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3 Mistakes with Commentaries

April 30, 2025 By Peter Krol

Stephen Kneale warns of three mistakes we could make with commentaries.

Opening commentaries too early
Opening commentaries too late
Not opening commentaries at all

There is some good advice here, along the lines of our continued counsel to avoid becoming a commentary junkie. I’ve given my own set of mistakes with commentaries. And just as you can disagree with someone’s advice about commentaries, so also you ought to be free to disagree with the commentaries themselves.

The goal is always to allow the biblical text to speak the loudest for itself. Commentaries make great conversation partners but lousy agenda setters.

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How to Listen to Wisdom

April 25, 2025 By Peter Krol

Fimb (2009), Creative Commons Attribution

To become wise, you must learn to listen. Such listening has two parts.

¹My son, if you receive my words
And treasure up my commandments with you,
²Making your ear attentive to wisdom
And inclining your heart to understanding
³Yes, if you call out for insight
And raise your voice for understanding,
⁴If you seek it like silver
And search for it as for hidden treasures. (Prov 2:1-4)

Solomon begins the chapter with a big “IF.” Receiving, treasuring, attending, inclining, calling out, raising your voice, seeking, and searching all boil down to one weighty concept: listening. He already commanded us to “hear” in Prov 1:8. He regretted our refusal to “listen” in Prov 1:24. He’ll come back to the topic of listening again in Prov 3:1, 21; 4:1, 10, 20; 5:1; 7:24; 8:6, and Prov 8:32. Listening is no small theme in Proverbs 1-9.

What does it mean to listen to wisdom? He breaks it down into two pieces: passive receiving and active seeking.

Passive Reception

First, he commands us to listen passively (Prov 2:1-2): receive, treasure, attend, and incline. There are many times when we don’t ask for advice, but it comes anyway. It might come in a form we like: a powerful sermon, a gentle rebuke, or a kind reminder. It might come in a form we don’t like: an angry critic, a disconsolate child, or a disgruntled coworker. Whatever shape wisdom takes, the question remains the same: Will you receive it? We’re like desperately hungry babies, and the food is placed right in our mouths. Will we munch on it or spit it out?

In other words, we ought to pay attention to the Bible and delight in it. We must be receptive to what wise people say — or even to wise things foolish people say — and avoid shifting blame or making excuses. In reading God’s word or in having it explained to us, we should be broken and changed by it.

Are you approachable? How do you handle criticism? Are you willing to address weakness or failure? Do you have the courageous humility to focus more on how you need to grow than on how others need to grow? A mark of the wise Christian is the persistent and vigilant examination for logs in or around the eye (Matt 7:1-5).

Active Pursuit

Danard Vincente, Creative Commons Attribution

Second, Solomon commands us to listen actively (Prov 2:3-4): call, raise, seek, and search. Passive reception is not enough; Prov 2:3-4 instructs us to move on to active seeking. We must call out and raise our voices for understanding. We must seek wisdom as we would silver or a hidden treasure. If a woman lost her wedding ring, she would tear the house apart until she found it. She wouldn’t just wait passively for it to reappear on its own.

We can relate to this image, because we’re all treasure seekers. We arrange our lives to accommodate what’s most important to us. That’s why we bother to get married. That’s why we drag ourselves out of bed for 8:00 AM classes. That’s why we make peace with the long commute to the office. That’s why we stay up late for cinematic premieres. That’s why spend so long in front of the mirror before leaving the house each day. That’s why we go into debt. That’s why we’ll upheave our lives and relocate closer to our grandchildren.

If I fail to grow in wisdom, it’s not because I didn’t receive enough help. If I am not being fed spiritually, I am responsible to find food. If you are a teacher or a leader, you should not wait for people to give you suggestions for improvement; you should take initiative to ask for them. If you’re married, don’t wait for your spouse to bring up concerns; instead, regularly ask, “How do you think our marriage is going?” Consider asking someone to mentor you. If you want to understand the Bible better, plan time right in your schedule. If you don’t have a schedule, now would be a great time to make one.

To summarize: If you want to become wise, you must listen to wisdom. Listening involves both receiving it eagerly and seeking it passionately.

This post was first published in 2012 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

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You Don’t Have to Choose Between Truth and Love

April 23, 2025 By Peter Krol

I appreciate Josh Thomas’s thoughtful piece “Big Heads or Big Hearts,” where he considers the false dichotomy of truth vs. love, and he suggests we don’t have to choose between them. Especially in our Bible study.

