Knowable Word

Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible

Copyright © 2012–2026 DiscipleMakers, except guest articles (copyright author). Used by permission.

You are here: Home / Archives for Check it Out

Why Elisha Called Bears to Attack 42 Youths

By

The book of 1-2 Kings has some strange incidents in it. One of them is when Elisha curses forty-two “small boys” for calling him “baldhead.”

23 He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.

2 Kings 2:23-24

What is going on here?

Crossway recently published a wonderful piece by Gary Millar, excerpted from his commentary, where he explains the historical and covenantal context for what’s happening in this episode.

Is this a shocking incident? Yes it is… But this incident is also one that fits perfectly with the flow of 2 Kings 1–2, in which we see very clearly how God not only works in the darkness but will not be silenced, continuing to speak through this prophet. It is the response to this prophetic word that determines whether God’s people experience blessing or curse.

Check it out!

How to Study the Prophets

By

Have you ever struggled to navigate the prophetic books of the Old Testament? These ancient poetic texts speak to circumstances far removed from our own, yet with great impact on our understanding of the person and work of Christ. The apostles quoted often from the prophets when seeking to explain the good news of Christ’s kingdom.

Brian Estelle has a few brief but meaty suggestions to help you read these books with greater profit.

  1. Investigate the context.
  2. Recognize the role of the prophets as God’s covenant lawyers.
  3. Learn to be aware of the prophetic idiom.
  4. Hunt for ways in which the New Testament Scriptures cite, allude to, or echo the Prophets.

He explains each point with clear examples to help you along your way. Check it out!

Why the Spirit is Willing but the Flesh is Weak

By

Zach Hollifield has a wonderful article where he makes a keen observation and asks a crucial rational interpretive question:

It’s when Jesus returns from his own prayer to find them snoozing that he utters the infamous line “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” …

Matthew and Mark go out of their way to make it clear that Jesus says this to Peter and Peter alone. Mark even quotes Jesus as beginning the statement with, “Simon, are you asleep—?” Jesus finds all three sleeping, and yet when he makes the statement about the spirit being willing and flesh being weak, he says it directly to just one disciple. Why?

Hollifield finds in the text compelling answers to his question, leading to some really helpful application. This is a great example of strong Bible study skills.

Check it out!

Getting Together to Read (Not Study) the Bible

By

T.M. Suffield has a rather novel idea. Well, it seems novel to us, though the church before us had done it for centuries. Let’s meet together to read the Bible. A lot of it.

Paul commanded Timothy not to neglect the public reading of Scripture (1 Tim 4:13), and yet many evangelical Protestant churches read barely more than a few verses during their worship services. Sadly, to get a large dose of public Bible reading, you often have to go to a liberal or Roman Catholic church.

But Suffield has begun hosting gatherings in both his church and his home to simply read Scripture together. At a recent gathering, they read the entire book of 2 Timothy.

Suffield offers compelling reasons for such a practice, including:

  • Hearing Scripture read in context.
  • Following the thread of an author’s argument.
  • Hearing the structure.
  • Experiencing Scripture the way generations of believers have engaged with it for centuries.

This is worth your and my further consideration. How can we organize our local believing communities around extended public reading of Scripture together?

Check it out!

The Truth about Spirit-Led Bible Study

By

I’ve sometimes heard people oppose rigorous Bible study skills with being “Spirit-led,” as though academic reflection might get in the way of what the Sprit of God wishes to do in our lives. Faithlife recently published a piece I wrote to explain that rigorous Bible study skills are right in line with the work of God’s Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of God inspired the Scriptures. He illuminates the Scriptures. And he gives his people wisdom to know God through Christ in the Scriptures. By developing good habits and skills, we partner with this same Spirit to attain to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Check it out!

Proclaiming the Gospel from Old Testament Narrative

By

Some friends of mine recently pointed me to this article from Steve Mathewson on preaching the gospel from Judges. Mathewson wrestled through an old debate about whether we ought to teach OT narratives as foreshadowings of Christ or as examples to follow or avoid. And in the end, Mathewson cogently demonstrates that we shouldn’t have to decide between those options.

After wrestling through a philosophical framework for reading the OT, Mathewson gives a few examples from texts about Ehud and Barak.

