On Scripture Memorization

 

Yesterday I shared with you my dreams and goals for the month ahead, and one of those goals is to memorize the bulk of Exodus 20. If you aren’t familiar with specific locations in Scripture, this chapter contains the Ten Commandments. Years ago…like almost 35 years ago…I “learned” the Ten Commandments through the lyrics of a whimsical song in a church Christmas musical.

            I’m really grateful for that song, because I’ve sung it (in my head) countless times since then to help me remember the particular number of one of the commandments. But in full disclosure, the song was written to be cute and to rhyme, not to uphold the exact wording in the Bible.

            About a month ago, we had a loss in our family. My cousin passed away suddenly and most unexpectedly. For the majority of my life, he’d lived a distance away from where I lived, so I only saw him every few years. His funeral was held in the area he had made his home, and Ryan and I watched it on a livestream. (Pausing to say I’m really grateful for the ability to attend things via livestream when in-person just isn’t feasible.)

            I enjoyed hearing his friends and colleagues share about his life’s work – which was in the field of education. Through their stories, I learned many things about him I hadn’t known, and it was inspiring to see a new side of him through their accounts.

            He taught in a Christian school, and he had a deep love for history, theology, and philosophy. He’d taught for many years and apparently one of the requirements he had for his students each year was that they learn Exodus 20:1-17…the full account of the Ten Commandments.

            At the end of his funeral, one of the gentlemen who spoke asked everyone in the room who had been a student of my cousin’s at any point in time to stand to recite the words of the Law. The person running the camera spun it around, and my jaw dropped straight to the floor to see the number of former students standing in honor of their teacher. And then I listened as, without apparent advance notice or preparation, they confidently said in unison the words of the Law. They were strong and didn’t miss a word along the way. They completed the passage and sat down.

            I sat in conviction. I’d never taken the time to learn this passage in its proper form. And it’s time I take the time to do just that. So this is the story behind my June goal. Memorization doesn’t come easily to me, but I feel compelled and convicted to work on this passage. And after that – another passage.

            Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks, the Bible says. I need my heart to overflow with The Word so those are the words that emerge!