Learning a New Language

Learning A New Language

8/5/15

Anyone out there ever wanted to learn a new language or does anyone speak another language besides their native tongue?  In this day, it is kind of important to have another language under your belt and with our culture becoming more and more diverse it is vastly becoming a requirement.  Do you know that you do not have to take an official language class through a school or university to speak another language?  It is all right in the bible is the opportunity is right at your fingertips twenty-four hours a day.  How can I say that a person can speak another language by studying the Bible?  In all honesty, a person can learn to speak more than one new language and it will be the most important new development in your life if you allow God to flow through your studies.

Back a few years ago when God called me to begin writing I had some heavy issues that I had to deal with first.  One of the first articles God shared with me was my stubbornness about a specific class when I was in high school.  The class that was so controversial in my mind was Latin.  My parents wanted me to take Latin because it would improve my English skills, but I wanted to take German which was more important to me at that time.  After a series of parenting I gave in and took the Latin class, hell bent on showing that by me taking this class that it would not help me in my English grade, and with that attitude in hand I proved my parents wrong.  Well, in the long run, I only proved them correct because at that time in my life I had no idea that God was going to use me in the capacity that He is today.  If I would have listened back then and applied my heart to the Latin class, I would have gained so much knowledge about Church history and the Bible that I would be miles ahead of the game now.

Most people would not argue that Latin would help me in my English studies but others may question as to how one can learn other languages by studying the Bible.  Some may have already stumbled over this answer but it took me over four decades to realize this truth and it has only become known to me through my willingness to STUDY the Bible and not just read what is written.  And if people begin to study the Bible in this manner, they too can learn more than one language and it is a beautiful thing when a heart can remember another way to put words when one opens their heart to God and His wonders.

Anyone who has taken a foreign language and had the utmost desire to learn that language knows that it takes time and effort in order to comprehend what is required to compose a simple sentence.  When one takes the time to scribble down a short phrase, inevitably another person comes up, recognizes that phrase and assumes that you know more than what you just wrote on that piece of tablet paper.  It has happened to all of us and will continue this pattern until we leave this earth.  And, if one wishes to be totally honest, this situation occurs with people that speak our own language as well.  Anyway, it takes lots of time and thorough dedication to learn another language and then become comfortable with that language in order to speak as if it were a native tongue.  This practice takes years and sometimes even decades to become fluent enough to have a decent conversation with a native speaker, and even then it can become complicated with accents and dialects becoming involved.

First and foremost we must always remember that God is the author of His Word and that every bit of what is written has come from the bottom of His heart.  His Word is directly specifically and solely for us in such a manner that if we truly desire can completely comprehend its meanings without having to second guess the words or meanings.  If we first keep within our hearts that every word in the Bible comes from a pure, holy and never changing Creator it is easy to understand that the words cannot change no matter much we may want to plug in human ideas.  God’s Word is exactly like God- He cannot change therefore His Word cannot change.

We must also take into consideration that our finite minds can in no way even begin to understand what God is like or even try to house just a minute fraction of what flows through His heart, yet He loves us so much that He has provided a means necessary that we can learn just what He is trying to teach us and it is not hard at all if we just apply our hearts to the same goal as God has for us through His Word.  God does not want to hide anything from us, so He has provided a pure source of what flows through His heart in such a way that we can understand it; all the while not blowing our minds to smithereens with the vast amount of knowledge that God holds.  Do we know everything that God wants us to know?  No way and as long as we are in our current human form, there will be no way that we can totally conceive everything God has for us.  

However, that does not mean that with the bit of information about God that we can understand, it does not give us the authority to twist His words in order to provide a sanctuary for our own interpretations.  If one takes God’s Word and pulverizes it with human innuendos and stipulations then they are guilty of prostituting His Word for their own selfish claims and wants.  We all should have a true desire to learn exactly what God wants us to hear and not some watered down human interpretation; yet, for millions around the world they refuse to take the time and the effort to study God’s true, pure and holy language written in such a manner for us to understand what He wants for us to learn.  One cannot just read the Bible and know what God is saying to our hearts, it is a constant study of His language to us that flows into our lives with every study session and then come to the realization that unless we have taken the time to study more of His word, we feel cut off and not complete.  So that is one new language that we can learn and that is the pure, holy and unadulterated language of God explaining to us about Himself.

Most of us have read the Bible in our native language English.  Most of us know that the bible has been translated almost into every major human tongue which is what God intended for His Word in the first place, not being held from the people as church institutions did for centuries.  It is easy for us to get caught up in the belief that the Bible was originally transcribed into English first and then into other languages, but this is not so.  There are actually two time periods in which the Bible was written one before Christ and then the second part which was written after Christ.  While not every believer in God accepts both parts of the Bible as truth we Christians need the New Testament accounts to ensure our belief that Gentiles are grafted into the Jewish ways through Christ.

The first portion of the Bible is called the Old Testament and it contains many bits of information about the Hebrew people and the trials, tribulations, joys and jubilations that they encountered.  The Old Testament itself is not written in English, but in Hebrew the ancient language that God gave to the Israelites and Jewish nation thousands of years ago.  It is this language that we can learn while studying the Old Testament Scriptures and it is amazing of how much information one can learn about God, Israel, general human behavior, and personal behavior when we apply these words into our lives.  See, there are many English words that really do not translate well and are generalized so that an overall understanding can be obtained.  But when we study the Hebrew root words that attribute the actual meaning of what God is telling us, it brings so much more into light and brings the Word of God to life.

