Lesson 2 — The Interpretive Journey
The Bible was written for us, but it wasn’t written to us.
Every passage was first spoken into a specific time, place, and culture—what this study calls “their town.” A river of differences separates that world from ours: language, customs, the situation the author was addressing, the sheer distance of time, and—for the Old Testament—a change in covenant. Read a text as if it were written directly to you, and it’s easy to wade in over your head or to leap to a “spiritual” meaning that the passage never carried. Read it well, and Scripture crosses that river intact.
This lesson hands you a reliable, repeatable method for making the trip. Rather than relying on intuition or a feels-right hunch, you’ll learn a five-step journey you can run on any passage—from a Gospel narrative to an Old Testament law.
The five steps of the Interpretive Journey:
- Grasp the text in their town. What did this passage mean to its original audience? Read carefully, study the words and context, then summarize that original meaning in a sentence or two.
- Measure the width of the river. What separates us from that audience—differences of culture, language, situation, time, and covenant? Some rivers are wide; some are a narrow creek.
- Cross the principlizing bridge. What’s the timeless theological principle the text reveals—one that’s true for both the original audience and us?
- Consult the biblical map. Does that principle fit with the rest of Scripture? Refine it so it harmonizes with the whole of God’s Word.
- Grasp the text in our town. How do you actually live this out today? One principle, many possible applications, depending on your situation.
We’ll walk the whole journey together using Joshua 1:1–9—God’s charge to Joshua to be strong and courageous—so you can see each step in action before trying it yourself.
By the end of this lesson you’ll be able to:
- Name and explain all five steps of the journey
- Identify the differences that determine how wide the “river” is for a given passage
- Build a sound theological principle that bridges the ancient text and today
- Move from a passage’s original meaning to faithful, real-life application
Watch the video below, then work through the assignments to practice the journey on your own.