Tools and Preparation
	"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success." Joshua 1:8

Review

Tools

Preparation

Homework

Review

Last weeks assignment was to read Psalm 119 using some of the suggestions we went over. Here are some thoughts by Spurgeon on Psalm 119:15

"I will meditate in thy precepts." - Psalm 119:15

There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on his Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. Truth is something like the cluster of the vine: if we would have wine from it, we must bruise it; we must press and squeeze it many times. The bruiser’s feet must come down joyfully upon the bunches, or else the juice will not flow; and they must well tread the grapes, or else much of the precious liquid will be wasted. So we must, by meditation, tread the clusters of truth, if we would get the wine of consolation therefrom. Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but the process which really supplies the muscle, and the nerve, and the sinew, and the bone, is the process of digestion. It is by digestion that the outward food becomes assimilated with the inner life. Our souls are not nourished merely by listening awhile to this, and then to that, and then to the other part of divine truth. Hearing, reading, marking, and learning, all require inwardly digesting to complete their usefulness, and the inward digesting of the truth lies for the most part in meditating upon it. Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God’s Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord, and be this our resolve this morning, "I will meditate in thy precepts."

Tools

Bible

Check the front matter of your Bible for "Explanation of Format," or "Principles of Translation," or similarly titled articles. These will help you get acquainted with your particular Bible so that you can better use it. Feel free to make use of the cross references or translation notes that may be in the margins or footnotes of your Bible.

For the first part of your Bible study, stay away from the commentary that is often in the footnotes of study Bibles. Some study Bibles push a certain theology such as the Ryrie study Bible. Others are more balanced in their approach like the NIV Study Bible. Yet, it should be noted that all commentaries in study Bibles will present a certain theology. This is not bad, there are many good things we can learn from these notes. However, it is better to do your own work first and then consult commentaries and footnotes.

Most study Bibles will also have an introduction to each book of the Bible. They will tell about the author, recipient, date and purpose of the book, as well as provide some cultural and historical context. Try to avoid the outline of the book, or articles regarding the purpose of the book. These are things which are best if discovered through your own study. Again, after you have done your own work you can refer to these resources as a check to your own study.

Concordance

Exhaustive concordances are a great tool for word studies. We will look at this tool in greater detail when we get into word studies.

Bible Dictionary

These are useful tools for getting background information as you work your way through a text. For instance, as you read through the OT you may encounter the "Feast of Booths." You could simply look this up in a Bible dictionary to see what this feast was all about. See entry in:

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Atlas

A good atlas will help orient you to the various places in the Bible. They will show the domain of different empires at different times. They will show missionary journeys and will give city layouts. They will provide climate, geographical, and geological information. There is some material available online, however, I would recommend investing in a printed atlas that contains the most up to date material. The New Bible Atlas is a good one.

Commentary

After the observation and interpretation has been done, it is good to check your findings with a good set of commentaries. It is important that these be referenced after interpretation, but before application. Here are a few that I would recommend:

Matthew Henry's

John Calvin's

John Gill's

Bible Software

A good Bible software will have all of these tools and many more. There are many different kinds of Bible software available that range from free to hundreds of dollars (depending on what you want). A good midrange software that I would recomend is Quickverse. It is not as powerful as some others, but it has more than enough functions to be of tremendous use, especially for lay studies. And the good news about this is it is available for free from E4 Group (although you have to pay for the shipping of the cd's).

Preparation: What Do I Need?

Like most tasks that we undertake, the effectiveness of our Bible study will be determined, in part, by how we prepare for it. We need to think through some things in order to make the best use of our time.

Physical Preparation (i.e., Personal and Environmental)

1. Do you study better if you have something to drink (i.e. a cup of coffee, or a glass of water)? Is your hunger satisfied?
2. Do you study better in a soft chair, or do you need a hard chair and table to keep you awake?
3. Do you study better in quiet or do you need some background noise )i.e. a fan, or music)?
4. What are some distraction that keep you from focusing on the Bible (i.e.TV/Radio/Children)?
5. What kind of lighting works best for you?
6. What posture is best for you (i.e. sitting straight up, laying down, etc)?
7. Time
1. Regular time (helpful to develop routine)
2. What time of day are you at your best?
3. Make sure you are unhurried. Keep a clock or wrist-watch w/ alarm so you can work without worrying about going over.
8. Temperature (adjust thermostat, fans, heater)

Tool Preparation:

1. Bible
2. Concordance
3. Bible Dictionary
4. Bible Encyclopedia
5. Commentaries
6. Computer
7. Pens, paper and highlighters
8. Files — Suggest making one for every book of the Bible

Mental Preparation

1. Expecting to learn from God about Himself and His ways.
2. Purposing to be method-conscious.
3. Self-discipline (fruit of the Spirit).
4. Purposing to remain unhurried — time to meditate and reflect.
5. Aware of prejudicial theological and cultural preconceptions.
6. "Just because I think or have been taught it, doesn’t make it so."
7. Clearing distracting thoughts of the day.

Spiritual Preparation:

1. Prayerful self-examination.
2. Confession of sin.
3. Fellowshiping with the Father and Son.

4. Seeking the illumination of the Spirit.

Homework

1. Try to spend some time getting familiar with some of the tools we have discussed this week.
2. Make a list of things that you need to prepare for Bible study.
3. Continue to apply what we learned last week to the Bible studies you are doing, whether it be a group or personal study.