Take for instance the word “spoilest” in Isaiah 33:1.  When we folks who speak English read this word we automatically think about something going bad or a child who will not listen to their parents, or the such.  But when you look up the word “spoilest” in the Hebrew language its meaning and usage here is totally different, elevated to an entirely new level.  The word used here actually means to destroy, to lay waste, to be dead.  Now, that is a little bit more appreciative than a child not acting properly.  Studying God’s Word in this depth brings a new meaning to the Bible and what it says to us.  It also represents another language that we can learn.  This specific word that I have used is a Hebrew root word, it is an actual Hebrew root word that one can learn.  This is teaching us a new language, one that is ancient, pure and true.

Will we ever become fluent in Hebrew by studying this language in this manner, probably not but if we ever decide to take classes to further our knowledge about this text, then we will be able to have a jump on the desires of our heart.  God is not a dead God or one that has just said some things and then left us hanging to fend for ourselves.  God has always provides for His children we just have to clear our minds and hearts from all of the slave dwellings of the world and open our hearts to what His Word is saying to us.  The only thing God asks from us is to accept His ways and to abandon the ways of the world, choose Him first in all things and He shall guarantee a total separation from this world and what better way can this separation be achieved if we can begin to understand the exact language God designed for Israel.

The second part of the Bible is called the New Testament and was written at a later date than the Old Testament Scriptures, but that in NO way makes the New Testament less important than the Old Testament because without the other Testament, the Bible could not be the true, effective, and complete Word of God.  We Americans and those other nations who consider English to be our native language must once again remember that the New Testament was not written in our mother tongue.  The New Testament was written in Greek another original and ancient language that was considered to be different from other commonly spoken tongues.  At the time the New Testament Scriptures were written, Latin was the official language of the Roman Empire, yet several smaller languages and even smaller dialects were spoken in the area that were accepted.

The Greek language as stated above one of the languages that is considered to be a classical language.  When a person studies the New Testament they can follow in the same footsteps as the Hebrew language in the Old Testament.  Just reading the New Testament will accomplish a stated goal but studying its words thoroughly shall open one’s eyes to the true meaning of what exactly transpired during Jesus’ day.  There are countless examples of this type of context within the New Testament and when it is studied with a pure and open heart the life of the New Testament can be experienced like no other form of study.  It brings out the important and true meaning of Jesus’ life and the reason that God allowed Him to walk this earth.

We have three new languages that we have opportunities to learn so far, just by studying the entire Bible.  There is at least one more language that one can learn when studying the bible but it takes a little bit more concentration and further study than just studying the Bible.  The Roman Empire was the large superpower when the New Testament was written.  It is no secret that the Romans had many struggles with the Bible, Jesus and the overall concept of a one true God.  We have many primary sources still remaining of Rome’s opposition to the Christians and their beliefs, there are just as many documents showing where the Romans flipped their position and even were instrumental in the startup of the Early Church.  Latin was the official spoken language of Rome and the majority of their outposts spoke Latin as well, it was the common language of the Empire.

Many of the Early Church works were written in Latin, so that the ideas of the Church would be publicly presented as an official text and document.  It is known that the leaders of the Early Church were not all men and that women played an extraordinary role in the formation and stability of the Early Church.  As time proceeded some of the concepts of these leadership positions were changed and thus the war began to destroy the innermost circles of the Church.  If one takes Latin or studies its words, as I had the opportunity a long time ago, they would recognize that many of the works that are still un-translated contain vital information about how the Early Church was established and how it was received by the world.  Latin is still the official language of the Catholic Church and no matter how one feels about this organization it still contains the essential records of the early Church.

Studying Latin will bring this aspect of the Church into light and it will instill another section of God into the person’s life.  It represents another opportunity to learn another language that is not considered to be our native language but it’s presence in our studies is a necessity that will help answer more questions about God and His Word.  So far, we have been shown that there are at least four languages that a person can learn when studying the Word of God.  I ask you this question, when reading or studying a textbook, have you ever considered studying the individual words of that text for their original meanings?  I believe we all know the answer to that question, but that is precisely what we need to be doing with God’s Word, studying each word in minute detail so that we can grasp the true concepts of what He is saying to our lives.

Until we do this type of studying, the Word of God will flow right on through our lives and will not be used correctly.  The dying world is in constant awry and unless God is allowed to reclaim our lives, we will quickly follow suit; for this it is abundantly clear that we already have arrived at this condition.  God has given us the opportunity to search His word and to find the root meaning of our existence, not just on the physical aspect of things but for the eternal as well.  See, He blended both aspects of our existence together when He created us and it is necessary that we understand both of these aspects, for as long as we do not then we shall truly understand the meaning of God and the meaning of our creation.

Study the Word of God in its entirety and studying the specificity of the words that God uses, for there is purpose in each one of those words.  While you are studying in this manner you will automatically be learning other languages, ones that are pure and will help guide you when things become tough.  They will also help you explain what is transpiring in our world when people have genuine questions and concerns.  These words will bring a spiritual peace within you yet at the same time stir up within you a certain element of excitement, one that you will look to share and not hide.  God loves His children and He wants the best for our lives and the only way to obtain this peace and freedom is to know His Word through and through.  A logical and truthful question and answer is warranted at this point.  It is common belief that the Bible is a dead instrument, so would a dead and meaningless work be granted this status if it did not teach us vitality and language survival?  The answer to that question is NO!

DLB