Step 1: Becoming immersed in the Epistle
The Epistle to the Hebrews:
Please set your own study pace.
Our Hebrew study will proceed as I provide the various study steps to you one at a time. When you have completed a step, simply select the next study step to move forward in your study. Over the years I have used R.A. Traina's "Methodical Bible Study" that I have enhanced by carefully incorporating elements from R.A. Torrey's "How To Study The Bible For Greatest Profit", Irving Jensen's "Independent Bible Study" and O. Wald's "The Joy of Discovery". I have further modified it in my own personal practical application to study method and have formulated it into several Bible study steps for an in-depth approach to individual Bible book study. It is a focused and disciplined study that requires personal motivation but I know that you will be tremendously blessed by what you learn from the Bible, our wonderful Teacher - the Holy Spirit, and from yourself.
Our in-depth study method certainly does not exclude other devotional reading and studying but it makes the primary study of one Epistle at a time central. From this foundation we build our understanding and personal theology into a confident and strong spiritual house: concept by concept.
Our first task is to gain an overview. The first step in this is accomplished by developing a living understanding of the content, words, phrases, thought patterns and all the elements contained in the Epistle. We do this by pouring our life into it: by reading the Epistle 10 times through. (without stopping to study, ask questions, or refer to other books, etc.) We read it completely through and then read it again and again until we have done it 10 times. Again, the purpose is to have our mind become very comfortable with the content and familiar with each chapter. We want to get to know what is said in a given section and then what to expect in the next. With this general light reading we get to know the Epistle as you would a map and all its locations.
So, your initial arduous assignment is to read the Epistle to the Hebrews thru 10 times without stopping. Do this at one sitting, but if you fail, try this again another day until you have accomplished all 10 readings without stopping. (Nobody said it would be easy in our shallow age of short attention spans)