The guy who always flips his Bible open to the exact verse he needs.
Dec 1st by Jon- Tagged in:
- Bible
Wow, sorry to hear you’re going through such a tough time right now. That sounds really hard. Have you tried flipping your Bible open? No, I don’t mean reading your Bible, I mean “flipping it open.” Literally just flipping it open to whatever page your hand lands on and then reading that verse?
I don’t want to brag, but I have a 100% track record of success with that approach. Maybe that’s my spiritual gift. Is there anything written about the “art of the flip” in the Bible? I wouldn’t know because I’ve never read the whole thing, but there must be, because I’m really, really good at it.
Sometimes when straight flipping to a verse feels too easy, I’ll bust out a move like magician David Blaine and throw the Bible in the air against a window. Whatever verse it opens up on is the one I go with.
But you’re an amateur, so you should probably start with the simple approach and just flip your fingers through the pages like the wheel on Price is Right. Big money, big money, clickity, clickity, Jeremiah!
See that, I landed on Jeremiah 38:7. Let’s see what the Bible has to say today about your uncle’s gambling problem which is perplexing you right now:
“But Ebed-Melech, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,”
OK, OK is your uncle by any chance named “Ebed-Melech?” No? Is he a Cushite? Has he ever vacationed near the Benjamin Gate? No? Hmmmm.
Ahhh, I see what’s going on. Your uncle loves to gamble right? Well have you ever been to the casinos in Philadelphia, Mississippi in July? I know, that name doesn’t even make sense, it’s like calling your city, “Chicago, Arkansas,” but I promise you it’s a very real place. And although it’s a nice place, during the summer, Philadelphia, Mississippi is like a cistern. It’s about 1,000 degrees, the air is so humid you can drink it, and there are rows and rows of people physically attached to nickel slot machines by gambling card necklaces they wear. Very cistern like.Very, very Benjamin gateish.
Wow, man. What a fliptastic interpretation! Sometimes I even surprise myself.
You’re welcome.
What? Context? Meaning? Bigger picture of the theological ramifications of the text’s heart and soul? That’s adorable. You need to trust in the gift of the flip. I’ll pray for you.
Clickity, clickity.
Comments
Awesome.
I work with students and spend half my life trying to persuade them that the flip (whilst fun) isn't actually the only way to read their Bibles (or in fact, slightly helpful in any way.)
Always tempting, this is.
But the problem is it becomes a self comforting, self justifying act. We bestow forgiveness and grace upon ourselves instead of going to the body of Christ, our believing friends, to receive REAL grace that can transform us.
But with the flip bible approach, who needs to be vulnerable? Who needs to show their weakness?
Flip-flop here I go!
Hahaha! My mom used to recommend that I do this – she called it "BIBLE FISHING!" – sounds real legit doesn't it?
Now, granted, I think that sometimes God does lead you randomly to verses. But for the most part, "Bible fishing" as we were taught in school (I went to Catholic school k-12) was mostly an excuse for not knowing your Bible very well.
Plus, what are the ODDS that I always seem to flip open and land on my favorite verses that I have highlighted (and memorized anyway)…. If it were up to me, I'd never read any books of the Bible other than Philippians, Corinthians, and Song of Solomon. Good thing it's not up to me!
Flippity flippity!
Flippin’ should be your “break in case of emergency” route. I often find that going back to basics when I am in need of some divine inspiration is the way to go. Psalms, Joshua, Phillipians, Romans 8N Hewbrews 11 and 12. And the entire book of John.
I like reading Philemon, Jude, 2nd and 3rd John … Don't always get a lot but man I can read like all of them in 5 minutes and it makes me feel like I read a lot.
PS those are some great passages. I also like Romans 6.
Heather –
I'm thinking about doing a walk through Psalms on Twitter soon. We did that with Proverbs and it was a lot of fun.
Jon
See, now I thought you were going to speak about the person who's Bible can open itself to the right place the second the preacher says the verse. Everyone else is shuffling pages while they sit back smugly knowing even the preacher with note cards to mark is place was second.
Of course this person is amazing too. My experience with this Bible reader is more like, "I try to read the Bible but I never get anything out of it." Then I respond with, "Are you just flipping your Bible open and reading whatever it falls too?" Yep that's a great way to let God speak to you, I mean it is really hiding the word in your heart you know?
The Bible is compared to a sword and I wonder how effective a warrior would be if he got up early to face the rising sun as he pulled his wonderfully crafted sword from it's sheath then closed his eyes and swung the sword put it back up and crawled back into bed. It seems when an attack came such a warrior would be a harm to himself and those around him … but that probably has nothing to do with the random flip devotional style.
