Knowable Word

Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible

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It Doesn’t Matter How Much Time You Have

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Kristen Wetherell makes a fabulous point: You can study the Bible in 5, 15, or 30 minutes (or more). It doesn’t matter how much time you have. There is no perfect way to conduct a quiet time. Just start where you are, take what you have, and do what you can.

We need to intentionally provide our souls with a meal that nourishes us with truth. We often call this meal “quiet time”—and feel like we’ve failed if it doesn’t look a certain way.

But God isn’t prescriptive about this in his Word (Deut. 6:5–6; Phil. 2:16; John 15:4). He wants us to prioritize meeting with him through Scripture, however it looks. He wants us to hunger for him, the Bread of Life, not a formula. He wants us to pursue our perfect Savior Jesus, not a perfect quiet time, as if there were such a thing (John 5:39–40).

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Learning Faith from Habakkuk the Doomer

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As Megan Taylor walks through the argument of the book of Habakkuk, she shows the development of faith in Habakkuk the “doomer.” Here is a taste:

Habakkuk’s dilemma transcends his historical context as we find ourselves struggling against the same frustrations with the state of the world. Like Habakkuk, we too often look through a peephole when we should look into the window of God’s sovereign plan through history. Faith is not believing in a plan we deem best for ourselves, nor is it placing our hope in what we think God should do. Instead, it is the profound conviction that God, as the Master Architect of His grand design, directs all events towards the ultimate good of those who place their trust in Him.

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Advice for Discouraged Bible Readers

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Cindy Matson has some great advice “To the New and Nervous Scripture Reader.” She wants you to:

  • Expect obstacles
  • Don’t get discouraged
  • Play the long game
  • Don’t let resources replace your own direct reading

Here is a taste of her great advice:

Hi Friend,

I heard you set a goal for the new year to read Scripture more faithfully. That’s great! But I was also told that now you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed. You want to be in the Word, but you’re just not quite sure how that’s going to work. I get it; and if I could, I’d like to offer you a couple of pieces of advice. I’m sure I won’t answer every question, and I’m not even going to try to tell you what or how much to read. Instead, let me try to anticipate some problems, assuage some worries, and add a word of caution.

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Tips to Read the Bible Better

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Michael Bird offer 12 tips to help you read the Bible better. They’re quite good.

  1. Read whole passages, not verses
  2. Work through an entire book
  3. Read several Bible books together
  4. Read a passage in different translations
  5. Study the Bible in a community
  6. Practice public Bible reading
  7. Take notes during the sermon and put effort into Bible studies
  8. Get a good study Bible
  9. Find helpful podcasts and video clips
  10. Embrace the suite of digital tools
  11. Explore some commentaries
  12. Remember, the Bible is best alongside prayer and sacrament

His piece comes chock full of specific resource recommendations to help you put the principle into practice. Though I might have slightly different recommendations here and there, his counsel is well worth your time.

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How Not to Apply the Bible

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Kenneth Berding describes a sort of Bible study that is not too difficult to find.

Last week we learned that the Philistines brought the prisoner Samson into a celebration dedicated to their god Dagon so that he could “entertain” them. Lindsay, would you mind reading our passage for this week, Judges 16:28-30?”

“Yes, I’d be glad to.” [Reads the text]

“Thank you for reading, Lindsay. Alright, let’s discuss this passage together. How do you think this passage applies to your life?”

“Well, this passage really spoke to me while Lindsay was reading it.”

Berding’s parable describes an application discussion that completely bypasses observation and interpretation. Then he goes to show how it could be managed far more usefully.

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Another Perspective on Bible Study Method

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The Logos blog recently published a long form article from Daniel Yoon about “How to Do an Inductive Bible Study: 7 Steps.” I might quibble with the label “inductive” along with a few other minor things, but it’s overall a good explanation of OIA Bible study. He breaks the process into 7 steps, and explains how Bible software can help.

His steps are:

  1. Pray: What is the proper spirit for Bible study?
  2. Read: What’s the big picture?
  3. Observe: What does it say?
  4. Interpret: What does it mean?
  5. Discern: What’s the truth?
  6. Apply: What do I do now?
  7. Confess: Who can hold me to these truths?

I like to remind folks that it doesn’t matter exactly what we call the process, or whether someone breaks down the steps a little differently than I would. The crucial thing is that our approaches have the same substance. And Yoon does a great job providing a different, yet substantively similar framework for fruitful Bible study.

And he wisely warns folks away from becoming commentary junkies.

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Why Read Scripture in Public?

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Paul commands Timothy to devote himself to the public reading of Scripture (1 Tim 4:13). But was that just something unique to Timothy? Why do churches generally make a practice of reading Scripture when the assembly is gathered for worship?

Steve Burchett runs through the entire Bible, showing that public Scripture reading has always been the practice of God’s people. From Moses to Paul, one of the main things the people of God ought to do when they gather is to read God’s Word.

…throughout biblical history, God was very interested in his people hearing his word read when they came together. They often did this, sometimes for very lengthy readings. When we read the Bible in our gatherings, we are doing what God’s people have always been expected to do, and have consistently done.

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Whose Body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit?

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I’ve argued before, from the context, that 1 Cor 6:19 is not a catch-all prohibition against anything and everything a person can do to their body (tattoos, alcohol, smoking, etc.). Nicholas Piotrowski and Ryan Johnson take it another step further to clarify what exactly Paul means by “your body.”

They carefully observe the grammar, context, and flow of thought through the entire letter of 1 Corinthians to conclude that “your body” is not, after all, your own body but the larger community (the body of Christ).

The trouble is that the Bible consistently speaks of one temple for the one God. So if each Christian’s individual body were a temple in and of itself, then that would mean God has millions of isolated temples all over the world. There is a bit of a theological problem with this.

I need to consider this further myself, especially since the “body” appears to refer to an individual’s physical in 1 Cor 6:18, the immediately preceding sentence. But perhaps my familiarity is clouding my observation of that verse as well!

Piotrowski and Johnson give four very good reasons for reading the verse in a corporate way, and I encourage you to give their reasons your own consideration.

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Help with Zechariah

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I’ve been leading my church’s preaching team through series on Jonah and Nahum over the last few months. I’m really enjoying the Lord’s messages for us in the minor prophets.

And I once considered Zechariah to be the most difficult book of the Bible to grasp. Perhaps it is, but Steven McCarthy is here to help.

McCarthy broadly walks through the book’s structure, explaining the main idea of each of the visions before covering the oracles of the book’s second half. Here is a taster:

Zechariah, along with his counterpart Haggai, speaks from this period of return from exile in Babylon and rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. (Ezra 5:1-2) He does so with a broad scope and a heavily symbolic style. Whereas Haggai’s burden is laser-focused on the specific priority of rebuilding God’s temple, Zechariah’s burden is more generally for the people to be spiritually and morally disposed for God’s renewal and fulfillment of his covenant relationship with them. Indeed, God’s grace trains us “to renounce ungodliness”. (Titus 2:11-14) The book of Zechariah leads us to the conclusion that only Christ’s coming itself will make God’s people into a fitting community for the LORD’s dwelling.

My only hesitation is that McCarthy is quick to suggest that the second half of Zechariah is “about” Jesus and his work. Certainly, the New Testament shows the fulfillment of Zechariah in the work of Christ. But I would prefer to first clarify what the text meant to the original audience (who did not know who Jesus was), and only then talk about the fulfillment in Christ.

But despite this minor qualification, McCarthy’s brief comments are well worth your time. He will enable you to get your bearings in this important book.

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