Knowable Word - Bible study help

It’s Not Too Late

September 9, 2026 By Peter Krol

Tim Challies knows what you and I both know, but might hesitate to say aloud: We easily get off-track and discouraged in our daily Bible reading. Maybe you started the year with great intentions, but circumstances have eclipsed your plans, and now fall is just around the corner.

You could decide to just wait out the next 4 months and try again in the New Year. Or you could make something great happen right now. Challies wants to help you with the latter option, and so do I.

I simply want to encourage you not to surrender the rest of this year. In fact, I want you to believe that you can still make this an extraordinary year of reading your Bible. However, for that to be the case, you will need to take a bit of time to consider how to read, what to read, and how to either form a new habit or re-form an old one.

Are you willing to try again? Challies has a few great ideas:

Make your devotions relational
Listen to the Bible and pray out loud
Involve someone else
Use your commute

He then offers specific suggestions for Bible reading and for prayer time. This might be just the sort of advice you need!

Check it out!

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We Need Faith to Study the Bible

September 7, 2026 By Ryan Higginbottom

Our approach often determines our results.

A pole vaulter’s job is incredibly complex. An observer may only see them flying through the air, but the athlete must first put in months of work on form, technique, speed, strength, and flexibility. Those in training practice sprinting with the pole before they ever vault over the bar. If they approach the pit incorrectly, there is no chance of success.

Likewise, our approach to the Bible often determines our understanding and our obedience. The question is: Will we approach the Bible in faith?

Slow-to-Believe Disciples

We find the famous story of Jesus on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:13–35. When Jesus joins the pair of disciples, they do not recognize him, and they are shocked when he seems ignorant of the headline events of recent days (Luke 24:17–19).

As the two relate the current events to Jesus, after mentioning his death, they say, “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21). The implication is clear—because Jesus died, he must not be the one to redeem Israel.

The disciples go on to mention the empty tomb, indicating their curiosity about a possible resurrection, but Jesus responds with a rebuke.

O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? (Luke 24:25–26)

Jesus goes on to explain all the things about himself in the Scriptures. But let’s examine that rebuke more closely.

Because the disciples were not expecting a Messiah who would suffer and die, their hopes were dashed. But Jesus says that they should have expected this! They were slow of heart to believe the prophets. (This includes Jesus, whom they describe as a prophet in Luke 24:19 and who spoke about his suffering and death in Luke 9:21–22, 9:44, and 18:31–34.) They were reading and interpreting the Scriptures without faith.

Different Approaches to the Bible

People read the Bible for a host of different reasons.

Some come as skeptics, wondering what this strange book/religion is all about. Others pick up the Bible to find evidence for a belief they already hold. Still others approach the Bible only to prove someone wrong.

Instead of being slow of heart to believe, we must be quick to believe. We must come to the Bible eager to discover and believe the truth. We must approach the Bible in faith.

Now, God can turn around any skeptic that opens his word. But for those who already follow Jesus, we must come expecting to find good and helpful truths in the Bible. And we must repent of our resistance, our hesitation, and our refusal to embrace what God teaches.

How to Approach in Faith

The best way to approach the Bible in faith is to ask God for it. Confess your reluctance and your doubts and ask him to work in you. It takes humility to study the Bible.

God also builds faith in us as we hear what he says about his word. Psalm 19 contains some wonderful, soul-rousing truths about the Bible.

The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:7–11)

As God’s people, let’s turn to the Bible ready for wisdom, joy, and enlightenment. Let’s seek out the truth and believe it.

This was originally posted in 2020.

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You Can’t Resist Immorality with an Empty Weapon

September 4, 2026 By Peter Krol

In Proverbs 7, Solomon unmasks immorality’s deception to help us stand against it. But we won’t be ready to skirmish unless we first lock and load. You can’t win a battle with an empty weapon.

1 My son, keep my words
and treasure up my commandments with you;
2 keep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
3 bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
5 to keep you from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words. (Prov 7:1-5)

Observe Key Words

First observe three key words: “keep,” “my,” and “words.”

Keep

The word “keep” is repeated 4 times.

The first 3 repetitions are all parallel. Keep my words. Keep my commandments. Keep my teaching. “Treasure up my commandments” is sandwiched in the middle and fits the idea well. We should get the idea that keeping the commandments is not the same thing as obeying the commandments (what we usually mean by “keeping a command”). It has more to do with treasuring, storing, valuing, or guarding.

