How to Study the Bible

Almost the entire book of Deuteronomy is the last speech that Moses gave to the Jews before he died.  Moses had led the Jews out of slavery in Egypt, they had spent 40 years in the wilderness area south of present day Israel, and now they were about to enter the land that God had promised to them.  But before they took possession, Moses wanted to remind them of their recent history and the agreement that they had made with God.  Chapters 29 and 30 list some of the blessings that the Jews had received from God, and what further blessings would come from obeying God's law.  It also stated the problems that would come for disobeying it.  Then God stated several things about his law in chapter 30:

• It was not too difficult to obey - God's moral and legal requirements were set up in a way that a nation of ex-slaves would find them practical to live by.  In contrast, it is very difficult to read, let alone obey the complexity of laws in our country.
• God's law was available - God did not sit up in heaven and hide his thinking from us.  He did not store his laws in a remote part of the world, where only a few people would have the resources available to reach it.  He intended that everyone would have access to it.
• God's law was to affect our attitudes and actions - God wanted the Jews to talk about his law to each other.  He wanted it to be stored in their hearts, and he wanted them to do it.  God is interested in affecting our behavior and the motives for our behavior.  The legal process and the religious ceremony was not the focus of the law - behavior was the focus.
• God's laws are simple cause and effect - If we drop a ball, it falls to the ground.  If we put water on a fire, the fire goes out.  All around us is a world which shows us that when one action occurs, a specific result will follow.  God is trying to show us the same concept in human relationships.  He emphasises this by saying that that we are free to try other ways of dealing with each other than God's way, but it will fail.  Good things will come to us if we do things God's way, and our life will collapse if we refuse his guidance.

• God's concepts were to be taught to the children by their parents at home on a daily basis
• God's word was to be publically read every seven years at a festival that the entire Jewish population was to attend.  This handled the problem of the people not being able to read, and provided for their training at a time that was convenient to them.  It insured that the adults would be reminded of the laws on a regular basis, and that the children as they grew up would also start to learn from the law.
• When the law was publically read, it was translated into their language (when needed), and explained.
• The older adult men, as leaders of their families, spent more time studying the law than their families did.
• The leaders of the people were expected to be more familiar with the law than the common person, but the desire of God was that all know the basics of the law.
• Kings were required to have a personal copy of the law, and to study it regularly.  Since a king was often in the role of a judge, he needed to know the law well.  The regular study of the Bible was also designed to temper his rule, and make him more reasonable with his subjects.
• Ezra's example as a teacher:  Before he taught others, he committed himself to be a student of the Bible, and to be one who obeyed what it said.

1. The basic message of the Bible can be understood by everyone
2. God intends his word to change our behavior
3. Parents have a responsibility to teach God's concepts to their children
4. Fathers have the greatest responsibility within a family to know and teach God's word
5. All of the Bible should be periodically read
6. Leaders in the church, or in government, need to be people who are committed to study God's word regularly
7. Teachers need to be committed to Bible study, and to live an example of the life they are asking others to assume