What is the key to effective Bible study?
How can you KNOW you understand and obey the TRUTH? Is it enough to read a book,
or an article, or booklet, and then "accept" another man's viewpoint on a
particular discussion, Scripture, point of history, or interpretation? Would
that not be very dangerous? Would you believe every salesman who comes to your
door, selling a product? Would you trust every "used car salesman"? Or every
real estate agent? If someone came to you with a "stunning opportunity," a
"once-in-a-lifetime chance" to invest in some commodity or stock or oil lease --
would you just jump at the chance? Or wouldn't you investigate carefully, and
scrutinize the matter, before signing over your hard earned money which it has
taken you YEARS to accumulate?
Think about it! How much MORE important is
your eternal life, and spiritual salvation?
Principles of Bible Study
Isador Zwirn, a Jewish rabbi who after
personal and careful Bible study became a Messianic Christian Jew, was taught
from an early age that each sentence of God's Word -- the Torah -- was important
and to be studied!
Shockingly, many so-called "Christians"
have never even read the entire Word of YEHOVAH God -- the Bible. How can you
know that which you have never read or studied? Many are IGNORANT of
YEHOVAH's Word -- and would be hard-pressed to "prove" the simplest doctrine,
such as the "Sabbath," "holy days," "salvation," "keeping the commandments,"
"born again," the "kingdom of YEHOVAH God," the "resurrection," "the
return of YEHOVAH God," "grace," and so forth. Many would not even know where to begin to prove
where the "lost ten tribes" migrated in history, and what the Bible says about
identifying their whereabouts today!
There is only ONE WAY to get to know the
Word of YEHOVAH God -- the TRUTH which the Messiah said will "make us free."
That is to READ and STUDY it! The Messiah said on another occasion, "Man shall
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
God" (Matthew 4:4). He knew the Word of YEHOVAH God. He actually quoted this from
the Old Testament, or Torah. We read there, "And he humbled thee, and suffered
thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy
fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread
only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth
man live" (Deuteronomy 8:3).
The Messiah also declared, to the
Pharisees of his time, "SEARCH the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have
eternal life: and they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39).
Isador Zwirn, in the Jewish bet
hamidrash, or "house of research," learned definite principles of Bible
study, principles which stood him in good stead throughout his lifetime. I
consider these principles extremely important, so I am going to share them with
you.
Principle #1 -- Respect the Viewpoints
of Others
The New International Version has the
latter part of this passage as follows: "Blessed is the man who does not condemn
himself by what he approves....everything that does not come from faith is
sin." To come to a conclusion, but then to deny your conscience -- the evidence
before your very eyes -- and to follow what your conscience tells you is false
and error, would be to deny faith, and would constitute SIN.
Paul wrote, "Now the end [purpose, goal]
of the commandment is charity [unfeigned, genuine love] out of a pure heart, and
of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: from which some having swerved
have turned aside unto vain jangling" (I Timothy 1:5-6). He went on, "Holding
faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have
made shipwreck" (I Timothy 1:19). Paul exhorts us to be true to ourselves, and the
truth, "Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience" (I Timothy 3:9). Once
we begin to study into a subject carefully, we should never defile our
conscience, or go against the truth that YEHOVAH God reveals to us. To do so would be to
make "shipwreck" of the faith and the truth, and to jeopardize our spiritual
lives and salvation!
Principle #3 -- When Two
Major Views Contradict, Set Them Aside Temporarily and Hope a
Third View Will Be Found To Harmonize the Two
The third principle of Scriptural study,
learned and taught in the bet hamidrash or "house of research" was this
guideline: "Whenever two major views seem to contradict each other, you must
temporarily set them aside, and hope that a third view will eventually be found
that will harmonize the two." That is, when there is conflict and controversy --
and surely we live in a time of dangerous spiritual currents and subtle false
teaching -- and we are not sure from the available evidence which view is right,
or even if either one of the two views presented is right, then we should put
the matter on the shelf -- set it aside -- put it in limbo for the time being
-- and then seek more information, more knowledge, more factual data, so that we
can learn the truth! Obviously, this would require that we possess an
open mind -- a humble mind -- and be willing to be taught, and to be willing to
UNLEARN any error which we may have unthinkingly or unknowingly ingested!
