Lesson 5 | Searching a Topic
Danger: Referencing Only
The Bible is not an encyclopedia. Nor is it a commentary. It is not a manual or catalog. It is not an almanac or travel guide or thesaurus. Nor is it a handbook, phone book, or yearbook.
No one reads any of these—we reference them because that is what they are for. But this is not true of the Bible. The Bible is not a reference book, but narratives, poetry, letters, wisdom, and prophetic visions. So while searching the Bible can be a powerful practice to accompany your Bible study, it should by no means become your Bible study!
Do NOT treat your Bible like a car manual, referencing but never reading.
5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; Job 42:2
For example, you might come across this verse when searching the topic of seeing God. And even if you check the context and rightly interpret it, so what? For the one thing that such an approach cannot yield is an actual experience in your heart of the same thing! Only through taking the long, arduous, confusing, painful journey through all 41 previous chapters of this book can a person—with Job—actually see the Lord in the way that Job means. It is reading alone—not searching—that will bring you there.
