Observations on the Text

1. Introduction

Now we come to the first read through of the text in question.    It is important to pray and ask God to show you what you need to be seeing and noticing.   The bible is comprised of a number of different kinds of literature.   Some is History, Poetry, Prophetic writing, Gospels, Letter.    It is important to understand first what kind of writing it is and then we begin to use our highliter and look for patterns, repetitions, Chiasams,  common words or ideas,  links to other scriptures etc.

2. Prayerful Reading

One thing that should be done early in the process is to take some time in prayer and invite the Lord to read the scripture with you.    This process is called Lectio Divino  Which basicly meant reading with God.   

After a time of prayer we read the passage through outloud very slowly and observe if there is a word or a phrasse that seems to stand out or resonate in some way.   Take note of it.

Read it a second time and as you read be asking the Lord to show you why that word or phrase might be important.

On a third reading we ask the Lord to show us what we might do.   Is there some action to be taken; something to be thankful for, something to be sorry for.

While this is technically not part of pure inductive study it is a good habit to get into as we study.   We do not study alone but with God's help

3. Looking for Common words or themes

With perhaps a different colour highlighter we look again at the passage and mark words or phrases that have something in common.   It could be subject matter, emotion, or some kind of action or description.   Be guided by the spirit as you do this.   

At this point it is good to make some additional notes on the side or in the comments about what you are obsserving.   You may take up another colour if you see a second set of common themes.

4. Chaiasams

A chaiasam is a common meathod that early writers used to help readers remember what they were reading.  The pattern to look for is like this.

A

B

C

C1

B2

A1

There is a link between A and A1, B and B1, C and C1