by II Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Challenges can be fun for some people. Personally, I am not one to usually take on a challenge. Although recently, I heard someone say cows were not sacrificed in the Bible. Ever have a moment where something is mentioned in or not it the Bible, it doesn’t seem right, but you don’t know what verses to go to? Well, that happened to me. It happens to me quite often. It was one of those moments, I thought I knew about the Old Testament sacrifices in my Bible; but I found myself questioning what I thought I knew.
In today’s world, we read and see so much around us. We cannot take all we see and hear as truth. Sometimes, we must search out the truth, whether we like the answer we find or not. Too many people accept what they hear as truth whether it is a Biblical, political, or just some random thought. They never search for the truth.
In everything I say or speak, I want to be as the verse above, “not to be ashamed” when I explain God’s Word or even in my every day conversation.
Now, back to cows. “Are they sacrificed in the Bible?”
It bothered me. “Are they? Aren’t they?” I pondered the question.
I had always thought they were part of the sacrificial system in the Old Testament. I’m not a big theologian; but I thought just maybe, I can find my answer in a simple word search.
“Were cows sacrificed?”
“This might be fun,” I thought.
“Yes!” It was extremely fun when I found my answer in the Bible. I did not find it in some other man’s book or version, but in God’s Word.
Using my example of “Are cows sacrificed in the Bible?” I will explain the simple steps I took to research my question. Maybe this will help someone else to know some simple steps to take to further study God’s Word.
Anyone can use these steps to gain further knowledge of God’s Word. Yes, there are many other ways to study, but sometimes we just need quick, simple and easy ways to study. I pray my couple study tips will help show that anyone can “Study to shew thyself approved unto God.”
1. Look up word definitions in the Webster’s 1828. It is a free resource on the internet and easy to use. Just key in a word and see the definitions.
- For my example of “cow,” the Bible uses the word “heifer.” So, I looked up “heifer.” Webster’s 1828 defines heifer as “a young cow.”
- Okay, we have cows mentioned in the Bible, God just used the word “heifer.”
- But I still pondered my question, “Were cows sacrificed?”
- And now I had another question, “How young is a ‘young cow?’”
2. Once a word definition is researched, then where the word is used in the Bible needs to be determined. I have a basic Bible program on my computer that lets me do this. So, I just opened my Bible program and keyed in the word and saw how many times “heifer” was used and where.
- “Heifer” is used 19 times in the KJV Bible.
3. Once I knew how many times the word “heifer” was used in the Bible then I needed to know where it was used. So, I started reading the verses where the Bible program told me the word “heifer” was used. Sometimes, I have to read several verses before and after a main verse to get the full meaning and understanding of the particular verse I researched. I have heard many great men of God say, “The best commentary on the Bible – is the Bible itself!”
- For my example, we will not look at all 19 times heifer is used, but let’s look at a few.
- First, the Bible defines “a young cow.” It says a heifer/cow is up to 3 years old.
- Genesis 15:9 “And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
- Webster’s 1828 just said a heifer is “a young cow.” So, any cow over 3 years old is not called a heifer. There must be another name for a heifer/cow over 3 years old, but that is another study for another time. For example, I’ve learned – in today’s world – lamb meat is from a young sheep (how young I do not know) and mutton meat is an old sheep (how old, I do not know.) So, the Bible tells us a heifer is “a young cow” under the age 3.
- Second, I also found out something interesting about our cow/heifer. Not only is she under the age 3, but she is also a she.
- Numbers 19:1-6 “And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 2 This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke: 3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face: 4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times: 5 And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: 6 And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.”
- After reading the above verses, there is no doubt in one’s mind that God sacrificed cows/heifers under the age 3 and they were females. It is amazing how even little pronouns in our writing can have a big impact on the meaning of a word. Sometimes, the details are in the little things.
This was a fairly simple study idea:
First – Look up Bible words in the Webster’s 1828
Second – Research all the places that word is used in the Bible
Third – Read all those verses and the verses around the key verses to get a full understanding of how God used that word.
Prayerfully, after this simple post, everyone can know a few basic study tips to:
II Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
