God gave His people this inner desire for a reason. A few examples from the OT:
For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. (Ezra 7:10)Spiritual education is vital. Without a hunger to know the will of God, I would be ignorant of how He works and how He enriches my life. Yet Bible study is not merely for gathering information. What I learn is useless unless I do what it says. Otherwise, stuffing my head with facts and data is a negative waste of time:
On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. (Nehemiah 8:13)
Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. (Psalm 111:2)
Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. (Ecclesiastes 12:9)
My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. (Ecclesiastes 12:12)When Jesus taught in the temple, the religious leaders were amazed and said, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” (John 7:15) This shows more about them than it does Jesus. He knew because He relied on His Father and obeyed Him. He told these leaders:
My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law... (John 7:16–19)Paul later picked up on the same theme: knowing but not doing what you know makes learning a farce:
But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. (Romans 2:17–23)The NT stresses that gathering information from God and about God is to transform my life, not make me into a gifted theologian who does not put to use what I know. The Lord says: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
That is why sound study includes application. It is not information gathering per se, but life changing. So when seeking to be educated about the Lord, I must understand the historical and cultural context, the literary context, make observations, and diligently apply it to my life. Otherwise, I may get the meaning but all it does is swell my head!
PRAY: Application is the hardest for information gatherers. I like to know reams of data, but often fail in the most important reason for knowing. Doing that would be like the person who collects the best way to clean out a refrigerator, but their own is absolutely filthy. I want to know the truths about You, but also be transformed by that knowledge into Your likeness. Enable me to zealously apply what You are revealing to me.
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