Knowable Word

Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible

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Topical Index for Proverbs

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I’ve written before about the best idea I’ve ever heard for studying Proverbs, which is to read the book once a month, tracking a single theme each month, and writing down verse references to proverbs that speak to that theme. A simple, spiral-bound notebook is all that’s required for such an exercise.

Long ago, I spent 4 years in Proverbs doing just this, and the result was the creation of one of the most useful tools for my Christian walk and ministry. The problem is that the decades have not been kind to my spiral-bound notebook. And it doesn’t help me when I’m away from home and still require its use.

So I’m deeply grateful to my generous friend Felicia Kreider, who recently digitized the notebook for me. She alphabetized the topics, entered all the data into an attractive Google doc, and created a hyperlinked table of contents for me. Now I can access it from any device any time I need it!

Photo by Michelle Andrews

When I first disclosed to the general public the existence of this notebook of mine, I said I wouldn’t share it if you asked, since you’ll be better off if you create your own.

However… Felicia has made this into such a thing of beauty that I can’t resist showing it to you. I still believe you’ll be better off creating your own. But maybe you just need a little nudge to show you what glory awaits you with such an exercise. So I will show you my topical index.

Yet I can’t make it too easy for the entire world to access, so I’ve disabled the ability to copy, download, or print it. I’ve slapped on a full-blown copyright to reserve all rights. And I don’t plan to add it to our resources page, but will keep it buried here in the blog’s archives, so only faithful readers like you will see it.

Without further ado, here you go. Enjoy!

Confess Your Sins to God When Applying the Bible

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Samuel Martins (2018), public domain

Applying the Bible involves putting off and putting on. We put off the old self, which belongs to our former manner of life, and we put on the new self, “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24). Put differently: applying the Bible involves repentance.

Sam Storms offers a helpful definition of repentance.

True Christian repentance involves a heartfelt conviction of sin, a contrition over the offense to God, a turning away from the sinful way of life, and a turning towards a God-honoring way of life.

The “putting off” and “putting on” essential to repentance has a moral component. This is not like exchanging a baseball cap for a fedora. This “contrition” before God is also known as confession.

Examples of Confession

After hearing the word of God, the Holy Spirit brings conviction, showing us the ways we have sinned. We have numerous examples of God’s people confessing their sins in the Bible.

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah (Psalm 32:3–5)

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment. (Psalm 51:3–4)

O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. (Ezra 9:6–7)

The Scriptures also assume we will regularly confess our sins to God.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8–9)

God’s Kindness

It is good for us to think about the different spheres and directions for our Bible application. But confessing sin is often a necessary step in the process. It is not just that we need a different strategy for loving our neighbor or a new approach to handling gossip. Frequently, we must confess that what we have been doing (or not doing) is offensive to God and deserving of his anger.

Here are some principles related to confession.

  1. Be honest and specific — Let’s not only talk about our “struggles” or “destructive patterns.” Let’s name our sins the way the Bible names them and bring them to God with that vocabulary. God knows all and trying to hide anything from him is downright silly.
  2. Consider the heart — Bad fruit (observable sin) in our lives is the outworking of rebellion in our hearts. (See Luke 6:43–45.) So while we do need to confess our gossiping (for example), we must also think about the impulses and desires that make us crave those conversations. It’s difficult to trace polluted streams back to their source; conversations with trusted friends can be invaluable in this regard.
  3. Confess your sins to others — All of our sin is against God; some of our sin is also against other people. Part of repenting of these sins is confessing them and seeking forgiveness and reconciliation.
  4. Pray for conviction — This may sound scary, but part of the essential function of God’s word is to expose us (Hebrews 4:12–13). It is not God’s displeasure but his kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). God brings us conviction as a loving father disciplines his children (Hebrews 12:7–11).
  5. Remember this is the way of grace — While it might not feel good to see more of our sin and discover it goes deeper than we thought, this ultimately helps us exult in God’s grace. When we understand more of our offenses against God, we are reminded that our salvation is due to God’s grace. So, while painful, confession gives us more opportunities to glorify God for his grace.

A Key Step in Application

Not every application requires confession along the way. A church might make a change to their ministry to widows as an application of James 1:27, seeking greater effectiveness or wider opportunities. There might not necessarily be sin in their previous approach.

