One of the key principles of properly understanding and applying the Bible is this: Scripture interprets Scripture. Christians sometimes speak of “the analogy of faith” to express the fact that we have properly understood one part of the Bible only when we have interpreted it in the context of the whole Bible.
This puts the call on each of us to know the Bible both deeply and widely. While it is right and good to emphasize the importance of meditation, of slowly pondering a single verse or a single truth, it is also important that we have some understanding of the entire book.
This is why we must sometimes read quickly and other times read slowly. This is why there is benefit in reading the entire Bible rapidly and repeatedly and why there is benefit in reading it slowly and meditatively. Reading and rereading the Bible gives us breadth of knowledge, while studying and pondering it gives us depth of understanding. Neither is superior to the other. In fact, both are crucial, for the Bible is its own interpreter.
