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Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Yesterday we took a look at devotional Bible study...simply reading the Word of God for the express purpose of enjoying your relationship with God. It gives you a chance to slow down and focus on eternal things rather than temporary ones.
Today I'd like to look at more serious Bible study. The type you might want to do if you're preparing to teach a Sunday School class or a small group...or maybe you just have some question in your brain after reading and want to know more about something in Scripture you've read. There's no question that it's possible to have loads of questions if you're reading devotionally.
In fact, there's a fancy word for serious Bible study: Hermeneutics. It was one of the first classes on the required curriculum at seminary, and I had the privilege (and I use that word measuredly) of taking the class when it was taught by Dr. Howard Hendricks and Dr. Mark Bailey (who has since become president of Dallas Seminary).
Anyway, the first thing they did in that class was to show us a short film. It was about 30 seconds long and it depicted a man and woman at a bus stop, a car pulls up and somebody kidnaps the lady and they drive off. Afterward, they gave us a test.
About 60 questions or so. On a 30 second film.
Things like, "What was written on the license plate?" "What hand did the kidnapper hold the gun in?" "What was on the sign above the restaurant?" Very detailed questions.
We all failed the test miserably. I think I got like 15 correct.
Then they gave us the questions ahead of time, gave us 5 minutes to look them over, and showed the film again. This time, since we were prepared to look at everything, we all did much better. Scores in the 40's and 50's this time.
And it's that way with Bible study. The first thing we need to do is make simple observations. You know:
Who
What
Where
When
Why and
How
So, let's do that with Luke 19. Like reading devotionally, you'll need to get in a comfy place with plenty of room and an environment in which you can concentrate. Then don't forget to pray for God to lead your thoughts.
Unlike reading devotionally, you'll need a consistent, reliable translation. My preference is the New American Standard. The New International reads a bit more smoothly, and I think both of those are good choices. They each have their strengths and weaknesses...but they're both very good.
And then you'll dive in...just be careful not to make interpretations just yet. Simple observations.
First, read Luke 19: 28--40, but break it into paragraphs, too.
WHEN are these events taking place (verse 28...but you'd have to interpret it so just find the obvious answer and move on for right now...we'll work on interpretation tomorrow)?
WHERE are these events taking place (verse 29)?
WHO is involved in the entire story (verse 29, 31, 33, 37 & 39)?
WHAT did "He" tell them to do (verses 30--34)?
WHY did "He" tell them to do that (verse 35)?
HOW did Jesus arrive in verses 35 & 36?
WHAT did the crowd do (verses 37-38)?
WHAT question was asked in verse 39?
WHO asked that question?
WHO answered the question if verse 40?
WHAT was the answer to the question?
Then, put these events into your own words.
And you've just taken the first step in a more serious Bible study: simple observations. Keep these answers on a sheet of paper or in a notebook, and then we'll work on it more tomorrow, when we start making interpretations of our observations.
I've been told that government agents who are trained to spot counterfeit currency aren't shown a myriad of fake bills and then told to go spot other fakes. They're trained to make simple observations on a true bill to such a degree that they can spot any fake because they are such keen observers of the real ones.
You'll get better at making observations over time, too. With practice, you'll start doing it inherently...in fact, for that class I made over 150 observations from just one verse later in the semester (and I had friends make well over 250) so it is indeed a learned trait.
So, give it a shot and see how well you can make simple observations of a passage...
Brent 3:39 AM
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