By Tyler King
“Don’t eat this. Don’t eat this. Don’t eat this.” Those were the words a classroom full of teens heard from me on a yawn-absorbed Sunday morning as I handed out Oreos.
Before the teens and I studied the book of Colossians together, I wanted to establish the basics of Bible study. However, if I said we were going to study exegetically, I would have been like a doctor as he watched the pulse of his patient gradually flatline. Odds are, “exegesis” (critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture) is far removed from everyday vernacular. As a result, the practice of exegesis takes a back seat when reading through the text of God’s word.
In order to introduce the study, I gave each teen an Oreo and relocated myself to the front of a whiteboard. Of course with teens, I had to preface with the instruction of “don’t eat this.” I removed the cap of the Expo marker and asked the group to tell me details about the Oreo they were holding. Perplexed, they began looking around at each other until the first one piped up, “it has ridges on the outside!”
Some 10 minutes later, the whole whiteboard was packed with specific details about this one little cookie. “The cookie has crumbs that fall off easily,” “it has ‘Oreo’ written on it,” “It has a creamy white center,” “it smells a little like chocolate” and so on. Whether you realize it or not, you practice exegesis on a daily basis. We exegete people, movies, politics, conversations, and status updates. Why is it that we treat the Word of God any different than a conversation from the Almighty? Because it’s easy to gloss over words that we feel are irrelevant or outdated. This is His way of communicating to us and we had better listen up.
There is absolutely no way I can exhaust the details of exegesis in one simple article. I also can’t begin to tell you the magnitude of how exegesis has blessed my life. I primarily just hope I can encourage you to get started in this wonderful practice. Bible study isn’t just a routine anymore, but it has now become a curiosity and a love. If you wish to get started in this incredible adventure, pick a book (maybe a smaller one at first, like 1 John) and start from the beginning. Dissect the text in a verse-by-verse manner without any presuppositions. Read it as if it were your first time. Remember, exegesis is all about taking out from the text, and not putting things into the text. There’s a world of divine education awaiting you.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence. (2 Peter 1:3)