EP 06: How to Study Your Bible

Hey there and welcome back to the Daughter of Delight podcast! Today we are chatting all about how to study the Bible. This is a highly requested topic of discussion, so I am stoked to tackle this topic with you.

Review Spotlight

Before we dive in, I wanted to take some time to say THANK YOU. Many of you have already left a review for this podcast and how God is using it to bless you, and just reading them continues to bless me immensely. I have decided to do something fun and highlight one review at random each week. I want to do this as a special way to express my appreciation and gratitude for you!This week’s review comes to you from “Finlay Grace” and it says, “This podcast is so uplifting and refreshing to listen to! It truly provides encouragement in our walks with the Lord. Honestly, listening to it is like a breath of fresh air.” Y’all, I’m gonna be honest here. Reading through all of the reviews you I have gifted with so far has made me tear up on more than one occasion. Finlay Grace, Your kindness means everything. Thank you for taking the time to encourage and uplift my spirits! I’m so grateful God is using this podcast to bless you in your walk with Him! Sis, if you haven’t left a review for the podcast yet, I would love it if you were to take a minute to do so. It really only takes a minute, I promise! And, in the podcast world, this is how shows continue to gain exposure, so this is also a really special way for you to partner with and help spread the news about what God is doing in and through Daughter of Delight. Again, each week I’ll be sharing a review at random. So who knows, next week it could be yours!  

How to Read the Bible

Alright, back to our topic of discussion for today! How to read the Bible.First thing’s first: If you find yourself experiencing a lack of desire to read the Word, I want to encourage you to start with episode four. In it, I talk all about WHY this happens and WHAT exactly to do about it. Listen, the struggle is real sometimes. You’re not alone. But let’s commit to being proactive in our fight against this lack of motivation. If you’re riding this struggle bus right now, I pray that episode four blesses and encourages you to do just that! I’m cheering you on sis, and the Lord is waiting for you with open arms! Lean on in!Now, if you’re ready to talk about some tangible ways to help you maximize your time spent in Scripture, then let’s do this thing!  

The Three Necessary Steps to Study Your Bible

Sis, in order to cultivate an authentic relationship with God, we have to plant ourselves within the pages of His good and holy Word. God has not hidden what He wants us to know! It is through His Word that we are able to know Him and do life with Him! It is through His Word that we find ourselves transformed more and more into His image. In case you missed it, in last week’s episode I shared that I didn’t learn how to maximize my time in God’s Word until COLLEGE. I was a sophomore at the time who had just stepped into pursuing a theology degree. I was convicted that it was the right path to pursue but also terrified that everyone else in the Bible department would know God’s Word like the back of their hand. The truth is, I was afraid of being an outcast.And here’s a fun little story for you: I was so fearful about making this transition into pursuing theology -- as one of the only female students at the student, might I add -- that I spent my month-long Christmas break trying to read the entire Bible.Can you guess how that went?Yeah, it didn’t go well...I grew up in the church but didn’t taste the freedom that time in the Word truly brings until I was in my early twenties.I’m so grateful the Lord taught me this lesson and gifted with this revelation that there was SO MUCH MORE to His Word than what I knew. It’s been so life-changing and freeing for me as I have continued to pursue Him and the call to online women’s ministry He has laid on my life. Which is another reason why I am so excited to share what I have learned with you today! I pray that this episode would get you all the more excited to experience all the things God offers us within His Word. When it comes to studying our Bibles, there are 3 major steps we should take. I am going to share and breakdown each step for ya, so let’s get started! 