Awesome analogy (aimlessly swings a sword). Gotta keep that in the pocket for a later use!
Yep I teach my students to read sections, not chapters and verses. I also teach them to ask questions of the text they have read. The first time through I tell them to ask:
What does this tell me about God?
What does this tell me about me?
What does this tell me about my relationship with God?
If we interact with the text we will find that it speaks to us.
Always tempted is it, yes. Yoda speak. Also flip flops rock.
For some reason I always flip to the book of Psalms. Weird. Also I agree that when you know the Word you will find that it comes to you even if you don't have your Bible. That seems more effecient.
I flip to psalms a lot too. May have something to do with the fact that it's smack dab in the center of my Bible and it's huge…. hahaha
I agree. Since I started studying my Bible and reading it everyday, it seems that the verses I need just pop into mind. I may not know exactly where it's found, but that's what Google is for…right?
I'm a "I try to read the Bible but I never get anything out of it" guy. Mostly because I flip open to Psalms. Some wise guy said years ago to me (and apparently to my wife as well), "Just read the Psalms". Well, when you're feeling pretty crappy about the stupid thing you just did, reading over and over what David wants done to evildoers and says what God will do to them doesn't exactly make you want to read it again on a regular basis. I guess it would help if my 34 years of being surrounded by the Bible got me to memorize exact chapter and verse of every happy go lucky encouraging verse. But nope, that's not the way it usually happens.
I flip occasionally, though I don't really expect anything to come of it; I just like to make God roll His eyes. Then I tend to go back to Psalms, Jeremiah, Acts, or the stories of Elijah (he was my fave growing up).
I recommend to my students that they learn to read sections not chapters and verses. I also recommend that they ask questions of what they are reading. My reply on the first comment explains this.
Beyond that I suggest they start in John then Romans. For the Old Testament I like to recommend some of the Minor Prophets like Amos to get their feet wet before they move on to the weightier books.
Ha, I've never heard the phrase, "Bible Fishing." That's great.
Yup. The joys of Catholic schooling.
Of course you've heard the story of the guy who was about to commit suicide and was dithering and finally flipped open his Bible for guidance. And of course, he found Ecclesiastes 9:10 — Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
And he still had some doubts, so for final confirmation, he decided a New Testament verse might help as well. And of course, he finds John 13:27 — …"What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him.
Actually, my favourite story about Bible flipping comes from a retreat I attended for young adults, where we were given advice about how NOT to find a spouse. The tale goes that there's this guy asking God whom he should marry, and he flips open his Bible to Psalm 30:5, which in the KJV reads, "…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." On his walk the next morning, he bumps into a pretty girl, and of course her name is Joy so they happily get married.
The eerie part about this story is that I was using an NIV Bible at the retreat, and in that version, the same verse reads, "…weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." And there was actually a guy named Rejoice at the same retreat! The retreat leader was baffled by why all the girls in the room were giggling so much. (And no, none of us married him.)
Just for fun sometimes, we'll do 'the flip' and see who comes up with the funniest verse out of context. So far, the running favorite is Ezekiel 23:20. Look it up. Out of context, it's middle school gold…
We did that too. Leviticus 3:16 – "all the fat is the Lord's" became a mantra to the girls in our youth group during mealtimes
I also showed that verse to my brother the Sunday after my Grandma died and we went to her church… We shook the pew with our suppressed giggles. Mom wasn't so happy.
Poignant, man, poignant. I think I've tried Bible Flipping once or twice, but always came away a little less satisfied than when really looking for answers.
Hahahaha. Great post. I have so many friends who do this. Trying to express a problem or concern of any sort is always met with the same response: “Oh I don’t like forming an opinion or helping you through this… Have you tried reading the bible? You have? There’s nothing in there about what you’re going through? Well I’ll bet there is; just let the Spirit guide you to the right verse.”
They don’t really say that first part. The last time one of them did this to me I asked him to help me with it because “the spirit doesn’t lead me that well.” He got mad at my lack of faith, closed his eyes, and fingered through the Book. He stopped on that crazy Leviticus rule that says something about not wearing clothes made with mixed fibers. His explanation was that the spirit only guided him when he had and problem and not others.
I’d send this post to him (and a few others) but I think that might be a bit snarky…
It seems you have a dilemma. I think you should randomly flip to a verse then interpret it to mean what you want. … Um I mean let the spirit (notice the lower case?) guide you.