The one who keeps the commandments is the one who hungrily savors every word and fends off any threat of dilution, forgetfulness, or spin.

Notice now the twist in verse 5. This compulsive hoarding of wisdom (and keeping it close) will keep you from the forbidden woman (that is, from immorality). When you keep (protect) wisdom, wisdom keeps (protects) you. Thus the opposite should come as no surprise: The one caught by immorality is the one who has failed to guard wisdom (the one who lack sense – Prov 7:7).

My

Observe next how Solomon likewise plays with the word “my,” a pronoun of possession. There’s a reason possession is nine-tenths of the law.

“My son” – you, the audience, are a possession of the one speaking to you.

“My words,” “my commandments,” “my commandments,” “my teaching” – the words of wisdom are a precious possession, but freely available to you.

“Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister'” – keeping the words of wisdom will teach you a thing or two about possession. You’ll learn intimacy from the one who was intimate with you.

Words

“Words” bracket this stanza. The one who keeps Solomon’s words (Prov 7:1) is kept from immorality’s smooth words (Prov 7:5).

For this reason, I write. For this reason, we speak truth to one another. This battle will always be one of words. Which words will rule your heart? Whose promises will you treasure deep within?

Observe Structure

Now that we’ve noticed how the key words are used, we can fit the pieces together. This stanza is structured as a chiasm, a pretty common literary device in ancient literature where the second half is a mirror image of the first half. The point is often to draw attention to the center.

A Keep my words – Prov 7:1

B Life-giving commandments become the apple of your eye – Prov 7:2

C Make sure these words fill your heart and are bound on your fingers – Prov 7:3

B’ Intimate insight/wisdom becomes your sister – Prov 7:4

A’ Be kept from immorality’s smooth words – Prov 7:5

The Main Idea

Like an arrow, the passage’s structure points right to verse 3. Something must be written on the tablet of your heart. The words found there will seep out of your fingers into your everyday choices. Solomon already covered this ground in his formula for change in Prov 4:20-27: Wisdom must come in the ears, through the heart, and out the fingertips.

Now he gets specific and applies his formula to the realm of sexual temptation.

If you’re tired of capitulating and want to get in the ring with your sexual sin, your training begins now. You must hear the words of wisdom. You need to get them inside, and you need to keep them there. Guard the commands, memorize the Word, serve the Lord. Your fight doesn’t begin when you’re looking at seedy websites. Your resistance begins long before.

The battle is coming, and your cartridge is empty. You need to fill it with rounds of ammo. Check the safety. Clean the barrel. Let’s lock and load.

But know this, soldier. You’ll still lose this battle if your hope lies in your ability to pack your own ammo. If that’s all you get from this post, you’re doomed.

What you need is a companion. An intimate friend. A sibling (Prov 7:4).

Your hope is in that wisdom which came down from heaven to be your friend. That man of wisdom who called you “Mine” long before you considered him yours. The Word (John 1:1) whose Father can keep you from stumbling and present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy (Jude 1:24-25).

When he unzips you and steps inside, immorality won’t ever stand a chance. It’s no longer a fair fight.

This post was first published in 2014 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

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Do You Know the Different Types of OT Sacrifices?

September 2, 2026 By Peter Krol

I’m preparing to preach through Leviticus at church for the next season, and I have really enjoyed digging into the different types of offerings in the early chapters.

I’ve perceived Leviticus often treated as a byword and joke among Christians (as the place where Bible reading plans go to die)—and much to our shame! Because the result is that we then have no idea what the New Testament is talking about when it describes the work of Christ. We conflate all OT sacrifices down to one purpose—payment for sin—and fail to recognize that only one type of offering (the guilt offering, Lev 5:14-6:7) has that purpose. And then we lose track of all the other ways Jesus’ once for all sacrifice fulfills the manifold purposes of OT offerings.

So when Peter says his readers have been elected “for sprinkling with his blood” (1 Pet 1:2), did you catch the reference to the sin offering (Lev 4:1-5:13)? It’s the one that cleans out the holy place from being contaminated by human sin, so that it’s a fit place for God to dwell with his people. And that’s now what you are, if God knows you and the Spirit sanctifies you. You are a place fit for God to dwell.

And whenever you celebrate the Lord’s Supper, do you catch the echoes of the peace offering (Lev 3)? It’s the only one where the worshiper gets to eat the meat, enjoying a feast in table fellowship with God. Such feasting is now possible only through the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

This handy summary from T.M. Suffield is well worth your time. He’ll get you started, very briefly, so you can deepen your delight in one of the most unfamiliar parts of the Bible.