However, most application probably requires some sort of confession. And because God is so gracious, when his children come to him admitting their transgressions, he forgives. He reminds us of the work of Jesus for us. And that gives us real power to change.

Announcing 1.5 New Books!

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https://www.cruciformpress.com/product/sowable-word/
https://www.cruciformpress.com/product/knowable-word-helping-ordinary-people-learn-to-study-the-bible-2d-ed/

I’ve blogged long enough that most of my ideas now lie buried deep within this site’s bowels. I’ve done my best to make the most important posts accessible in the main menu, but there’s only so much I can do without exhausting new visitors. And some of those ideas deserve to stay buried. After all, didn’t the Sage of Israel once say something about the making of many blogs (Eccl 12:12)? It’s in the Hebrew, I assure you.

Well, I’ve done my best to assemble all the really important stuff in one (or two) places for you. And the nice people at Cruciform Press offered to blow off the dust, spiff it up, and publish these babies. I must say it’s made my life much more interesting of late.

Knowable Word has been out for a number of years, but we just released a revised and expanded edition. That’s why it counts as only half of a new book. Sowable Word is brand new and is all about how to do all that terrific OIA stuff in an interactive small group setting.

If you’d like to learn more about either book, keep reading. At the bottom of this post, I’ll publish the introduction to Sowable Word. But first, let me explain what exactly has been revised and expanded in Knowable Word. You can also click either book image in the blog sidebar to go to some lovely marketing pages with everything you ever wanted to know about these books, including what some important people have had to say about them.

You can grab these books now from Cruciform Press or Amazon.

Revisions and Expansions in the Second Edition of Knowable Word

What Has Changed in the Second Edition?

In addition to improving the prose in various ways, this second edition expands substantially on the topics of structure, context, and literary form (which now includes not only what the first edition called “genre” but also a new concept called “text type”). In the years since the first edition was published, I have come to a deeper understanding of each of these concepts and what role each plays in the OIA method. Structure has become, in my opinion, one of the most important things to observe, as it, more than any other observation, surfaces the contours of not only the artistry but also the very argument the author seeks to make. Context really matters; without an eye for it, Bible readers are prone to go in so many different directions, which would likely have been unrecognizable to the Bible’s original authors. And text type provides a complement to genre, as a parallel way to view a text’s literary form; in fact, I’ve found that text type often provides students an even more useful set of tools than those provided by observing the genre.

I’ve also given more specific steps to help you follow an author’s train of thought, identify the weightiest segment of a passage, and thereby be more likely to discover the author’s main point. In my personal training of others, I find the greatest challenge for most is to gain a healthy suspicion of their familiarity with the text so they might learn how to truly observe it. But once that milestone has been reached, the next most difficult skill is determining the author’s main point. Our ability to perceive that main point requires us to know how to think and how to follow an argument. So I’ve expanded the instruction at that point to help you master these crucial skills.

What Almost Changed in the Second Edition?

The most frequent feedback I have received on the book is the request for an “answer key” to the Your Turn exercises found throughout the book. To date, I have staunchly refused providing one to any inquirer on the ground that the act of providing my own answer key would undermine the entire purpose of helping you gain the confidence you need to study the Bible for yourself and to believe you are approved to do so.

However, I have become persuaded that the climb—from spectator of my ongoing demonstration of the OIA method with Genesis 1 to practitioner of the self-guided study questions for Genesis 2—is a bit too steep for those who have never before tried this at home. So I have decided to now let people know how I would answer the questions I pose in those Your Turn exercises.

But I will do so only if you promise not to view those answers as the only “right” answers. And if you don’t look at those answers until you’ve first tried to answer the questions for yourself. I offer them not as an authoritative or impeccable way to study Genesis 2:4–25, but simply as a potential measuring rod by which you can evaluate whether you’re on the right track in practicing the skills laid out in this book.

That is why the answer key “almost” changed in the second edition. You won’t find it in this book. I couldn’t make it too easy for you to flip right from the exercises themselves to my guidance on the exercises, could I? If you would like to read my answers to the Your Turn exercises, you’ll have to first try them yourself. Then if you want to see if you’re on the right track, you can visit the Your Turn page at the blog and find the Guidance for Your Turn Exercises. It wasn’t ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator or anything like that, but perhaps it will provide some suitable help and courage.

