We regularly talk about the "story" of the Bible and we should. From Genesis to Revelation Scripture tells a single story that recounts God's creation of the world, the rebellion of mankind against our Creator, God's gracious plan of redemption, and the final consummation of all things when God's original purposes for creation are realized and even surpassed. And yet, this single story unfolds in an incredible variety of ways. In Scripture we find poetry, narrative, parables, gospels, letters, apocalyptic literature and other genres. Additionally, the Bible is a collection of 66 different books. There's incredible variety within the unified story. Because of this, knowing Scripture requires us to go back and forth between the specific books and the overall story. We zoom in, we zoom out, and then we zoom back in again.
At WBC the movement from the specifics to the overall means that we study entire books of the Bible at a time. Each book contributes to the overall story, but each book stands on its own. We want to grasp the message of the book and then fit that message into the big story. We recently finished a series of sermons through Colossians and now we will embark on a short study through one of the more unique OT books, Jonah. We'll introduce the book to you on Sunday, but in this article I want to help you prepare to study any book of the Bible, whether it's Jonah, Colossians, or Genesis. What can you do to get ready for our series in Jonah? What posture will help you to know God through this book? Here are a few suggestions.
First, pray for insight, clarity, and humility as you open your heart to God's work through the book of Jonah. I know it sounds basic, but how often do we just open the Bible and start to read without pausing to ask the author for help? Spend a few minutes with God about this book. Ask him to help you understand it. Tell him you want the message to be clear. Since God gives grace to the humble, ask him to give you an unnatural level of humility before the book of Jonah. You want this very old book to shake your heart up and to give you a fresh grasp of God's character. You want to read with an open mind and a receptive heart. You find these qualities difficult to produce on your own and God loves to give his children good gifts. So ask him.
Second, after you have prayed, read and read it again. Then read it again. Keep reading it and do your best to stay alert to see what's there. For these first few times through it you won't understand it all, but that's not your immediate concern. Read to see. Read to know what's in the book. At this point you are reading to understand the basic content, characters, and flow of the story. What happens? Who is involved? What words are said? Do characters change? Do they stay the same? How does one character compare to another? Are there surprises? Is some action repeated? Pay attention as you read.
Third, read or watch a basic introduction to the book from a trusted author. I'll introduce Jonah to you this Sunday, but it's really helpful to get multiple perspectives before studying the details week by week. I always recommend the videos done by The Bible Project. They have an introduction to each book of the Bible, including Jonah. Watch it a couple of times with your Bible open. Then read the entire book again. This will give you a much better feel for what's happening in the book and how it's put together. I also recommend the book introductions in the ESV Study Bible. You can access them online for a small fee, but you can also just get a hard copy to have on hand. The book introductions are concise, clear, and very helpful.
Finally, show up to church each week ready to dive in! Commit to being in church with God's people and under God's Word each week. There's something about worshiping with the rest of the body and physically being present that engages us far beyond what we get online.
I'm excited to study this important book with you. Let's ask God to meet with us in a special way as we humbly submit our hearts to his powerful Word!