Step 1: Read, Observe & Ask 

Pick a book or passage of the Bible to journey through. Then, pray that you would be guided in your understanding by the Holy Spirit during your time within the Word.Something I really want to encourage you to do is stick with a book of the Bible instead of hopping around from one random verse to the next. Verse hopping is not helpful when it comes to understanding the context of Scripture. When I say context, I mean the who, what, when, where and why factors. Sis, if we truly want to understand Scripture, it is very important that we not ignore the context of it. CONTEXT MATTERS! Knowing the context allows us to correctly interpret and apply God’s Word to our lives. One of the best things we can do to help determine contextual need-to-knows is ask questions. Seriously, don’t be afraid to question the text! We probably won’t get all of our questions answered in doing so, but it will certainly grow us in our understanding of the text. Things like: Who wrote this? Who did they write this to? Why did they write this? Where did this take place? Are there any words I don’t understand? Are there any words or phrases that stick out to me? What seems to be the purpose of this message? What else do I not understand/want to know more about concerning this particular passage?These are just a few of the many questions that may come to mind as you’re reading the text! The more you engage with God’s Word, the more the questions will come. 

Read Through the Text several times

Another thing I want to mention and encourage you to do is read through the text several times. Let’s say you want to understand Jeremiah 29:11 in its true context. The first time, I would read the book of Jeremiah all the way through. The second time, I would read the preceding and proceeding chapters surrounding Jeremiah 29. The third time, I would read Jeremiah 29 and pay special attention to the verses surrounding Jeremiah 29:11. One verse is not going to give you your contextual need-to-knows. Spending time reading God’s Word in this light, however, will certainly give you a better understanding of the who, what, when, where, and why before you even touch your Biblical resources. Don’t forget to note anything that sticks out to you and any questions you may have along the way! Alright, next up is step two!

Step 2: Analyze

Once you consider what the text says and spend time noting anything that stands out to you, it’s time to explore what it means.Before I share some of my favorite resources with you, I want to note the importance of letting God’s Word speak for itself. Sis, do NOT read the Bible indirectly.We are to approach the direct Word of God first and foremost, always. To let a third-party resource like a commentary do the talking for us instead of God’s Word is dangerous! That being said, if you want to set the scene with reading up on the history of the specific book you are wanting to study. I think this is totally fine. In fact, Study Bibles often include this information to help set the time and scene.What I am really getting at when I say this is to not touch a single commentary until after you have allowed the Word of God to speak!Commentaries are not infallible like the Word of God is. There are no replacements for Scripture, but there are great supplements to go alongside it.When I say resources, I mean things like concordances, Bible dictionaries, study Bibles, and commentaries.If you’re thinking, “What on earth are you talking about?” Don’t worry, I’m going to talk about each one with you- right now! I’m about to give you several resources, so just know that I’ll include everything I mention in the show notes! 

Get yourself a good study Bible

Study Bibles provide scholarly information that help us better understand what exactly it is we are reading and how to understand it in the light it was written in. I have the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible and I LOVE it! It has over 80,000 cross-references and over 375,000 words of study notes. I also have the ESV Archaeological Study Bible and really enjoy it. It has hundreds of photos, maps, and diagrams, which helps bring God's Word to life all the more. 

UTILIZE BIBLE Commentaries 

Commentaries give us in-depth breakdowns of Scripture and help us understand all the different things to keep in mind as we read God's Word (historical context, cultural context, who it was written by and to, how we can apply it to our lives right now, etc.). Confession: Ya girl loves her some commentaries! When I was in college, I would spend time in the library reading through Bible commentaries just for fun. My local small-town library also refers to me as the commentary gal because I am in there almost weekly, and probably the only one who checks out commentaries. One of my favorite commentaries is the New Interpreter's Bible Commentary, but you can also access free ones online- like Matthew Henry, Blue Letter Bible, and John Gill. I also enjoy the NIV Application Commentary series. Again, I will link everything I mention in today’s episode in the show notes, but definitely do your research when it comes to commentaries. I say this because many are directly linked to certain denominations.In addition, make sure the commentator refers to the original Greek or Hebrew text and refers to them as the true source of his or her comments. And, if the text has more than one possible meaning, make sure the commentator provides ALL possible meanings, not just the meaning he or she believes to be most accurate. 

