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How
to Interpret the Bible
I study my Bible like I
gather apples. First
I shake the whole tree that the ripest may fall. Then I
shake each limb
and when I have shaken each limb
I shake each branch and
every twig. Then I look under every leaf. I search the Bible as a whole like
shaking the whole tree. Then I shake every limb--study book after book. Then I
shake every branch
giving attention to the chapters. Then I shake every twig
or a careful study of the paragraphs and sentences and words and their
meanings.
M. Luther.
The great preacher
Alexander White
when he was too old to mount the pulpit
would rise every
morning to prepare a sermon
even though he never preached them. He did so
until the day he died. He was convinced that study of the Word was essential to
saving himself (1 Timothy 4:16).
Source Unknown.
A circuit riding preacher
entered one church building with his young son
and dropped a coin into the
offering box in the back. Not many came that Sunday
and those who did didn't
seem too excited about what was said. After the service
the preacher and son
walked to the back
and he emptied the box. Out fell one coin. The young boy
said
"Dad
if you'd have put more in
you'd have gotten more out!"
Source Unknown.
While studying in the Holy
Lands
a seminary professor of mine met a man who claimed to have memorized the
Old Testament--in Hebrew! Needless to say
the astonished professor asked for a
demonstration. A few days late they sat together in the man's home. "Where
shall we begin?" asked the man. "Psalm 1
" replied my professor
who was an avid student of the psalms. Beginning with Psalm 1:1
the man began
to recite from memory
while my professor followed along in his Hebrew Bible.
For two hours the man continued word for word without a mistake as the
professor sat in stunned silence. When the demonstration was over
my professor
discovered something even more astonishing about the man--he was an atheist!
Here was someone who knew the Scriptures better than most Christians ever will
and yet he didn't even believe in God.
Jack Kuhatschek
Taking
The Guesswork Out of Applying The Bible
IVP
1991
p. 16.
According to James
Hamilton
there are two kinds of Bible readers--those who skim the surface and
those who dig deep. He describes them by comparing them to two common insects.
He writes
"One is remarkable for its imposing plumage
which shows in the
sunbeams like the dust of gems; as you watch its jaunty gyrations over the
fields and its minuet dance from flower to flower
you cannot help admiring its
graceful activity
for it is plainly getting over a great deal of ground.
"But in the same
field there is another worker
whose brown vest and businesslike
straightforward flight may not have arrested your eye. His fluttering neighbor
darts down here and there
and sips elegantly wherever he can find a drop of
ready nectar; but this dingy plodder makes a point of alighting everywhere
and
wherever he alights he either finds honey or makes it. If the flower-cup be
deep
he goes down to the bottom; if its dragon- mouth be shut
he thrusts its
lips asunder; and if the nectar be peculiar
he explores all about till he
discovers it. . . His rival of the painted velvet wing has no patience for such
dull and long-winded details. . . The one died last October. The other is warm
in his hive
amidst the fragrant stores he has gathered." Which type of
Bible reader are you? Butterfly or bee?
James Hamilton.
The noted Bible scholar
James M. Gray told a story that underscores the importance of reading the
Scriptures for personal growth. He said that when he was a young Bible teacher
he became deeply impressed by the peace and spiritual poise of a friend with
whom he often talked. Since Gray wanted that same stability
he asked his
companion the secret of his confident bearing and positive outlook. "It
all started through reading Ephesians
" said the man. Gray was surprised
by this simple response. He had read Ephesians many times but had never
experienced the same strength he saw in his friend. Noticing Fray's puzzled
look
the man explained. "On one occasion
when I was on a short vacation
I took a pocket edition of Ephesians with me. Lying down one afternoon
I read
all six chapters. My interest was so aroused that I read the entire epistle
again. In fact
I did not finally lay it down until I had gone through it some
15 times." He then said
"When I arose to go into the house
I was in
possession of Ephesians; or better yet
it was in possession of me. I had the
feeling that I had been lifted up to sit together in heavenly places with
Christ Jesus--a feeling that was new to me." This testimony encouraged
Gray to master the Scriptures for himself. He began to saturate his mind and
heart with God's Word so that he could freely and effectively communicate it to
others.
