How to Study the Bible, YD 2007

Young Disciple Camp – July 2007

Deep Bible Study

Our Text: Isaiah 58:6-11 — Our Method: To be taught of God

 

Day One – Read the first evening

BEFORE WE GET TO OUR TEXT

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: Is 29:9-10.

Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand Da 12:10  .

 

What do these verses tell us? First, there are people that God will make to understand doctrine. These are individuals who have (a) exercised their powers of investigation. And these are individuals who have (b) begun searching for themselves.

No longer are they like nursing infants that only receive nutrition when someone brings it to them. Those taught of God have been weaned from dependence on others and have understood the fundamentals of the Christian Faith.

The second passage, Daniel 12:10, assures us that the wise will understand. If the wise understand and if God teaches those who are weaned from human dependence, then it must follow that: Wise Christians are weaned from human dependence. Think it through and see if this logic is sensible.

More than that, we are told that the wicked will not understand. Regardless of either the genius or the extensive researches of the Bible student, if he is yet a slave to his appetites and passions, he will not understand.

Supporting Passages: 1Co 3:1-2; Heb 5:12-6:3; 1 Pe 1:22-2:3; Ga 5:19-20.

Other conditions of being taught of God hinge on these same principles.

When we are willing to do whatever God may desire, He will teach us.

If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. John 7:17

 

When strengthened by the Spirit we understand deep meaning in simple statements.

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; . . . that ye . . . may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. . . Eph 3:16-19

 

WHEN WE ARE READY TO APPROACH OUR TEXT

Different prophets have written about the same ideas. Since the different prophets had different levels of education, different vocabularies, different writing habits and abilities, they have often chosen different words to talk about the same idea.

Here are some hints about how to find parallel passages that will help us understand the one we are studying.

 

1. Use creative word studies
   1. By computer or by Young’s Concordance
   2. By using Strong’s Lexicon
   3. By creative thought
2. By miracle – after depending on God’s promise to teach you
3. By cross references, and especially by the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (or by computer)

And here are some pitfalls that lead to misunderstanding of the scripture:

 

1. Using a lexicon to find what you think are “hidden meanings” or to expose what you think is a “poor translation.”
2. Looking for something new or odd or that might help you get attention from others.
3. Speculating at answers to the wrong questions—questions whose answers have never been revealed (See De 29:29).
4. Using equal signs for statements of positive relation (i.e. “Jim is tall” therefore anywhere I find the word “tall” I can substitute “Jim”)
5. Being hasty to make a conclusion

OK, NOW THE TEXT 

 

After the practice session…give a short study on Isaiah 58. It is written to (A) Spiritual Israel. It is written to those who look forward to Christ Coming (C) and to those that enjoy devotional time and (D) to those that have not forsaken the ordinance. Conclusion: It is for SDA’s. A special chapter for our church, for our movement.

 

DAY ONE EVENING ASSIGNMENT

Let’s practice. Read the chapter slowly two times with your pencil nearby. What do you observe? I will try to give you an idea of what I mean by sharing my observations from the first memory verse.

6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

Observations:

Our God has chosen a type of “fast.”

Our God likes to ask questions to make us think.

Wickedness has bands – causes bondage.

God’s fast releases men from bondage.

God’s fast takes heavy burdens off.

God’s fast lets oppressed persons go free.

God’s fast requires me to do something – “ye break…”

God’s fast is thorough – “every yoke”.

During the observation stage I am trying only to note truths that are actually in the text. My next step, other than asking more help from God, is to start studying some of these observations.

Tonight, you are to observe verses 7 – 11 for very simple short ideas like those above. Bring them to Deep Bible Study tomorrow.

Day Two – Read the second evening

For practice, let’s study the first of the observations I made yesterday from verse 6. “God has chosen a type of fast.” Next Step: Finding other parts of the Bible on the same topic.

 

Where else does the Bible talk about fasting? If I just do a word search on “fast” I might miss words like “fasted”, “fasting”, and “fasts.” A good plan, if I can use a computer, is to do a search for “fast*” The asterisk (*) tells the computer to find every verse that has a word that starts with the letters “fast” no matter how the word ends.

If I don’t have a computer to help me, I can do the same thing with a concordance. And I can use cross references from either the computer or from a study Bible to help me also.

Now I tried the “fast*” search and … it returned too many verses. It found words like “fasten” and phrases like “hold fast” and “fast asleep.” Perhaps I could do separate searches for “fast” and “fasted” and “fasting”, but if there are too many verses it may be more helpful to use the cross references.  That is what I decide to do next:

Cross References

In reading the passage it looks to me like the idea I am studying, of God choosing a fast, begins in verse 5. I want to find passages related to the topic, so I look for cross references to verse 5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. This morning (July 2) I read them for my devotions.

I found several stories that involved fasting. I love stories. They help me see how ideas fit together. And the mental pictures help me rememberhow they fit together.

Cross references lead me to the story of the revival under Nehemiah and Ezra. The revival involved fasting of a leader (Ezra) over the sins of his people. It also involved the fasting of the whole church over their own sin in marrying unbelievers. These stories are in Ezra 10 and Nehemiah 9.

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge also leads me to the story of Jehoshaphat (2Ch 20) when he was threatened by three large united armies. He led the nation in fasting and prayer. God rewarded him by saying that his people would not even need to fight for the victory God would give them. I found the story of Esther when she chose to risk her life to save her people. Her people had already prayed and fasted before she made the decision. She asked them to do it again after she made the decision. And what did God do? He turned everything around for them. The fasting is found in Esther 4.

I found that Jesus talked about which fasts God notices and rewards. That is a very similar topic to the Isaiah 58, so I mark Matthew 6 for further study.

And I am very excited to find Daniel 9 and Leveticus 16 listed as cross references on the topic of fasting. Why? Because I live at the end of earth’s history and I especially want to understand things related to the end of earth’s history. The sanctuary (the subject of Leveticus 16) and the book of Daniel are both subjects especially helpful in my day. Anytime I am studying a passage that is related to the truth for today, I will be glad to seek to know what it says about my life and how I should live.

Tonight, or in your devotions tomorrow, you are to read three stories or passages that speak about fasting. You could find your own or use the chapters mentioned above, but be sure you read Daniel 9. Tomorrow we will talk about what you noticed in that chapter. Bring your observations on Daniel 9 (up to verse 19) to Deep Bible Study tomorrow.

After the lesson, during the “practice time”, do not have them break into their groups. Rather, have them read silently right where they are…practicing silence… Have them read 1Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18. What are three religious things that people do for show? What is their reward when the do it for show? 2Or read Is 22:12-14. What was wrong with “joy and gladness”?   3Or read Jonah 5:5-8. Was this fast like the one described in Isaiah 58? What was its effect?

Also, regarding verse 7: Neh 5:5; Lu 10; 1Jo 3:17

Day Three – Read the third evening

Present Truth – Leveticus 16  

The book of Leveticus doesn’t even have the word “fast” in it. If I had just used a concordance I would not have connected it with Isaiah 58. The cross reference was very helpful here. Someone knew that when Leveticus 16 says men are to “afflict” their soul that it means doing just what Isaiah 58 is describing as a spiritual “fast.”

Leveticus 16 is all about the Day of Atonement.

I remember from my previous studies that since 1844, we are living in the Day of Atonement.

HINT => Memory plays an important part in being taught of God. The Spirit that guides us into all truth often guides us by bringing back to memory things God has taught us previously.

This is good news for you. When you start studying the Bible, the names of people and places, certain phrases, and new ways of thinking will be unfamiliar to you. You may get discouraged because you don’t understand hardly anything you are reading. What we are learning here is to get started. The things you learn today will help you learn tomorrow. And it will not be too long before you feel that the Bible is a familiar book—if you search it as a man digs for hidden treasures.