Unfamiliar, yet so foundational. God has made a way for us to be with him. But we must do it his way or we do not do it at all. Leviticus shows us how it works, so you can delight in all the bases Jesus has covered on your behalf.

Check it out!

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Unmasking Immorality’s Deception

August 28, 2026 By Peter Krol

The Normandy landings remain the largest amphibious invasion in the history of the world will have. Operation Overlord turned the tide of World War II when more than 160,000 American, British, and Canadian troops landed on Normandy beaches (supported by more than 195,000 naval personnel in 5,000 ships) and began pushing into the European continent.

While you’ve probably heard of the D-Day Normandy invasion, you may not have heard of its partner invasion, Operation Quicksilver. That’s because the Quicksilver invasion didn’t actually occur; it was a spectacular deception.

In Operation Quicksilver, the Allied command took their most famous general, George S. Patton—the general whom the Nazis respected and feared the most—and put him in command of the 1st U.S. Army Group (FUSAG) stationed in Dover, England, just 21 miles across the English Channel from Pas-de-Calais, France.

FUSAG had no troops, except on paper. Its artillery units consisted of rubber inflatable tanks. Its transport trucks were likewise inflatable and useless for any real combat purpose. The group’s mission was to convince the Nazis that the Allied invasion would land at Pas-de-Calais, and not at Normandy, hundreds of kilometers to the southwest.

Nazi agents undercover in England bought into the deception and fed wrong information back to Berlin. The Nazi high command was so bamboozled that they continued reinforcing their defenses at Pas-de-Calais for days after the landings at Normandy. They were convinced that the Normandy nuisance was merely a diversionary force, and that the real threat lay with General Patton’s imminent attack at Calais.

Proverbs 7 and the Forbidden Woman

But you were expecting a post about Bible study and not military history, weren’t you? What does Operation Quicksilver and the fictitious FUSAG have to do with Proverbs 7?

We, like the Nazi forces occupying France, are under threat of imminent assault. “The forbidden woman” is not our friend, as wisdom ought to be (Prov 7:4). The forbidden woman seeks to slay a mighty throng (Prov 7:26), and her headquarters leads nowhere but the grave (Prov 7:27). Her mightiest invasions are assisted by the spectacular deceptions of smooth words (Prov 7:5). Be on your guard.

Remember that “the forbidden woman” in Proverbs is not any particular person, but she represents every enticement to sexual immorality that you and I—whether male or female—experience. If we don’t understand her true tactics, we’ll fall for her misdirection and continue reinforcing the wrong defenses.

Thus, in Proverbs 7, Solomon unmasks her deception. He exposes her true battle plan. He details her aggressive and seductive tactics so we might be ready to fend them off. Will you listen? Are you ready to engage?

The logic of the passage flows as follows: To prepare for battle, you must lock and load with Scripture (Prov 7:1-5). Know that those who look for trouble will always find it (Prov 7:6-9). The enemy’s tactics involve all five senses and few extra tricks, but they’re not hard to recognize if you have the sense to do so (Prov 7:10-20). Make no mistake, this battle is for death or life. Which of the two do you want (Prov 7:21-27)?

Over the next few weeks, I’ll unpack each section in more detail.

This post was first published in 2014 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

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Why the Bible is Not Always Easy to Understand

August 26, 2026 By Peter Krol

Kenneth Berding used to think everything in the Bible should be easy to understand.

There was a part of me that thought that the Bible should be easy to understand. I mean, if it’s really from God and if God wrote it to teach us his character and ways, including the way of salvation, you would think that it would be easy to understand, wouldn’t you?

But the same grounds—connecting the nature of the Bible with the nature of God—eventually leads to a different conclusion.

I was assuming that God should be easy to comprehend—that everything about God should be immediately accessible. But unless God himself chose to create a world in which everything is simple to understand—and tells us that it is so—I was simply forcing my assumption upon God that his communication should be easily and quickly understood, at least by me.

If you have struggled with wondering why parts of the Bible are so difficult to understand, Berding’s reflections may encourage you.

Check it out!

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We Need Humility to Study the Bible

August 24, 2026 By Ryan Higginbottom

A man lacking humility will want nothing to do with the Bible.

Perhaps that’s obvious, but it’s worth repeating. Our pride lurks in the shadows, ready to spew lies about our independence, our capability, and the fact that we’re not really so bad after all.

