Do you ever wonder if Scripture was actually written to make understanding difficult?
“Scripture texts are not designed to be mastered. They master you. It’s too much water in the well. You will never have as many buckets as you need to get it all.” —John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way
The Bible is not an explanation, but an invitation. It’s not a faucet, but an ocean. It’s too wide and too deep to apprehend it all or to contain it. A bucket—or a thousand buckets—will never be enough to contain what is “living water.” We cannot reduce all of its wisdom to digestible passages or characters of text. Rather than taking in small sips, God’s Word invites us to dive into its limitless well of wisdom. Drawing not from the overflow but from the Source.
God’s Word isn’t always easy to understand, though. Why is that? For various reasons, it’s not intended to be. “Scripture has some passages for easy-reading and some for difficult-reading. And this is an intentional sifting method to bless those believers who have ‘ears to hear’ without rewarding non-believers with kingdom insights that aren’t fit for them.“ —John D. Ferrer, “Why is God’s Word So Hard to Understand?”
The Bible is not simply a truth to be captured or a destination to be reached—it’s an on-ramp to endless adventures. It’s not a concise answer to our every question—it inspires us to hunger and thirst to ask more questions. It’s not just a collection of feel-good framable platitudes. It’s a difficult textbook—“given by inspiration of God, profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16 KJV)
The Word of God is not a step-stool—it’s a ladder to heaven without an end. On it, we reach toward higher thoughts, continually transforming our hearts and renewing our minds. “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2 KJV)
Some folks like to pluck Scripture passages like wildflowers—they weave the texts into pretty daisy chains for their own personal enjoyment and application. But biblical interpretation is not an art form, subject to the cleverness of the artist. The Apostle Peter said, “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:20 KJV)
Biblical hermeneutics is not an art, but a science, and there are conditions that have to be accepted in order to “rightly divide the word of truth.” We must recognize the time and cultural differences between ourselves and the people in Bible times; i.e. its original audience. We must also take into account that Scripture contains various literary genres that each speak truth with a different voice. And, we must allow the Bible to speak for itself, in its own context, not allowing our individual presuppositions to determine the interpretation.
“When you sit alone to read Scripture, it helps to remember that you’re really not alone. There’s a way of reading the Bible as an apprentice of Jesus—with an intentional awareness of His presence—ready to hear from Him as we read.” —Practicing the Way
As our eyes and brain scan the lines of Scripture and translate the text into thoughts, God WILL speak as we read. He often simultaneously provides His own voice-over, revealing truths hidden behind the words. Because it was His own “God-breath” that inspired Scripture in the first place, He is fully able and anxious to provide deeper revelation every time we read.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9 KJV)
His thoughts are higher. They will ALWAYS be higher than our thoughts. We’ll never “get it”—not all of it. But, through the reading and study of His Word, God invites us upward. He beckons us to climb the golden staircase into His thoughts and His ways. We stumble and trip because His thoughts are too high for our feet—His ways are beyond our understanding. We cannot run up these “stairs” quickly or carelessly—we’ll fall on our face. But, the more we elevate our thoughts through His Word, then the more our thinking becomes transformed to His way of thinking. His will becomes our will. His ways become our ways. When we meditate on His Word, we are not “lost in thought” … but FOUND.
I was taught that the steps up to the Temple in Jerusalem were made uneven for this very purpose. So that one could not just come running up to worship carelessly, without thought. Rather, one needed to slow down and measure their steps carefully to gain entrance into His Presence. I see the “difficult” texts of Scripture like those uneven steps. Written so that the reader will be forced to slow down, take their time, consider each step. Ask questions, wait for answers. Tread with their whole mind engaged.
The wisdom of God is not intended to be forced or manipulated into neat boxes of understanding or even steps of learning. God’s Word never promises to answer every human question. What it does promise is to be the basis of TRUTH for understanding all things.
“Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me. (Psalm 40:11 KJV)
“Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.” (Psalm 86:11 KJV)
“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” (Proverbs 30:5 KJV
