the Bible was not written to you but for you

I was reading through one of John Walton's Genesis commentaries the other day. In it he laid some good hermeneutical foundations. I thought you'd like to read over them. Always good to keep in mind, especially since we generally make the Bible about us and our puny little problems.

1. We must allow the text to pursue its own agenda, not force it to pursue ours.
   
2. We must be committed to the intention of the author rather than getting whatever mileage we can out of the words he used.
   
3. We must resist over-interpreting the text in order to derive the angle we are seeking.
   
4. We must be willing to have our minds changed by the text - that it is at least part of the definition of submitting ourselves to the authority of the text.
   
5. We must be willing to accept the inevitable disappointment if the text does not address or solve the questions we would like answers to.