In fact, we are finite and fallible, with hearts full of corruption and self absorption. How could we possibly know about a holy God? How could we begin to approach him?

The very existence of the Bible should fill us with gratitude. How wonderful that God has made himself known! It should also kindle humility within us—we need him to reach to us because we could never reach him ourselves.

Humility must be the beginning—indeed, the ongoing foundation—of Bible study. But it is also necessary in each stage along the way.

Humility in Observation

Familiarity is a great enemy of observation—when we think we already know a passage, our hearts cool and our eyes glaze. We think that we have noticed everything before, that we have already wrung out the sponge. And since observation gathers the wood for the fire of interpretation and application, this strain of pride can blunt the force of God’s powerful word.

Familiarity is an avenue for pride, but it may also be a fact. Some Bible passages come up frequently! So how do we cultivate humility in observation?

We may need to prevent ourselves from getting comfortable. We can turn to different translations of the Bible. We might also consider different Bible formats (audio, print, digital, reader’s versions) to see a passage with fresh eyes.

Humility in Interpretation

All Christians come from certain traditions and perspectives, even if we don’t recognize it. (As they say, a fish might not describe itself as “wet.”) As a result, we might find ourselves in a rut, drawing on a narrow interpretive framework to answer important questions.

This is precisely the problem that fueled the explosive conflict between the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei and the Catholic church in the early 1600s. Based on his astronomical observations, Galileo promoted a heliocentric (sun at the center) model of the solar system. The church opposed this view based on Biblical texts that seemed consistent with a geocentric (Earth at the center) model. The church could not fathom that Galileo’s scientific perspective could be reconciled with the Bible, so he was accused of heresy and lived the end of his life under house arrest.

One of the best ways to cultivate interpretive humility is to reject our cozy Biblical echo chambers. It is easy to think we’re always right when no one ever disagrees! There is great value in joining a Bible study group with Christians of different ages, ethnicities, traditions, and genders. We can also seek out diversity in the books we read and the sermons we download.

Humility in Application

Humility is the basis of all application. If we see no need to change, we won’t.

Those who would be humble appliers of the Bible must be courageous, because this humility requires a terrifying prayer: God, please show me my sin. Bring people and situations into my life that show me my need to change.

Bigger Than You

Humility does not demand that we belittle ourselves or our contributions. We are not called to deny the gifts or talents that God has given.

We are called, however, to seek the Lord first and love him most. Humility follows naturally when we focus less on ourselves and more on God and his plan for the world and our neighbors.

And with this preparation, we will be more faithful students of God’s word.

This was originally published in 2020.

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Jesus the Offender’s Hope

August 21, 2026 By Peter Krol

For a few weeks, we’ve examined the serious consequences of sexual immorality in Proverbs 6:20-35. Before moving on to Proverbs 7, we should take one last look at immorality’s consequences and remember how they fell upon our Savior Jesus. We, who fall for immorality’s promises and deserve to die, find life through the purity of the one who died for us. Our hope must not be in our ability to resist, but in his innocent, unresisting sacrifice on our behalf.

Jesus kept every one of his Father’s words (Prov 6:20, John 14:31), yet he was numbered among transgressors (Prov 6:24, Luke 22:37), and the master became a servant (Prov 6:25, Phil 2:6-7).

Jesus wrote the words of God on his heart (Prov 6:21, John 12:49-50), yet he still lost everything (Prov 6:26, John 10:17-18), and did not go unpunished (Prov 6:27-29, 1 Peter 2:24).

Jesus served the Father every moment in his walking, lying down, and waking (Prov 6:22, Mark 7:37). But he still suffered as a cunning robber (Prov 6:30-31, 35, Mark 15:27) and couldn’t have looked any more foolish (Prov 6:32a, 1 Cor 1:18).

Jesus was never tainted by the least sin (Prov 6:23, 1 Pet 1:18-19), yet God was pleased to crush him (Prov 6:32b, Isaiah 53:10) and wound him for our transgressions (Prov 6:33, Isaiah 53:5).

Despite his immaculate purity, Jesus found rampant dishonor and disgrace (Prov 6:33, John 19:15, Mark 10:33-34).

Though faithful to the end, Jesus experienced the furious, jealous revenge of the Divine Husband (Prov 6:34, Matt 27:46).

Friends, look upon this one who was pierced for your unfaithfulness. Don’t let him out of your sights. Don’t turn from his unbreakable love. Don’t settle for anything less.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21).