Now, are you ready to begin? May every word of God prove true, as he proves to be a shield to those who take refuge in him (Proverbs 30:5).

Introduction to Sowable Word

When God’s Word falls on good soil, he promises the results will astound (Mark 4:8). That’s why there’s a surprising glory in leading a group of ordinary people to open their Bibles, read what’s on the page, and discuss how God might use those words to change the world.

Perhaps you fear “getting it wrong” without expert guidance from a workbook or study guide. Is it possible to lead fruitful and engaging groups that actually study the Bible?

You might be familiar with the OIA method of Bible study (Observe, Interpret, Apply), but is it safe for you to lead others in OIA Bible study? (If you are not familiar with this method, have no fear. Chapter 2 will bring you up to speed.)

I wrote this book to encourage you in this task. I will present the unique opportunities and objectives of Bible studies. I will suggest ways to lead Bible studies that speak to both believers and non-believers. I will explain how to start a group, how to prepare for meetings, and how to lead a discussion. I will warn you of potential pitfalls, and I will cast a vision for training others to lead after you. Whether you are a new Bible study leader or a pastor who’s been doing it for years, I trust these ideas can help you to hone your craft.

The first part of this book will build foundations for Bible studies that actually study the Bible. I’ll provide definitions and goals, such as what Bible studies are and why we have them. Then I’ll summarize the Direct-OIA Bible study method, which equips us to lead others in Bible study. Finally, I’ll address the basic skills required to get a group started.

I commend you for embracing this mission to lead others in study of God’s Word. Through that Word, you might introduce some to the Lord Jesus Christ for the first time. And through that same Word, you can shepherd others unto maturity of faith. Your ministry may have seasons of planting and seasons of watering, but God alone is able to save souls and cause growth (1 Corinthians 3:6). He does such work through the implanted Word (James 1:21).

Therefore, there is something indescribably wonderful that happens when people learn to engage with God directly through his Word. People who are used to merely being told what to do learn to hear God’s own voice. People afraid of messing up gain the confidence to take up and read. Consumers of content develop into distributors of truth. Committed disciples grow into influential disciple-makers.

And you now get to be a part of it. Let’s see how.

You can grab both books now from Cruciform Press or Amazon. (Note: Amazon link is an affiliate link. If you click it and buy one of the books I wrote, my ministry will receive a small commission. And while I’m stating the obvious, I’ll go ahead and remind you that if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie – Eccl 11:3.)

The Absurdity of Using God’s Word Out of Context

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Wolfgang Hasselmann (2020), public domain

The Bible contains many surprises: reversals of fortune, shocking victories, demoralizing deaths, and (spoiler!) resurrection. But plenty of claims and commands in the Bible remain elusive. Despite reading the Bible for years, some Christians have missed important truths.

I’m here to change that.

Three Bible Surprises

Now readers may not like what they are about to read. They may find it shocking or even offensive. But I’m only reporting what the Bible says.

Windows are evil. Most readers can probably look out a window where they are sitting right now, but perhaps they should reconsider. Here is how this truth emerges in God’s word.

  • “Windows” — 1 Kings 7:5
  • “are” — Ecclesiastes 12:3
  • “evil” — Proverbs 2:14

(Should this principle be used to advocate against certain computer operating systems? I’ll leave that for personal application.)

Everyone should own four camels. Readers may be tempted to dismiss this as antiquated advice that modern Christians no longer need to follow; remember, this is found in Scripture!

  • “Everyone” — Genesis 16:12
  • “should” — Psalm 25:12
  • “own” — John 10:12
  • “four” — Isaiah 11:12
  • “camels” — Judges 6:5

Dance all night on your neighbor’s roof. Here we have another clear command from the Bible. Will following this command cause persecution? Perhaps! But God’s people have frequently suffered for the truth.

  • “Dance” — Psalm 150:4
  • “all” — Genesis 2:20
  • “night” — Joshua 1:8
  • “on” — Genesis 1:11
  • “your” — Genesis 3:5
  • “neighbor’s” — Exodus 20:17
  • “roof” — Deuteronomy 22:8

Quoting Verses

I’ve never seen anyone use the Bible in the way I did in the previous section (though some “word studies” aren’t far off). It’s ridiculous to pick words from all over the Bible, string them together in an order of my choosing, and then claim the resulting statement is from God.

