why is bible study important?

When the patriarch Job described truth, he used the terms "silver" and "gold," things that readily relate to having great value and rarity. Job 28:1 reads, "Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it." Both the Hebrew and the Amplified Bible render the word "vein" as "a mine." 

We cannot be superficial in our studies, but must get below the surface and into this "mine." The Proverb writer talked about the hidden treasure Jesus alluded to in Matthew, Chapter 13. Proverbs 2:1-4 says, "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver ...." Silver is sought for in a mine. Yet, he was not talking about literal silver, but the preciousness of what is denoted as "my words" (verse 1). 

Too many times, people's experiences are shallow because they do not get into the depths of God's eternal Word. Ephesians 3:17 talks about the importance of "being rooted and grounded." We must put down some spiritual roots. There has to be some depth. The rest of Proverbs 2:4 instructs to search "for her as for hid treasures." These "hid treasures" are the truths of the Word that are in the depth, below the surface, in the mine. There is a grave danger in being superficial, shallow, and having no depth in our experience.

Many people will not exert the effort to understand anything that is the least bit beyond the surface, but God still instructs us in 2 Timothy 2:15 to "study." Why? So, we can be "rightly dividing," so that we can be "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed." 

Earl R. Borders

From the April 2025 issue of The Gospel Trumpeter