How to Study Characters in the Bible

There are a lot of things believers can learn from studying the lives of characters in the Bible such as the Old Testament Joseph, Moses, King David, Abraham, Ruth, Esther, Peter and Paul. It isn't that hard to do. It does take time.

Things You'll Need

• Bible (topical Bible is especially good)
• Exhaustive concordance
• Paper to take notes
• A pen or pencil
• Internet

Instructions

1. Pray and ask God to help you decide on a character to study. Once you have decided, make sure you are ready to take notes.

2. Look up every reference for that character in a concordance or topical Bible. Write down the references, and look them up in your Bible. Pray that God will help you learn what you can about the person you are studying, as it relates to your own life.

3. Record any impressions you have for each passage--positive or negative--about the person you are studying. Observe who each passage is about, what is happening, when it happened, why it happened and where it happened. Visualize the background and the person you are studying.

4. Write down any conclusions you have about the person, his or her character, why he did what he did, and what his relationship with God was like. Write down anything you learned about your own life and changes you believe you should make. Ask God to help you.

5. Do an Internet search for topical Bible studies. There are many good ones online.