Sure, it would be unhelpful to study the Bible only to beat people up and prove you have superior knowledge. But that doesn’t mean that a pursuit of love means you don’t need to continue learning from and about the Bible.

Truth and love ought not be thought of as if they are opposites — as if the pursuit of one will automatically detract from the pursuit of the other. Even in specific situations, we shouldn’t think that we need to decide between standing for the truth and loving. We can always do both!

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What We Miss When We Skip the Prophets

April 21, 2025 By Ryan Higginbottom

woody93 (2014), public domain

From what Biblical book is your pastor preaching? What are you reading in your devotional times? What book of the Bible are you studying in your small group?

Let me guess: An epistle? A gospel? An Old Testament historical book? Some of the Wisdom literature (Psalms, Proverbs, etc.)?

I’d bet very few of you would answer Ezekiel, or Micah, or Zechariah.

The Forgotten Prophets

The prophetic books of the Old Testament make up 250 of the Bible’s 1189 chapters. That’s about 21% of the Bible! And I think those books are sorely neglected.

I don’t have any recent data or research to back me up. But when I talk to other Christians about what they’re reading, the prophets come up the least. If someone mentions the prophets, it’s usually because they’re following a read-through-the-Bible plan. (And they’re usually eager to get to Matthew!)

Five Things We Lose When We Skip the Prophets

Aside from missing out on a fifth of God’s word, here are five specific treasures we miss when we consistently neglect the reading and study of the prophets. (These are not all features exclusive to the prophets, but they appear in most of the prophetic books.)

1. Background to the New Testament

If you want to know what the people of Jesus’s day were thinking about and expecting from God, you need to read the prophets. The prophets were the most recent revelation from God, and yet there had been no word from God for hundreds of years when Jesus was born. The people’s expectations were shaped by prophetic promises of rescue, deliverance, and victory over enemies.

2. References in the New Testament

The New Testament writers assumed a high level of Biblical literacy. They often made reference to portions of the Old Testament, either through allusion or explicit quotation. It seems likely that by referring to a verse New Testament writers assumed their hearers or readers would think of a much larger passage of Scripture. Especially when reading those authors who explain how Jesus fulfilled prophesy, it’s essential that we pay attention to the prophetic books.

3. The communal nature of God’s people

In the prophets, God gives a message to one person for broadcast to his people. There are collective accusations of rebellion and idolatry, collective threats of punishment and exile, and collective promises of salvation. In the modern West, we tend to read the Bible through an individualistic lens, but the Jewish people of the Old Testament were bound together in a way we must understand. While the Bible has plenty of implications for individuals, God frequently addresses us as his church, and we need the counter-balance of thinking collectively that the prophets provide.

4. Hope

Because disobedience has serious consequences, the future was bleak for many who heard the prophetic announcements. But God rarely left his people without hope. The exile would end. The oppressing nations would be defeated. Hearts would be changed and the people’s longing for God’s presence would finally be realized. God always sustains his people through a sure hope.

5. God’s omniscience and sovereignty

In the prophets, we read prediction after prediction about what will happen to God’s people and we see the extent of God’s knowledge. We read of God’s judgment against Israel’s sins and we recognize the extent of his authority and personal rule. Now as then, he is not a God to take lightly.

Start Reading

If you’ve been neglecting the prophets in your own Bible intake, the fix is easy. Start reading!

Here’s a concrete suggestion. Take a month this summer and devote it to reading the prophets. Pick one major prophet (Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel) and three minor prophets, and make yourself a reading plan. (Here, I made one for you!)

Take a look at the historical background of each book before you begin. Most good study Bibles have this information (and many web sites do too).

Then read with purpose. If you get confused by the language or bored with what seems repetitive, push through. Write some notes on each chapter as you go to help you understand what you’re reading.

Let’s give our attention to the whole counsel of God, without consistently ignoring any of what he’s given us.

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(This was originally published in 2018.)

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How to Become Wise

April 18, 2025 By Peter Krol

A few Olympic cycles ago, I wrote about what the Olympics taught me about Bible study. The Olympics deliver drama spectacularly, but they fail at imparting instruction.