BIBLE DICTIONARIES

Bible dictionaries. This may sound like common sense, but I wasn't exposed to one until college. If you don’t have one, I want you to know that it’s a serious gamechanger! Bible dictionaries are SO helpful when it comes to understanding words, people, cities, and just key historical insights all around! I enjoy Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, but definitely your research because there are a ton of great options out there!

BIBLE CONCORDANCES 

A concordance is great for helping you do a Biblical word study. Or, if you remember a specific word from a verse you like but cannot recall what the verse is, a concordance can help you figure this out too. Concordances are available for any translation. My go-to translation is the English Standard Version, so I personally enjoy ESV.org's online concordance. Strong’s Concordance is also great! 

Step Three: Apply

Once we have done all of our research, we can use what we learned to piece things together and apply the true takeaways of the text to our everyday lives! Now, if you’re thinking, “This sounds great, Elle, but how about an example?”, Don’t worry. I got you, sis!Let’s put Jeremiah 29:11 into practice, shall we?This verse is one of, if not THE most popular and misinterpreted Scriptures of all time. It reads, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” -Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) Jeremiah 29:11 does apply to us, but not in the security blanket kind of way many Christians claim it as. As we put the steps I mentioned into practice, you will see what I mean. If we were to take the next little bit to observe and interpret our way through Jeremiah 29, here is what it would look like this:

Start by reading about the historical context of the book of Jeremiah in YOUR Study Bible or Bible dictionary.

Thanks to my study Bible, I have helpful introductions to each book that help me understand them more within context. When I open my Bible to the book of Jeremiah, I find information on the author and date, historical insights to keep in mind as I read through the book of Jeremiah, and an outline of the book of Jeremiah also.

Once YOU have an understanding of the time and place, Read through the text a few times and note questions and observations along the way. 

Like I said earlier, if it were me, I would read Jeremiah all the way through first. Then, I would read the preceding and proceeding chapters surrounding Jeremiah 29. Next, I would read Jeremiah 29 and pay special attention to the verses surrounding Jeremiah 29:11.

After reading and questioning the text, USE YOUR Biblical resources to address YOUR notes and questions. 

Let’s say one of my personal questions concerning the text comes from Jeremiah 29:10:Here is what the verse says: This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place" (ESV).And my question concerning it is this: Why did God use the number seventy? Is there any significance behind it?When I take a look at my New Interpreter's Commentary, I learn the following:  “...the number is a conventional one for a period of divine punishment, for it is known from Assyrian sources in that usage also, or that it simply represents the period of a lifetime (Ps. 90:10)." Knowing this, I am able to note that the truth about Jeremiah 29:11 is NOT, “God has a plan for me that is good! This suffering will end soon and then I will prosper!” But if we were to read Jeremiah 29:11 at face value rather than within context, this is exactly what it would appear as! 

Why Biblical Context Matters

Let me the verse to you again: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."See what I mean?When we actually dive into the text and get the full picture, we learn that because of their disobedience, the exiles would never see their home again. But because God is merciful and faithful, He would not forsake them. Instead, as He taught them a lesson in Babylon, He would use them to share His beauty and glory with their oppressors. (Jeremiah 29:4-14)Jeremiah makes it clear that God’s judgment would fall on Jerusalem, and His purposes would spring to life through its exiles. They would suffer for seventy years, but He would still use them for His glory! 

The True Meaning of Jeremiah 29:11

It is not the goal of Jeremiah 29:11 to centralize self. In other words, we must not use this verse to aid us in projecting our plans on God. When we do this, we completely miss the point, and we miss out on the work of God’s sovereign hands in our lives altogether! Although the Israelites in Babylon would endure exile for seventy years and not see the end of their suffering before the end of their lives, they were not to despair. Instead, in Jeremiah 29:5-6, we see they were encouraged to create new lives in Babylon, marry and grow in number, plant gardens and eat their produce, and to make the best out of what they had.In doing so, they would reflect the beauty and glory of God to their oppressors, and they would still be living their lives under the blessing of God. Jeremiah tells the Israelites in exile they would find the true peace they desire when they accepted their punishment and prayed for their oppressors. (Jer. 29:7) As they prayed, sought and worked for the well-being of their captors and the Babylonian community, they would find shalom, a Hebrew word for God’s true peace. And although they would not be able to see the end of their exile before their lives are over, they could trust God would ultimately hear and respond to their prayers, to bring their people -- His people -- home, and provide shalom and well-being in the future. (Jer. 29:12-13)This is the correct interpretation of Jeremiah 29:11, sis. Now, let’s apply it accordingly! 

