Have you ever opened the Bible and said, “Huh?” Or reached a book like Leviticus in your Bible reading plan and felt overwhelmed by the amount of strange rules? Have you ever left your Bible study feeling discouraged because you don’t understand what you just read?
Trying to study the Bible when it feels confusing can be so disheartening. Maybe you’ve said to yourself, “I don’t understand this—I’m so behind.” Or perhaps your confusion has caused you to reluctantly open Scripture, or avoid God’s Word. It can be so difficult to study the Bible when it feels so unclear.
First, you are not alone. The Bible can be confusing at times, which is why there are still scholars spending years studying passages and books of the Bible. But regardless of the perplexity certain parts of Scripture may cause us, it is still so important that we spend time reading God’s Word.
So, how do we do that?
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Don’t Allow Confusion to Stop You
The first thing to recognize is that you can’t allow your confusion to stop you. There have been many moments when I have come across a passage in the Bible that doesn’t make sense to me, and I either just close my Bible or quickly skim through the passage. Because I don’t immediately comprehend it, I assume it isn’t for me. I give up. Confusion can sometimes do that to us. It stops us from pausing on those difficult verses and really digesting what Scripture says. But our ability to instantly understand a verse or passage does not dictate its importance.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Notice how Paul says that all Scripture is important? That means the Bible verse you can quote off the top of your head is equally as important as those complex genealogies in the book of Numbers! When we understand this important truth, we can consider some practical ways to dive into Scripture when it feels confusing.
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Pause on the Passage
Often, when we stumble across a confusing passage, we either skim through it, skip it, or stop entirely. To intentionally study Scripture, we need to pause on the passage. Instead of moving quickly along after reading it, pause before moving forward. Take a second to re-read the passage or verses that made you say, “Huh?” This helps you take a minute to digest the words a bit more before consulting external resources to help you understand it.
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Ask for Wisdom
Before running to the next verse or to an outside resource to help you, it is important to recognize that we have access to the One who carries all wisdom. Scripture was divinely inspired by God Himself, and He completely understands it in its entirety. James 1:5 says, “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.”
We have the sweet opportunity to ask the Lord to bless us with understanding—and Scripture says that He gives it to us generously! When we come across parts of His Word that we don’t fully comprehend, we can prayerfully ask the Lord for discernment.
Note: This doesn’t always mean that we will leave these passages with a full understanding of what they are saying. But, we can trust that the Lord will give us the wisdom that we need through Himself and His Church!
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Use an External Resource
External resources are sources outside the Bible that can give us insight into what the Bible is saying. Remember: it is important to research these resources to make sure they are providing biblically-based information that grows our understanding!
A commentary, for example, is a tool that acts as a set of critical notes on the text. There are many different kinds of commentaries! Bible commentaries may go verse-by-verse, or dive deeper into each book of the Bible or different themes in Scripture. A commentary can give you additional insight and context as to what the verse or passage is talking about. Commentaries can also provide meaning to the text that may be difficult to find without further study!
A handbook is also a great tool to help understand confusing themes or passages in the Bible! Our Daily Grace handbooks range from discussing theological themes, books of the Bible, Bible maps, and even the practice of Bible study itself.
A Bible dictionary can also be useful when coming across terminology that you may not fully understand.
Overall, there are many ways to navigate the complex and confusing passages in Scripture. We hope you find these steps useful the next time you stumble across a verse you don’t understand!