Who, by watching Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt run, would get any practical help with his own stride? Perhaps exposure to the Asian badminton teams could influence aspiring champions not to cheat. But how many gymnasts will improve their own dismounts from Team USA’s example? Or who, upon seeing footage of Michael Phelps’ races and interviews, would gain concrete ideas for faster flip-turns? Perhaps a few prodigies will learn well by merely watching and imitating the world’s greatest athletes, but most of us need more personal coaching, step-by-step instruction, and encouragement in the basics.

“Becoming a Wise Owl Takes a Lot of Concentration” by Ken Bosma (2008), shared under Creative Commons Attribution License

That’s why, in Proverbs 2, Solomon gets down on our level and shows us practical steps we can take to become wise. He’s already given the big picture in chapter 1; now he gives details on the process. Here we’ll find not just what we need to know, but what we need to do.

Proverbs 2 has a tight logic:

If you listen – 1-4

Then you’ll get started on the path of wisdom – 5

Why? Because God wants to make you wise – 6-8

Then you’ll continue to grow in wisdom – 9

Why? Because wisdom will change you – 10

Result: you’ll make different choices that protect you – 11

From violent men – 12-15

From adulterous women – 16-19

For endurance on the right path – 20-22

Over the next few Proverbs posts, I’ll boil the argument down into three chief sections: If you listen (Prov 2:1-4), you’ll become wise (Prov 2:5-10), resulting in different choices (Prov 2:11-22).

This post was first published in 2012 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

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The Psalms as Lament for Exile and Praise for a Return

April 16, 2025 By Peter Krol

This wonderful piece by Nicholas Piotrowski summarizes the entire book of Psalms, showing that this collection of poems was intentionally organized to lament Israel’s exile and praise God for her return. In the process, the book generates hope for a future glorious return of God’s people through a new, resurrected David.

Here is a taste:

…while psalms attributed to David decreased over books 3 and 4, his psalms are back in force in book 5. Psalms 108–110, 122, 124, 131, 133, and Psalms 138–145 are all ascribed to David. The emphasis that emerges is that “the answer to the problem of exile is David.” Having been laid “in the dust” at the end of book 3 (Ps. 89:39), David is now literarily back from the grave.

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3 Questions for Bible Reading and Reflection

April 11, 2025 By Peter Krol

This is a guest post by Micah Colbert, who trains African pastors as an international theological educator with ABWE. He also serves as the discipleship and outreach pastor at Community of Grace Church in Buffalo, NY. Micah has written two evangelistic books designed to help Christians lead evangelistic inductive Bible studies with unbelievers. You can find him on Facebook.

If you would like to submit a guest post for consideration, please see our guidelines

Do you ever pine for that perfect Instagram Bible study moment? You’ve seen the pics plenty of times before. Steam rises off the fresh cup of coffee. Highlighters form a perfect splash of color to augment the mauve leather cover of your prayer journal. And every inspiring devotional thought ends with exclamation points and heart emojis.

a man writing on the notebook — Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

The reality of Bible study, however, takes a lot more time and thought. Below are a few questions to help you think deeply and reflect faithfully on the meaning and implication of God’s word to everyday life.

What does this passage reveal about God’s glory?

This may be the most neglected, yet vital question we should be asking ourselves every time we read God’s word. The Bible is not primarily an instructional manual or “how to” book, but it is God’s revelation of himself, graciously given so we would know him and the majestic depths of his character and work. 2 Corinthians 3:18 reminds us that spiritual growth happens as we behold in awe the glory of the Lord revealed in the Scriptures.

Every time we open our Bibles, we should come with a prayerful eagerness to discover, ponder, and rejoice in the glory of God. As John Piper notes, “When we seek to enjoy communion with the Lord, we read the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s words and God’s deeds reveal God himself for our knowledge and our enjoyment.”

How does this passage relate to the gospel?

The gospel is the main message of the Bible. In this good news, we discover all that God has done, is doing, and will do for his people through his Son Jesus Christ. Everything in the scriptures 1) shows us our need of the gospel, 2) reveals God’s work for us in the gospel, 3) encourages us to respond to the gospel in repentance and faith, or 4) unpacks the implications of the gospel for the Christian life. We simply cannot understand the Bible if we do not read it through the lens of God’s saving work through Christ!

Jared C. Wilson states, “Everything the Bible teaches, whether theological or practical, and everywhere it teaches, whether historical or poetical or applicational or prophetic, is meant to draw us closer to Christ, seeing him with more clarity and loving him with more of our affections.” Whether we’re reading Leviticus or Luke, we should ask ourselves how the truths of the text point to our need for the person and work of Jesus Christ.

