Equipping People to Study the Bible
Equipping people is more than telling them what to do. I watched my eight-year-old grandson invite my eleven-year-old granddaughter to play catch with a baseball and glove. She had never had a glove on her hand. Nor had she played catch with a baseball. First, someone had to show her how to use the glove to catch the ball. Sometimes catching required both hands. Other times, catching meant squeezing the glove as the ball entered it. Then, she needed to learn that throwing the ball was more than hurling. Throwing involved trying to get the ball to her cousin so he could catch it. She quickly learned how to handle the ball and glove.
Equipping vs. Teaching
We have often used one-way communication in teaching, telling people they need to study their Bibles. We may have told them how to find the books of the Bible in the Table of Contents. Then, we have expected them to read a specific chapter. But have we equipped them to study the Bible?
People have come to me asking specific questions about a passage referenced in the sermon. They want to use my knowledge to answer their inquiries. Too often, I have taken a short-cut, offering information from my study rather than equipping them to discover answers on their own. In a way, I have opted to give them a fish rather than teach them to fish.
Steps for Equipping
Equipping people to translate Bible reading into Bible studying involves teaching them several steps. Five key steps are:
- Ask God to speak through the text. The same Holy Spirit who inspired the writers can inspire the readers. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
- Address the text. Read it in several translations.
- Attempt to understand the meaning. Explain your interpretation of the text.
- Analyze what you discover using supportive texts. Look for other verses in the Bible that address your subject.
- Apply what you learn. Define the ways you will act on what God is teaching you.
Resources for Study
I like The Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, 2016, which is available in several translations. The English Standard Version Study Bible, 2008, is also a useful resource. These study Bibles give mini-commentary insights to the Bible student. In addition, biblical online support can assist students in better understanding what they are studying. For example, one can explore the verses in several Bible commentaries (www.freebiblecommentary.org; www.biblestudytools.com) to understand the meaning of the words in a text, . Other websites are also helpful (www.jimdenisonlibrary.org; www.gotquestions.org) when trying to understand the application of biblical truth, .
Growing Through Sharing
We grow as we share biblical discoveries with someone who knows the Bible better than we do. The person with more knowledge stretches us. Of course, we continue to grow as we share our findings with someone who knows less than we do. Dialogues over discoveries stretch and strengthen us.
2 Comments on “Equipping People to Study the Bible”
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These are very helpful tips on how to equip people to read and understand the Bible. Congratulations.
I would a couple.
Try to understand what the words mean in Hebrew and Greek. The original words are very useful to getting to meaning. A good source is Biblehub.com. By clicking on to the interlinear tab, one can get to the words of any verse. And then clicking on to the word, one gets transported to all uses of the word in the Bible and to the word’s roots in the original language. This is so very helpful.
Second, try to find what the great sages, commentators, and teachers have said about the verse in the past – both Jewish and Christian. At the bottom of each verse on Biblehub, for example, one finds one’s way to great Christian thinkers of the 18th and 19th centuries, largely in England and Scotland.
Thanks again for your wisdom!
Sandy, Thank you for your excellent comments. In the Blog you are responding to (Equipping People to Study the Bible) I list several steps involved in Bible study. I’m trying to speak to people with a wide range of backgrounds. Some have little, maybe no, background with the Bible. Others have various levels of experience and understanding in Bible study. Thus, I began with selecting a Bible. The next topic dealt with reading the Bible. Your suggestions speak to the next subject, “Attempt to understand the meaning. Explain your interpretation of the text.” My comments will parallel yours at that point. Study the biblical words and the great thinkers observations. I have a question for you. Admittedly, much of the information on Bible interpretation comes from England and Scotland (These writers lived in a somewhat individualistic culture with guilt-innocence approaches to life). However, the Bible was written in Middle Eastern cultures which were primarily collectivistic and with an honor-shame worldview. Which interpreters from the Middle East speak to you? Which Jewish interpreters pick up the Middle Eastern cultural leanings in their work?