Howard Hendricks' Living by the Book has many intriguing stories, illustrations and insights. Below are my notes as a mere distillation of concepts & checklists as a reference if while you're reading the Bible you don't have Howard Hendricks' Living by the Book handy.
1. Observation: what do you see?
2. Interpretation: what does it mean?
3. Application: how does it work?
OBSERVATION
1. Terms: key word (verb) crucial to message of author
2. Structure: grammar
3. Literary Form: genre, poetry, etc
4. Atmosphere: setting & feeling “transport our senses into the passage”
INTERPRETATION
1. Questions: list
2. Answers: find these in the Bible-spend A Lot of time in Observation
3. Integration: reconstruct meaning of the passage after having taken it apart to inspect the details
Three Habits:
1. Read: to resonate
2. Record: insights
3. Reflect: understand & apply
APPLICATION
1. How does it work for me?
2. How does it work for others?
OBSERVATION
Terms-May be a seemingly insignificant word like ‘but,’ which denotes contrast, what place does this term have here and more broadly?
Atmosphere-the importance of place
Context-relate verse to book as a whole
Who are people involved-who is ‘you,’ strategic positions
Tense-(future?)
Sequence-sometimes indicates importance
READING
1. Thoughtfully-what is strange about this?
2. Repeatedly-different translations/languages, listen, read out loud, schedule
3. Patiently-wait on secondary sources, target 4-6 weeks to study each book
4. Selectively-focus on lures: who, what (happening, wrong, etc), where (is, going...), when (what time...), why (everything...), so what (wherefore)
5. Prayerfully-adoration, confession, petition (claiming God’s promises)
6. Imaginatively-“Lord, please clothe the facts in fascination,” rewrite text in own paraphrase, read in different setting
7. Meditatively-
8. Purposefully-grammatical structure (verbs, subject & object, modifiers, prepositional phrases & connectives), literary structure (biographical, geographical, historical, chronological, ideological), purpose statements
9. Acquisitively-retain what you read, get involved in the reading (references, places, psychological profile, etc)
10. Telescopically-connectives, context within story, part of whole, historical context (how much was known about God at time of writing?)
Look for these things:
1. Emphasized- amount of space, stated purpose, order (pairing, lesser to greater, etc)
2. Repeated- terms, phrases, clauses; characters; incidents & circumstances; patterns & juxtaposition; New Testament referencing Old Testament
3. Related- general to specific, Q&A, cause & effect
4. Alike- similes, metaphor
5. Unlike- term: But, metaphor: set up effective contrast, irony: strange
6. True to life- real person’s ambitions, goals, responses
Additional Broader Observation Frameworks
1. Split chapters/subjects into segments
2. Create a chart for repeated or multiple similar events to compare & composite
3. Summarize/Thesis, challenge
Charts:
1. Relationships, be creative, simple
INTERPRETATION
Time & Distance have setup barriers:
1. Language
2. Cultural
3. Literary
4. Communication
Avoid Hazards
1. Misreading
2. Distorting
3. Contradicting
4. Subjective
5. Relative-only one proper interpretation
6. Overconfidence
Genres
1. Exposition: straightforward, key words: for, therefore, but, and
2. Narrative & Biography: story, how do characters navigate conflict?
3. Parables/Allegories: seeing things in a new way
4. Poetry: hyperbole, parallelism; who wrote, why, when
5. Proverbs/wisdom: principles, not promises
6. Prophesy: forth-telling, God speaking through a messenger to share what God will do
7. See chart page 217 for additional details
Keys to Interpretation
1. Content: all in Observation
2. Context: Literary, Historical, Cultural, Geographical, Theological
3. Comparison: shades of meaning in a term, eg ‘belief’ and ‘Moses’ look at all mentions throughout the Word
4. Culture: a form of Context along with Historical
5. Consultation (Tools): Concordance, Bible Dictionary, Bible Handbook, Atlas, Commentary
Figurative Language
1. Literal unless good reason not to (Occam’s razor)
2. Figurative when explicit or figure of speech
3. Figurative if literal is absurd, contrary to text, scripture, doctrine/character/book style/author purpose or immoral
4. See chart page 266 for Figures of Speech
Passive vs Active verbs
APPLICATION
what does it say, what does it mean, how does it work?
Make the truth attractive, applied
Substitutes (bad):
1. Interpretation for Application: put understanding into action
2. Superficial obedience for Substantive Life-change
3. Rationalization for Repentance
4. Emotional experience for Volitional decision (no real change)
5. Communication for Transformation
There are many Observations.
This is one Interpretation.
There are many Applications.
1. Come
2. Conviction
3. Confirm
4. Conversion
Four Steps of Application
1. Know the text & yourself
2. Relate the text to your experience
3. Meditate: take time to think
4. Practice
Nine Qs of Application:
1. Is there an example for me to follow?
2. Is there a sin to avoid?
3. Is there a promise to claim?
4. Is there a prayer to repeat?
5. Is there a command to obey?
6. Is there a condition to meet?
7. Is there a verse to memorize?
8. Is there an error to mark?
9. Is there a challenge to face?
Studying Culture
1. Power
2. Communication
3. Money
4. Ethnicity
5. Gender
6. Generations
7. Religion & worldview
8. The Arts
9. History & Time
10. Place
Principles (powerful)
1. Should correlate with Scripture
2. Should speak to needs, interests, questions & problems of real life today
3. Should indicate a course of action
4. Should be supported by other believers
Action
1. Decide to change
2. Make a specific plan
3. Follow through with accountability and tracking progress
Personal Bible Study Program
1. Determine objectives
2. Establish priorities
3. Set a schedule
4. Develop discipline