Herbert Armstrong used to say that it
takes TEN TIMES more effort to UNLEARN ERROR than it does to simply learn
new truth! My experience is that he was absolutely right! Willingness to confess
that you may have been in error, or mistaken, is a rare human attribute.
This does not mean, however, that you
should go along with every "change" presented to you. The change itself might be
a new "error" even worse than the first! Paul warned Timothy that in the "last
days" there would be "perilous times" in which deceivers are "ever learning, and
never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (II Timothy 3:1, 7). He warned,
further, "But evil men and SEDUCERS (Greek goes, meaning "a wizard," as muttering spells; "an impostor, seducer") shall wax worse
and worse, deceiving, and being deceived"
(II Timothy 3:13). Peter wrote of
such, "the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had
been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after
they have known it, to TURN FROM the holy commandment delivered unto them" (II
Peter 2:20-21).
When doctrinal "change" is staring us in
the face, then, a prudent student of the Bible will gather all the
related evidence -- search the Scriptures -- pull out various translations of
the Bible -- get out his Concordance, such as Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, and
look into what various authorities have to say about it, such as the Bible
Dictionaries (available in Christian bookstores, or religious libraries), and
not neglect Jewish sources and interpretations, either. In the search for truth, no
stone or rock should be left unturned! We must not be negligent, or lazy, or
self-confident. We must be willing to SEARCH for the truth, as for hidden
treasures -- HUNT for wisdom and understanding, as for precious pearls,
diamonds, or gold!
YEHOVAH says of wisdom and understanding --
that is, the knowledge of YEHOVAH God, the Torah -- "For the merchandise of it is better
than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She [the
Torah, the knowledge of YEHOVAH God, true wisdom] is more precious than rubies: and all
the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is
in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a TREE OF LIFE to them that
lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her" (Proverbs
3:14-18).
It is the "Torah," Law, Teaching, or
Revelation of YEHOVAH God, which is the true "Tree of Life," symbolized by the "tree of
life" in the Garden of Eden. Herbert Armstrong thought the "tree of life" was
the holy spirit, but that was his own interpretation and idea. The Scriptures
define the TORAH or LAW or TEACHINGS of YEHOVAH's Word as
the true Biblical "TREE OF LIFE"! Therefore, we should value the Word of
YEHOVAH God
very highly -- for it is the true "way of salvation" and the way to "eternal
life"!
Principle #4 -- "Lo sakir paunim" --
"Do not
recognize the face"
Finally, when we are studying to reach
a conclusion about a major Biblical doctrine, and when some highly respected
individual or some church "authority" or "leader" is trying to teach us their
viewpoint, we must remember the basic principle taught by Moses in evaluating any new doctrine
or
"new truth." Moses warned us: "Lo sakir paunim." This Hebrew expression
means, "Do not recognize the face" (Deuteronomy 1:17). The King James Version has this:
"Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as
well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment
is God's." The New International Bible has this: "Do not show partiality
in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not
be afraid
of any man, for judgment belongs to God." How many people, when faced
with a doctrinal change; are AFRAID of the local minister, AFRAID of being
thrown out of the church congregation, AFRAID of losing their long-time
friends, and AFRAID of being cut off from family members in the church?
YEHOVAH God says, do NOT be afraid! Do not
FEAR any man, whether he claim to be an "apostle," "evangelist,"
"pastor," or whatever! Those who fear MEN more than the Word of
YEHOVAH God, and
Almighty God, are doomed, even as they breathe: Jeremiah the prophet
wrote, "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on
flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD"
(Jeremiah 17:5, NIV). Solomon was inspired to write, "The fear of the LORD is the
beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline" (Proverbs 1:7, NIV). Solomon wrote, "Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD, and shun evil" (Proverbs 3:7). He added, "The fear of the LORD is a
fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death" (Proverbs 14:27).
On the other hand, Solomon warned, "Fear
of man will prove to be a snare, but whosoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe"
(Proverbs 29:25). Says the Moffatt translation, "The fear of man is dangerous;
but he who trusts in the Eternal shall be safe."
