How to Dig For Gold!
HOW DO I DIG THE GOLD OUT OF A
DIGGING FOR GOLD BIBLE STUDY?
Each Digging for Gold Bible study is designed in the same way. There is an introduction to the book. I have attempted to be brief in summarizing the background of each book. Commentaries typically go into much more scholarly detail. My goal, though, has been to glean the most pertinent information for you about each book. The information that you will find in the introductions was designed to help you to become familiar with some of the unique characteristics of each book and to help you to understand why that book was written.
At the beginning of each Digging for Gold Bible study you will find my summary outline of that book. Then, throughout my notes, you will find my outline of the book. I need to make a comment about these outlines before continuing. Obviously, these outlines are not inspired by God. They are, instead, a prayerful attempt to understand God's inspired words. You may, after going through my outline, choose to summarize the flow of thought in a book in a different way than I have done. I did the same with the outlines that I found in books like EXPLORE THE BOOK by Baxter. I gained insight from his outlines, but I often chose to outline books differently than he outlined them. I also have changed my own outlines as I felt a new outline better captured the meaning of the book. I hope, though, that you will find these outlines helpful as you seek to understand what God is saying to you in a book in the Bible. You can be certain that much prayerful thought went into each outline.
Throughout the study you will find what I call, "Thought Questions." They are designed to make you think. As one participant in a Digging for Gold Bible study participant said, as if a light had just gone on, "You want us to think!" I do, and I believe that God wants us to think and meditate on His ways. It is not always easy, in fact, sometimes it can be hard. But, it will always be worth it. I encourage you to work on the "Thought Questions" before you look at my notes. God promises us that if we seek to understand and apply His ways to our lives, our lives will be transformed.
Finally, you will come to my notes on the books. Here, you will find a condensation of what I believe God has taught me through the years. I have sought to make the material thorough, yet easily readable. This material is much shorter than what you will find in any of the commentaries that I have used in developing these studies. My desire has been to provide you with the riches that I have gained from my studies, yet in a minimum number of pages.
What about the large number of Bible references that you will find throughout the Digging for Gold studies? (They are in Italics and are found throughout the study.) Should you look up each Bible reference? If you are leading a Bible study using a Digging for Gold Bible study, you may want to look up the references. You should never feel, though, that you are expected to look up each Bible reference. They are just there to back up what has been said in the study and to provide you with additional information. These Bible references are very similar to the cross-references that are found in a study Bible. Few of us look up every Bible reference that is there, but they are still helpful whenever we need them.
It is my hope that you will find these studies helpful in finding the riches of God's wisdom in His book. I will close with the complete texts from Proverbs 2:1-6 and 3:13-15 which along with Psalm 119 have inspired me in my search for spiritual gold: "My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom, and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God, for the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." "Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver, and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her."
