It takes approximately 10,000 hours to become an expert at a particular skill. That’s approximately 10 years of learning, trying things out, making mistakes, growing, honing and practicing. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to take that long to gain some skill. It simply takes some instruction and guidance from a mentor, hands-on practice and commitment to long-term growth. Take learning to play the piano as an example. You need someone to teach you how to find middle C and the rest of the keys and how to read the notes on the page. You start out with a simple song like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and work your way up to more complicated songs. Then you practice, practice, practice. The more consistently you practice and play, the better you get at it and the easier it becomes. After 8 years of piano lessons I should know.
“Persistence and consistency are key to becoming skilled in Bible study and in understanding the Bible”
Likewise, Bible study is a skill that must be learned and practiced consistently. An understanding of the whole Bible and its historical context grows over time as you learn and practice. You won’t know everything you need to know about the historical background of a passage the first time you read it. But as you dig in and study it a little closer, you’ll discover more and more of that relevant information and it will shed new light on an old familiar verse. And the next time you read it you will have a better understanding until you dig in again and discover even more. Connections begin to be made between one passage and another and new insight is gained once again. It’s an exciting process! But it doesn’t happen overnight. It happens through persistent and consistent study.
I distinctly remember the season in my Bible study journey when the unified story of the Bible began to come together in my mind and I could see how a passage fit into the whole. I could easily recall the historical context and identify the most important elements needed to understand a passage. I felt confident in my understanding of the Bible and ability to explain it. And I was excited to dig deeper and discover more. That was over 12 years ago and I’m still discovering new things and digging deeper.
Persistent and consistent Bible study is the only way to grow in an understanding of the whole story of the Bible and its historical context (and ultimately its relevance to our lives). One way to begin building your understanding of whole story of the Bible is to create your own timeline of biblical events. I know that you can find timelines in Bible dictionaries or online and that they are a beneficial study aid. If you have one, by all means use it. But, in my experience, I gained a better understanding of biblical events, people and places when I made my own. Why? Because I had to read the Bible for myself. I had to plot it out on a chart by hand which helped me see context. I had to wrestle with controversial dates and times which forced me to look at the text closely and made me aware of questions and uncertainties. My own homemade Bible timelines (one for the OT and one for the NT), stretched out over 5 or 6 pieces of graph paper taped together, are among my most used resources.
So I encourage you to make your own timelines. Start with the New Testament. Identify key events in the life of Jesus (don’t include everything he did – just the main events – his birth, baptism, ministry, death and resurrection), the life of Peter (conversion, imprisonment, death) and Paul (conversion, missionary journeys, imprisonments, death), when churches in the book of Acts were planted, and when letters to the churches were written. Find the Roman Caesars and Herods who ruled during this time. Make your timeline as colorful and detailed as you like. Have fun with it! I promise that in the process you’ll discover something new and in the end you’ll have a better understanding of the New Testament and the 1st century world it came from.
Once you’ve done that make a similar timeline for the Old Testament. Include important people, events, judges, kings, prophets, writings, battles, world powers. Use the books of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah to create your timeline. And don’t forget that many of the opening verses of the prophets tell you when the prophet spoke so you can put them on your timeline too. The Old Testament is big so remember that there is no need to do it all at once or rush through it. Just keep reading, digging and building.
Remember that persistence and consistency are key to becoming skilled in Bible study and in understanding the Bible.
P.S. If you’d like more information on how to create your own timeline feel free to get in touch through the Facebook page or group. I’d love to help! And I’d love to see your creations!
(Source: https://time.com/4461455/how-to-become-expert-at-anything/)