Says Isador Zwirn, "In other words,
whether truth comes from a male or female, Jew or Gentile, black or white, or
even from the mouth of babes we are to accept it" (see The Rabbi from
Burbank, p.36-37). He goes on:
"All of these principles have for
their basis the Hebrew key word, doresh, 'to study, to research.'
As a young child I learned that once this
concept became firmly fixed in my mind, I was then readily able to
recognize and obey the scriptural commands that applied to my life.
"I have since learned that this
same principle applies to any sincere student of the Bible. By learning
the importance of God's words that are recorded within God's Word, then
learning the principle of unquestioning obedience, every child of God
will be able to live a life of peace, power, and daily victory.
"These are unequivocal biblical
principles: research (doresh) with integrity equals knowledge and
insight. Knowledge and insight, plus obedience, equals God's rich
rewards. When I learn to know what God is saying to me in his Word, I
must obey what he says. Then he is honor-bound to answer the promises in
his Word" (p. 37-38).
YEHOVAH's Command
-- RESEARCH the Truth
Far too many of YEHOVAH's people, I believe,
do not seem to feel themselves qualified to do "Biblical research." So they
conveniently or foolishly leave it to others -- the ministers. And they risk
their salvation by foolishly trusting in men -- human beings -- rather than
studying the Word of YEHOVAH God which is a shield and protector
against false teaching, heresy, and insidious, subtle, clever false doctrines
which masquerade as "truth."
Notice YEHOVAH's command: "Seek [doresh,
research] the LORD and his strength, seek [doresh, research]
his face continually" (I Chronicles 16:11). "SEEK [DORESH, RESEARCH] ye
the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him RETURN unto the LORD, and he will have
mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:6-7).
"And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek
[doresh, research] thee" (Psalm 9:10).
"I sought [doresh, researched] the
LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him,
and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and
the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that FEAR him, and delivereth them" (Psalm 34:4-7).
The Hebrew word doresh or
darash literally means, "to tread or frequent; usually to follow (for
pursuit or search); by implication, to seek or ask; specifically, to worship"
(Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, Hebrew dictionary, word #1875). It is
variously translated, "inquire, make inquisition,
require, search, seek for, seek out." Gesenius
Hebrew Chaldee Lexicon
defines the word: "To rub, to beat, to tread, to trample, to
tread, or beat a path; to rub, to thresh...figuratively, TO LEARN, TO STUDY. Kindred to this are the roots mentioned...all
having the signification of treading" (p. 209). It means, "to tread a
place under the feet; hence, to go to a place, to frequent it...Farther, the signification of 'going to' is applied to that of seeking, inquiring, demanding;
also, of caring for. Hence -- to seek...to search after...to seek from anyone, to inquire...to apply oneself
to any thing, to STUDY, to follow, to
practice any thing."
"They that seek [doresh,
research] the LORD shall not want any good thing" (Psalm 34:10). "The humble
will hear this and be glad: and your heart shall live that SEEK [doresh,
research] God" (Psalm 69:32). Obviously, YEHOVAH God wants each one of us to
seek -- search after Him -- with all our being and might and
ability. If we seek Him with all our powers, we have His promise that we will
find Him and get to know Him. And when we find Him and get to know Him, the
connotation is that we will offer ourselves to Him in total obedience.
Your
Private Covenant with YEHOVAH God
Each one of us who has been baptized,
accepted Yeshua the Messiah as our Saviour, and received YEHOVAH's holy spirit (Acts 2:38; 5:32)
has entered into a covenantal relationship with YEHOVAH God, our Father. As
YEHOVAH said to
ancient Israel, "All of you stand today before the LORD your God...That you
may enter into COVENANT with the LORD your
God...which the LORD your God makes with you today, that He may establish you
today as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, just as He has
spoken to you...I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, but
with him who stands here with us today before the LORD our God, as well as with
him who is not here with us today" (Deuteronomy 29:10-15).
In the words of Rav Eliezer Ashkenazi
(1513-1586 A.D.) who cites this passage and says, concerning putting faith in
contemporary human beings as our teachers and interpreters:
