Dig Deeper by Nigel Beynon and Andrew Sach

Dig Deeper by Nigel Beynon and Andrew Sach is a book that really helps individuals who want to read the bible but do it with a few "tools". Each chapter introduces you to these tools - author's purpose, context, structure, linking words and so on. For me it has been a personal revelation in my daily reading of God's word. The style of writing is so easy and it makes you want to use what has been expressed through the dig deeper worked examples.

The Tools in each chapter include:

The Author's Purpose Tool
The Context Tool
The Structure Tool
The Linking Words Tool
The Parallels Tool
The Narrator's Comment Tool
The Vocabulary Tool
The Translations Tool
The Tone and Feel Tone
The Repetition Tool
The Quotation/Allusion Tool
The Genre Tool
The Copycat Tool
The Bible Timeline Tool
The "Who Am I" Tool
The "So What?" Tool

INTRODUCTION

In the opening introduction we are reminded of the joys of understanding the bible correctly:

You hear the voice of your heavenly Father speaking to you.

You learn what he is really like from his own lips.

You discover the wonderful truth of salvation and how to be sure of heaven

You find out the things that are on God's heart, what really matters to him about this world and his will for your life.

The truth actually changes you - it doesn't just inform you of things, it does things in you.

Reading the bible is both a science and an art. By calling it a science we mean that as a discipline it is rigorous and structured: There are certain principles to follow in order to understand the bible correctly. It is also an art. It is something you learn by doing, something you "catch" as well as get taught, something intuitive as much as logical.

CHAPTER 1 - WHAT THE BIBLE IS AND HOW WE SHOULD APPROACH IT

If someone asked you "why do you bother reading the bible? Isn't it out of date? How would you respond?

The bible is something that the eternal almighty God has said and therefore it is relevant and important for all times and cultures. "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands for ever." (Isaiah 40 verse 8)

The bible is a divine book, spoken by God and therefore it is always true and relevant. And yet at the same time it is a human book, written by people a long time ago, and therefore it is in some senses "dated".

How is it a divine book? It comes directly from God. Behind the various human authors he is the ultimate author. "All scripture is God-breathed" 2 Timothy 3 verse 16.

Jesus himself told his disciples that they were to be his witnesses and speak for him after he had left - John 15 verse 27; 17 verse 20. They went on to write the books and letters we call the New Testament. He promised them the help of the Holy Spirit - John 16 verses 12 to 14.

There are 4 implications that flow from it being a divine book:

The bible is alive not dead history.

The bible doesn't make mistakes

We can understand the word of God only by the Spirit of God.

What God says goes.

How is it a human book? It was written by individuals - it is written by particular people at a particular time in a particular place for a particular reason. The way God speaks to us is through human authors.

We must work at understanding the different writers correctly exploring their situations, their purpose in writing, how they have expressed themselves. As we do that, we will come to know God's voice in our lives.

CHAPTER 2: THE AUTHOR'S PURPOSE TOOL

Remember the bible author's wrote their books with a particular purpose in mind.

For instance John wrote with the particular aim of showing us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, so that we will come to believe in him and so have life.

Ask yourself: why did the author write this?

The following questions might be helpful when reading a New Testament letter or an Old Testament prophet:

Who is writing and to whom?

What is the situation of the author and of the readers?

Are we made aware of any problems that need to be addressed?

Are there any repeated themes or a single idea that holds everything together?

CHAPTER 3: THE CONTEXT TOOL

A text without a context is a con!

There are different levels of context. A sentence comes in the context of a paragraph. A paragraph comes in the context of a chapter or section. A chapter comes in the context of a whole bible book. Lastly, the book comes in the context of the whole bible - but that's something that we'll look at separately using the Bible Timeline tool. It is very important that, as we study any part of the bible, we ask how it fits with what comes before and after.

CHAPTER 4: THE STRUCTURE TOOL

A good place to start in a large section of scripture is to subdivide the passage into smaller more manageable sections that we can deal with one at a time. Yet at the same time we want to keep the big picture in mind, otherwise we just end up with isolated verses again and defeat the whole object of tackling a bigger passage in the first place.

The key to looking at the parts without losing sight of the whole (seeing the wood and the trees) is to pay attention to the structure of the passage, asking 2 questions:

1. How has the author broken down his material into sections?

2. How do those sections fit together?

The first stage, then, is to try to discern the way that the author wants us to subdivide the passage.

For a narrative, imagine that you are a film director or a playwright and try to identify the changes of scene. For a dialogue, you could break it up according to who is speaking.

Occasionally the important ideas in a passage are not dealt with sequentially, but rather they are woven together throughout the whole thing. In those cases, attempts to force everything into subsections might not be all that profitable; you would be better off tackling the passage thematically - identify 2 or 3 key topics and consider the whole thing under those headings. It's best to look for sequential divisions first, and to resort to a thematic approach only if that fails.

Having identified your subsections, it is useful to give a title to each one, summing up very briefly what you think it is about. This forces you to pin yourself down and come up with something concrete; you can always change it later.

The second crucial step in using the Structure tool is to work out how your sections fit together. In a letter the different sections might connect together to form a logical argument, while in a narrative the different scenes might contrast with or complement one another. Seeing how the author has structured what he is saying will help us to move towards the unifying big idea of the passage as a whole.

An important structural technique used in the bible is to put the same phrase at the beginning and end of a section, rather like a pair of bookends. As well as providing a satisfying poetical symmetry, a pair of bookends signal that everything in between belongs together. That can be a big help when you are trying to divide a book into sections. Often there is an important connection between the bookends themselves and what comes in between them.

Today I was reading the chapter on the structure tool and the worked example was on Jonah - how ironic that this was the chapter we studied on Sunday morning in church! What we see in this chapter is what is called a "chiasm". In Hebrew its common to put the punchline in the middle of the story. In Jonah chapter 1 the punchline is when Jonah says "I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." Jonah makes this claim but he is hypocrite. He talks but his life doesn't match up, his belief and behaviour is so wide. That challenged me - does what I say I believe match with what I actually do?

The sailors response - they really do fear God. In fact they mention this 3 times in the chapter. When God calms the sea after Jonah is thrown overboard they are exceedingly afraid. They are more afraid at this breathtaking demonstration of God's power over nature than they are of their own mortality.

Those who truly fear God wont do a Jonah. But even for hypocrites like Jonah there is a second chance.

CHAPTER 5: THE LINKING WORDS TOOL

"If", "since", "consequently", "for this reason", "therefore", "because", "so that" - these are all linking words, and they are worth their weight in gold. These words can help us to see the flow of an argument: they reveal cause-and-effect relationships between different statements. As a wise man once said, "If you see a "therefore", always ask what it's there for." And the same goes for all the other linking words.

For and therefore are both words that show the flow of thought, but they point in different directions. Therefore arrows go from left from right. What comes before the arrow is the reason and whatever comes afterwards is usually the result or consequence that flows from it.

Words like therefore: consequently, for this reason, thus

Words like for: because, since, so

The "if" statement tells you that a certain action is recommended in a certain situation. Thus the advice is conditional upon a set of circumstances.

One final ultra important linking phrase is "so that". Sometimes it is there to tell us the purpose behind something.

Sometimes it introduces the result of something.

For His letters say they are weighty and powerful but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible." 2 Corinthians 10 verse 10

Paul is defending himself and his ministry in the face of some "super-apostles" who were saying things like this about him. They were great orators, schooled in the Greek art of rhetoric. They were impressive in every way. While Paul spent much of his time banged up in prison, they boasted a more "successful" type of Christianity. No doubt they had many converts. Probably they charged lots of money for their own spiritual services and lived in great luxury. It makes you think of those modern day televangelists who drive around in fancy cars but you can't help thinking that its got more to do with the fact that they keep urging you to dial in with your credit card details.

Paul actually continues by telling just how weak and rubbish he is - verses 24 and 25.

Makes us feel pretty rubbish. I wish I could be successful in evangelism but I'm not. I feel small and unimpressive.

Paul explains the reason for all this in a series of "so that" statements. It is no accident that Paul experiences weakness. It is quite deliberate on God's part. God arranges things that way so that Paul might trust in God and not in himself.

Imagine you are a dynamic, witty, good-looking, brilliant speaker. And through your impressive preaching, someone becomes a Christian. Was there conversion just down to the power of your sparkling personality?

Maybe you are quite ordinary. Imagine you tell someone the gospel with faltering words and a tremor in your voice because you are nervous. Imagine that you are unpopular with some people you know because of your "extreme" views about religion. And someone is converted. Well its obvious that its God who has done it. It's obvious that "this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us."

And so that's the way that God has chosen to work.

You have to use context to decide which it is.

CHAPTER 6: THE PARALLELS TOOL

Poetry in the bible uses something called "parallelism".

example: "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." Psalm 24 verses 1 and 2

The 2 halves of each verse parallel each other - "the earth" is the same as "the world". "Founded it upon the seas" is equivalent to "established it upon the waters". In bother cases the same thing is said twice in slightly different words. That's the Hebrew way of doing poetry. When you get used to it, you'll find it just as beautiful as a rhyme.

There are a couple of variations on the theme that are worth mentioning briefly. Antithetical parallelism is when the second half of the verse gives the opposite perspective to the first line by way of contrast:

example "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control." Proverbs 29 verse 11

Chiastic parallelism is when the second half of the verse says the same as the first half but flips the word order around:

example "the torrent would have gone over us then over us would have gone the raging waters." Psalm 124 verses 4 and 5

Parallelism is nice because it is poetic, it sounds good. But it can also help us to grasp the meaning of a passage. For one thing it gives you 2 chances to understand something: if you don't get it the first time, the parallel expression might help.

example: Isaiah 55 verse 6 urges his hearers to "Seek the Lord while he may be found". You might wonder what that means. How do you go about seeking for God? Where are you supposed to look? However the verse continues: "call on him while he is near." Seek the Lord is paralleled by call on him. In other words, we are to seek God by calling out to him in prayer, asking him to help us.

Identifying parallel expressions can help us to unravel obscure verses in other parts of the bible, even when they're not poetry as such.

CHAPTER 7: THE NARRATOR'S COMMENT TOOL

Have you ever stood in front of a piece of modern art and wondered what on earth it is all about? It's not particularly complicated - there are only 3 lines and 2 blocks of colour on the canvas. But while it's simple at one level you haven't a clue what is going on. Imagine that at that moment the artist was standing behind you and whispered in your ear, "It's a picture of the disconnectedness of our modern lives." You look again at the picture, and it makes a bit more sense. There is a sense of things being disconnected in the picture. Or maybe, you might feel that the artist is somewhat disconnected from real artistic talent. There are times when we have similar feelings when reading parts of the bible.

Think about narrative passages - we read about people being born, people dying, people becoming kings or slaves, people travelling from one place to another. The events themselves are reasonably straightforward and easy to understand. But what does it mean? So often these stories feel like modern art, where the "what" is easy (3 lines and 2 blocks of colour) but the "why" seems beyond reach.

Fortunately the author occasionally breaks into the narrative and gives us a brief commentary on what is happening, a word of explanation. That's a big help. It is like reading about various events and having the author whisper in our ear "This is what is going on."

CHAPTER 8: THE VOCABULARY TOOL

The bible has its own distinctive vocabulary and uses words in a certain way.

As you read the bible you'll come across some words which we use very little in everyday English. They are the bible's technical terms, what we might call "big bible words".

Ultimately words take their meaning from the way that they are used.

Words that we use all the time can be even more problematic. We often assume we know what they mean without checking whether the bible is using them in the same way that we do. We must be careful not to assume that the bible uses a word in the same way as we do.

Sometimes the meaning of a word can vary in the bible. It might be used differently by different authors, or perhaps by the same author in different contexts.

Biblical names often have special significance.

CHAPTER 9: THE TRANSLATIONS TOOL

It does seem that there are endless bible translations to choose from, and still more come out every year. There are great advantages in owning more than one translation, not least because it allow sus to use the Translations tool!

The bible was originally written in Hebrew and Greek. Hebrew for the Old Testament (except for a few bits that are in Aramaic) and Greek for the New Testament. Some English versions seek to translate these ancient languages very literally word for word. This means that the reader can get very close to what the Hebrew and Greek are saying, but the disadvantage is that the resulting English can be difficult to read, or even obscure in places.

Other versions have a different translation philosophy. Rather than rendering the Greek and Hebrew word for word, they instead try to translate idea for idea.. This is technically known as the principle of "dynamic equivalence". The result is a translation that is easier to understand, but not so close to the actual working of the original.

At the more literal end of the spectrum are the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and the English Standard Version (ESV). The Authorized (King James) Version (AV/KJV) is also literal, but in the few hundred years since it was first published some better Greek manuscripts have come to light and so more recent translations are often to be preferred. At the more "readable" end the best paraphrase is probably the New Living Translation (NLT). The popular New International Version (NIV) is somewhere in the middle.

One disadvantage of dynamic-equivalent translations is that they can obscure some of the details of the text that we've learnt to value for our toolkit.

CHAPTER 10: THE TONE AND FEEL TOOL

There is more to language than just conveying statements of fact. Poetry especially has the power to change the way we feel.

The Tone and Feel tool reminds us that as we come to the bible, we should pay attention not only to the point that is being made (although that is the first priority), but also how it is being made. We mustn't reduce the richness of bible literature simply to a list of logical statements; we want to be alert to the author's tone, to immerse ourselves in the picture that he paints in such a way that our imaginations are awakened and our emotions are engaged.

With a narrative, it's often the small details that put flesh on the bones, and make the story more three-dimensional. Perhaps a particular character is brought to the fore, and the writer spends a little extra time sketching their circumstances so that we can really identify with them.

CHAPTER 11: THE REPETITION TOOL

One of the ways a bible writer can get our attention or make sure we don't miss something important is to say it more than once. Our ears should always prick up if we see the same word or phrase cropping up again and again. It is obviously something the author wanted us to notice - very possibly the heart of what he is saying.

Coloured pencils or highlighter pens are the friend of the Repetition tool. Choose a different colour for each repeated feature that you notice.

The Repetition tool works not only for repeated words or phrases, but also for repeated ideas.

On other occasions, repetition might prompt us to reach for our Structure tool.

CHAPTER 12: THE QUOTATION/ALLUSION TOOL

Sometimes the bible quotes the bible too. Later writers (eg Paul) may quote earlier writers (eg Moses) to explain and back up what they're saying. Sometimes they quote only a few words, and you might want to go back and read the whole paragraph or chapter to get the context.

In fact, it's always a good idea to look up the original context of a quotation, in case the later writer wants us to think not just about the few words that he copies out, but the whole of the section that they were taken from. Many modern bibles will give you the appropriate cross-reference in a footnote.

Allusions are harder to spot than quotations, because there's nothing explicit to tell you that another part of the bible is being referred to - no "it is written" or "this happened to fulfil the words of the prophet" or anything like that. Just an echo of another part of Scripture, which you'll notice only if you're tuned in.

Of course, our problem is that we don't know the Old Testament well enough to spot these illusions. A cross-reference bible will often get you off the hook, but you shouldn't miss the challenge of getting to know the bible better for yourself!

So how can you tell if an allusion is real or spurious? A general rule of thumb is that the more specific or unusual the expression, the less likely it is that its use in 2 places in the bible is coincidental.

CHAPTER 13: THE GENRE TOOL

There are many different genres in the bible - songs, prophecies, proverbs, laments, visions, speeches, parables, historical narrative. Identifying the genre is very important to how we interpret a passage.

Once you have decided on the genre, here are 2 general principles to follow:

1. When something is presented as historical fact, pause to consider that it really happened.

2. When something is presented as imagery/metaphor, don't base crazy predictions of the future on its being literally and physically true.

When we say you should pause to consider that historical things really happened, we're talking about the danger of jumping so quickly to the spiritual lesson behind an event that we miss the fact that it was an event at all.

The fact that something happened doesn't mean that it can't have theological or metaphorical significance as well. Miracles, especially, are almost always performed to teach us something; the apostle John prefers to call them "signs" because, like signposts, they point to a truth beyond themselves. Let's never forget that the Gospels are not merely a written philosophy but eyewitness testimony to someone whom the apostles had "seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched." (1 John 1 verse 1).

There are other genres where we need to read things figuratively and not literally.

CHAPTER 14: THE COPYCAT TOOL

Sometimes we are to follow the example of people we read about in the bible. But not always! And even good things they do are not always normative; that is, they may not hold for all Christians at all times. There is a danger in mistaking something that the bible describes for something that it prescribes.

We must also be clear that the copycat approach isn't always wrong. Sometimes the bible does hold up people and their various experiences as examples for us to imitate (or avoid).

How can we know whether any given passage in the bible is prescriptive or merely descriptive? How can we tell whether or not we should follow someone as an example?

For one thing, we can ask whether it fits with or contradicts what is said elsewhere in the bible. The better we know our bibles, the better we will be guarded from drawing wrong conclusions from what we read.

Perhaps the biggest help, though, is the Author's Purpose tool. Does the author intend this description to be taken as a prescription for us?

CHAPTER 15: THE BIBLE TIMELINE TOOL

A simple Bible Timeline:

Creation of the world - The Fall - Death and resurrection of Jesus - Jesus returns to judge Heaven Itself

To use the Bible Timeline tool, we have to ask 3 simple questions:

1. Where is this passage on the Bible Timeline?

2. Where am I on the Bible Timeline?

3. How do I read this in the light of things that have happened in between?

There is one aspect to our bible study that doesn't require the Bible Timeline tool and that is when we look at the character of God. Our God is unchanging, forever the same.

CHAPTER 16: THE "WHO AM I" TOOL

The point of this tool is to work out which character (if any) we are supposed to identify with, in a given passage.

Often Old Testament characters are pictures of Jesus and so we should learn from them about him, rather than about ourselves. However, sometimes these characters are role models (both positive and negative) for us. We just need to stop and think before we rush to put ourselves into the picture.

CHAPTER 17: THE "SO WHAT?" TOOL

It is possible to be an expert in understanding the bible and for it to do you no good whatsoever. You might apply all these tools with such care and precision that you know exactly what Paul meant when he wrote to the Romans, or what Isaiah was saying to the people in his day. That's interesting as a history lesson, but unless you recognise that God is also speaking through those things to you today, it will have been a waste of time. We must always ask the "So what?" question. What does this mean for me and my life?

How then can we make sure that we "do" the word? Stage 1 is to work out what response the author was looking for - the Author's Purpose all over again. Stage 2 is to work that out in the nitty gritty of our lives. Here are 2 questions that might help:

• Do I need to stop doing something? Is there some aspect of my behaviour that must change?
• Is there something new that I should start doing?

The bible addresses not only our behaviour but our worldview, the mental map we have of the world. It should shape the way we see God, other people, ourselves.

In summary, we should ask of our bible passage not only "what does it tell me to do?" but also "How does it tell me to think?"

Not every passage of the bible will be equally relevant at every point in your life. Some passages are written to comfort the suffering, others to rebuke the complacent; they are for different times and seasons.

In summary, we should be asking what the passage means

• for you
• for a Christian friend
• for your church community
• for an unbeliever