The sobering truth is that when we pluck phrases or words from their Scriptural context and string them together, we’re not doing much better. We have an entire series of articles on this website as evidence. When we use a verse outside of its original context, we risk missing some of the meaning or getting the point wrong entirely.

The common answers to these questions are likely missing the nuance, depth, or intention of the original author. It’s as true for the Bible as it is for a legal document or even your text messages: context matters.

Avoiding Laughable Mistakes

How can we use the Bible faithfully? How can we learn the truths of Scripture while avoiding these contextual mistakes?

We must learn how to read and study the Bible. Sometimes, we need to relearn how to read and study the Bible. The Bible is not a one-cup coffee maker that we visit for a daily shot of spiritual caffeine; it is a book to which we must give careful attention.

Learning to study the Bible is a process, one done best in the company of other Christians with similar ambitions. We have lots of articles and resources to help!

Bible Study is for Everyone

In our Christian circles, sometimes we absorb the truth that serious Bible study is for professional Christians—pastors, preachers, seminary professors, or counselors. But studying the Bible is for everyone!

God’s word is not beyond your grasp. Reach out your hands and take hold of it, for the Bible contains the best, most important, most hopeful news you’ll ever read.

How to Approach Books of the Bible You Don’t Like

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What do you with a book of the Bible you don’t particularly like? Or one you find terribly confusing, boring, or out of reach?

Rebekah Matt has some very helpful advice: Study it. Sounds simple enough, and she gives some very useful suggestions for how to go about the task.

Several months ago, I deliberately chose my least favorite book in the Bible for the women’s Bible study group at my church… I had a theory that a deep study using reputable resources would give me a new appreciation for why God had included this particular book in his Word. At the same time I was deciding to tackle this unliked (by me) book, I discovered that my friend Sara had been doing a Bible study at her own church on a different book, the one that’s the butt of many Bible reading plan jokes: Leviticus.

It was perfect timing for my as yet untested “study-it-to-love-it” theory. Sure enough, Sara and the other women in her Bible study had been having a very positive experience with Leviticus.

She then tells the story of recently diving into her own least-favorite book she had previously and intentionally avoided.

Check it out!

How Should We Handle the Unnamed in Scripture?

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Tim Mossholder (2019), public domain

Names and titles are important in the Bible. Paying attention to these details is a key step during the observation stage of Bible study.

Adam named his wife “Eve” because “she was the mother of all the living” (Genesis 3:20). As God made his covenant with Abram, he changed his name to Abraham, “for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:5). The angel told Joseph in a dream that his son should be named Jesus, “for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). In these examples we have an explanation for each name, but there are scores of other named figures in the Bible where the name sheds light on some part of their story.

But, as you may have noticed, not every character in the Bible has a name.

If names are so important, why does it seem like some names in the Bible are missing? And, practically, how should we approach passages in which unnamed characters play a key role?

Let’s take a look at two examples.

The Redeemer in Ruth

My pastor just finished preaching through the book of Ruth, so we were confronted by the unnamed redeemer in chapters 3 and 4. Ruth and Naomi are aware that Boaz is a redeemer for Elimelech, Naomi’s deceased husband. However, there is a closer redeemer—a closer relative—who should receive the option to redeem Elimelech’s land and family name before Boaz is given the opportunity. (See Ruth 3:9–13; 4:1–6.)

For a character that spends so much time on the page, it seems strange that this redeemer isn’t named. And yet, this seems like an intentional choice by the author. Boaz tells this relative that when he serves as a redeemer for Elimelech, he will acquire Ruth, and any children he has with Ruth will bear Elimelech’s name (Ruth 4:5). This man refuses, saying he does not want to “impair [his] own inheritance” (Ruth 4:6).

This closer redeemer refused to lay down his concerns for another. He wanted to preserve his own name and inheritance. So, the author of Ruth serves up some poetic justice by omitting his name from the Biblical record. (This same reasoning may lie behind the fact that we know so few of the names of those building a tower in Babel in Genesis 11.)

