Memorize the Bible

The fundamental system I have used for the past 12-plus years is based on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that I have programmed, and while this might sound odd at first, it’s really just a fancy way of doing some basic Bible memorization using index cards. The website version will be a database that you interact with rather than my spreadsheet, but I don’t want the use of a computer to distract anyone from the fact that the system is at its heart roughly equivalent to using some index cards. To imagine how this will work, I encourage you to think about memorizing the basics about 9 Bible chapters using 18 index cards.

Let’s start with a very simple version, using the four chapters of the Book of Ruth and the five chapters of the Epistle of James just to keep the example down to a manageable size.

While you can actually do this, for most it will probably be easier to just do this as a thought experiment.

If you want to actually do this, get 9 normal index cards (3×5 inches or 4×6), one for each of our sample chapters, and on one side of each card write a different chapter reference. The first one should say “Ruth 1”, the second one “Ruth 2”, and so on through the final one saying “James 5”.

Now, on the other side of each card, give each chapter your own title. Call it whatever you want, but try to limit yourself to something on the order of 30 characters or less and make it something memorable that within that character limit describes the chapter. Here are my “titles” for these 9 chapters:

• Ruth 1 — Moab; Naomi & Ruth Come Back
• Ruth 2 — Ruth Gleans in Boaz’s Field
• Ruth 3 — Boaz to Redeem Ruth
• Ruth 4 — Boaz Redeems Ruth; Obed Born
• James 1 — Testing; Hear and Do; Pure Rel
• James 2 — Partiality; Faith & Works
• James 3 — Teachers; Tongue; Wisdom
• James 4 — Wars; Humble; If Lord Wills
• James 5 — Riches; Prayer

Feel free to use these or make up your own! If you don’t want to start from scratch but don’t like mine, you can start with mine and modify them in some way. Have fun, and in the meantime take note that what I’m tricking you into doing is interacting with the chapter enough that you think about it.

Great. On to step two.

You have now completed 9 index cards, we have 9 to go.

For each of the remaining index cards, write your titles on one side of the card. For example, if I was doing this for my second index card about James 5, I would write “Riches; Prayer” on one side.

Now on the second side, write out your own short summary of the chapter in your own words. Depending on the size of the index card and how big you write, you might get a couple of hundred characters of written text.

Using my titles and then what I call my 240-character summaries for these chapters, the front and back of these next 9 cards would read:

• Moab; Naomi & Ruth Come Back — Elimelech of Bethlehem to Moab during famine, with wife Naomi, sons Mahlon & Chilion, died during the 10 years. Naomi to return, but Ruth insisted come with. Bethlehem astir, Naomi (pleasant) asks be called Mara (bitter).
• Ruth Gleans in Boaz’s Field — Boaz a kinsman of Elimelech. Ruth gleans in field, is noticed by Boaz. Boaz tells Ruth not to glean in another field, provides kindly for her, having servants pull some grain from bundles for her. Ruth reports to Naomi what happened.
• Boaz to Redeem Ruth — Naomi gives advice to Ruth about preparing, going to Boaz after he ate & drunk. Boaz wakes with Ruth at his feet, he says that there is 1 closer relative with redemption right. She rose early in morning, he gives her six measures barley.
• Boaz Redeems Ruth; Obed Born — Boaz invites close relative to redeem Elimelech’s field & Ruth (Mahlon’s widow), refuses, so Boaz redeems Ruth. This in front of elders. Son Obed born to Boaz & Ruth. Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nashon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David.
• Testing; Hear and Do; Pure Rel — Greetings to 12 tribes. Testing produces endurance. Ask for wisdom. Crown of life to those who love Him. Quick hear, slow speak, slow anger. In humility receive implanted word. Hearers & doers. Pure and undefiled religion: orphans & widows.
• Partiality; Faith & Works — No favoritism to wealthy. God chose poor of world as heirs of the kingdom. Royal law: love neighbor as self. If keep whole law except 1, guilty of all. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Faith dead if no works, consider Abraham & Rahab.
• Teachers; Tongue; Wisdom — Teachers incur stricter judgment. Bits for horses, rudders for ships, so the tongue small but boasts great things. Tongue is a fire, full of poison, with it we bless & curse. Wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, etc. 
• Wars; Humble; If Lord Wills — You war and murder because you do not have, you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because wrong motives. Friend of world is enemy of God. God gives grace to humble. Purify your hearts. “If the Lord wills.”
• Riches; Prayer — Miseries coming upon the rich. Be patient until the coming of the Lord. Blessed who endured, example Job. No swearing. If suffering pray, if cheerful sing. If sick anoint. Confess. Prayer accomplish much. Turn a sinner from error of ways.

As with the titles, feel free to make your own instead of using mine! Or you can use mine as is or you can modify them as you see fit. Just keep in mind that the idea is to summarize each chapter in your own words. As an aside, my summaries are generally based on the wording of the NASB-95 translation, so if you prefer a King James Version or some other translation some of your wording might differ.

We now have 18 completed index cards at least in this thought experiment, or maybe you’ve actually gone and done this for real which would be great.

Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will post part 2 about this topic and discuss several different ways to use these index cards, some of which might be intuitive and some of which maybe aren’t.

One final thought for today — in Deuteronomy 17:18-20, we read the following:

In principle, this system starts with the functional equivalent to what the kings of Israel were told to do for their own Bible study. First, write a copy for himself, and then second, read it daily with a higher purpose in mind. This chapter-based system is centered on the idea of writing out your own titles and summaries for each chapter as discussed briefly above, and then tomorrow I will introduce how to interact with these on a daily basis.