Living by the Book/Living by the Book Workbook Set (87 page)

The
geography
of the account is the city of Jerusalem. In what ways is the location significant in this passage?

From an
ideological
perspective, suppose this chapter was all you knew about Jeremiah. What would you suppose might be the prophet’s primary message?

As you read other chapters of Jeremiah at some point in the future, see if they confirm your presumptions or provide new information that causes you to change your mind.

It should be noted that in Jeremiah and certain other books of prophecy, the authors don’t follow a strict chronological time line. If one event is described before another one, we can’t necessarily assume that it took place first. We must use other of our purposeful methods to maintain a proper sense of order.

TODAY’S PASSAGE:

Colossians 1:15–29

TIME COMMITMENT:

45 minutes

“Two of the most powerful words in the Bible are
and
and
but.
. . . Another important connective is
therefore.
Whenever you see a
therefore,
go back and see what it’s there for” (p. 121, 122).

W
hile the previous assignment in Jeremiah was a good study in purposeful reading via history, biography, geography, and so forth, now we turn our attention to a passage that will better allow us to examine grammar to understand the author’s purpose.

Read Colossians 1:15–29 and answer the following questions.

• You won’t find any
therefores
in this section (at least, not in the
New American Standard Bible),
but what other connectives can you find that help determine the purpose of what Paul was writing?

• Did you notice a change of verb tenses back and forth from past to present? What significant events have taken place in the past? How does what has been done in the past affect the present?

• One clear focus is on the person of Jesus Christ. Read the passage and record all the significant information you can gather about Jesus.

• A secondary focus is on the writer of the letter. What things does this section say about Paul?