Develop Spiritual Discipline
When we handwrite the Bible, we develop an excellent spiritual discipline. Did you know that in Deuteronomy 17:18-20, God commanded the kings to write out their own copy of the Scriptures? This was so they would know the commands and learn to honour and obey God all their lives. We can look forward to this, too.
For Your Spiritual Growth
As you spend time writing out the Bible, your understanding of God’s Word will increase. Your spiritual roots will go deep in the solid foundation of truth. Your faith will grow strong plus you will recognize truth from error when listening to or reading biblical teaching material.
To Enjoy Praise and Worship
There’s another reason to handwrite the Bible. You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you find yourself beginning to worship and praise God. You can read all about it in this post: What Happened When I Started Bible Writing: A Worship Revival.
Bonus Benefit
Here’s something you may not have thought of, and this could be a powerful benefit for you and someone you love. You may decide to gift your handwritten Bible to a son or daughter, or even a grandchild. How awesome would that be?!
Your Challenge
Your challenge, if you choose to accept, is to begin writing out the Scriptures for yourself. Not just to have a handwritten Bible, but to enjoy all of these benefits!
Once you have accepted this challenge, you will need:
- either a notebook, loose-leaf paper/binder, or journal book
- a good pen
- decide on which Bible version you will copy from
- make a plan for which Bible book you will begin with
If you want to write out the Scriptures in various orders, I would suggest that you use a binder with loose-leaf paper. My reason is that if you decide to keep your handwritten books in order according to the list in the Old and New Testament, you’ll be able to add newly written books in the correct order.
Have you accepted this beautiful challenge? Let me know in the comments, please!
~ Cindy
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i have written out books of the bible, i confess not prayerfully, but have to say it really gives you a wow feeling, especially how the geneology of christ did for me.
Hi Wendy! So glad you have experienced what writing out the Bible books does for you. I hope you keep writing them out, in whatever order you choose. Thanks for stopping by to read this.