But only if we are rightly instructed by the Lord. We walk in the good works God has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10). We harvest and reap - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). We sow the right crops in the right place. She does not simply go line by line by line, precept on precept on precept. The one who is taught by God does not simply plow and plow and plow. Observe this description of a learner who is instructed by God:ĭoes he who plows for sowing plow continually?ĭoes he continually open and harrow his ground? This is how we want to learn! Not merely learning line by line, but with our ears open to hear and understand. He is truly paying attention (Isaiah 28:23). In these hopeful verses, we are introduced to a man who is taught by the Lord. It sits in contrast to the simplistic and mindless children’s recitations, the myopic piling on of precepts that lacks the point of the big picture, the learning that goes in one ear and out the other - “line upon line” and “precept upon precept.” A picture emerges of a way of learning that is truly profitable and wise. This kind of Bible study is a catechism that specializes in missing the point. There is a way to learn that is like children playing the game “Ring Around the Rosie.” But he is saying that there is a kind of learning that is fastidious, catchy, repeatable, and deadly. So, what is this “line upon line” method of learning that has ensnared God’s people? How do we avoid it? Is Isaiah saying that we shouldn’t look closely at every line? Is he saying that slow and careful study is a bad idea? No, quite the opposite. This “precept upon precept” learning, this “here a little, there a little” knowledge is working against them, and they will be broken by it just as they stumble over the stone of offense and the rock of stumbling (Isaiah 8:14 1 Peter 2:6–8). When they hear the teaching, it’s like a foreign language. And although there is much for them to learn from God, they are like foolish, immature children, learning in such a way that they never really learn. Isaiah 28 pronounces judgment on God’s people. Let’s look at the whole passage together:įor it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,Īnd be broken, and snared, and taken. Which just so happens to be the opposite of what I had understood it to mean the many times I’d heard it quoted out of context. “Line upon line” and “precept upon precept” is the way of folly and gibberish, according to God. This really is a passage of mocking and judgment. Bible Study God MocksĪfter sharing my thoughts about the text with my husband and some friends at church, digging through some commentaries and lexicons, I found my suspicions confirmed. Surely, my sense that Isaiah was using those phrases - “line upon line” and “precept upon precept” - to mock God’s people couldn’t be correct! So, I set aside that precept and moved on to the next. Too embarrassed and fearful to express my concern, I told myself that I was no Bible expert and I could rest secure in my lack of knowledge. Having come across those words in Isaiah, I wondered if they could possibly mean what we thought they meant. I’ve literally sung this phrase as a chorus in church.īut I sang those lines with a confused conscience. Not only have we told our people that it is one good method among many, but some of us have said it’s the only right way to study the Bible. In my experience, few verses are quoted and extolled as these when we’re encouraging our people to take the Bible seriously. When some of us learned about studying or teaching the Bible, one phrase seemed to be repeated as often as any other: precept upon precept, line upon line. Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Singing the phrase without understanding its meaning - could it be that we’ve done something similar with Isaiah’s familiar words? Many of us grew up twirling and falling down as we sang the children’s rhyme “Ring Around the Rosie.” I was an older child when someone explained to me that this cheerful tune had potentially morbid roots dating back to the bubonic plague.
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