You know the scene—a father wants his child to be careful regarding a dangerous situation ahead. He stoops down, looking eye-to-eye, warning the child of ominous things that could happen. If the child internalizes the message, it should be safer.

Listening is more than mere hearing. It requires intentionality. The father’s posture and quiet communication convey the gravity of the situation, hoping the child will listen and know better next time.

Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad.

Those familiar with Jewish religion know that the watchword of Judaism is called “The Shema” (Deuteronomy 6:4). In its entirety, it’s a full paragraph, which begins with the words, “Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad.” That translates to,

Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

It’s a phrase God gave us through Moses. God wants us to focus—like the child focusing on his father—listen to his words intently, and enjoy safety as a result.

The Shema continues,

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

The word “heart” in the Bible means more than your feelings. It’s the ancient Hebrew word for the mind and will. That means that God’s Word is supposed to shape our understanding of the world. It’s the key to how to live in civil society and within our own families.

So naturally, God wants us to form cultural habits and institutions for sharing his words down through the generations—and so we have! And reading Scripture in public settings is a key part of that work.

In fact, the first recorded example of public reading of Scripture appears in the Torah itself:

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient. (Exodus 24:7)

The 613 commandments were not intended for Moses alone; they were carefully recorded to be proclaimed repeatedly to the entire community. They were to be heard, obeyed, and lived out, forming the foundation of Israel’s covenant life with God.

Deuteronomy instructs the people that this practice of reading God’s word should be ongoing (Deuteronomy 31: 9–13). Every person in the land of Israel was to assemble before God to hear it.

The later parts of the Tanakh were also intended for a listening audience. For instance, the prophet Jeremiah had a scribe named Baruch to whom he dictated the oracles of God. Jeremiah made sure they were read aloud to the people, as he’d received it from God for them.

So you are to go and … read the words of the Lord from the scroll that you have written at my dictation…. It may be that their plea for mercy will come before the Lord, and that every one will turn from his evil way. (Jeremiah 36: 6–8)

In modern Judaism, some follow the practice of Keriat haTorah, which is inspired by Nehemiah 8. Keriat haTorah means proclaiming the Torah aloud. The one who reads it has the written Word in front of him, but for the rest of the gathering, it’s an experience not of the eye, but of the ear. It involves listening to the reader without following them in a printed book. We miss some of the most subtle effects of Torah if we think of it as a seen text, rather than a heard text.”

I regularly attend synagogue as I have since my youth. Each week the Torah is removed from the ark (cabinet), unwrapped from its cover, and read publicly. Each of us in the gathering hears the Word publicly read. Usually, it’s several chapters of the Bible.

Jesus went to synagogue and read Scriptures.

This is like how the New Testament tells us that Jesus went to synagogue and read Scriptures (Luke 4:16–17). Jesus’ disciples in Jerusalem are later quoted as saying,

“For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.” (Acts 15:21)

This value of passing on God’s words from generation to generation is echoed by the Jewish authors of the New Testament as well. For example, the Apostle Paul (who himself had been trained in Scripture by rabbis in Jerusalem) says, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” (1 Timothy 4:13). And the (very Jewish) final book of the New Testament opens by encouraging Jesus’ followers to read it publicly (Revelation 1:3).

Reading the Scriptures (both Tanakh and New Testament), has been a core practice for Jesus’ followers for the last two millennia. But the discipline seems to be waning in our time. We’re increasingly more inclined to listen to teaching about Scripture than to listen and engage with the Scripture directly.

If we want to get back to the ancient discipline of public reading of Scripture, it includes two simple things:

1. The words we hear need to be Bible. And it should be read in sections long enough to give the full picture of what a given passage is claiming or what story it is telling.
2. Reading is to be in public. This is a communal activity. People need to hear the Word and get a chance to interact with it together.

This discipline is often paired with preaching and teaching, but it should not be replaced by those. We need opportunities to hear Scripture without it being immediately interpreted for us.

I and my family have been blessed by attending churches in the Anglican tradition where a relatively large section of the service is devoted to reading Scripture.  Many parts of extensive liturgy are drawn directly from the Bible, and the lectionary readings often include four passages. This ensures we all hear from God together—even if the sermon for a given week is not strong!

The simple activity of listening together brings Scripture into our hearts and minds.

Though I’ve been a believer since 1971, it was only a year ago when I first heard someone promoting the public reading of Scripture as a specific practice for believers. I was inspired by the Public Reading of Scripture Institute (PRS) and have formed a group where we meet online weekly to listen to PRS’s excellent recordings of Scripture being read.

As in all spiritual disciplines, we often fail when we isolate and demand of ourselves a solo response to the discipline. The simple activity of listening together in congregations or small groups brings Scripture into our hearts and minds in a way that our ancestors, commanded by God —even Moses himself —always intended.

 

If you’re interested in experiencing the public reading of Scripture, PRS offers weekly gatherings online. Learn more at PRSI.org.

 

And this video from the Bible Project outlines the backstory nicely: