I’m reading through 1 & 2 Chronicles these days, and concomitantly I found myself listening to an audiobook entitled “The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino” by Simon Crittle.

And I realized something… This macabre book about the mafia is thoroughly helping me understand the dynamics, and emphatic ghastliness, displayed by God in 1 & 2 Chronicles. More than any academic commentary, this detailed account of the inner-workings of the mob is actually compelling me to imaginatively inhabit the world of 1 & 2 Chronicles! God does not primarily want us to accumulate knowledge about syntax, and collect scholastic tidbits about the ancient world that make us feel smart. God wants us to feast on His Word, and feel His stories as if we were really there!

So when you read through Genesis, use East of Eden by John Steinbeck as a commentary.

When you read through 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles, get a good book about the Mafia to help you better understand the story God is telling you in Scripture.

When you read about Daniel, be sure to augment your imaginative capacity to comprehend his calling to serve as headmaster of an elite school of magic (see Daniel 4:9; 5:11), by reading Harry Potter and wrestling with the rigorous and complicated career of Albus Dumbledore!