Debbie Swindell

DOCTRINE & DISCIPLINES OF THE BIBLE II

How do we move from reading the words of Scripture to understanding what they mean? We begin by paying attention to what God has given us. The Bible contains history, poetry, prophecy, wisdom, Gospel accounts, and letters. Each book was written in a setting, and each passage belongs to a larger conversation.

Reading well takes time. We pray for understanding, observe the words and their context, and consider what the writer intended to communicate. Then we ask how the passage should shape our faith and obedience. Over these three days, we will practice that process together.

Read each day’s passages in your ESV Bible before beginning the lesson. Keep your Bible open as you answer the questions.

Day One: Read and Pay Attention

Read: Deuteronomy 6:6–9; Deuteronomy 17:18–20; and Nehemiah 8:1–12.

God’s people have long needed to hear His Word and attend to what it says. In Deuteronomy 6, Israelite parents were told to keep God’s words in their hearts and teach them diligently to their children through the ordinary course of life. In Deuteronomy 17, Israel’s future king was instructed to write a copy of the law and read it throughout his life. His position did not place him above God’s Word. He needed to learn to fear the Lord and obey Him.

Nehemiah 8 gives us a fuller picture of public reading. Ezra read the Law to the gathered people, and they listened attentively. Others helped them understand what was read. The people responded with tears, but they were also directed to rejoice. As they continued reading, they learned what the Law said about the Feast of Booths and observed it with joy. The Word was read, its meaning was explained, and the people responded to what they understood.

John Chrysostom later urged Christians to prepare at home for a Gospel passage they would hear in the church gathering. He asked them to “read it through, and often carefully consider its contents.” He wanted them to notice what was clear and what they found difficult. His counsel reminds us that listening to a teacher does not replace our own attention to the passage.

You do not need advanced training to begin observing a passage. Read it more than once. Notice who is speaking and who is being addressed. Look for repeated words or ideas. Consider what happens before and after the verses you are studying. Write down what you see before reaching for an explanation.

Study questions

1. In Deuteronomy 6:6–9, where were God’s words to have a place in Israelite family life?
2. Why was Israel’s future king told to read the law throughout his life in Deuteronomy 17:18–20?
3. What did the people do while Ezra read in Nehemiah 8? Who helped them understand?
4. How did the people respond after they understood what was read?
5. Choose eight to twelve verses from a Bible book you are reading. Read them twice and write down five observations. What did you notice on the second reading that you missed on the first?

Pray: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18, ESV).

Day Two: Understand the Passage in Its Setting

Read: Psalm 1:1–3 and Joshua 1:7–9.

Prayer belongs at the beginning of Bible study, but prayer does not take the place of careful reading. After asking God to open our eyes, we pay attention to the words He has given. What kind of writing are we reading? Who first received it? What event or question prompted it? What does the passage say within its book?

Psalm 1 describes a person who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night. Meditation gives us time to consider what we have read. We can reread the passage, trace an argument, notice a contrast, or pray in response. We do not need to search for a hidden message. We reflect on the meaning communicated by the words on the page.

Walter Kaiser, whose Toward an Exegetical Theology is listed among the sources for this broader series, emphasizes moving from “the original meaning of the Biblical author” toward its significance for listeners today. That order protects us from making our immediate situation the measure of what a passage means.

Consider Joshua 1:7–9. God spoke to Joshua as he prepared to lead Israel into the land. He commanded Joshua to attend to the Book of the Law and obey it. We can learn from Joshua’s dependence on God’s Word, but we should first recognize his particular responsibility and the place of God’s promises in that setting. We should not claim that every word addressed to Joshua was spoken directly to us in the same circumstances.

Augustine wrote that an interpretation which does not build up love for God and neighbor fails to understand Scripture as it ought. He also acknowledged the importance of the meaning the biblical writer intended. Love is not permission to invent a meaning we prefer. Rather, a faithful reading should lead us toward the response God’s Word calls for.

Study questions

1. What does Psalm 1:1–3 say about delighting in and meditating on the Lord’s instruction?
2. To whom was Joshua 1:7–9 first spoken? What responsibility had God given him?
3. What commands and promises do you find in Joshua 1:7–9? Which details belong especially to Joshua’s circumstances?
4. What does this passage reveal about God and the importance of His Word?
5. Return to the passage you observed on Day One. Read the verses before and after it. Did the wider context change or sharpen your understanding? Write down its main point in one or two sentences.

Pray: Ask the Lord to give you patience to understand the passage before deciding how it applies to you.

Day Three: Read in Light of Christ and Respond

Read: Matthew 5:17–18; Luke 24:25–27, 44–47; and James 1:22–25.

Every passage has a place within the Bible’s larger story. God acted in real times and places. He revealed His purposes through His dealings with Israel and the words of the prophets. Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, and after His resurrection He helped His disciples understand how the Scriptures spoke of His suffering, resurrection, and the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness of sins.

Reading with Christ in view does not mean forcing His name into every verse or bypassing what a passage said to its first hearers. It means recognizing that God’s work reaches its fulfillment in Him. We understand the larger story more clearly when we respect each passage’s place within it.

Kevin DeYoung, whose Taking God at His Word is among the broader series sources, urges readers to consider how Scripture speaks to our hearts, how it fits across the Bible’s story, and how it leads us to Christ. His approach reminds us that a verse belongs to a book and that a book belongs to the whole counsel of God.

Martin Luther urged readers to test explanations of Scripture against Scripture itself, even when an explanation came from a respected teacher. We can value the help of pastors, scholars, and historical writers while keeping our Bibles open. Their work should help us see what the passage says.

Finally, understanding calls for a response. James warns us against hearing the Word and failing to do it. Once we have observed a passage and considered its meaning, we ask what we should believe, confess, trust, or obey. Application may differ among readers, but it must grow from the passage’s meaning.

Study questions

1. What does Jesus say about the Law and the Prophets in Matthew 5:17–18?
2. How did Jesus help His disciples understand the Scriptures in Luke 24:25–27 and 44–47?
3. Why is it important to consider both a passage’s original setting and its place within the Bible’s larger story?
4. What warning does James 1:22–25 give to someone who hears the Word without doing it?
5. Return once more to the passage you chose on Day One. What does it teach about God? How does it fit within His work that reaches its fulfillment in Christ? What response does it call for from you?
6. Which step do you most often hurry past: observation, understanding the context, considering the larger story, or application? What will you do differently this week?

A prayer before reading

Lord, open my eyes to Your Word. Help me pay attention to what You have said and understand each passage in its setting. Guard me from reading my own ideas into the text. Show me how the Scriptures bear witness to Christ, and give me a willing heart to respond. Amen.

Careful reading may feel slower than looking for a single encouraging sentence. Yet the time is well spent. As we read what God has given, seek to understand its meaning, and respond in faith, we learn to receive Scripture on its own terms and grow in our knowledge of the Lord who speaks through it.

Won’t you join me at the table?

Historical sources: John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homily 11; Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, Book I, chapter 36; Martin Luther, Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude Preached and Explained, exposition of 2 Peter 1.

Authors from the broader series source list referenced in this study: Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Toward an Exegetical Theology; Kevin DeYoung, Taking God at His Word.