“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!”

It is imperative for all of us to approach the Scriptures with much humility and willingness to learn something new.

The original mandate for the Israelites from God had been to drive the Canaanites out of the promised land but within perhaps as little as a generation or two after entering the land, the opposite had sadly taken place.

One of the most challenging things to do when studying the Bible is reading it without bias. An intellectually honest person will admit that they have biases and tend to filter their Bible reading through a particular lens.

Let us reflect on our responsibility to ensure that God’s word is faithfully taught, reminding each other of our shared convictions, preaching to anyone who will listen and teaching our young.

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:4-5

Chiasms don’t change the text’s meaning, but they do enhance the message and highlight the author’s main point.

A chiasm helps us understand the importance of repeated words in the Biblical text. Reading the Biblical text while understanding the power of chiasms, which are used extensively in Scripture, is a powerful Bible study tool.

The book of Exodus presents two perspectives: those of Yahweh and those of Pharaoh. One of the crucial exhortations for the children of Israel concerns which viewpoint they would adopt. Would they take after Pharaoh or seek after God?

When I was was about 15 years old, I discovered a surprising Bible study technique when I began reading from an RSV instead of a KJV. The RSV was organized by paragraphs, not verse by verse. When I started reading the Bible by context, it began to make more sense to me. I found I could better remember Bible verses based on how they fit into the context, knowing who said it and in what circumstance.

The pronouncement of Samson’s birth to Manoah’s wife included important information about the work of Samson.

Last month we began looking at the importance of names in the book of Exodus, or its Hebrew title Shemot. We continue this month by surveying other passages that speak about the significance of names. If you haven't read Part 1 yet, click here: Shemot Part 1