Becoming a Scribe For God

When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel. Deuteronomy 17:18-20

I wonder what it would have been like to be a scribe. If you were a king in the Old Testament days, you would have been required to write out the law, the Word of God. It was considered a spiritual discipline. After writing out the law, they were required to keep it with them and read it all their lives. The purpose of practicing this discipline was to keep their hearts close to God, so they remained humble and followed God’s commands. If the king did these things, he and his descendants would reign a long time over his kingdom.

If this spiritual discipline of writing out Scripture was important for Old Testament kings, don’t you think it would hold the same value and effectiveness for us today?

What is Scripture writing?

Scripture writing is taking Scripture, or verses from the Bible, and writing them down in a journal or notebook. Yup, it is that simple.

Why we write Scripture.

The goal of writing Scripture is to engage with God. But some other benefits you may experience, as I have, are:

• We are soaking in the trustworthy and true Word of God, which helps His Word to penetrate our hearts and minds and becomes more easy to recall when we need it.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

• The Word of the Lord is an everlasting witness, which means it comes alive for us.

Go now, write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness. Isaiah 30:8

• It forces us to slow down and digest what we are reading. which encourages us to reflect and engage with God’s Word at a deeper level.

 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.” Jeremiah 30:2

How to write Scripture.

• The first thing I do when I am going to write out scripture is to pray. I pray two things, God, what do you want me to know from this scripture and what do you want me to do in response to your Word.
• Have a notebook or journal to write your Scripture in. I use a simple composition notebook, but there are many beautiful journals out there too. Use what inspires you.
• I love, love, love pens and markers, so I have many colors, sizes, and styles that I use in my Scripture writing. I also add stickers to my pages. Get as creative as you want or keep it simple and just grab a pen and paper and get started.
• Today I am going to provide you with a list from my book,  A Warrior of Hope, A 30-Day Devotional for the Heart of a Warrior, containing 30 Bible verses related to hope. Use this list to guide your time soaking in Scripture.
• I like to respond to the Scriptures that I have written with the answers to the two questions that I prayed. What has God shown me in this Scripture and how does He want me to respond to it.

I hope I have inspired you to join me in this new spiritual discipline of writing out Scripture. You can become a Scribe For God when you join me in this time-honored practice!

Heavenly Father, we long to know your Word better, to dwell upon your trustworthy and true precepts. Show us what you want us to know about your Word and how we are to respond to it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.