Properly interpreting the Bible is about as easy to do as digging a tunnel through a sand dune. With each new shovel full of sand you remove, another shovel full takes its place; the same thing happens when we delve deeper and deeper into the Bible, and as our understanding of what it says increases.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
There is just so much to learn from this book, and the more we mature, spiritually, the more deeply we will understand what is written. Just like digging in a sand dune, as we remove some sand, more comes to fill in the hole we just made. So, too, when we get past the plain understanding of the words, the spiritual meaning will then be made clear to us. And the deeper we dig, the deeper our understanding, until we even get to a level of nearly mystical knowledge of what God is saying to us.
It is like when Yeshua (Jesus) taught during his Sermon on the Mount: the Pharisees and Scribes had taught the people only the literal meaning of the words, but Yeshua taught them the spiritual meaning, which is why they said he taught as no one had before.
In these lessons, I will share with you what I have learned over more than 2 decades of studying the Bible. I do not profess to be a “Bible expert”, but I have learned a bit and have had many people over the years confirm that I have a gift, if you will, for understanding God’s word and teaching. I say this not to brag, but simply to justify why it might be worth spending the time to go through these lessons with me. They will be short and at a very introductory level, and even maybe a little entertaining.
After all, what could it hoit to listen?
The lessons will be covering what I consider to be the basic building blocks for properly interpreting the Bible, which are:
– Reading the book yourself;
– Different methodologies of biblical exegesis;
– Use of extra-biblical resources; and
– Knowing the history and languages used, especially the cultural usage of the languages at that time.
These lessons will be posted on Tuesday and Thursday instead of my normal “Drash to Start the Day” messages until we complete the series. On Friday I will still post the Shabbat parashah message.
As we go through these lessons, please do not hesitate to make comments or ask questions about the topic I cover. Let me repeat that this is what I believe are the basic tools to use when interpreting the bible, and (as I said before) I am not professing to be the ultimate expert or that what I am teaching is the only means of properly interpreting the Bible: it is just what I have learned and what has helped me to better understand the Bible.
I pray that it will help you, as well.
This coming Tuesday, the 23rd of November 2020, we will cover the first lesson: read the book, yourself.
Until then, L’hitraot and Baruch haShem!