Read Leviticus 16. Did God’s people just watch the priests on the Day of Atonement, or did they have something to do? What did the common people have to do?

HINT => Is it possible that Isaiah 58 is about the Day of Atonement? Here comes an important discovery. We are about to study the context of our passage to see if we can learn something more about our topic.

Isaiah 58:1-2  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

HINT => A big part of studying the Bible involves praying to God for help and then asking yourself questions about the verse. Here are some questions I would ask myself from these two verses.

Does God claim people as his own who have sins and transgressions in their lives?

Do the people God claims in this passage have devotions? Consistently?

Do they enjoy learning about God and His truth?

Are they like people that have rejected one of God’s commands? Or like people who have not rejected one of them?

Do they pray for the world to end? For Jesus to return as the Judge of all the earth?

When I ask myself these questions I conclude that Isaiah 58 is written for Seventh-day Adventists. Can you see why I think so?

Tonight, or in your devotions tomorrow, find answers to the five questions above. Then you are to read your memory work, Isaiah 58:6-11 and write down things that we can do during the Day of Atonement that would please God. Bring your answers and list of helpful activities to Deep Bible Study tomorrow.

Day Four – Read the fourth evening

 

NOW MEDITATION

Our last verse, Isaiah 58:11, has an incredible promise.

And the LORD shall guide thee continually.

This thought is far too large to be understood in a moment. When we talk about deep Bible study we want to understand that deep doesn’t always mean symbolic or obscure. God’s love is deep. It is not symbolic. Many ideas in scripture are so profound that we need to pause when we find them. We need to take time to just think about them.

Try it. Close your eyes and think about what it would mean to have God guide you all the time. How wonderful and helpful that would be! Can you feel the verse changing your heart while you take the time to meditate on it? That is how simple truths become deep truths.

NOW DISCOVERY

During these four days I have shared a number of little hints on how to study the Bible. Some of them you have read already.  Many other ideas are in two outlines that you can review tonight. If you do not understand a few of the ideas, or do not remember them, that is OK.

What you are going to do tonight is pick one of the verses in our passage…any verse except verse 6…and practice studying it. Use whatever you have learned this week. When you come tomorrow, come prepared to not only share what you found, but to share how you found it.

Tonight, or in your devotions tomorrow, read the two outlines: “How to Study the Bible” and “Additional Thoughts.” Then read Isaiah 58:6-11. Pick one of the verses (7 to 11) and spend 25 minutes to one hour studying it. Bring your findings (and how you found them) to Deep Bible Study tomorrow.  [Since many of you may not have good cross references available to you, I have give the cross references from the Online Bible for each of the verses below.].

VERSE SEVEN: Isa 58:10; Job 22:7; Job 31:18-21; Ps 112:9; Pr 22:9; Pr 25:21; Pr 28:27; Ec 11:1-2; Eze 18:7, 16; Da 4:27; Mt 25:35-40; Lu 11:41; Lu 19:8; Ro 12:20-21; 2Co 9:6 -10; 1Ti 5:10; Phm 1:7; Jas 2:15-16; 1Jo 3:17-18; Isa 16:3-4; Ge 18:2-5; Ge 19:2; Jud 19:20-21; Ac 16:15, 34; Ro 12:13; Heb 13:2-3; 2Ch 28:15; Job 31:19-20; Eze 18:7; Mt 25:35-45; Lu 3:11; Ge 19:14; Jud 9:2; Ne 5:5; Lu 10:26-36; 1Jo 3:17

VERSE EIGHT: Isa 58:10; Isa 58:11; Job 11:17; Ps 37:6; Ps 97:11; Ps 112:4; Pr 4:18; Ho 6:3; Mal 4:2; Isa 57:18; Jer 33:6; Ho 6:2; Ho 14:4; Mt 13:15; Ps 85:13; Ac 10:4; Ac 10:31; Ac 10:35; Isa 52:12; Ex 14:19

