Digging first, looking later

[Me Died Blue]

Gordon Fee, while definitely not always a good source to turn to, pointed out something in an article I read of his that really resonated with me. He pointed out how so often in Bible study, we are prone to "dig first and look later." While responsible exegesis through a thorough knowledge of the original languages, scholarly historical study and careful comparison with the rest of Scripture is the primary means of interpreting the Scriptures, I do believe that sometimes in our personal study we can get to the point where we "rush in" too fast, immediately taking a passage or verse apart and analysing it in detail, when the plain meaning is staring us in the face, and we would be greatly blessed by it if we were to just sometimes [i:b4db294ec9]look[/i:b4db294ec9] before [i:b4db294ec9]digging[/i:b4db294ec9].

I'm not saying this is a good exegetical technique to always go by, because it is not, in light of how wary we need to be of our own eisegetical biases. I'm simply saying that in the task of [i:b4db294ec9]hermeneutics[/i:b4db294ec9]--applying the passage or verse to our lives after exegeting it--oftentimes we would get more of the intended "gold" out of a passage if we would approach it in a simpler way.

In Christ,

Chris

P. S. What made me think of this was actually today's daily devotional verse that Josh posted, Nahum 1:13. When I first saw the verse, I caught myself immediately trying to think about its historical context, and break it up into parts--only to realize after reading a couple more sentences in Josh's post what a wonderful verse it is simply because of how it reminds us of the comfort we can take in God's sovereignty and His benevolence toward us.

 

[Me Died Blue]

Has anyone else ever noticed this tendency in yourself?

 

[Ianterrell]

Chris,

They are both important disciplines. The Digging lets us know what is there, the looking over is enjoying the treasures found. Can't have the treasures without digging, and vise-versa when thinking systematically and cross-referencing. There have been sad days when I have felt content to simply dig and not meditate and be satisfied by the truths. There have been far too many of these days in recent history. I guess it goes hand in hand for me with having a genuine sense of God's lordship over the word. If I go to the scriptures to "taste and see that the Lord is good" then I will have no problem basking in the fresh rays of glory being offered.

If, on the other hand, I go in simply looking to learn and learn for the sake of learning, I will have knowledge that puffs up but no edifying love!

 

[Me Died Blue]

Yeah, that's kind of the same thing I experience & was getting at.