Mysteries of the Word

Shhh…come in closer. I want to tell you a secret…

Don’t you just love knowing a secret or having a mystery explained to you? Do you realize the Bible has many “secrets” or mysteries that God longs to reveal to us? It is true! Mark 4:11 says “…To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables…”

Many people think the Bible is impossible to understand, but that could not be farther from the truth. God is willing to reveal truth to us; however, it does take a little effort on our part to excavate those wonderful mysteries that are in the scriptures. As I mentioned in last week’s devotion, you cannot just be a casual reader of the Bible and expect to “mine” all of the jewels. You have to pray, dig, and investigate to unlock deeper meaning.

So how do you do this? I am going to state the obvious first: PRAY for wisdom before you study. Then approach the scripture with an “inquiring mind”. Interrogate the text like a good reporter by asking the “who, what, when, where, why and how” questions. Ask questions of the text. Believe me – the Bible can stand up to any questions you may have! Also, look for key words or phrases that are repeated in the texts you are reading. For example, in Romans 1, Paul uses two phrases in rapid succession three times each: “God gave them over” and “exchanged”. Paul was most definitely trying to get a point across to his audience using this triple play. Read it for yourself and see what Paul was talking about in this passage.

Something I try to avoid, especially at the beginning of my study, is a commentary. If you are actively seeking a word from God, first pray and study the passage for YOURSELF before turning to another person’s opinion. I even run cross-references before hitting commentaries. There is no better Biblical commentary than the Bible itself. Many “mysteries” can be cleared up simply by comparing scripture to scripture. If I hit a very difficult passage and have done all of the above, then I will seek out a good commentary, but NOT at the beginning of my study.

One last tip – use the wonderful resources that are available to us through our church library and the internet. Because I personally love to study word origin, I use www.biblos.com and www.blueletterbible.org often. They both have great lexicons (lexicons give you the meaning of the texts in the original languages). Both of these sites let you view various translations simultaneously to help you glean the meaning of the text. These are just two examples of the many features on these web sites.

I tell you – my heart just pounds as I study God’s Word. By using the above practices, my study time has become tremendously more effective and the time literally flies! I find myself longing to get to my place of study and settle in for fellowship with my Adonai. The only way to truly know God is by spending quality time in His love letter to us – the Bible.