The Believing Criminal

While not occupying as much of the biblical story as the reluctant redeemer in Ruth, some of the people who played important roles at the crucifixion are also unnamed.

Jesus was crucified between two criminals. One criminal mocked Jesus, but the other showed evidence of faith in Jesus as the king who could save. Jesus responded, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Wouldn’t it be nice to have the name of this believing criminal?

However, Luke gives us all the information we need about this man: He is a convicted criminal who confesses Jesus. Luke’s Gospel is full of Jesus extending invitations to the poor and the forgotten, to those outside the boundaries of polite Jewish society. The religious leaders put Jesus to death, and the last person to trust Jesus before he dies is a condemned criminal. We don’t need his name, because Luke has made his point: Jesus is the king and savior of the world, welcoming all who believe.

Why Are Some Unnamed?

When a character in the Bible is unnamed, one of two things is true. That name is either unknown by the biblical author or withheld from us. But since God is sovereign over the writing and preservation of his word, we can be confident that we are not lacking anything we need.

Those who are named in the Bible, are named for a reason. And those who are unnamed in the Bible, are unnamed for a reason. Though we may be missing their names, we often still know the most important things about them—their actions, their characteristics, or their roles. The biblical authors use these details instead of names to contribute to their main point in writing.

When we lack a name in Scripture, we shouldn’t react with frustration, grumbling, or speculation. It’s a good excuse to sharpen our observation skills as we try to understand how the biblical author is using this character in the story.

Commentaries are Not for When Bible Study is Hard

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A few weeks back, I proposed ten commandments for commentary usage. Those commandments arose from further reflection on the maxim “not whether but when.” I would now like to take a few weeks to expand on each of the “commandments.”

Commandment #1 (“You shall not avoid or ignore commentaries from belief in self-sufficiency to study the Scriptures”) was thoroughly addressed in the “not whether but when” post, so I will not delve into it any further. Let’s now pick up with commandment #2:

You shall not pick up a commentary as soon as Bible study is “hard.”

The Problem

I’m not embarrassed to admit it: Bible study is hard. If we have ever communicated otherwise on this blog, I repent in dust and ashes.

The Bible was written long ago, to people in cultures very different than ours. It was written in languages no longer spoken to address situations no longer extant. The worldviews and assumptions of the Bible’s authors were radically distinct from those held by most today. Even the Bible’s “easier” terminology consists of concepts that prompt very different images today than they would have prompted to the original authors and audiences (for example: church, faith, preach, law, gospel, righteousness, wisdom, salvation, etc.). The Bible’s poetry uses metaphors in a very different way than we use metaphors today. The Bible’s narratives refer to places most of us have never been to. The Bible’s discourses refute arguments people often aren’t arguing about any more.

I’m trying not to overstate the differences, because it is certainly the case that very little has changed in terms of the general human plight and human experience from ancient to postmodern times. But the fact remains that we need a lot of help to understand the people, cultures, situations, concerns, and arguments of the Bible.

Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash

A Multi-Faceted Solution

Before running immediately to commentaries when Bible study is hard, I find it critical to distinguish between the different kinds of interpretive questions that can arise.

  • What? questions define the terms.  (“What did he mean?”)
  • Why? questions uncover the author’s purpose.  (“Why did he say that?”)
  • So What? questions draw out the implications.  (“So what does he want me to do about it?”)

In general, the first category of questions often complete your observation. This category involves questions such as:

  • What is Passover?
  • Where is Ephesus?
  • Who was Abraham?
  • What OT passage is this NT text quoting from?
  • What is propitiation?

And for such “what” questions—where you simply need to get something defined, clarified, referenced, or mapped out—a commentary or study Bible may be your best ally. Go right ahead and work to close that knowledge gap between the original audience and yourself, by checking out a helpful resource that can quickly put you in their shoes. There is not much reason to hold back from using commentaries on such questions.

But the other categories of questions warrant a different approach. When you have a “why” question (such as “why does the author say such and such?” or “why does he tell this story in this way?”), you are better off not running to commentaries too quickly. The “why” questions are the heart of interpretation, and their main purpose is to help you figure out the author’s main point or primary argument. If that is hard for you to do, you are in good company. But the solution is not to find “the answers” in a commentary or study Bible. If you do that, how will you be able to evaluate whether that commentator’s answers are true (strong, reasonable, probable, wise) or not? Your best help is to learn how to follow the argument of the text itself. That will give you the best measuring rod against which to evaluate competing interpretations given by others.

