Proceeding to the Deuterocanonical Writings

I am currently reading the Book of Malachi for my daily quiet time.  I said in a recent post that I was thinking of going to the New Testament next rather than the deuterocanonical writings.  I have changed my mind about that: I will be going through the deuterocanonical writings next.

This is a bit daunting, for a variety of reasons.  For one, I have a host of commentaries that pertain to the Jewish and Protestant canon of the Bible.  I do not have as many for the deuterocanonical writings, which appear in Catholic Bibles.  I have a bit more than I thought, though.  My HarperCollins Study Bible has notes at the bottom.  I have a Catholic Study Bible, which also has notes.  I just remembered that I had a commentary on Wisdom of Solomon, and I dug it out.  Plus, maybe I can search online.  In going through the deuterocanonical writings, I will not have the vast resources to consult that I ordinarily have when I have a Bible question: what does this verse mean, and why is it saying that this way?  But I am not totally in the dark.

Second, I find some of the deuterocanonical writings to be boring.  Or, to be more accurate, I find one of them to be boring: I Maccabees.  I Maccabees has a lot of battles and alliances, and those things do not interest me that much.  Maybe I will feel differently this time.  I am not entirely the same person today that I was the last time that I read I Maccabees, or the rest of the deuterocanonical writings.

Third, I do not feel inspired when I am reading the deuterocanonical writings.  They do not have that Bible-feel to me, for some reason.  Maybe that is because I am not used to them.  Also, my sentiment is rather subjective: it reminds me of a guy I know who said that the King James Version is the only legitimate Bible because a person he knew felt inspired by the Holy Spirit when he read it, but not when he read other versions.

Anyway, committing to the deuterocanonical writings is a pretty big commitment.  It may take me a year to go through them.  Maybe my experience will be positive.  After going through the deuterocanonical writings, I will proceed to the New Testament.