4 Tips to Understand the Bible
God wants to speak to you. He does it in various ways, but a constant the Bible. However, it's not always easy to understand the Bible! Here are 4 tips to understand scripture.
My top objective with this newsletter/blog is to help you discover God. If you want to know God, you need to learn how to hear him. There is a famous passage in the Gospels where Jesus is talking about the difference between those who are his followers and everyone else. This is what he says:
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27
When we learn to hear God, we know him. Just as important it means God knows us. There are various ways to hear God, but the easiest way to hear God is through scripture.
There is a problem with that statement: while hearing God is easiest through reading the Bible, it’s hard to understand the Bible.
It’s hard to understand what we don’t know and aren’t familiar with. For most of us, Scripture isn’t an everyday part of our culture. It is a brand new piece of literature with many parts, different authors, various styles of writing, and across several thousand years of history.
Welcome to the Post-Christian America
I’m currently dipping my toes into classic literature by reading “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte. I’m still at the beginning of the book, but I’ve noticed a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle references to the Bible. The subtle references I catch are because I’ve read the Bible multiple times over a time span of about 20 years.
Take for example this reference to the Bible written in chapter 10. Jane is talking about moving from a home where there was always plenty, but she was not loved or cared for. She now is living in a school for orphans, her new surroundings are poor, her clothing is plain, and the food is of low quality, but she has found love and acceptance. She says,
“Well has Solomon said— ‘Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.’”
Solomon is the author of Proverbs, and this is a reference to Proverbs 15:17. While it is quoting the King James Version of the Bible, I still recognized the verse and Jane’s reference to Solomon.
I know I’m an outlier.
Charlotte Bronte to C.S. Lewis
Jane Eyre was written over 170 years ago in a Christian-centered Britain. By no means was everyone a true follower of Jesus, but most had a good grasp of the Bible. The average citizen had read scripture in school because it was a part of their daily education. Most heard sermons through regular or occasional church attendance because it was just a way of life in the 1800s. They talked about scripture in their personal worlds because they were surrounded by it. Scripture was an everyday part of life - a believer in Jesus or not.
Fast forward 100 years (the 1930s) and Britain and the rest of Western Europe entered into what is known as the post-Christian world. I was reminded of this change in the European worldview as I re-read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. The BBC had asked him to give a series of talks on why Christianity was still relevant to the world as Europe descended into a world war. Lewis turned these talks into a book, and he began by acknowledging the current state of the culture he lived in.
Interestingly, C.S. Lewis did not use the Bible to defend his faith in Mere Christianity, but he used logic and philosophy. Lewis was talking to a culture and society whose way of thinking was the opposite of what was described in Jane Eyre. People in that world knew of Christianity and the morals it espoused, but they no longer understood what was behind those values. The Bible and the Church was no longer a centerpiece of their everyday life.
Europe to America
This same shift has taken place in America. It began in the 1950s and 1960s in America, and now sixty years later, it has taken root in much of the country. When we read books like Jane Eyre, the subtle references to the Bible, we don’t catch…much less understand.
Understanding the Bible may not be a normal way of life for you. That’s okay. It’s not the world we live in, but we can work to learn to understand the Bible. So let me share some simple but important tips on how we read the Bible to both understand it and hear God.
How to Understand the Bible
A couple of years ago, I shared one of my more popular posts — How to Understand the Bible. Looking back on that post, I stand by all of it, and I encourage you to go read it. But I also realize I approached this topic from mostly a spiritual point of view. In other words, I taught you how to read the Bible, so that your heart was ready and prepared to hear God.
Your heart IS the place to start when you open up your Bible to read. When my heart is ready to receive from God, I most often hear him. At the same time, there are other tools we need in order to understand what we are reading. Today, I want to help you understand the actual text you are reading when you pick up the Bible.
In addition to giving you some tools you can use to understand scripture, in my next post, I’ll show you how I actually used these tools to hear God in my own life. In other words, I want you to understand this is not an academic tool, but a way to hear God.
So let’s get started on how we read the bible to understand it.
It Begins with Comprehension
My children are all nearly through the phase of education requiring standardized testing. An important part of these tests is the skill of reading. There are two aspects the process is searching for: 1. the simple ability to read and 2. the ability of the student to comprehend what she is reading.
Comprehension isn’t just a school skill. It is a vital piece to understand the Bible which helps you hear God. When reading the Bible for comprehension there are two aspects to pay attention to.
First is our own nature to ‘space out’ as we read. It’s like our mind goes on cruise control midway through a passage. You’re halfway through the page and you realize you have no idea what you’ve read. You know the feeling, but this is not the type of comprehension I want to focus on.