And when you have a “so what” question, working toward the implications and applications for you or the people you want to teach, no commentator will know your situation better than you do. Sure, commentaries can help suggest broad ideas or topics for potential application. But they won’t be able to connect the text to your life, today. When your “so what” questions are hard to answer, the best solution is further reflection on the main point, along with prayerful reflection on how to correlate it with the rest of Scripture, and especially with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Bible study is hard. And using commentaries just because Bible study is hard might not be the solution you’re looking for. In fact, it has the potential for grounding you deeper and deeper in a web of presumption from which you struggle to get untangled.

Commentaries: Not Whether But When

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Against Commentaries?

One common objection to the OIA method of Bible study is that it trains people to think they can interpret the Bible on their own, in a vacuum, apart from history, tradition, or scholarship. Just me and my Bible; that’s all I need. And the more exciting and novel my interpretation, the better.

I can understand when folks feel they must register this objection. On this blog, we’ve certainly gone out of our way to advise against becoming a commentary junkie. We’ve labeled them “false authorities.” We’ve likened them to gasoline, which is poisonous if you drink it straight instead of sloshing it into a working engine.

And sadly, some folks have heard us advising them to avoid commentaries altogether. Despite recommending them, listing them among our main tools, and labeling avoidance of them as the #1 mistake with respect to them.

Photo by Jonathan Simcoe on Unsplash

By No Means!

So let me affirm with frank directness: I’m not sure I could study the Bible well without commentaries. I commend, with utmost fervency, the practice of utilizing them. And I believe that the person who has access to quality commentaries but refuses to make use of them is playing the fool.

So I agree that rejection of commentaries is an error to avoid. However, my experience has bellowed at me that a far more frequent commentary error is not their disuse but their misuse. In the name of staying connected with Christian tradition and avoiding me-and-Jesus-ism, masses of otherwise thoughtful followers of Jesus engage repeatedly in the unexamined and unreflective commentary binge. All rise! The expert has entered the room and is about to divulge The Truth.

Therefore, the flag we’ve chosen to wave on this blog—more than its sibling flag which likewise deserves to waltz with the wind—is the flag of suspicious caution toward commentary usage. The flag of “but what does the text say?” The flag of “observe and interpret the text and don’t merely observe and interpret the commentary.”

Not Whether But When

In short, my recommendation regarding commentaries boils down to the maxim: not whether but when.

I do not dispute whether we ought to make use of commentaries. By all means, yes, yes, yes! In fact, find a few commentators you have especially benefitted from, and buy everything they’ve written. John Stott is one of those for me. As is Douglas Sean O’Donnell, David Helm, and James B. Jordan. I’ve been recently persuaded that Dale Ralph Davis could potentially join this little club of mine, so I’ve begun snapping up his wares whenever I find them on sale, though I have yet to actually read him. Just take note: Whether you would agree 100% with any commentator’s conclusions is utterly beside the point. But more on that in a moment.

The main issue, as I see it, is not whether but when. When do you read your commentaries? When do you shift your gaze away from the text to attend to what others have said about the text? When do you go rooting for help with thorny issues, or looking for answers to your sincere questions?

And that “when” question is intimately connected to its why. Why do you read your commentaries? If it is to figure out what the proper interpretation of the passage is, we need to do some more work. If it’s because you feel stuck and you still need some good material to lead your next small group, you’ll be better off going back to basics. If it’s because you’re just not sure you can be trusted to understand or teach the text, and you need more expert affirmation to instill confidence, then we need to talk further about whose approval matters most to the student or teacher of the Bible (2 Tim 2:15).

The Implications of Interaction

Here is a simple suggestion: We ought to read commentaries for the same reason we ought to have small groups: Interaction. We need community to study the Bible. And that community can come through the written works of scholars just as much as through the spoken conversation of a small group of people.

