Many people come across difficulties in the Bible because they don't know how to study it. The apostle Paul said: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Tim. 2:15). This study of the Bible should be with zeal! It is something to put our whole heart into. We need to devote our time and mind to it. God says, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave" (Eccl. 9:10). Bible study, to be effective, must be methodical and systematic. If there is no system, there will be no real study. Some of the common errors in Bible study need to be pointed out. The methods that lead to true understanding of the Bible need to be explained. People use different methods in studying the Bible. Some use the gamble and ramble method. They read wherever the Bible opens. Thus they gamble and ramble through the Bible. But George Mueller found that when he used this method, the Bible began to continually open to the same place. Obviously this is not a good method. Others study the Bible one book at a time. This method can be effective and could be used to find the general contents of a particular book. When using this method, we should find out who wrote each book. When, where, and for whom did the author write? Under what circumstances did he write? And for what purpose? Every book has an object as well as a subject. Does his book contain laws, poetry, history, religious instruction, or prophecy? What are the practical lessons and doctrines taught? What connection has this book with other parts of the Bible? What is the time period when the events were written? Not only is it important to read a book from beginning to end, it is also important to read a connected set of books consecutively to the end to get the general thought that pervades throughout. Some people study the Bible chronologically — according to time sequence. If we study from Genesis to Revelation, the material will be in basic chronological order, but certain books or chapters will not be in time sequence. This method of study would be helpful when reading the prophetical books. The time when each prophet wrote should be known as some of the prophets were contemporary. Another method is to study the Bible biographically. That is, to study the lives of leading characters in the Bible. This method would be especially helpful when we notice the weakness and strong points of a person God was able to use. Notice why some men failed to succeed while others triumphed and received many blessings. One other method is to study the Bible by subject. This method is a very good one and is used by the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course. To find what the entire Bible says about one subject involves a thorough type of study which would help solve some difficulties.
Three Basic Elements
But regardless of what method of study a person uses, it must include three basic elements to be an effective one. The first element is reading. The apostle Paul told Timothy: "Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine" (I Tim. 4:13). Some make the mistake of only reading books and literature about the Bible, but don't read the Bible itself. The Bible should be read — from cover to cover. "All scripture is inspired. " (II Tim. 3:16). Every verse is important. But some read only the New Testament. Others read only the Gospels. Some never read the prophecies. While others read only Daniel and Revelation. Such reading is not systematic. It's not complete or balanced. It is necessary to have a planned reading program that will enable you to read the entire Bible in a year's time. Since there are 1,189 chapters in the Bible, by reading three chapters a day and two additional chapters on the Sabbath, the entire Bible can be read in a year. For balance, it is best to read two chapters in the Old Testament and one chapter in the New. Although the King James Version should be used as the basic study Bible, this daily reading can be done in a modern translation such as the Jewish Version, Moffatt, Revised Standard Version, or the Amplified Version. In any case, the Bible used for reading should be unmarked to keep the message fresh. When reading a marked Bible, thoughts tend to run in a groove suggested by the marks and notes.
Study Thoughtfully
The second basic element needed in effective Bible study is thorough study. This is more than just reading it. It is the kind the Bereans did. When Paul preached to them, "They received the word with all readiness of mind, and SEARCHED the scriptures daily, whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11). This study requires searching. "Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God" (Prov. 2:3-5). The Bible student must seek and search for knowledge of God. He must investigate, examine, scrutinize and sift the scriptures to find the answers and solutions to difficulties. He must hunt for something. As he studies through the Bible, the student should take notes. This helps to put thoughts in order and is an aid to remembering what is studied. Notes can be put in the margin of the Bible. In the study of some books, making an outline or table of contents of each chapter will be a great help. This will impress on our mind what the chapter is about and will help us retain this knowledge. Marking the Bible as we study is important. A person who is marking his Bible is obviously studying intently. Five styles of markings which can be used are: (1) coloring, (2) underlining, (3) circling, (4) brackets, or (5) signs in the margin. One recommended method is to underline for flow, bracket for doctrine and use symbols in the margin for personal correction. Coloring can be used to emphasize important, KEY verses. But multi-color systems should be avoided as they clutter up the pages. Words or phrases appearing in the text can be explained by making notes in the margin. For example, "conversation" in Philippians 3:20 should read "citizenship." We can put a bracket around "conversation" and make a note in the margin. References to better translations can also be noted in the margin.