And then there's the guy who was having financial problems so he flipped opened his Bible and found the answer: Chapter 13.
Nice.
I have horrible Bible flipper skillz.
Me too Brett, me too.
'Do, or do not. there is no try'
Flip flop go the pages of my leather-bound study bible which I never use.
Not even kidding, I always Google for verses. Bible gateway just isn't vague enough
Studying the bible, I have noticed that everything centres back on the Pentateuch (First five books of the bible). To interpret the Old Testament (and New Testament), knowledge of these books really helps.
Interesting aside, Deuteronomy is one of the most quoted books in the Bible (Quoted by prophets, psalmists, Jesus). For that reason I think it's pretty important to know.
I have an online version of the ESV, but I always end up Googling to try to figure out what I need to look up. Google responds to even the most vague hints haha
I recommend Deuteronomy after a couple of the minor prophets for those very reasons.
But what does love have to do with finances? Oh I bet he was reading the KJV where it says charity. (honestly this is what my mother-in-law would think she always over thinks jokes.)
Girls like guys with skillz. Bow hunting skillz, Bible flipping skillz …
Computer hacking skillz
Context is for suckers.
Flip it good.
The context can occasionally change the meaning of the verse entirely. If you take a great many verses out of context they become perverse and incorrect. I think that there is a verse in psalm that says "blessed is he who takes your babies and dashes them against the rocks!" Knowing that it is talking about those who persecute God's people before Christ is very important.
Yep, I had to look. And I'm giggling like a 7th grader.
Ha! My entire blog was originally based on this concept. It's even called http://www.flipandpoint.blogspot.com And the fun thing is, God actually allows it to work sometimes. But yes, more often than not, I find that 2 Samuel 3:13 doesn't quite meet my deep spiritual longings or tell me what to do about that girl in youth group who wants to know what God is telling her about getting her nose pierced.
Ha! Love the "gambling uncle" illustration–I've always referred to this method of Bible reading as "Bible Lottery."
Here's hoping my future father-in-law never flips his NKJV to Judges 21:18, "Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin"
Yikes! That's a slightly disturbing picture!
Hang on, bible flipping is something you need skills to do? Maybe that's why it doesn't work for me, i just don't have the skills.
Ooooh, I love this post! My mom is the master of the flip. Got an erring husband or a missing earring? God has the answer. *flip, flip*
Haha!
Absolutely. I like to take portions of verses and morph them to fit my agenda. I think that's the best way to tell people that they're wrong and further the cause of Christ.
and if that proves too tricky, try changing versions (oh look the TEV uses the word Purpose – that goes with my book) or even do what the classy scholars do in their commentaries and do your own translation (ok so they really know their greek and hebrew and can highlight some of the the actual challenging nuances of the original text by doing so but hey, good for the educated goose, good for any old gander…)
This reminds me of Tim Tebow and his scripture wearing eye black.
This weekend he had Hebrews 12:1-2 on his face and the guy on CBS thought it said Hebrews 12:12.
So they read that on air and it made no sense what so ever, they tried to save it but it was way past them until they discovered that it was actually verse 1-2 and not verse 12.
Even Verne Linquest makes mistakes on flipping open the bible.
You've gotta be correct. I know a few pastors who do this, so it must be the way to go!
I call this Bible Roulette.
Good post!
Haha good idea. I just did an online "Random Bible Verse" and got Matthew 5:7 – "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."
I think that means I'm not supposed to forward this on to my pals. . . ?
Aaaackkk That is hysterical. And disturbing!
numchuck skillz
Clickity, clickity. – Awesome. I would also add, Bippity boppity.
There is a Flippin, Arkansas. Do they get an advantage because of this?
omg. nailed it.
Great post, makes me think of, err *flip, point*, Joshua 12:4 "The other king was OG king of Bashan and his territory, who was of the remnant of the giants, who dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei." (KJV)
Oh wait, that's not my trusty King Jimmy. I accidentally opened my autographed, illustrated, leather-bound copy of Tolkien's legendarium (in the original middle-English, with foreword by King James).
The flip will get you in trouble. I'm convinced that churches have been started based on the flip. And yes, there is a Flippin, Arkansas. I've been there before. They should get a shout out for this one!
Every time I Bible-flip, I get the same thing: "Thy belly is an heap of wheat, set about with lilies."
Creepy…
This "art of the flip" totally reminds me of the one time some dude tried to convince me he had the special gift of "insight". I was like "Isn't that the Holy Spirit?" haha. Another awesome post!