I want to teach you to comprehend the bible by looking for two important factors: Characters + Context.
Character
There are three different types of characters to consider when reading the Bible - who wrote the text, who was the text written to, and who are the different characters in the text.
1. Author
We don’t often think of an author as a character in what we read, but this is important because everyone has a point of view and a purpose for what they write. In some cases, the author is key because there aren’t actual characters in the text, and the style of writing isn’t a narrative.
An example of this would be the New Testament letters written by the early Apostles to different churches or groups of believers. For instance, Paul had a very different style of writing compared to John. The same is true of what is written in the Old Testament. Psalms have different authors and styles than the historical stories found in Genesis. And the writing in Jeremiah is different than both Genesis and Psalms.
It will take a little research to know who is writing certain parts of the Bible, and it is not always clear. We know exactly who wrote 1 and 2 Corinthians because Paul tells us. But no one claims the authorship of Genesis, 2 Samuel, or 1 Kings. We can look at historical evidence and more current information, and you will still need to make your best guess.
As you begin reading the Bible for the first time, you won’t know all of these different authors. That’s okay. You can be aware there are different authors, so as you read you can realize they have different points of view from different periods of history.
2. Audience
The second step is knowing who the text was written for. Again, there are times this is concrete, and other times it will take more research. Paul writes to the church of Corinth in 1 and 2 Corinthians. He’s addressing a church that sits in the Las Vegas of the day. The church of Corinth faces a much different set of challenges than the church in Galatia.
All of the Old Testament is written to and for the Jews, but because it was written at different times throughout the 7,000-year history of the people of Israel, the reasons are all very different. Most of the prophets (Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc) are written as the nation is near to or after being taken into captivity to Babylon. They are cries for repentance.
The books of history are written at different points of Israel’s timeline. Some of the early books (like Genesis and Exodus) were written to remind the early nation of Israel of the stories of God bringing them out of slavery into a wonderful Promised Land. The later books (like Samuel and Chronicles) were written to show the people the arch of the nation and the consequences of sin.
So the people group these different writers address is Jewish, but the things they are facing are all different. We’ll talk more about the importance of this aspect of understanding the Bible when we talk about context.
3. Cast
Now let’s get to what you naturally think of when reading the word ‘character’ - the cast of people the author is writing about. The cast is typically people, but it can also be creatures, nations, other gods, and God himself. Here are some characteristics of the cast to consider as you identify different cast members in a story:
Gender - There remains a divide in today’s culture between men and women, but it was much more pronounced in biblical culture. Men held power, and women were mostly beholden to men.
When God used a woman (which often did), He broke cultural norms. Take note of this as you read.Position - The role a person played in that culture is important. Do they hold a position of power - priest, king, tribal leader, judge? Are they a prophet? Are they a servant? The position the person held in that society determined whether the actions they took were expected or a surprise.
Keep this in mind as you read about a king, priest, or prophet. The king was called to lead God’s people. The priest was called to serve God and God’s people. The prophet was called to speak truth to God’s people. So ask yourself, if they are fulfilling their role, and how they might do it differently or better.Status - similar to position, but this has more to do with the influence the cast member holds in the community outside of their position. For example, in the book of Luke, Anna had no official position or title, but her status longtime, devout follower of God was noticed by everyone around her when she prophesied of the redemption baby Jesus would bring to the world.
Role - every good story has a villain, a hero, a victim, and supporting characters. The Bible is no different - especially the parts that are narrative-driven. It’s not always a person who plays a role either. Consider the role of Egypt. It was a constant foil to the people of Israel, both the people group and individuals.
As you take into account the different characters - author, audience, and cast - the story you are reading will begin to take a new shape. You’ll be able to read the text with a new depth of comprehension. That’s the goal — reading with comprehension.
Context
But we need to know more than just the characters, we also need to take into account the world the words are written in. Many times the characters will give us a clue as to the context of the situation in that timeframe and what the writers are addressing. Other times we need to read between the lines. Many times it will help you to do just a little bit of research on the book of the Bible you are reading. Even the short paragraph you find at the beginning of a book in a physical Bible will tell you enough to understand the context.
Let me give you two examples of context.
The Time of Judges
The book of Samuel takes place at the tail end of the era of the judges. This was the time between Israel entering the Promised Land and the first king (Saul) anointed by the prophet/judge Samuel. To learn more about this era you can read the book of Judges. This is a reoccurring theme and line of text you will find in Judges:
“In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” -Judges 21:25
Oddly, while the era was known as the time of the judges, it was lawless. In addition to internal lawlessness, there were outside nations oppressing the people as a response to the nation’s sin.
