Resources for studying the Bible

One of the things urged on me, ever since I was a child attending Sunday School, is to read the Bible.

Bible study (apostles’ doctrine) was something the church attended to right from the outset and this has been counsel that I have followed. Now I am in my dotage, the fact I have studied the Bible thoroughly, read through and meditated on it, cover to cover, several times, is one thing I can bring to the table / party, as I encourage a new generation, just as I had been as a child when we sung …

Besides working on my next book, Kings and Priests of the Bible, which I hope to complete if the Lord spares me and He tarries, and I remain compos mentis, I am hoping that, in addition to sharing on my website what I see as a watchman on the wall, to share what I have learned (and still learning) from studying the Bible. I have in mind to do short presentations on the Books of Joshua, Judges and Ruth in the next couple of weeks. These books bridge the gap between the period Israel possessing the Promised Land and the period of the Kings of Israel and Judah, which ended in Exile and later return and then, after a period of 400 years, the coming of the promised Messiah.

Using Joshua as my example (something that in principle can be applied to any Bible book) I would point to the following resources (found on online and free – click on the links) that I have used.

1. Bible Gateway: where the Bible can be read (including word search) in several different versions
2. Bible – audio and text: where you hear the Bible being read while reading it at the same time
3. Unlocking the Bible: series covering every book of the Bible by the late David Pawson
4. Overview: series comprising short cartoon presentations on the various books of the Bible
5. Book of the Bible in one hour: presentation covering whole books of the Bible by Dr. Randall D. Smith
6. Presentations (various): by Dr. Baruch (Love Israel) – good for understanding language and context
7. Free Bible images used to illustrate some of the things I wish to share when covering books of the Bible

There is much more of course, including doing word studies in the original Hebrew and Greek, but the above, along with doing your own thorough reading of each book (best done in chunks rather than selected texts) gives a good introduction. I found, for example, some fascinating online presentations linking archaeological findings and the Bible text. Then there is the old-fashioned method of study, i.e. books and printed matter. Back in the day, I read “Victorious Christian Living by Alan Redpath” (based on the Book of Joshua). There are loads of commentaries (I rate those by Tyndale / IVP, for example), some now out of print. One recent commentary that provides a helpful introduction / overview to each book of the Bible is “A Pathway into the Bible” by my friend Stuart Kimber.