JUN 20

Obadiah 1-21
Memorise 2 Timothy 3:15
“…Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God.”

Prophecy is a very important part of scripture. By one count, there are 48 prophets and 7 prophetesses in the Bible and about one third of the Bible consists of prophecies. That is a lot. Hence, it will do us well to learn how to interpret prophecy correctly. The principles of interpretation are similar as compared to other forms of scripture. We will apply these principles to the book of Obadiah.

1. Firstly, pray for Holy Spirit’s illumination. We are often too eager and rush into the task at hand, forgetting to pray. Prayer, however, is most important, and is something which we cannot afford to neglect. God’s Word needs God’s illumination and unless He enlightens us, man can never understand His holy Word.
2. The next thing is to understand the context. What was the prophecy for and for whom and pronounced by whom? This is particularly important in the understanding of prophecy, for if we do not know who the prophecy was intended for and why it was given, many things will be vague and confusing to us. This helps us understand better the reason behind why various things are said and the manner in which it has been said.
3. One should read the book at least several times, checking up any difficult words and trying to understand the main gist of the book. After that, create an outline of the book. An outline consists of a breakdown of the book into multi-level parts. This exercise forces one to understand the book better in the process of creating the outline.
4. Look for parallel passages that relate to the passage at hand. This can be found using some Bible helps like the ‘Treasury of Scripture Knowledge’. God has provided parallel passages to help us understand Scripture better. Hence we should seek them out.
5. Finally, derive the learning lessons that can be applied to your life. All Scripture contains application, lessons that we should learn for our lives. It is up to us to search them out for our learning, by the grace of God.

We will endeavour to apply these principles to the book of Obadiah in the coming readings. May God help us and give us the grace to interpret His Word correctly for our edification.

Thought: How is studying God’s Word different from studying school work?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to understand Your Word.