Read the Bible with Me!

Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! I'm reading the Bible clear through this year, and I invite you to read along with me. But first, let us pray: 

I praise you, my God, with all people.
May they thank and adore you!
You have written your greatness in creation,
your Law in consciences,
your eternal promises in the Bible.
You are eternally faithful and always lovable!
As I read Sacred Scripture today, open my mind to hear your voice and understand your loving message.
Amen.

Today's chapters are Deuteronomy 29-31.

Hopefully you will find much that is familiar in today's selection! St Paul also cites chapter 30 in an important part of his letter to the Romans.

Deuteronomy 28:69 begins the "Third Discourse" of Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy. This is the closing sermon of his life. The "Law" (that is, Deuteronomy) will be placed next to the Ark of the Covenant as a witness that the people have indeed heard all three discourses. This is the book that will be rediscovered in the reign of King Josiah (2 Kings 22), leading to a reform. (King Josiah's reaction upon hearing the stipulations of the Book of the Law reveal just how far afield the people had gone, as we will see in the upcoming Historical Books.) 

Chapter 32 gives us Moses' final Canticle, a song in praise of God for his love and acts of power on behalf of his people throughout their history. Read it and pray with it as a retelling of the whole story in a poetic song of praise and contrition, and then note how the following (final) chapter, with its blessing of the tribes echoes Jacob's blessing of his sons at the end of Genesis.

With these words we conclude the reading of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible!

Start reading here.

If you are looking for a solid but approachable companion to the Bible, I can wholeheartedly recommend A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by Brant Pitre and John Bergsma. Although the authors are top-level Scripture scholars, they write for "real" readers. Notes include recent findings from archaeology and ancient manuscripts.