How should I respond to what I have just read?

The Bible is a book to be not only admired, but actually applied to the nitty gritty of daily life. As you read God’s word, prayerfully consider how the gospel-shaped, God-exalting truths you are discovering influence your worldview, values, priorities, activities, and responses to life’s circumstances. Think about what your life would look like today if you lived in the reality of what you’ve just read.

I have found the following categories (and corresponding questions) helpful as I consider the application of God’s word to daily living:

Thinking: How do the truths of this text shape the way I view God, myself, the world, and my present circumstances?
Feeling: How do the truths of this text inspire greater gratitude, humility, and/or joy in Christ?
Living: What attitudes and actions need to change because of the truths I’ve studied from this passage? Practically, what steps need to be taken to live in the light of the truths of this text?
Praying: How should I respond to this passage in prayer (or worship, repentance, petition, etc.)?

Conclusion

Ultimately, the purpose of reading the Bible is to deepen our relationship with the Lord. As you read the Scriptures, look for the glory of God revealed in the text. Ponder how the passage deepens your understanding and appreciation of the gospel. Carefully consider how the eternal truths you have just read transform your thoughts, actions, and attitudes today. As you do so, you will find your time spent in the Scriptures greatly enriching and rewarding!

Originally posted on Rooted Thinking on Sept. 19, 2018.

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Hospitality in Ancient Cultures

April 9, 2025 By Peter Krol

This post by Michael Kruger provides an excellent example of how cultural context ought to inform both interpretation and application. The New Testament repeatedly commands Christians to show hospitality. Unless we understand what that meant to the original readers, we will miss much of the purpose of the command today.

Harnack also highlights the extensive travel of later Christian leaders such as Justin, Hegesippus, Julius Africanus, and (especially) Origen.

Origen travelled to Sidon, Tyre, Bostra, Antioch, Casesarea, Nikomedia, Athens, Nicopolis, Rome, and number of other cities (some of which he visited more than once). Such travel was made possible because of the advancements made in the first-century Roman roads, though journeys were still slow and often dangerous.

But, Christians didn’t just travel for missionary work. They traveled for two additional reasons. First, travel was the way they spread Christian writings in the ancient world. It wasn’t just a generic message that these missionary-teachers were promulgating, but particularly Christian texts. Even in the first century, we see that early Christians had a remarkably well-organized network for distributing their writings. For instance, Paul frequently names the letter-carriers who would often have to travel great distances to deliver his epistles.

Second, and equally important, Christians traveled for the purposes of fellowship, networking, and encouraging one another. Despite the lack of modern travel conveniences, Christians traveled great distances just to be with one another. They were so highly networked, that one recent writer referred to early Christians as having a “Holy Internet.”

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Don’t Drift Away From the Bible

April 7, 2025 By Ryan Higginbottom

Rostam Torki (2014), public domain

Most people don’t set out to gain fifteen pounds. Instead, their diet changes over time. Candy and ice cream take the place of fruits and vegetables, and the numbers on the scale creep northward.

It happens over weeks, not days. And unless a person is taking measurements, visiting the doctor, or talking with friends about their habits, they might not even notice.

The same drift that happens with diet can happen with Bible intake. And both types of drift can leave us in an unhealthy place.

The Terrible Drift

Those with a commitment to God and his word don’t intend to drift away. But without an anchor, they get caught in the river’s current. They enjoy the breeze, not realizing they’re headed for the danger of a waterfall.

People that drift away from the Bible aren’t that different from you and me. They belong to churches. They have a history of practicing spiritual disciplines. But maybe they’re busy. Their priorities subtly shift. They develop other habits, even good habits like exercise or time with friends. And one day they realize they haven’t read the Bible in six months.

They don’t feel like they’ve forgotten the gospel, but the truth of the Bible is no longer at the front of their thinking. The glory of God is no longer the lens through which they see and interpret life. This leads to a person increasingly turned inward and focused on their own earthly happiness. Externally, they may be pleasant and kind, but their soul is in danger. Blatant, external sins often begin with the erosion of personal communion with God.

Guard Against Drift

While it may seem unthinkable to walk away from God, we have plenty of examples in the Bible (Hebrews 6:1–8, John 6:60–71, 2 Peter 2:17–22). Each Christian likely has a story of a friend or acquaintance who was once near to Jesus and is now in a distant land.