Compare Scripture with Scripture
Another note to make in the margins is any reference to related scriptures or parallel passages — texts which relate to the same subject, teach the same doctrine or relate to the same historical fact. A thorough study of the Bible will be the kind that will include the comparison of scriptures. The importance of this point is stated by Anstey:
One of the main reasons for the decay of interest in the study of the Bible. is the old method of reading the Bible in titbits and snippets instead of devoting the necessary time to grasp the scope and sweep of its majestic argument, and reading the Text in the light of the context, the context in the light of its relation to the book in which it is found, and the book in relation to the Bible as a whole. (Martin Anstey, How to Master the Bible, pp. 51, 52.)
God wrote the Bible with gaps between related material in order to hide the meaning. God said, "For precept must be upon precept... line upon line... here a little and there a little: for with stammering lips and another tongue will I speak to this people"
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go hand in hand. They cannot be separated. Bible study, to be effective, must be accompanied with prayer. We need to pray and ask God for guidance and understanding, to ask Him to reveal the true meaning of what is said in His Word expecting He will, and to pray for the help of the Holy Spirit. Man of himself is totally ignorant of God and cannot even understand His Word without spiritual guidance. Jeremiah said: "I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh TO DIRECT HIS STEPS" (Jer. 10:23). We need guidance through the Holy Spirit. It is God's Spirit that will guide us into all Truth (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit is necessary to understand spiritual truth. The natural human mind is incapable of understanding spiritual revelations. Paul explained this in I Corinthians 2:14, "The natural man" — that is, the natural-born, unconverted mind — "receiveth not the things of the spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are SPIRITUALLY discerned!" They are revealed by God's Spirit as the 10th verse goes on to say, "God hath REVEALED them unto us by His Spirit." The Holy Spirit within us is the key which alone can unlock the doors to scriptural understanding. The more we pray, the more of God's Spirit we will have to guide us into greater understanding. But the Holy Spirit is given to only those who OBEY God (Acts 5:32). The greater our obedience to God, the greater our wisdom and understanding of the Bible will be. Along with prayer, must be meditation. God told Joshua: This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall meditate therein day and night" (Joshua 1:8). To meditate means to think, ponder and digest. It means letting the Bible saturate your thoughts. The Bible student should think about the Bible whenever he has a free moment — day and night. He can memorize key scriptures to help him think about them. George Mueller of Bristol once said: "There may seem to be apparent contradictions in the Word, but by patiently and calmly going on reading and meditating, these are removed." The second chapter of Proverbs gives four vital steps that lead to true knowledge and understanding. They are, beginning with verse 1:
Accept God's Word as the truth. "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee..."
Act on what the Bible says. "So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding..."
Pray for understanding. "Yea, if thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding..."
Study diligently. "If thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path" (Proverbs 2:1-5, 9).
Bible study shouldn't be a drudgery. It should be something we love to do. It should be enjoyable, exhilarating and satisfying. Approach Bible study this way and there will be no problem solving any difficulties or apparent contradictions that may arise. There is a fair and reasonable solution for every difficulty and alleged discrepancy found in the Bible.