And if commentaries are most helpful in getting us to interact with others over the text, commentaries are therefore most beneficial when they are treated as conversation partners and not as the definitive word on a passage. For this reason, I’m not terribly concerned with identifying “good” or “bad” commentaries, in the sense of “which ones line up with my denomination or interpretive tradition?” And I don’t have to buy into everything a commentator says or stands by. If the role of a successful commentary is to further the conversation by driving me into closer examination of the text, I can benefit just as much from a commentator I agree with as from a commentator I disagree with. Sometimes, I’ve even learned more from liberal commentators (who can be shockingly honest about what they observe in a text and about what questions they have about it) than from conservative ones (who sometimes don’t observe as closely when a dearly held theological tradition may be at stake).

As a result, my personal definition of what makes a commentary good or bad is: How much that commentary stimulates me to examine the text more closely and understand the author’s argument more clearly. Whenever I find commentaries that do this to a high degree, I add them to my list of recommendations.

Watch Your Timing

So when is the best time to read a commentary? Not first thing, and not in the first nanosecond a question or roadblock occurs to you, but after you have studied the passage for yourself. How far should you have gone in your study before you read a commentary? I speak for myself and not as a command from the Lord, but I have attempted to discipline myself to refrain from employing commentaries until I have a concrete guess as to the author’s main point in the passage.

Crafting a main point is a major milestone in the OIA process, as it represents the climax of the interpretation phase. From there, we want to connect that main point to the person and work of Jesus Christ before we move into application to head, heart, and hands, inward and outward. But before I start landing strong gospel connections or getting into application, I want to invite skilled conversation partners into the discussion to help me shape and hone what I’ve come up with.

And I devour commentaries that will improve my own observation and interpretation of the text, by showing me how to observe and interpret that text more effectively than I have done myself.

Conclusion

Please understand that the OIA method of Bible study is not about getting away from 2,000 years of history and coming up with novel interpretations all by oneself. Commentaries are crucial, as long as we use them the right way and at the right time.

Clean Out the Application Cobwebs

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Heiko Stein (2016), public domain

There are two types of extra-dirty places in my house: those I actively resist cleaning and those I don’t think about at all.

My shower is dirty because I dislike cleaning it. Though it takes only ten minutes—and it isn’t even that difficult—I build the task up in my head to be impossibly long and tedious. I’d rather clean any other part of the bathroom.

The area behind the washing machine, on the other hand, is dirty because I never consider cleaning it. Unless there’s a problem, I don’t look back there at all.

I suspect these types of neglect are present in our Bible studies too, mostly when it comes to application. Whether we actively resist or regularly overlook an area of application, we need to identify and fix the problem.

Applying the Bible

After observing the text of the Bible, we interpret what we find. We try to identify the author’s main point in the passage.

Then we turn to application. This is where we ask the question, so what? What implications does this truth have for God’s people?

While there may be a handful of accurate, biblical interpretations to a text, applications run in the millions. But there are some ways to organize our efforts.

Application can take shape in two directions: inward and outward. Inward application is pointed toward ourselves, and outward application involves influencing others.

Application can also happen in three spheres: head, heart, and hands. Head application involves what we think and believe, heart application involves our character, and hands application involves what we do.

This makes six combinations to consider every time you study the Bible. (I’m not suggesting you must hit all six areas with every study!)

Diagnosing and Treating the Problem

Different passages lend themselves to different types of application. Not every main point is easily applied in every sphere or each direction. And different people are drawn toward different application emphases.

But over time, it’s possible to get into a rut. Or to consistently neglect one or more areas of application. We need to find these dusty corners and sweep out the cobwebs.

For some people, applying the Bible outward is easy, but making specific changes to their own life is a challenge. Other people may think of head and hands applications quickly, but they struggle to make heart changes.

The best way to diagnose an area of application neglect is to pay attention. Take notes after personal and small group Bible studies. What types of application do you hit most frequently? Which ones are harder for you? Which ones don’t show up at all? Using the two-by-three grid on this worksheet may be helpful.

Like individuals, small groups tend to have areas of application inattention. Have an honest talk with your group and work to identify those application topics you consistently overlook.

Once you’ve identified your weak areas of application, the treatment becomes obvious if not easy: Work on those areas! Pick a neglected box on the application worksheet and don’t let go.

