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Bible Study is Painful

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Fitsum Admasu (2019), public domain

When we say that an activity is “uncomfortable,” sometimes we’re just being nice. We often sugar coat reality when we throw out the terms “messy,” “unpleasant,” “awkward,” or “disagreeable.”

Some jobs, projects, and habits are painful. They might be good for us, even necessary for our lives, but they hurt. And it is healthy for us to confront that truth.

The Hard Work of Application

Studying the Bible is painful work. Here I’m not referring to the discipline needed to study the Scriptures. I’m not even talking about the intellectual labor and focus that such study demands. No, the hardest work of Bible study comes in application.

All of the steps of Bible study are important, and none are a cinch. Application may be the hardest step, however, since it is the most personal. In application, we are forced to change. And rare is the person who likes to change.

If the idea of application is new or confusing, check out our page of Bible study instruction. Application is the third step of the OIA (Observation, Interpretation, Application) process we promote on this blog, and we’ve written a lot about application.

Genuine Pain

The biblical word for the change that application demands is repentance. When God confronts us, he intends for us to turn around—away from sin and toward him.

This is why applying the Bible is painful. We’re usually quite comfortable traveling the road we’re on. We don’t want to turn around. We’ve gotten used to the scenery, the weather, and the traffic. Cruise control is easy.

Through his word, God often brings us to a full stop. He puts his holy finger on the idols of our hearts—anything to which we are too devoted. Idols are often good gifts we have twisted or to which we have given inflated affection and attention. Idols like comfort, family, and power abound in the western church. Biblical application may feel like losing a piece of ourselves. But if God is removing something cancerous from our hearts, we should expect pain along the way.

In our application we may also be compelled to love our neighbors in difficult ways. Like us, our neighbors may be unloving and unlovely at times, so extending ourselves and taking risks may be painful. Like the beginning of any exercise routine, we will resist because of the pain involved, even though we see the good on the other side.

A Pleasant Pain

Pain often accompanies our repentance, because God is challenging and changing what we love. This leads many to resist repentance and reject studying the Bible altogether.

But if we spurn repentance, we turn away from something good. For repentance is coming out of the darkness into the light! It is hearing and receiving the correction of a father who loves us! Repentance is growing and living and walking more in obedience to God, becoming more and more like the people we were created to be! For these reasons, though there is pain in repentance, there is also profound joy.

And here’s the best part. God is with us through the whole process: conviction, despair, confusion, and our halting, crooked steps of repentance. He is more committed to our growth in godliness than we are, because he always has our best in mind.

The pain of Bible study is not like the pain of touching a hot stove, a caution to stay away. Rather, the pain of Bible study is like the sore muscles of a preseason athlete. We ache because we’re not yet in shape for competition, but we have a good coach who is getting us ready for the opening bell.

Exodus 13:17-14:31: Watch Out When God Decides to Show You His Powerful Rescue

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We’ve now reached the first major climax of the book of Exodus. The people who tried to drown the sons of God (Ex 1:22) will have their own sons drowned instead.

Ari Evergreen (2009), Creative Commons

Observation of Exodus 13:17-14:31

Most repeated words: Egypt/Egyptian (28 times), Israel (19x), people (19), Lord (18), sea (18), Pharaoh (12), chariot (10), all (9), Moses (9), said (9), out (8).

  • The terms Egypt and Egyptian take over the narrative in this chapter. Before this passage, “Egypt” occurred 94 times in Exodus. After this passage, it will occur only 20 more times.
  • This chapter marks a major transition, for both the Israelites and those who read their story. “For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again” (Ex 14:13).

In this story, the drama moves forward through frequent changes of perspective:

  • God’s perspective: Leading his people right where they must go (Ex 13:17-22).
  • Moses’ perspective: Receiving a frightening message (Ex 14:1-4).
  • Pharaoh’s perspective: Regretting the release and pursuing his slaves (Ex 14:5-9).
  • Israelites’ perspective: Seeing and fearing their oppressors (Ex 14:10-14).
  • Moses’ perspective: Receiving another frightening message (Ex 14:15-18).
  • God’s Angel’s perspective: Separating God’s people from God’s enemies (Ex 14:19-20).
  • Israelites’ perspective: Crossing on dry ground with oppressors pursuing (Ex 14:21-23).
  • Yahweh’s perspective: Throwing Egypt into a panic before throwing them into the sea (Ex 14:24-28).
  • Israelite’s perspective: Seeing their oppressors’ dead bodies, fearing Yahweh who made it happen, and believing Yahweh and Moses (Ex 14:29-31).

With italics, bold, and underlining, I highlighted the connections that strike me within the text. And a few implications stand out further:

  • We see a pattern happen twice
    • Yahweh tells Moses what he will do (and it doesn’t sound like fun).
    • Egypt pursues God’s people.
    • The Israelites see their oppressors and feel fear as a result.
  • Roughly bracketing this pattern is God’s sovereign control over the situation:
    • He led the Israelites right here on purpose.
    • He throws the Egyptians into the sea.
  • And almost right in the middle is the separation caused by the angel of God by means of the cloud and the darkness.

While the pattern isn’t perfect (not quite an ABCDEDCBA structure), it’s close enough to be noticeable.

Interpretation of Exodus 13:17-14:31

Some possible questions:

  1. How is this path to the Red Sea an avoidance of war (Ex 13:17), when they face Egypt’s army and soon will face war with Amalek (chapter 17)?
  2. Why would God harden Pharaoh’s heart to cause this terrible situation (Ex 14:4).
  3. Why is the concluding response fear and belief instead of joy and relief?

