Are you following T.H.E R.O.A.D ?

After having completed 7 books on exegesis and biblical interpretation I am still very far away from being able to properly exegete perfectly every single text in God's Word. The more I learn the more I realize that God's Word is inexhaustible and that will probably never happen. That does not mean however that I will give up on trying to understand every Scripture in its proper context. Below is a tool that I have found very successful in helping assist you on the right road to understanding and applying the Bible.

T.H.E R.O.A.D. as some of you may have already figured out is an acronym. This acronym will get you started to properly exegete the original text. We must confirm the answers to these questions to gain insight into the meaning of each statement.

T- Type of Scripture.

We must first recognize the type of Scripture. Is it historical, poetical, symbolical, prophetical, or didactic just to name a few. We must understand that the Old Testament is promises of and groundwork ofredemption. We must understand that the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. Knowing that the Gospels are narrative as well as didactic, Acts is historical and the Epistle's are fuller further explanation of Christ and the church will help determine the meaning and usage.

H- Historical Background.

We must ask what is the historical setting, geographical setting? We must understand plant life and animal life. We must search history to understand customs and word usage at the time. For instance context usually determines the usage of a word. In our modern language we say I was "up all night", yet most of the time we really slept. Or we say man I am going on a weeks vacation. That may just mean we are travelling Monday to Friday. This is vital in understanding when Jesus said "three days and three night", because it was never meant to be taken literally. It basically meant a few days.

E- Events surrounding the writing.

After we have determined the type and historical , we must now seek and understanding into the events were taking place. For example it helps greatly when reading Psalms 51 to understand the story of David and his great sin with Bathsheeba. This hold especially true when going through the prophets of the Old Testament. There were events always swirling around that are key elements to proper understanding.

R- Recipients.

Who is the passage writen to? For example we can clearly understand I Peter when we go to the beginning of his letter. Iin verse 2 we see that he writing to those chosen by God in eternity passed. We can't apply certain truths to all people because Peter was writing to Christians. We must understand the material culture as well as national culture. One who read Jonah would have a hard time believing a man who was successful in leading over 120,000 people to God would want to die. Until you understand that Nineva was the major city of the Assyrians who the Jews fought for years, you would have no clue of the hatred Jonah had for that nation.

O- Occasion

What are the author and people's circumstances? What is the author's motivation? Now we cant just decide this on our own. The text is clear throughout Scripture when author's lay down clearly their reason for writing. John often wrote "that our joy would be made full". Paul often when addressing the Corinthians told them why he was writing and what questions he was adressing. That is why it pains me when a group of people build their entire doctrine around a book of rebuke for false practices and do not incorporate the entire counsel of God.

A- Author.

Well we need the author in most cases. Sometimes with the prophets it meant little who they were and what was their background. The Bible is both a human and divine book, therefore the author's background and motivation is key. Also his current circumstances are clues to understanding a passage with more depth. It is one thing for a man to say "learn to be content no matter what". And completely another for us to know that the man who said the statement was jailed and bound up with a Roman guard!

D- Date.

This can very significant in understanding the context. Some books of the Bible unfortunately, we do not have the exact date but knowing the time period helps greatly. This is epecially true in prophetic passages that validate the Bible's authority.

So there you have a blue print to assist you in studying the Word of God. We must be aware of all the gaps we face that we have to bridge when we come to the Bible. Time, space, customs, languages, writing, spiritual and hearing gaps all exist and therefore we must work hard and labor over proper interpretation. I pray this information leads you to study the Word of God so you can serve the God of the Word.