The second major step in the Bible study process is interpretation. To ask why we should do it is to assume the answer.
Do you get it? Interpretation is all about asking WHY.
In the Observation phase, we deal with what a passage says. In the Interpretation phase, we deal with why the passage says what it says.
Please tell me “Why?”
My 2-year old daughter just entered the interpretation phase of life. It’s a significant milestone! I remember when it happened. We got home from church, and my wife told the children to get out of the van and go into the house. Charlotte immediately asked, “Why?”
I’m pretty sure she doesn’t even know what “why” means. She’s just heard her older siblings say it so much that she figured she should do so as well.
God created us to interpret. Communication always moves beyond the What to the Why. A sidelong glance appears to imply romantic interest. A grunt gets interpreted as displeasure. Failure to make eye contact seems to indicate uncertainty. Such analysis is the stuff of slumber parties and network news programs. We move from Observation to Interpretation all the time.
We ought to do it in Bible study as well. Don’t stop with Observation. Keep moving forward to make sure you understand the Why. That’s the key to interpretation.
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You’re probably not interested in switching again, but I thought you might like to check out something new Google has started with their Blogger product. It allows the person who’s reading the Blog to customize the view according to his/her preference. For example, if you go to http://buzz.blogger.com/, you’ll see the blog displayed with the Sidebar theme. But readers have the ability to change the layout to a different theme if they want to by clicking the theme in the top left and changing it. I think it’s still pretty new, but I thought this was really neat.
I love the fact that good bible study interpretation is not about ‘prophecy’ or ‘divination’ it is just about asking questions….