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Clarity

Perspicuity

(18) Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. (19) And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. – Deuteronomy 11:18-19

In 1975 the US Army contracted J. Peter Kincaid to develop a system to assess the readability of documents. He came up with the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test. The Army put it to use in 1978 to judge the clarity of technical manuals. It has since been put to a variety of uses. Some States require certain documents, such as insurance policies, to have a score which allows most people to understand what they read. Essentially, the higher the score, the better. 

Our verses speak of God’s desire to make His Word clear. This truth theologians refer to as the Perspicuity of Scripture. Not very perspicuous right? And for that reason I and many others referre to this as the clarity of Scripture. 

God revealed His Word to the nation of Israel. He then gave an instruction which we should hold as a treasure. God told parents to teach children His Words. 

God intended His Word to be so perspicuous, or clear, that parents could teach their children when they sit in their homes, walk around, before they settle for bed, and when they get up in the morning.

Some couples fall in love within a few months, and then spend a lifetime growing closer. God’s Word, as it is alive, has the same quality. We can read and understand it immediately, but still delve into it and always learn more over a lifetime.

(By the way, this post has a Flesch-Kincaid reading level of 68.55, which is just about perfect!)

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