Christian Learning Center › Forums › Discussion Forum › Why is it important to do macro-observation of a Bible book before doing micro-observation?
Tagged: SF106-03
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Why is it important to do macro-observation of a Bible book before doing micro-observation?
Austin replied 1 month, 1 week ago 96 Members · 97 Replies
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We should understand the greater top-down picture of how a book fits within the Bible as a whole. This will guide our understanding of the detail within the book and decern the meaning.
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Getting an overview of the entire book helps you understand the passages in it better.
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Rushing into micro-observation without doing macro-observation is like being obsessed with one tree in a forest, without seeing its position in the whole forest and how it contributes to the ecology of the whole forest. The macro-observation helps us identify larger issues like, who is writing to whom about what problems in what context, why he is writing the book, etc. This way, when we finally study one passage, we see better how it contributes to the overall intention and message, we understand why he speaks in such a tone, we see how it agrees with what he said in another part of the book, or how it is balanced by what else he said in a complementary part of the book, etc.
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By obtaining the background or foundational picture, we are better able to understand and get a feel for the micro view and less likely to distort a given passage as we read the Bible.
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In order to gain a deeper insight to the micro-observation, it is helpful to have a general insight through the macro-observation.