My answers (numbers correspond to the questions):

  1. Ex 14:14 clarifies that Israel will not have to fight Egypt; Yahweh will fight on their behalf. Though they see a terrible disaster befall Egypt, they do not have to wield the sword themselves. In addition, God’s purpose in Ex 13:17 is to prevent the Israelites from changing their minds and returning to Egypt. The Red Sea incident burns their last bridge and therefore guarantees they can never return this way again, even if war with Amalek frightens them.
  2. Again, the Lord wants to make sure the Israelites can never change their minds and return to slavery. So he must do two things: utterly eliminate the oppressors, and close the route at Israel’s back. Once they cross the Sea, and the waters return to their place behind them, they literally cannot turn around and go back.
    • Now this answer demands a deeper question: Why would God even go through with all that? Why must he eliminate the oppressors and close off Israel’s escape route?
    • The text’s best answer has to do with God getting all the glory (Ex 14:4, 17) when the Egyptians know he is Yahweh (Ex 14:4) and the Israelites see his mightiest act of salvation (Ex 14:30-31).
  3. In an earlier chapter, I mentioned that God is not bringing these people out of slavery into unconditional freedom. He’s bringing them out of slavery to a harsh master into slavery to a good and gracious master. Similarly, they have a vibrant fear of the powerful (Ex 14:10). God does not want to ease their fear; he wants to redirect it to the source of true power (Ex 14:31). In order to fear, they must believe he is who he’s said all along: the one who sees, hears, knows, and rescues.

Train of thought:

  • The Lord takes his people exactly where they must go to learn to fear him.
  • They experience their deepest fears and are completely unable to do anything about it.
  • God rescues them in such a way as to make it clear that he is the one with all the power.
  • They now fear and believe this God who uses his power to rescue.

Main point: The all-powerful God employs his power to separate and rescue his people so they might fear and believe him.

Connection to Christ: Jesus has all power. He used it to rescue his people through the cross. He will one day use it to wipe out his enemies. He inspires all with proper fear (Matt 10:28).

My Application of Exodus 13:17-14:31

I love it when God uses his power to ease my pain and suffering. I want him to remove discomfort. But I must trust he will often use his power to increase my discomfort so I will fear and trust him.

For example, we’ve faced some severe (and sensitive) parenting challenges this year. Circumstances are not what I would prefer for myself, my wife, or my children. But I can see how God has given us all greater fear and trust in him. And we have nothing to hope in but Jesus’ work on the cross on our behalf. When I have eyes to see this, I realize this is a better place for our family than to have all the pain simply removed.

Click here to see what I’m doing with this sample Bible study and why I’m doing it.

When Humility is not Easy (Prov. 3:27-35)

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It’s easy to forget humility and act like violent men when facing certain types of people.

1. Those who have hurt me deeply

Charlie Barker (2011), Creative Commons

Charlie Barker (2011), Creative Commons

James has this first group in mind when he quotes Proverbs 3:34 to instruct the community to stop quarreling (Jas. 4:1-12).  James argues that we each tend to love ourselves more than anyone else, so we fight for our rights.  In the course of such conflict, we get hurt and want to retaliate.  Instead, we must remember that our desires cannot give us what they promise.  So we must turn to the Lord, because he always gives more grace than the world does.  As we fear the Lord instead of focusing on ourselves, we become more humble people.  Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6).

2. Those who don’t deserve my trust

Peter has this second group in mind when he quotes Proverbs 3:34 to instruct the church to submit to the elders (1 Pet. 5:1-11).  Elders are shepherds of the flock of God, but they must never be mistaken for the Chief Shepherd.  When we put our leaders in the place of Jesus, they fail to deliver because they are neither divine nor sinless.  When they fail, we tend to become disillusioned, anxious for the future of the church, and proud in our own opinions.  Instead, we ought to fear the Lord more than we fear failure.  This makes us both humble and effective, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5).

3. All the rest

Paul has all of us in mind when he draws us back to Christ’s humility to empower our own (Phil. 2:1-18).  Does Christ encourage you?  Does his love comfort you?  Do you participate in his Spirit?  Has God shown any affection or sympathy toward you?  Jesus gave up what he deserved (his rights as God) and took on what he did not deserve (the role of a servant, the limitations of a human body, and the utter disgrace of death by crucifixion).  He did it to rescue you from what you deserve (God’s judgment) and to give you what you do not deserve (God’s pleasure).  Paul was so affected by Jesus’ humility that he was prepared to die himself if it meant his people would hold these truths more dearly.

Loving others wisely and humbly is not optional for followers of Christ.  It’s the meat and potatoes of living by faith in community with other sinners.  Wisdom must penetrate this crucial area of our lives.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning, and when you fear the Lord you can’t help but become like him.  That means dying for others, even if they’ve hurt you or if they don’t deserve it.  When Jesus’ humility grips you, it changes everything about you.  Don’t turn inward and deny yourself the opportunity to fear the Lord and know Jesus in his humility.  As Raymond Ortlund writes:

If you would like to experience God with that humility, here is how you can.  You look at the cross.  You see a wise man hanging there, dying in the place of fools like you, because he loves you.  You may despise him, but he does not despise you.  You may be above him, but he humbled himself for you.  Look there at him.  Look away from yourself.  Look at him, and keep looking until your pride melts.  You will not only worship, you will begin to grow wise.[1]

[1] Proverbs: Wisdom that Works, Kindle location 537-540.

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