The people of Israel clamored for a king to bring order to the chaos. This context helps you understand when reading through the struggles the nation goes through during the time of Samuel, Saul, and David. They are reacting to this long history (several hundred years) of internal lawlessness and external oppression.
The Church in Corinth
Another example is Paul’s letters to the church of Corinth. Paul wrote two different times over the span of 2-3 years. The key theme is Paul challenging and encouraging the church to embrace the sacrificial life of Jesus. Paul's encouragement is birthed out of the church’s struggle with refraining from the godless culture surrounding them.
Their battle was similar to living on the Las Vegas strip. Everything around them was tainted by a culture devoid of the morals and values found in scripture. The context is clear in the problems that Paul addresses in these letters.
When we understand the context that the writers are writing about and the characters are living in, we have a better grasp of the message being presented. It allows us to interpret what we read more accurately and clearly.
Re-Read for Interpretation
I know what you are thinking, “Wait a second, I just read through a passage of scripture thinking about authors, audience, and cast. I also considered the context of when and where it was written. And now you want me to read it again!”
I get it. It is a lot. But before you give up, let me encourage you.
Understanding the Bible is a lifelong journey. It’s very possible you hear nothing today, but tomorrow you unearth a goldmine. Understanding scripture also builds on itself. Re-reading a passage isn’t always done in one sitting. You might read it once for character and context today but read it again for interpretation tomorrow. You might not look at it again for a year or more.
Your goal is to hear God.
The more you read, the more comfortable you will be with comprehending what you are reading at multiple different layers. The better you get at these, the better you will be at hearing God.
3 Questions to Ask Yourself
So at the risk of losing you, let me share with you this other trick of reading the Bible. As you read through scripture, ask yourself three questions about the text:
What is God telling me about Himself in this passage?
Most importantly, you want to be led to God. You should learn about about God’s nature. Look for how God responds to the different cast members; those who both obey and disobey him.What is God telling me about the world around me in this passage?
We should also see how God views the world around us. Hopefully, you will see that God loves the world. He doesn’t hate his creation, but God longs for the world to turn to him, follow him and find peace.What is God telling me about myself in this passage?
Finally, it is about me, but it’s not just about me. I should see how I respond and react to the world around me. Hopefully, you’ll learn about how to view yourself.
And in almost every passage, you can find an answer to all three of these questions. The Bible constantly is telling us about who God is, the world around me, and who I am in response to the first two questions.
As you answer these questions, know it’s God speaking to you. Answering these questions is how you hear God.
Re-Read for a New Revelation (for you)
I got you again. You thought we were done with reading and understanding. When discussing scripture it’s vital to remember what the Bible says about itself:
“The word of God is living and active…” Hebrews 4:12
I hear this all the time from people who follow this process: “I just re-read this part of the Bible (maybe many times), and I saw something brand new!” Followers of Jesus are never done with the Bible. We never arrive. You won’t know it all. God’s Word is living and breathing. It is always growing.
King Solomon, known as one of the wisest men to ever walk the earth, said this:
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
-Ecclesiastes 1:9
You might read a scripture passage that blows your mind and think, “No one has ever noticed this before!” Maybe but probably not. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had that thought, only to discover some other preacher, theologian, or random person noted the exact thing years ago. There is nothing new under the sun.
However, what someone said in the past doesn’t matter. That was a new revelation to you. And it doesn’t change what just happened: the God of the universe spoke to you.
To help you process what you can be asking or looking for as you read a passage again and again. Start by asking this question, “What do I see today that I may have not seen earlier?” Make it a prayer. “God, speak to me something new today.”
Then ask these questions:
What has changed in my situation?
What has changed in the world around me?
What has changed in who I know God to be?
Be open to what you see. Wrestle through the questions you have. You may not find answers, and that’s okay. God is working on something new in you. We grow as we wrestle through our questions.
Well Done!
I applaud you. You just read a lot of words about how to understand scripture, so you can hear God. Let me say this again, understanding the Bible so you can hear God is a journey.
Two of my children attended Kansas State University which is about 3 hours west of Kansas City off of I-70. Over the years of their attendance, I traveled to and from the university town of Manhattan at least a dozen times. The journey was easier each time because I began to recognize things along the way. I instinctively knew where I was based on a building, sign, or even a tree passed along the way.
The longer you travel the path of reading scripture the easier it will be to recognize what you are seeing and where you are in the journey.
Next week, I’ll share with you an example of how to actually put into practice all I wrote about. I’ll show you how I heard God through the Bible's characters and context and by asking questions.
I encourage you to journey with me! This week read 1 Samuel 1 and make your own notes on what you read, see, and your revelation.