James M. Gray.
When John G. Mitchell
of
Multnomah School of the Bible
was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in
Tacoma
Washington
he heard Dr. G. Campbell Morgan preach. The man knew his
text
and young Mitchell was impressed. In fact
he asked the visiting Bible
teacher how he understood Scripture so well. "If I told you
you wouldn't
do it
" the older man said. "Just try me
" Mitchell insisted.
"Before I study a book
I read it fifty times
" the veteran
explained.
John G. Mitchell.
Is reading the Bible a
necessary part of your day or does it have a low priority in your life? George
Mueller
after having read the Bible through one hundred times with increasing
delight
made this statement: "I look upon it as a lost day when I have
not had a good time over the Word of God. Friends often say
'I have so much to
do
so many people to see
I cannot find time for Scripture study.' Perhaps
there are not many who have more to do than I. For more than half a century I
have never known one day when I had not more business than I could get through.
For 4 years I have had annually about 30
000 letters
and most of these have
passed through my own hands.
"Then
as pastor of a
church with 1
200 believers
great has been my care. Besides
I have had charge
of five immense orphanages; also
at my publishing depot
the printing and
circulating of millions of tracts
books
and Bibles; but I have always made it
a rule never to begin work until I have had a good season with God and His
Word. The blessing I have received has been wonderful."
Source Unknown.
Born to be battered...the
loving phone call book. Underline it
circle things
write in the margins
turn
down page corners
the more you use it
the more valuable it gets to be.
Ad in South Central Bell
Telephone Company Yellow Pages.
In January
1984
I was
painting the home of an 89 year-old lady in Spokane. She had a large family
Bible prominently displayed on the coffee table and remarked that it was 116
years old and a priceless heirloom. I commented on how remarkable that was
and
added
"It doesn't matter how old the Bible might be
what's on the inside
is what matters." She immediately replied
"Oh
I know. That sure is
the truth. Why
we have family records and births and marriages and deaths that
go so far back
all recorded in that Bible; we could never replace
them."
John Underhill.
It is a common temptation
of Satan to make us give up the reading of the Word and prayer when our
enjoyment is gone; as if it were of no use to read the Scriptures when we do
not enjoy them
and as if it were no use to pray when we have no spirit of
prayer. The truth is that in order to enjoy the Word
we ought to continue to
read it
and the way to obtain a spirit of prayer is to continue praying. The
less we read the Word of God
the less we desire to read it
and the less we
pray
the less we desire to pray.
George Muller in A
Narrative of Some of the Lord's Dealings with George Muller.
In truth thou canst not
read
the scriptures too much;
And what thou readest
thou canst not read too well;
And what thou readest well
thou canst not too well understand;
And what thou understandest well
thou canst not too well teach;
And what thou teachest well
thou canst not too well live.
Martin Luther.
Writer Amos Wells
reflected our need for thorough Bible study in this verse:
I supposed I knew my
Bible
Reading peacemeal
hit or miss
Now a bit of John or Matthew
Now a snatch of Genesis
Certain chapters of Isaiah
Certain Psalms (the twenty-third)
Twelfth of Romans
first of Proverbs --
Yes
I thought I knew the Word!
But I found that thorough reading
Was a different thing to do
And the way was unfamiliar
When I read the Bible through.
You who like to play at Bible
Dip and dabble
here and there
Just before you kneel
aweary
And yawn through a hurried prayer;
You who treat the Crown of Writings
As you treat no other book
Just a paragraph
disjointed
Just a crude
impatient look
Try a worthier procedure
Try a broad and steady view;
You will kneel in very rapture
When you read the Bible through.
Paul Borthwick
Leading
the Way by Navpress
1989
p. 139.