More to Say on the Benefits of Scripture Saturation
It is no stretch of the imagination to say that for most Christians in the USA, the majority of their Bible reading comes through resources like daily devotionals or life application readings of Scripture sections that address their current challenges (i.e., the Bible as a Christian therapy text). Moreover, those things are not necessarily bad, but they can disfigure what any given biblical passage was initially trying to communicate. That is why we need to study the Word, not just tap it in a moment of need. However, sometimes, too, the way study is presented is incredibly dry, often solely to undergird some Christian doctrine, and leaves one with the feeling of, “Ok, I learned some fun-facts about Paul or the church in Thessalonica, but… that is about it.” My point is that reading the Bible is simply an act of obedience, or at the very least, it will have you engaging more with the text; however, over the long haul, it is little more than excellent head knowledge.
What I propose is that we teach the reading of Scripture according to the thematic frameworks that are clearly present (though not so clearly present at first, I will grant you). Once our minds grasp the pattern recognition (which our brains naturally love – learning through association is how He wired our brains to acquire, process, and integrate information), it is like an entirely new world opens up to the student. This is not easy, and it is not a constant dopamine fix—but that is the point: the work is the prize, and the results of gaining understanding spur our hearts and minds on to deepen our relationship with the Lord, His Word, and the Interpretive Community (the Church). Therefore, reading the Bible through thematic patterns is essential for grasping its more profound meaning and narrative coherence. The Bible is not merely a collection of isolated teachings or moral lessons; it is a unified story woven with recurring motifs that give shape and significance to its message. Themes such as Exile and return, the inclusion of outsiders, and symbolic geography—such as the city or the East—serve as interpretive keys that connect disparate passages and reveal theological depth.
Exile, for example, is a recurring theme throughout the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament), but the term itself (Hebrew גָּלוּת; pronounced “galut”) first appears in 2 Kings 25:27, referring to the initial deportation of Judeans to Babylon. However, the concept of failed responsibility (rebellion against a divinely given task) followed by judgment (separation from the task/role and its blessings), with the promise of restoration (a return of status/place/benefits, etc) is there from the very beginning with Adam and Eve, the Serpent and the Garden. Adam, the divine image-bearer, is given the responsibility to “work it and keep” the garden (Genesis 2:15-a priestly role). He is derelict in his duties, rebelling against God in obedience to his wife and the serpent and is stripped of his duties, the cherubim taking his place as Garden Guard (Genesis 3:24). But all hope is not lost. In Genesis 4:1 Eve declares, at the birth of her firstborn: “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man”; a type of the promise that God would provide a man to avenge the first couple: “I will cause hostility between you [the serpent] and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). This pattern is seen again and again, generationally, personally, nationally, etc., and is one of the stories that determines human history.
From Adam’s being driven out of the Garden (Gen. 3:22-24) to Cain’s similar fate (Gen. 4:14-16, Exile, then, is the theme that ties together both an ideal past and an idealized future with a complicated, tenuous, and uncertain present. So the question is, “How are we supposed to conduct ourselves in exile?” For the Christian, this is precisely our situation. According to James, we are living “in the diaspora” (James 1:1); that is, the scattered people of God doing their best to remain faithful outside the land of promise (1 Peter 1:1 denominates us the “elect refugees of the dispersion, and 1 Peter 2:11 as “sojourners and exiles” in relationship to the current operating system of the world).
Christ Tribe 