VERSE NINE:  Isa 1:15; Isa 30:19; Isa 65:24; Ps 34:15-17; Ps 37:4; Ps 50:15; Ps 66:18-19; Ps 91:15; Ps 118:5; Jer 29:12-13; Mt 7:7-8; 1Jo 3:21-22; Ge 27:18; 1Sa 3:4-8; Isa 58:6; Isa 57:4; Pr 6:13; Isa 59:3-4; Ps 12:2; Eze 13:8; Zec 10:2

VERSE TEN: Isa 58:7; De 15:7-10; Ps 41:1; Ps 112:5-9; Pr 11:24-25; Pr 14:31; Pr 28:27; Lu 18:22; Isa 58:8; Isa 29:18; Job 11:17; Ps 37:6

VERSE ELEVEN: Isa 49:10; Ps 25:9; Ps 32:8; Ps 48:14; Ps 73:24; Joh 16:13; 1Th 3:11; Isa 33:16; Job 5:20; Ps 33:19; Ps 34:9-10; Ps 37:19; Jer 17:8; Ho 13:5; Ps 92:14; Pr 3:8; Pr 11:25; Pr 13:4; Pr 28:25; Isa 61:11; So 4:15; Jer 31:12; Eze 36:35; Job 6:15-20

How to study the Bible – An Outline

 

1. What kind of person to be so God can teach me
2. A man that is willing to do God’s will
3. A man that is wise
4. A man that is single-mindedly believing
   1. What to do to be taught of God
   2. Earnestly pray for help in understanding—always
   3. Carefully read the passage in context, perhaps repeatedly
      1. Note observations
      2. Emphasize various words
      3. Be familiarizing yourself with scripture
      4. Make yourself a channel for God’s blessings
      5. Use the best tools
         1. The Bible itself
         2. The Concordance
            1.                                                                                                                                        i.      Not for etymology
            2.                                                                                                                                       ii.      Not for translation correction
            3. The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
            4. Cross References and textual notes
            5. Brethren of experience
            6. Find parallel passages
               1. By using the tools in 5 a-d
               2. By miracle and open-eyed reading
               3. Explore contexts of parallel passages
               4. Meditate
               5. Find inspired commentary on the context
                  1. NT on OT
                  2. SOP on NT or OT
                  3. Take copious notes
                  4. Share immediately and repeatedly
                     1. What not to do
                     2. Use point 8b as a substitute for the work of digging. God will not cooperate.
                     3. “Strive about words”
                     4. Use forms of “be” uncritically as verbal equal signs
                     5. Treasure shock-value or oddity; or try to prove you are smart
                     6. Follow a man’s development of a thought uncritically
                     7. Reject a man’s development of a thought without giving it a hearing
                     8. Listen to teachers known to be causing divisions and problems by opposing the truth you have learned
                     9. Entertain foolish questions that require speculative answers
                     10. Search the Bible for evidence to support your position
                         1. Rather, seek for evidence regarding your position
                         2. Rather, take no position until the evidence is in
                         3. Use a two-way passage, or an obscure one, to explain a simple passage
                            1. How to conclude
                            2. Write logically and simply
                            3. Use the plain-practical clever
                               1. If it passes, test it with the Brethren
                               2. If it fails, store it for future use
                               3. Express your thankfulness to God for teaching you.
                                  1. Privately
                                  2. Individually when sharing with another
                                  3. Publicly, making efforts not to exalt self

 

Additional Thoughts:

1. Study when you are alert
2. Start with appropriate material – incrementally challenging
3. Memorize – your arsenal for quick advancement
4. Keep the mind uncluttered by wicked and vain thoughts
5. Find a private place
6. Give yourself sufficient time