When you gaze on Christ, the counterfeits lose their appeal. And—as we’ll see next in Proverbs 7—you’ll gain the discernment to unmask immorality’s silly seductive tactics.

This post was first published in 2014 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

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The Bible is More Desirable, More Delightful

August 19, 2026 By Peter Krol

Clinton Manley asks why we don’t read the Bible, connecting his answer to two Old Testament characters who believed something was more more desirable or more delightful than God’s Word.

In other words, when we (like Achan and Samson) find other things more delightful or desirable than Scripture, the problem is not Scripture; the problem is us. This is good news, because taste can change; godly taste can be cultivated. And that’s exactly what David is trying to do when he describes God’s word: He’s trying to help us taste and see that the word is good. So, let’s follow him.

Psalm 19 explains that in keeping God’s word, there is great reward (Ps 19:11). Manley traces that idea through the Scripture to calibrate our taste buds.

Check it out!

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Aplicar la Biblia a Tu Cabeza

August 18, 2026 By Peter Krol

This is a Spanish translation of a post from our archive. For the original post in English, please click the “Publicación original” link at the top of the post. For further explanation of why we’re posting articles in Spanish for a season, see this announcement.

————

Publicación original de Peter Krol, traducida por Sarah Oiler

————

“Head” by Tinou Bao (2006), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution license

Montones de cristianos – incluyéndome a mí – hacen cosas tontas. Decimos cosas tontas y ejecutamos decisiones tontas.

Cada vez que hablo con alguien que se ofendió por un comentario hiriente y estúpido que fue dicho en el nombre de Jesús, quiero escribir un manual de instrucción oficial para el crecimiento cristiano. Sería algo así:

“Toma la Biblia. Léela, estúdiala. Aplícala con fuerza contra la cabeza.”

La primera esfera de la aplicación es la Cabeza. Es crítico que entendamos esto hoy en día. Conocer a Dios por medio de su Palabra cambiará tu manera de pensar.

Considera 1 Timoteo 4:16, donde Pablo anima a Timoteo a vigilar a sí mismo y su enseñanza, porque al hacerlo se salvará a sí mismo y a quienes lo escuchan.

Considera Efesios 4:22-24, donde Pablo describe el crecimiento cristiano como un proceso de tres pasos:

Quitarse el ropaje de la vieja naturaleza.
Ser renovados en la actitud de su mente.
Ponerse el ropaje de la nueva naturaleza.

Considera Romanos 12:2, donde la transformación ocurre cuando un cristiano renueva su mente.

Considera Mateo 22:46, donde Jesús demostró tal sabiduría que sus oponentes no pudieron armarse de valor para pedir más preguntas taimadas.

Pero, ¿cómo hacemos esto?

En nuestro pecado, reemplazamos la verdad de Dios con una mentira (Romanos 1:25). Por eso, el arrepentimiento involucra hacer lo opuesto.

Por eso, tres pasos te permiten aplicar la Biblia a tu pensamiento.

Primero, identifica lo que piensas.
Segundo, identifica lo que Dios quiere que pienses.
Tercero, empieza a pensar nuevos pensamientos.

Por ejemplo, ¿cómo aplicarías el propósito principal de Lucas 2: 1-21 (“Dios envió a Jesús para nacer para que pudiera salvar a los humildes y reinar sobre ellos con bondad. Esto glorifica a Dios al máximo.”) a tu cabeza?

Normalmente pienso que necesito ser perfecto antes de que Jesús me preste atención. Debo pensar más en su glorioso rescate que en mi propio desempeño.
Normalmente pienso que es algo malo cuando mis debilidades se revelan. En realidad, puede ser algo muy bueno.
Normalmente pienso que necesito empezar a comportarme correctamente para poder guiar a otros. Es más importante que ellos me vean confiando en Jesús y dándole la gloria.

Y no olvides la aplicación hacia fuera también:

¿Expreso aprobación o decepción hacia los demás solamente por su desempeño? ¿O creo que, aunque Dios requiere la perfección, la proveyó en Cristo?
Hay personas en mi vida que creo que, en el fondo, no pueden ser salvadas. Necesito arrepentirme de esa incredulidad y confiar en Dios y en su habilidad poderosa para obrar a través de los humildes.
Generalmente pienso que no soy una persona sociable, que no tengo talento para evangelizar y que solamente puedo mostrar Cristo a otros por medio de mis acciones. Necesito aprender a verme a mí mismo como un embajador, testigo o portavoz del Señor Jesús.

¿Qué otras aplicaciones puedes pensar de Lucas 2?

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