I read a chapter of the Bible in the morning and by lunchtime I could not tell you a word of it. How do I make any of it stick?

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

Joshua is taking over from Moses with a military campaign ahead of him and no obvious qualifications for the job. The instruction he receives is not about strategy. He is told to keep the book of the law in his mouth and to mutter it over day and night. Note the mouth. This was spoken material, repeated aloud, in a culture where almost nobody owned a private copy of anything.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Paul tells the Colossians to let the word of Christ dwell in them richly, and the very next things he mentions are teaching one another and singing. Dwelling is a residence word, not a visiting word. The route he suggests is corporate and musical rather than solitary and academic. Most of what people retain of Scripture, they retain because they sang it or argued about it with somebody.