Put on your detective's hat, part 3

So far, we’ve used our detective’s hat to look for the first four clues: things that are emphasized, things that are repeated, things that are alike, and things that are unlike.  Now we move on to our last two clues, the ones I really like the most, for two specific reasons: one…because they are great at uncovering observations that I wouldn’t normally get by just reading a passage, and two…well…because I think they’re fun. 

Feeling skeptical about this being “fun”?  Well, try these out and then let me know if I’m wrong…

Text Clue #5: Look for things that are related.

By related I mean things that have some connection, some interaction with each other.  The two most helpful relations to look for are Questions/Answers and Cause/Effect.

Questions/Answers are a super powerful form of communication.  What’s also great about them is that they are easy to find!  When you’re reading the Bible, notice the question marks…and then look at who is asking AND who is answering.  Maybe the question is rhetorical, or maybe no one wants to answer.  Looking at questions make for some significant observations.  While Paul uses questions a lot in his letters (especially in Romans), take a look at some of the penetrating questions that Jesus asked His disciples:

Can any of you add one moment to his life-span by worrying? (Matthew 6:27)
Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith? (Mark 4:40)
So, couldn’t you stay awake with me one hour? (Matthew 26:40)

Recognizing Cause/Effect can be just as powerful.  We saw this in the last series on Psalm 1:

Psalm 1:2-3
Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

In these verses, we have a promise to claim: That God’s Word will sustain/grow me and there is happiness, delight, and prosperity as it does.  However, there is also a condition to meet in order to have this God-defined prosperity: Intentionally spend time in God’s Word, purposely meditating on it, and delighting to do so…knowing that God can/will develop me in the way I was created to grow and mature.  And…then…I will find happiness and prosperity.  

This tells us there is a direct Cause/Effect link between Scripture and God’s blessing.  Are you experiencing that effect?  The real question is, are you activating the cause by delighting and meditating in what God has said, as Psalm 1 points out?

Text Clue #6: Look for things that are true to life.

This one is my favorite.  The issue here is authenticity: What does this passage tell you about reality?  What aspects of the text resonate with your experience?  This is where you need to use your sanctified imagination.  You need to look for principles.  We obviously live in a culture that is dramatically different from the cultures of the biblical era.  Yet the same things that the biblical characters experienced, we also experience.  Just take away our technology, and you’ll find we’re not that different.  The human condition hasn’t changed much in the last 5,000 years.  We feel the same emotions they felt.  We have the same questions they had about life and raising kids and growing older.  They were real, live people who faced the same struggles, the same problems, and the same temptations that you and I face.

So as I read about them in Scripture, I need to ask:  What were this person’s ambitions?  What were his goals?  What problems was he facing?  How did she feel?  What was her response?  What would be my response?  What can I see in the text that helps me answer these questions?

Scripture is often studied and taught as if it were some academic lesson, rather than real life.  No wonder so many of us are bored with our Bibles.  We’re missing out on the best lessons of God’s Word by failing to pick up on the experience of the people in it.  ***Spoiler Alert*** The people you read about in the Bible didn’t know what the next verse was going to say.  When we read the Bible with that in mind, we recognize an authenticity to the text we had previously missed.

Let’s look at a couple of examples that will help us see truth in realistic terms.  Other than Jesus, no one in the Bible is perfect.  Every one of them had flaws and difficulties – and we can all relate to flaws and difficult situations.

In Genesis 22, God says to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him as a burnt offering.”  It takes a couple of days to get there by donkey…what must going through Abraham’s mind during this trip?  And then, when Abraham starts walking up Mount Moriah with his son, who is about 22 years old, Isaac says to him, “Hey, Dad, we’ve got the wood.  We’ve got the fire.  But where’s the sacrifice?”  Abraham knows that his son is the sacrifice…he’s even carrying the wood on his back.  How do you think Abraham felt?  How would you feel? 

Noah was the only one who got it right in his generation.  The only one!  He raised his family accordingly and followed God’s instructions despite the rest of the world being mired in an evil mess.  Because he obeyed God, he saved his family from the Flood.  But the only story in Scripture out of the 350 years Noah lived after the Flood is when after resettling his family, he planted a vineyard, drank a bunch of wine…and passed out naked in his own tent (Genesis 9).  As if that’s not bad enough, his sons had to take care of him so he wouldn’t disgrace himself.  And…I’m thinking…is this even the same guy???  Well, Scripture shows that Noah is not perfect, but a real, normal person…one who could, at times, do great things for God, and at other times, make some really embarrassing choices.  So, what implication does that have for us?

Elijah wanted to quit his God-given ministry (your pastor has felt this, too), John Mark abandoned his friends and family in the middle of a mission trip (we’ve all left the people we love in the lurch), Peter whacked off a guy’s ear in a clumsy attempt to defend Jesus (this could also be a description of a lot of modern attempts at “sharing the gospel”). 

When you read Scripture, put on your detective’s hat and look for things that ring true to life.  Remember, our lives are just like theirs were – without all the technology.  Look for situations where someone failed and paid the price – how did they respond to the consequences?  How would have you responded?  Did God use them despite their mistakes?  Or what about the one who stayed the course?  What did God do in their life?  Look for common, shared experiences and learn from the example of their lives.

Now, let’s try these last two Text Clues out on our verses from Joshua:

What things are related?  When you find the question, why do you think was God asking it?  Looking back through the text, do you find any cause/effect relationships?

What things are true to life?  Why does God need to remind Joshua, multiple times, to be strong and courageous?  What must Joshua be feeling for him to need to hear that?  Think back to a time when you have felt the same way.  Also…everyone wants success, but we know it’s not instant, there’s always work involved.  What steps must Joshua take to be successful in the mission God gave him?  Do you need to take the same steps to accomplish what God has given you to do?

Joshua 1:6-9
“Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance.  Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you.  Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go.

This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it.  For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.  Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous?  Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Keep Pressing,
Ken