A drift from God often begins with a drift from his word. So, how do we guard against this drift?

Make Bible intake a habit. Humans are prone to selfishness and forgetfulness. This is why we read and re-read the Bible. We need to study it, memorize it, hear it, sing it, and meditate on it. We cling to all reminders of the truth—to see ourselves, the world, and God aright. We cannot find this perspective within ourselves.
Talk deeply and honestly with friends who share your values. We all need friends who care about us enough to know our temptations and triggers to sin and who will ask us regularly—even out of the blue—how we’re really doing. Friends like this will make you uncomfortable and even angry at times. And you should thank God for people like this in your life. Friends don’t let friends neglect the Bible.
Give yourself to regular, corporate worship. It is difficult to hate that which your church family loves. If your church values the Bible—if God’s word is at the center of its preaching, singing, teaching, lamenting, praying, feasting, counseling, and encouraging—this can be a helpful tether. A church that consistently points back to the Bible helps its people learn to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).
Pray. None of us, if left to ourselves, are above turning from God. Confess your weakness and your proneness to wander. Ask God to keep you and to give you an enduring love for him. He is a good father who loves to give good gifts to his children.

This was originally posted in 2018.

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Congratulations to Winners of the Drawing!

April 4, 2025 By Peter Krol

Many thanks, and great job to all who participated in this year’s 90-day Bible reading challenge. This year, we had 68 people complete the Bible reading challenge—the most ever. With the bonus entries granted for those who recruited others to complete the challenge, there were 84 total entries.

Michael C. won the first grand prize of a 12-month pro-level subscription to Logos Bible Software. Jennifer B. won the second grand prize of a premium book rebinding from Pro Libris Rebinding.

With 68 participants, we had six additional prize packages, offered to the following folks:

Elizabeth B.
Annette K.
Michael H.
Lou C.
Becca B.
John L.

I have emailed each of these winners to notify them of their prize. If it seems like your name might be on this list, and you haven’t seen an email from me, you may want to check your spam filter. Or email me at peter.krol@knowableword.com to double check. If I don’t hear back from you by April 8, new winners will be selected to receive the prize.

What People Thought

As usual, there were a variety of perspectives on the rapid reading experience. Some loved it:

Someone who completed the Bible in 67 days: “This was a great experience! It was really nice having the story of scripture fresh on my mind from start to end. I will definitely be doing this again.”
30 days: “You see the major themes more clearly and you see the interconnected-ness of the Bible by being in different sections just days apart.”
41 days: “This is my ninth year with this challenge. This time I was inspired by a friend to make time to read large books in one sitting. So I allocated several Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons for two to three hour reading blocks. This greatly improved my understanding of the stories of God. Something that came to light for me this year is what God says about other nations — Edom, Syria, Egypt, and so on. Through this, I saw parallels to our own culture and God’s judgment amidst salvation and redemption. Convicting and encouraging!”
90 days: “It was very exciting and profitable. It was my first time reading the Bible this quickly and felt like my grasp of the Bible and individual books of the Bible grew exponentially.”

Others were not as enthusiastic, but still endured through the challenge:

79 days: “It is not my favorite way to read the whole Bible. I’ve read the NT quick in another Bible challenge. I’ve not read the whole Bible this fast. I prefer to read a few chapters or a chapter at a time-in a day.”
60 days: “I was not a big fan of it. Made me feel rushed and not able to digest it.”
67 days: “I was not able to get everything. Most of what I have already studied jumped out in the context even more, and made me appreciate the when and where. Similarly, I have come to realize that the Bible is not just a tool to be studied, but instead something to simply enjoy. God’s word is also a story meant for our enjoyment which also gives us incredible, life saving truth as well.”

Perhaps my favorite response came from a first-timer, who completed the Bible in 81 days:

I’ve read through the Bible chronologically, but not in such a short time period. This method was superior for getting a good overview of scripture, as well as remembering related details. This was so effective, I plan on doing this again next winter… Thank you for this challenge. It was a fantastic experience and its own reward.

Thanks

Thanks for the great time in God’s word. May it set you up for a profitable time the rest of the year, as you continue delighting in the Spirit-inspired scriptures handed down to us.

Please keep the ideas coming for future Bible reading challenges!

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