e) Read your list of segment titles a few times, and see if you can detect any movement in the action, if the book is historical; or in the discourse, if the book is nonhistorical Keep working on this until you can formulate an outline of the book Use paper and pencil freely The observations you made earlier in this stage will be of great help here f) Try to state the book’s theme in your own words II USING THIS MANUAL AS A GUIDE FOR SURVEY STUDY The main purpose of this study guide is to help you see for yourself what each book of the Old Testament says This independenttype study is aptly represented by the word discovery When your personal experience is discovery, the Old Testament will come alive to you in many ways Dr James M Gray, who mastered in the developing and teaching of the book survey method of study, rightly maintained that one’s own original and independent study of the broad pattern of a Bible book, imperfect as the conclusions may be, is of far more value to the student than the most perfect outline obtained from someone else This is not to minimize the work of others, but to emphasize that recourse to outside aids should be made only after the student has taken his own skyscraper view In serving as a guide, however, this book also includes instructive material to support and supplement your own independent study The book is neither a commentary nor a so-called introduction to the Old Testament; yet it includes a little of the kind of material found in both of these types of writings The various guides and supporting materials of this book are described below A GUIDES The suggestions for survey study vary throughout the book, depending on which Old Testament book is being studied The kinds of guides remain constant, however, from book to book Directions Speci c directions about such things as what to look for, and where, constitute the major part of your survey You will be constantly urged to record your observations, of whatever kind they are, on paper Your faithfulness in doing this may make the di erence between mediocre and excellent study As someone has well said, “The pencil is one of the best eyes.” Questions Answering questions is an e ective learning experience Whenever possible, write out your answers If you faithfully answer the questions and follow all the directions, you will be subconsciously establishing habits and methods of e ective Bible study Uncompleted charts Occasionally you will have opportunity to record observations on an uncompleted chart which appears in the manual If you prefer to record these on paper instead, be sure to refer to the chart as you record Charts as visual aids are e ective in representing a panoramic view of Scripture, which is what survey is all about Applications Ways to apply the messages of the Old Testament books are suggested at the end of each survey For example, biblical laws will be seen as de ning God’s timeless standards; history as furnishing “examples … written for our instruction” (1 Cor 10:11); testimonies and ... The book is neither a commentary nor a so-called introduction to the Old Testament; yet it includes a little of the kind of material found in both of these types of writings The various guides... mastered in the developing and teaching of the book survey method of study, rightly maintained that one’s own original and independent study of the broad pattern of a Bible book, imperfect as the conclusions... panoramic view of Scripture, which is what survey is all about Applications Ways to apply the messages of the Old Testament books are suggested at the end of each survey For example, biblical laws will