Bible Study Helps
The person who studies the Bible is a workman. Remember what Paul told Timothy? "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a WORKMAN that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Tim. 2:15). Bible study involves diligent, concentrated work! And to do this work, we need the appropriate tools. The primary tool needed, of course, is a good Bible. The King James Version should be used as a basic study Bible. Other modern English translations can be referred to when the old King James English obscures the meaning. The new Amplified Version is especially helpful. A good concordance is another tool we need for Bible study. The Cruden's Concordance is adequate for most people. Those who want an even better concordance can obtain either Strong's Exhaustive Concordance or Young's Analytical Concordance. A concordance is important to have because by knowing a few words of a passage we wish to find in the Bible, it will find that passage for us. It also helps in other ways. By using a concordance, which has the words of the Bible arranged alphabetically and tells where they may be found, we can bring related material together and obtain the whole true meaning of what the Bible has to say about anything. A good analytical concordance will also help in discovering the true meaning of the original text. Where it is impossible to become an expert in the original languages of Greek and Hebrew, a good concordance will at least give the transliterations of the original words in Roman script and show where they are found in the Bible. Commentaries may be a helpful tool to advanced students of the Bible. They may paraphrase a difficult passage or give comments that may shed light on the meaning. But we need to be cautious about using commentaries as they often give their own ideas and many times the writers are prejudiced by their own religious beliefs — often which are contrary to what the Bible teaches. Commentaries are sometimes good in relating physical facts, but are often erroneous when it comes to explaining doctrine. Then again, most commentaries are written in a technical language and in such obsolete English that many people would find them difficult to understand. Reading such commentaries would be a waste of time for most people. The commentary published by the Seventh Day Adventists, however, is written in clear, modern English and is helpful on subjects not affected by doctrinal bias. Another helpful tool is Halley's Pocket Bible Handbook. This is an abbreviated Bible commentary that briefly gives the background to the Bible, including important archaeological discoveries proving the Bible. The sections on Genesis, Daniel and Assyria are especially good.
Other External Helps
The Bible student needs to know the history, geography and customs of Bible times.
Thoroughly to understand the Scriptures, to harmonize apparent contradictions, to gather up all the truth it contains, and sometimes even to enable us to select, out of several meanings, the one which is most consistent with the Divine plan, it is often necessary to seek some external or collateral help. We need to know the facts of general history, of chronology, of natural history, of geography, with the opinions and ideas prevalent among the people to whom the various parts of Scripture were addressed, and especially the manners and customs of Eastern nations. The illustrations derived from these several sources often throw a flood of light upon the sacred text. A knowledge of geography will often explain and reconcile the statements of the Bible, show the beauty and truthfulness of particular passages, confirm the authenticity of the narrative by the accuracy of the local colouring, and bring out the sense which might otherwise remain concealed. (Joseph Angus, The Bible Hand-book, pp. 276, 296.)
The Bible student should be well acquainted with history, civil and political, especially of the Israelites, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Romans and Greeks. If the student has no time for extensive investigations, he should at least make himself master of Josephus. A good Bible atlas will give geographical knowledge of the area around Palestine. Such a book specializes in Bible maps and has other helpful information about geography and history. A Bible dictionary is another helpful tool. Such a book describes people, places and things mentioned in the Bible. It also has chronological tables and maps concerning Bible times. There are several types of Bible dictionaries and Peloubet's Bible Dictionary is one that is good. The importance of knowing the customs and manners or archaeology pertaining to the Bible is pointed out by McClelland:
No man is fit to expound a paragraph in any book whatever, unless he can bring distinctly before his mind all the usages and historical facts, all the circumstances of time and place, which relate to the subject treated. (Alex McClelland, Canon and Interpretation of Holy Scripture, p. 136.)
Another helpful book that will be useful in solving many difficulties is, Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible by Haley. Over 900 solutions are given for so-called contradictions and discrepancies. These Bible helps can help answer certain Bible questions and solve difficult problems. An example of how knowledge of certain facts can erase difficulties is concerning Belshazzar in the book of Daniel. Critics once said such a person was unknown to history — that Nabonidus was the last king of Babylon. Furthermore, he was absent from the city when it was captured. This strong argument seemed unanswerable until Sir H. Rawlinson discovered clay cylinders in Chaldea on which Belshazzar is named by Nabonidus as being his eldest son. This son was the second ruler of Babylon who reigned in his father's absence. This explains why Belshazzar wanted to make Daniel the "third ruler" in the kingdom (Dan. 5:16). See Halley's Pocket Bible Handbook, p. 308. What is said in these books may not be all true and we may not agree with all they say. The good they contain, however, overbalances their errors. Reading books about the Bible written by men who were not inspired by God's Holy Spirit must always be done with caution.
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