Two Tools for the Task

A common vocabulary with your friends can be useful as you tackle your application weaknesses. There’s nothing sacred about the words we use here at Knowable Word (inward, outward, head, heart, hands), so if you find something else more helpful, go with it! The general ideas will likely be similar.

And finally, as you target this individual or group deficiency, don’t forget to pray! Our neglect is often the fruit of our spiritual blindness or apathy, and we need power from God for spiritual growth. Application always involves a battle of the Spirit and the flesh, and the fighting is more intense when we don’t consistently train for the conflict. But nothing is impossible with God, and he leads us into repentance, joy, and obedience with his strength.

What We Miss When We Skip the Book of Lamentations

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As a book, Lamentations is overlooked and ignored. Bible readers often don’t know what to do with it. It’s short and poetic, but it is found among the major prophets instead of within the wisdom literature. It is full of lament, so inspiration-seeking Christians cannot easily hop between uplifting verses. The book is heavy and sad, filled with the sorrows of the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem.

But this book is a gem. God has given it to us as his inspired word, and if we’re willing, we have much to learn from this volume.

An Extended Lament

The main thing we miss if we bypass Lamentations is an extended look at lament.

Many books of the Bible contain lament—including as many as one third of the Psalms. But Lamentations is the only book which is only lament. When we read this book, we face sorrow and grief from beginning to end.

Most Western Christians are not familiar with lament; it makes us uncomfortable. With Lamentations we are forced to wrestle with lament as a legitimate, biblical form of prayer.

The laments in Lamentations differ from those in many of the Psalms in important ways. The author of Lamentations confesses guilt on behalf of the Israelites (Lam 1:5; 1:8–9; 1:18; 1:22; 4:13–16) and recognizes God’s hand in the destruction of the city and the holy temple (Lam 2:1–10). Even though God’s anger is justified against his people, their sorrowful cry in the midst of a terrible situation is still legitimate.

This book of laments also makes Bible readers grapple with the issue of complaint. Complaining to God cannot be inherently wrong because most of Lamentations is a detailed list of all the ways the people are suffering. Therefore, we must learn to distinguish between godly complaint and ungodly complaint. (It may be helpful to use the term “grumbling” instead of “complaining” to make this distinction.)

Repeated readings of this book also force the reader to learn to live with the tension inherent in lament. Each of the five chapters of Lamentations is a separate prayer of lament, and none of these prayers resolve in a way that is satisfying to the modern ear. Far from being a problem, this feature of lament naturally turns the sorrowful Christian back to God, again and again seeking his face.

Trust in the Midst of Destruction

Lamentations helps us to acquire a taste for biblical lament, but it also gives us a brief glimpse into the moment in history after the fall of Jerusalem. The walls are down, the temple is demolished, and most of the population has been captured; how will the people who remain react?

We read the people confess their sins and the sins of their leaders (Lam 4:13–16). We see them cry out to the Lord in pain, wanting to be seen in their affliction (Lam 1:9,11,20; 2:20; 5:1). And we also witness these believers cling to the promises of God (Lam 3:31–33; 4:22).

A Lesson in Waiting

The most famous verses in Lamentations (Lam 3:22–23) have been quoted and misquoted at length, and they have inspired a wonderful hymn. But the middle section of the middle chapter of Lamentations is worthy of extended reflection.

In this passage we learn the importance of looking to God’s character—not our circumstances—for hope. We see that waiting on the Lord is not something we may need to do occasionally, but rather it is a baked-in part of following Yahweh (Lam 3:25–33).

Pointing to Christ

Reading Lamentations is a healthy challenge for those who believe that all the Scriptures speak of Jesus (Luke 24:44). How could a book so sad and filled with devastation speak of the Savior?

The judgments described in Lamentations are devastating and, in some cases, graphic. The people have been justly visited by God’s wrath, through the vehicle of the Babylonians, because they turned away from him.

In Lamentations we have a detailed picture of the wages of sin. We have a faint sense of what we deserve when we stand before holy God. And, therefore, we also glimpse a shadow of the judgment Jesus suffered for his people when he took their sins upon himself (1 Peter 2:24).

Lamentations is worthy of our attention. If, as the Church, we soaked in this book more regularly, we would develop greater sympathy for others, firmer trust in God’s promises, and a deeper understanding of God’s character and what it means to seek him.