How to Read The Bible

Read Thoughtfully

When reading the Bible don’t put your mind in neutral

read with the same intensity and focus as you do other things

proverbs 2:4 “if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,”

you don’t walk round look down and say there is some gold, you have to dig for it

Read Repeatedly

The more you read it the more you get out of it

read entire books in one sitting

you will be able to appreciate the unity of each book

start at the beginning of the book

you want to get the full context of the book

read different Bible translations

this can help you notice different things in the text

listen to recordings of scripture

close your eyes put yourself in the seen that is being read

read the Bible out loud

this is another way to understand the text better because it slowes you down

Read Patiently

We live in a consumers world of instant gratification, that is not how the Bible works we can’t just read it and expect to know what it says.

Be in it for the long hall

develop stamina over time and work on your endurance when reading the word

work with one book a month

you will be able to read it many times

you will be able to read it many different ways

you will be able to take your time and understand it better

in one year you will be able to understand 12 books better and it will only take 5 and a half years to read all 66

zoom in and zoom out

Use different lenses

look at the book as a whole

keeping the books themes in mind zoom in to each chapter what are those themes and how does it connect with the main theme of the book

zoom in to within the chapters what are the themes within the chapter again, how does it fit with the chapters main theme, how do the sub themes connect to the main idea of the book

last paragraph of page 91

2 keys of patient reading

be patient with the text

dont give up on it because you don’t understand it.

be patient with yourself

dont give up keep pushing forward.

Read Selectively

who

Identifie the people

look for what is said about them (Joshua 2:1)

look for what they say

what

what is happening

what are the events

what is the order

What is the argument

what is the point

what is the writer trying to comunicate

What is wrong with the picture

where

Where is it taking place

where are the people in the story

where are they coming from

where are they going

where is the writer

where are the original readers

when

when did the events take place

when was the writer writing

when are the events in relation to other events

mark 1:35 “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

why

There are an infinity of why questions. Be a 2 or 3 year old to the text.

so what

What do I do with it

how does it apply

what does it mean today

Read Prayerfully

this a spiritual book and we will need spiritual help to understand it. We are foolish if we dont come to Bible study prayerfully

dont try to imitate others

pray from your heart to your father

Turn scripted into prayer

Pray the word back to God

pray his promises

pray the word with David Platt

Read Imaginatively

use different translations

this will help stimulate the imagination, different things might stand out

Rewrite the text in a paraphrase

this will help make sure you understand the text

if you know a different language read it in that language

listen to it being read

read in different locations

this helps set the seen, if the text is by water read by the water,

Read Meditatively

the things that we read and learn should not just be something for our time of study they should always be on our minds

joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

proverbs 23:7 “for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.”

Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

psalm 119:97 “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.”

psalm 19:1-14 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of…”

Read Purposefully

Your job as the reader is to understand the mean of the text and what the author is saying. You do that through looking at the structure

grammatical structure

verbs

Action words

subject and object

Subject of the sentence does the acting

the object is being acted upon

modifiers

Descriptive words, adjectives and adverbs

prepositional phrases

Tells where the action is taking place

connectives

The are words that connect 2 things, and, but, therefore

Read Acquisitively

You will get out of Bible study what you put in it. If you are just reading it to check the box off all you will get is a checked box. You most likely won’t even remember what you read. Read the Bible to retain it, possess it, and make it apart of you.

Read Telescopically

Don’t forget that even though the Bible is a lot of words that make up verses and verses make up chapters that make up books that make up the old and New Testament that ultimately make up the bible. We need to read it remembering the whole and putting it in its context. The Bible needs to interpret the Bible.

Look for conecters

Pay attention to the context

evaluate the passage in the light of the book as a whole

look at the historical context of the book.