I agree with many of Mathewson’s conclusions. One thing I would add to his reflection is that, before we even attempt to connect the text to Christ or to application, we must first grasp the author’s main point for the original audience. Mathewson essentially does this in his examples, but he doesn’t state outright that he is doing so. But much trouble would be resolved if didn’t race immediately from the text to the cross, or from the text to today. Taking the time to consider the full meaning for the original audience is the very practice that will enable us to grasp its teaching about Christ and its true implications for people today.

And though Mathewson frames his article around preaching, his framework applies just as much to personal or small group Bible study.

Check it out!

HT: Mark Fodale, Andy Cimbala

Applying the Old Testament in Africa

By

I appreciate seeing how Christian brethren around the world seek to apply the Bible in their own context. While the interpretation of the Bible is rooted in the author’s intention for his original audience, application of the Bible can and should be as varied and diverse as are the people laboring to apply it.

And there is much we can learn from watching those in other culture apply the Scripture to the particular issues they face. For example, this piece from Africa wrestles with proper application of the Old Testament to contemporary African issues such as circumcision and polygamy.

Polygamy was not God’s plan for humanity. The fact that God made concessions to the polygamous practices of Abraham, Jacob, and David does not mean that he approved their sexual choices. Abraham and Jacob were still influenced by their cultures as they were learning God’s principles for family. David used polygamy to form alliances. Unfortunately, some Christians in Africa have used the example of Abraham to justify polygamy. God honoured Abraham’s faith; he nowhere condoned Abraham’s polygamy.

Check it out!

Why “Just Your Interpretation” is Never a Reasonable Refutation

By

Kevin DeYoung writes thoughtfully about a perceived resurgence of “that’s just your interpretation” as a defeater accusation toward disagreeable Christian doctrine. Whether it’s the uniqueness of Christ, the necessity of his salvation, the definition of marriage, or the distinction of male and female—some folks may think they’ve refuted the Christian position by simply observing that disagreement exists among Christian interpreters. So one interpretation cannot be any more valid than another.

DeYoung exposes the problem with such accusations:

The reality is that “interpretations” are what we have in every area of intellectual inquiry. The problem of pervasive interpretation pluralism is not an evangelical problem. It is a human problem. Do we really think historians, economists, sociologists, and scientists don’t disagree on how to interpret matters in their field? And do we think they aren’t confident that their conclusions are much more sure than mere “interpretations”? If we are going to give up on reading texts and reaching firm conclusions, we won’t just marginalize the Bible; we will render the entire exercise of human reason fruitless and irrelevant.

The objection cannot stand up under its own weight.

Check it out!

Find Friends Who Know the Bible

By

Your friends foreshadow your fate. Show me your friends, and I’ll show your odds at ever finding wisdom.

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Proverbs 13:20

Part of the reason for this is that wise friends will tell you what you need to hear, while foolish friends will tell you only what you want to hear.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Proverbs 27:6

Daniel Seabaugh understands these truths as he reflects on the gift of friends who know the Bible. He describes the delight and support to be found when you surround yourself with people who know and have courage to speak the Scripture into your life. Speaking such friends, Seabaugh writes:

When I watch them lead at work, home, and church, I’m encouraged to take Christ-like responsibility for my own life. Whether they realize it or not (and I think they get it), their lives display God’s power. When we acknowledge our weakness and invite Christ into those spaces, God shows up in mighty ways. I’ve seen it over and over in the lives of my friends.

Check it out!

You Can’t Understand the New Testament Without the Old

By

Mitch Chase wants you to embrace not only the 27 books of the New Testament but also the 39 books of the Old Testament for your Christian discipleship. He argues that the Old Testament is not only Jewish Scripture, but is also a foundational part of Christian Scripture. In fact, you can’t really understand the New Testament without the Old.

After giving seven reasons for this assertion, he concludes:

The Old Testament is relevant for the Christian life because it is Christian Scripture. We are children of Abraham by faith, so the earlier covenants and redemptive acts of God are part of our history. We need the warnings and exhortations of the Old Testament. We need its songs and proverbs. We need to know about its prophets and kings. The Old Testament tells of saints before the cross, and they form a cloud of witnesses as we run the race after the cross.

Check it out!