Posted in Biblical Studies CenterSchool of Biblical Studies
When I was a student in the School of Biblical Studies (SBS), I dreaded studying the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. In my mind these were very long books with lots of laws and rules. How should I deal with this? I knew that God is still the same, but as christians we are no longer under the law. I reckognized a struggle with all kinds of rules that I applied to myself to gain more favor with God.
By reading these books one after another in a relatively short time I came to understand the big picture. God was creating a people out of a group of slaves and He gave them guidelines on how to relate with Him and each other.
Deuteronomy in Dutch
People who studied these books more often pointed me to things which I would miss. Deuteronomy was the book that I loved the most. In this book God confims the covenant he has made with Israel. In this book I paid close attention to sentences like ‘that it may go well with you’ and ‘that you may live’. By underlining these sentences I saw that they kept on coming back. That is no coincidence… God is showing His heart. He wants His people to prosper. With this in mind I saw how much wisdom and love for humanity is hidden in all these laws. A word that kept on coming back is ‘to love’. I read:
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” – Deut. 6:4-6
This passage is also repeated in the gospels and shows Gods heart for relationships. These are not just cold rules or laws, He doesn’t want to be forgotten! He wants to have a relationship. By looking to these books like this, I experience much more freedom. I am impressed even more by Gods love and heart for the whole of humanity.
The School of Biblical Studies (SBS) is a 9 month schools in which you learn how to study the Word of God for yourself. You will study all 66 books one by one and will gain an overview of the Bible as a whole. This school is facilitated by the Biblicial Studies Center, a part of Heidebeek.