Why I’m Listening to the Bible in 2024

At the end of 2023, I was excited to pick up a new Bible. It was a new ESV Chronological Bible: the first Bible of its kind to grace my bookshelf. It was packed with extra reference materials and introductory essays for different Biblical eras.

In tandem with that Bible edition, a Chronological Bible podcast was released, which followed the same breakdowns of the print edition. Despite my passionate love of reading –and especially my love of reading the Bible – it was a bit uncharacteristic of me to run to the podcast instead of print.

As I write this, it’s almost the end of January I must say that I have benefited greatly from my Bible listening plan. Maybe it’s because of my own history with podcasting (check out Redemption Meditations and The Literary Baptists), but I actually think it’s deeper than that. I have four reasons why this method has been beneficial to me.

Different Attention

I have found that listening to the Bible makes me notice different things than when I read it. Sometimes it is due to the way the reader emphasizes words I might not have emphasized. But it’s more likely because the ear reads differently than the eye does, so to speak.

There have been scientific studies about this phenomenon that I won’t bore you with. In my own experience, it seems to check out. Hearing the text read makes it stick in my head in a way that repeated reading does not.

Focused Pacing

When I read the Bible, I tend to end up going slowly, typically because I end up going down rabbit trails. I love to trace the scarlet thread of redemption through the Bible, as well as the shadow-to-substance themes between the Old Testament and the New Testament. These are good pursuits.

But when I do a yearly reading plan, the goal is more about reading the Bible than studying it. These are two different things. A healthy Christian scripture diet requires a certain amount of intake, and sometimes it is best to set aside the pursuit of theology in order to take in more scripture in one sitting.

This kind of Bible reading practice helps us get more familiar with the through-line of each individual book as well as the entire Bible as a whole.

What does this have to do with a Bible listening plan? Because the reader isn’t going to stop for you to turn to a cross-reference. The recorded reader is going to steadily plow through the verses for the day’s reading. Do your homework after the reading. But for these few minutes, I’m going to listen to this entire chunk of scripture uninterrupted.

Redeeming The Time

It would be hard for an honest Christian to say they are not busy. We have many worthy pursuits that fill our time, whether they are honest work for a paycheck, church meetings, or other groups we invest in. We also have periods of time that don’t require intense focus, where we are not at full liberty to sit and read.

Driving is like this, as well as repetitive household chores. These are times ripe for redemption through Bible listening, rather than just plugging in another podcast. That can be especially fruitful as well for people who listen better when they have something to do with their hands. After all, Ephesians 5:16 exhorts us to redeem the time we have, because the days are evil.

Connection with Church History

The final reason for my Bible listening plan has actually been the most compelling for me. It connects me to the history of Christ’s church. We have the benefit of ready access to solid English translations of Scripture at any point, and I thank God for that. But for most of the church’s history, Christians did not have access to printed copies of the Bible in their language. We shouldn’t take this privilege lightly. But as an exercise in identifying with my brothers and sisters of the not-too-distant past, I have found this Bible listening exercise tremendously beneficial.

I’m opposed to chronological snobbery in all forms, and this is one tangible way to remind myself that things have not always been how they are today.

God has the power to reach my heart through my ears just as powerfully as my eyes. After all, Paul writes this under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Romans 10:17: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

So if you are able, I highly recommend a Bible listening regimen, whether as the basis of your Biblical diet or alongside it.

For further reading