VII. Remember that pay-day in research is later rather than earlier

1. Reread Stories for new meaning
2. Do your homework in your Father’s Home-School
   1. Revelation 3, 7, 12-14; Daniel 7-9, 12
   2. Isaiah 53, 58; Righteousness by Faith
   3. Master the fundamentals early
   4. Study passages rather than verses
      1. Think of passages as connected
      2. Recognize sections
      3. Pray interactively as you read; ask God what a phrase means; ask for help; repent of evil thoughts

XII. Carefully use faith-based commentaries

1. Like those from www.onlinebible.net
2. Like those from SDA Pioneers
3. Treat commentaries as friends; not as teachers
4. Know your computer program. Here are hints related to “online Bible.”
   1. I can search for unordered words or phrases
   2. I can search several versions of the scripture and other books simultaneously
   3. I can copy or “append” to the clipboard
   4. I can toggle between showing Strong’s numbers and not, and between showing marginal readings and not. Typically, I keep marginal readings on.
   5. When I want to look up a word in the lexicon, I toggle to showing Strong’s numbers and then hover over the number.
   6. I can search for a Strong’s number. I can mix numbers and words in my search.
   7. I can view, in one window, the texts of TSK by showing “cross references.”
   8. The best commentaries, when I need to use one, appear to be “Clarke”, “Henry,” “Gill,” and “Jamieson, Fausset and Brown.” None are SDA and the closer you get to material that was once sealed, the less helpful they are.
   9. Know that God uses curiosity to make assignments. When you wonder “why?” it is often because He arranged for you to wonder it by writing something out of the ordinary. (See Ex 12:26; 13:8; Josh 4:21.) Do your assignment.
   10. In complex passages try this: Start with the last phrase and work backwards. If a verse said “read truth for it will help those who for the love of God are giving their lives for the benefit of others to see them saved” you would read it like this “To see people saved is the benefit that is worth dying for. The love of God motivates us to that kind of giving. Those that are motivated like that are benefited from reading truth.” Hebrews tend to write “effect, cause, cause, cause.” Englishman tend to write “cause, cause, cause, effect.” Reading “backwards” will simplify many long sentences.
   11. Use a Bible dictionary for unfamiliar words like “rereward”

Day Five – Now it is time to share. See below.

AND NOW SHARING

When we come back to share, remember that our goal is not to prove that we are smart, but to honor God for the gift of understanding He has given us through His Spirit.

 

What if there is not enough time for you to share during the service? This is the best part of learning: You can share with anyone whenever you can find a good opportunity to talk.

And when you share what you have learned, God will teach you more. When you share what you have learned, God will help you understand it better. When you share what you have learned, it will become easier to remember what you have learned. Sharing is the best.

Tonight, or tomorrow, share something special you have learned this week with one of your friends here at camp. Then invite them to share with you something they have learned.

That is your last assignment for Deep Bible Study at camp this year. Do the assignment over and over and over and you will have a wonderful year of discovery before you come back for camp next summer.

Amos 9:8  Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.

9  For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

10  All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

11 ¶  In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

Is 58:1 ¶  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

Isa 56:10  His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

Ps 40:9  I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.

Ps 40:10  I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

Jer 1:17  Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.

Jer 1:18  For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.

Jer 1:19  And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.

Every unkind criticism of others, every thought of self-esteem, is “the putting forth of the finger and speaking vanity.” This lifting up of self in pride, as if you were faultless, and magnifying the faults of others, is offensive to God. It is breaking his law, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” “Be kindly affectioned one toward another.” We have no right to withdraw our confidence from a brother because of some evil report, some accusation or supposition of wrong. Frequently the report is made by those who are at enmity with God, those who are doing the enemy’s work as accusers of the brethren.  {HM, January 1, 1892 par. 5}

