Before the children of Israel ever thought of having a king, God gave Moses, as part of the law, instructions for selecting a king. God also gave the king a writing assignment:

"When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law. ... It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law...." (Deuteronomy 17:18-20)

The king was to write ... his copy of the law. The king could have been instructed to have the priests or the scribes provide him with a copy of the law, but God wanted him to write a copy for himself. Perhaps there is something about the process of copying a text that helps us hear the Lord's word for us personally.

...The whole history of Israel would have been dramatically different if the kings had followed this command. [But] somehow the kings forgot.

...

It isn't that copying is somehow magic, but it slows us down and allows us more time to let the Word of God penetrate our hearts. ...

This winter I began a personal study of Isaiah because I sought to better understand the holiness of God. I already loved several chapters of Isaiah, but frankly there were many more that baffled me. As I read chapter 1, I decided to copy many of the verses into my journal. It was so rewarding that I decided to make a condensed copy of Isaiah in a blank book dedicated exclusively to it. Morning after morning I was drawn into the Lord's presence as I copied the text. The love of God touched me in a way it never had before. I could not wait to get out of bed each morning and begin again. Often I was so moved that I had no words to express my adoration. I felt strangely silenced--drinking in God's word but totally unable to share it. I couldn't even write what I was experiencing.

Morning after morning, week after week, the sweetness of the Lord overwhelmed me. And as a byproduct, nature came alive to me in fresh ways. My eyes were opened to see the beauty of God's holiness. Everywhere I looked there were metaphors of his love. ... The ocean waves spoke of the ceaseless outpouring of divine love. Samuel Trevor Francis's hymn "O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus" came to mind often.

Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus, 
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean 
In its fullness over me.
Underneath me, all around me,
Is the current of his love,
Leading onward, leading homeward
To my glorious rest above.

On campus, leafless elm trees weathering the brunt of winter spoke of Christ, stripped naked, abandoned, standing silent, alone....

I was tasting the sweetness of the Lord everywhere I went. I had to find some way to express all that was happening in my soul. Painting, calligraphy and photography became avenues of expressing the love for which I had no words.

... Copying slowed me down, gave me time to contemplate Isaiah's images and metaphors. I understood them. The passages that had always baffled me made sense. I perceived the Lord's beauty, the wonder of his love, the majesty of his holiness as I never have before. It was as if I had seen the words before, but now I perceived them.

Luann Budd, Journal Keeping: Writing for Spiritual Growth