Bible study and commentaries, part 6

Now that we have discussed several important but preliminary aspects of Bible study, let’s jump in.  I would like to explain how I study the Bible, book by book, passage by passage.  This is a method I have developed over some period of time, and is not fully refined yet.  Nonetheless, it works for me.  I will go through the steps, and the final result varies, but usually winds up as a Word document that is really a commentary or series of sermons, as illustrated in the resources tab of this blog. 

OK, step one.  Decide which book of the Bible or extended passage you want to dive into.  A shorter book or a chapter is a good place good to start.  One of the shorter OT Books, like Ruth, Esther, Ezra, Malachi, is good.  Perhaps the story of Joseph in Genesis.  Or perhaps a New Testament book like Jude, James, or a section like the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in John 17.  Once you have decided, then pray.  Pray some more.  Then pray some more.  Then go to Wal-Mart and get a college-ruled spiral notebook they sell for students, 70 pages, for something around $0.25.  Buy several; you will need one per book you study.  You can also use a three-ring binder with notebook paper. 

Now, open your bible and read the book or section you want to study.  Over and over again.  When I study a book, let’s just say Ruth or Ephesians, I will read this book straight through everyday for at least a week in multiple translations.  I read the entire book straight through in one sitting multiple times in order to get the overall theme of the writing, the big picture, and the flow of the book.  Reading straight through in one sitting is relatively easy with Ruth or Ephesians, but can be difficult for John or Isaiah.  However, it is imperative that the Bible student read the book in its entirety at least once.  This is very important because some of the themes will come out in a reading of the entire book that may or may not be obvious or straightforward in a chapter by chapter reading.  Then I will read it section by section, chapter by chapter, very slowly, to get some of the nuances, word plays, phrases, etc.  After I have read it once or twice, I will jot down any thoughts, ideas, questions, that I need to note.  

Once I have a good idea of the contents of the book, I will do some research on the author, setting, context, and other historical details just so that I have an idea of who wrote it, where he was, why he wrote, and what was going on in his life at the time.  These details provide some keen insight that might otherwise be left unknown, such as Paul’s disposition when writing the letter to the Philippian church.  Spend only a few hours, but do some good research.  Make notes in your notebook.  You can also use Word or some other program and make notes on the computer, but I find it easier to get a pen and paper and write them down, and revise and refine them later on the computer. 

Once I have prayed (and continue to pray), and read the book, and researched the setting and author, I will then prepare a manuscript of the book or section for use in studying.  I copy the entire book of the Bible to a Word document, double space the text, and create a wide right margin.  Here is an example of Ephesians.  This is where the fun begins.  Now I can print this out, and use it almost like a blank bible.  I read very carefully over the text, and using multiple colors of highlighters and pens, highlight words and phrases, and take copious notes on the text.  I write down thoughts I see, patterns, themes, circle words that I wan to dig deeper into, draw lines to connect words and ideas, etc.  Be creative, and write down everything.  Go slowly, methodically, and make sure you get the meaning of the text before you move on.  However, don’t be afraid to go back and write down other thoughts as you read further.  Many times, text that you have already read may become more clear as you read further and the author develops his ideas more.  Always pray that the Spirit will continuously illuminate the text.  Here is an example of some text that I have annotated and highlighted. One page is from Mark 1 and one page is from Romans 2. 

Once you do this for an entire book, you will have your thoughts and ideas all written down, and will have a nice start to your own commentary.  However, I must warn you, when doing this study, DO NOT use any commentaries yet.  Read the book, write and develop your own thoughts and questions, and once you have finished, then you may go back and review commentaries with your questions.  This method helps to prevent us from completely depending on another man’s walk with God for our own edification.  I have found this type of Bible study really gets you into the Word, and consequently close to God.  You can use a concordance and a Greek/Hebrew/English dictionary for better understanding of words. However, once you have sufficiently exhausted your energy and knowledge, then go to the commentaries, dictionaries, etc for further edification and clarification.  At the beginning we don’t want to use the commentaries as a crutch, but after your own study, then feel free (I would highly encourage you to do so!) to make use of other resources to check your work and provide insights and thoughts that you may not have otherwise had. 

Once I have done this study, I have a series of notes on a complete book of the Bible.  I then take time to revise the notes and put them in a nice, formal, teaching document. 

OK, so if you want to study the Bible in detail, this is the way to go.  However, this will not take a week to complete, but more like a month or more, depending on your level of research, time you spend, notetaking, and reading.  That’s OK, though.  The object of this method is not to speed-read through the Bible, but to spend a lot of time focused on one particular book or section. 

I have also been trying some new techniques, too.  I am now using Microsoft OneNote instead of paper to make notes and highlight the text.  Same double-spaced Bible text, but in OneNote instead of on paper.  This keeps everything electronically stored and allows me to be a bit more zealous in my note-taking. 

For my study of Jonah, I have been trying to use the notes capability in Libronix.  I have never been a big fan of this capability in Libronix, and consider it to be the weakest part of this otherwise super program.  I prefer the flexibility of writing and highlighting and scribbling notes, as it stimulates my creative side and helps me to remember and internalize the book. 

Next time, I would like to briefly discuss some commentaries, their purpose, and why we should use them, and perhaps even make some humble recommendations.