Some one not so mindful as he should have been of Christ’s words, “Take heed how ye hear,” allowed his unsanctified ears to hear wrong, his perverted senses to imagine wrong, and his evil tongue to report wrong. Many a man will not come openly to talk with the one he thinks in error, but will go to others, and under the mask of friendship and sympathy for the erring, he will cast reflections. Sometimes he openly agrees with the one whom he covertly seeks to injure. Suppositions are stated as facts, without giving the person charged with wrong, a clear, definite statement of his supposed errors, and without giving him a chance to answer the charges. This is all contrary to the teaching of Christ. It is the subtle way in which Satan always works. Those who do such things have set themselves up as judges, through admitting evil thoughts. One who engages in this work, communicates to his hearers a measure of his own spirit of darkness and unbelief; his evil surmisings sow in their minds the seeds of bitterness and suspicion toward one whom God has delegated to do a certain work. If he makes a mistake, it is seized upon, magnified, and reported to others, and thus many are led to take up the reproach against their neighbor. They watch eagerly for all that is wrong, and close their eyes to all that is commendable and righteous.  {HM, January 1, 1892 par. 6}

I call your attention to the sure results of heeding the Lord’s admonition to care for the afflicted: “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.” Is not this what we all crave? O, there is health and peace in doing, the will of our Heavenly Father. “Thy righteousness shalt go before thee; the glory of the Lord shalt be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”  {MM, June 1, 1891 par. 11}

Let Christians now repent before God of their half-hearted work. Let them regard themselves as only threads in the great web of humanity, and without delay redeem the time and represent to the world a pure, unselfish benevolence. Representing in character the attributes of Christ, they may carry forward to a glorious completion the work which he left them of reconciling the world unto himself.  {MM, June 1, 1891 par. 12}

This is the special work now before us. All our praying and abstinence from food will avail nothing unless we resolutely lay hold of this work. Sacred obligations are resting upon us. Our duty is plainly stated. The Lord has spoken to us by His prophet. The thoughts of the Lord and His ways are not what blind, selfish mortals believe they are or wish them to be. The Lord looks on the heart. If selfishness dwells there, He knows it. We may seek to conceal our true character from our brethren and sisters, but God knows. Nothing can be hid from Him.  {2T 34.1}

The fast which God can accept is described. It is to deal thy bread to the hungry and to bring the poor which are cast out to thy house. Wait not for them to come to you. The labor rests not on them to hunt you up and entreat of you a home for themselves. You are to search for them and bring them to your house. You are to draw out your soul after them. You are with one hand to reach up and by faith take hold of the mighty arm which brings salvation, while with the other hand of love you reach the oppressed and relieve them. It is impossible for you to fasten upon the arm of God with one hand while the other is employed in ministering to your own pleasure.  {2T 34.2}

If you engage in this work of mercy and love, will the work prove too hard for you? Will you fail and be crushed under the burden, and your family be deprived of your assistance and influence? Oh, no; God has carefully removed all doubts upon this question, by a pledge to you on condition of your obedience. This promise covers all that the most exacting, the most hesitating, could crave. “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.” Only believe that He is faithful that hath promised. God can renew the physical strength. And more, He says He will do it. And the promise does not end here. “Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.” God will build a fortification around thee. The promise does not stop even here. “Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.” If ye put down oppression and remove the speaking of vanity, if ye draw out your soul to the hungry, “then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought [famine], and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”  {2T 35.1}

Am 8:11  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

MAINTHOUGHTSFORSABBATHSCHOOL

 

1. Selfless Service brings Spiritual Filling; Spiritual Filling brings All Other Blessings; John 7:38-39
2. Putting forth the finger means “a fault-finding spirit”; speaking vanity means “lifting oneself by putting down another.”; Is 29:20-21; Jer 20:9-11 [two terrible ones]
3. Hunger and Thirst – Give [lessons] to Receive [lessons] Am 8:11
4. Continual Guidance – Is 30:20-21

For the Word Document, Click here: How to Study the Bible — YD 2007