Apply the Text

Although Jeremiah 29:11 is not the security blanket it is so often made out to be, there are still many wonderful takeaways from this passage. 

1. If we project what we believe on to God and persuade Him that these things are true, we will miss out on the work of His sovereign hands in our lives.
2. Because we are in Christ, we too are exiles in this time between the times. (Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 2:11) We will suffer, sis through it all, we will be tempted to think God has forsaken us. We will feel as if we are   “sheep to be slaughtered” (Rom. 8:36). But this is not the case! 
3. God has a plan for us, in Christ. This plan is not for our destruction, but for our wellbeing. We are being conformed into the image of Christ—by sharing in His suffering—and our ultimate end is not as a victim but as a victor, a joint-heir with the one true King! (Rom. 8:12–39)
4. God’s plans for our welfare may not look like what we think -- our plans may fail and our dreams may be crushed --  but because He is our good and sovereign King, His purpose for our lives will prevail! The God who raised Jesus from the dead will raise us up with Him! 
5. Short-term, we may suffer, but long-term, our future is co-signed with Christ. This right here is a future for your welfare, not for evil; a future of hope, not despair. 

Sis, these are the very truths of Jeremiah 29:11!  See how wonderful and life-giving our time in the Word can be?Let me give you the steps on more time to wrap things up! 

To Sum it All Up

1. Read, Observe & Ask. Never be afraid to question the text.
2. Analyze. Use your Biblical resources after you have allowed the Word of God to speak for itself.
3. Apply. Now that you have done the work, you can apply what you learned about a particular text to your life.

Sis, I hope all of this information was EXTREMELY helpful information for you today! I hope that this episode is something you can refer back to whenever you need it. If today’s episode blessed you, I would love for you to take a screenshot! Add it to your Instagram story and tell me what your favorite takeaway was! Be sure to tag @daughterofdelight so I can give you a special shoutout, too! 

Patreon

I would also love for you to consider becoming a Daughter of Delight patron. I’m so thrilled and thankful to be able to show up for you in this way! Partnering with me in the Gospel-work I am doing will help make way for me to do it all the more! So, if you are enjoying this podcast and are willing to give up a cup of your go-to coffee, I would love for you to consider partnering with me in the work God is doing through this podcast and Daughter of Delight altogether by becoming a patron. 

A Special Thanks to Dwell

Today’s episode is brought to you by one of my newfound loves- Dwell. Dwell is a new audio Bible app that is filled with helpful tools to help you dwell in Scripture. Sis, I cannot recommend it enough! There are all kinds of listening plans you can tune into, and you get to choose from 6 different narrators with amazing accents. You also have the option to listen to music written specifically for this app as you listen to the narrator read your selected listening plan.  As someone who prefers to read, this app has been a gamechanger for me. Dwell cultivates such a special listening experience when it comes to hearing Word of God. I’m so excited for you to check it out! To get you even more excited, they are generously giving us 33% off an annual subscription to the app. That means you’re only paying $19.99 for a year’s worth of a special listening experience you can’t find anywhere else! SO awesome, right Visit dwellapp.io/daughterofdelight to get your discount and start using your ears to renew your mind! That’s dwellapp.io/daughterofdelight for 33% off an annual subscription. 

Beautiful Bible Charge

Finally, I want to leave you with a special charge, courtesy of Colossians 3:16:May the Word of God dwell among you richly- today and always!Talk with you next week!  

REFERENCEs

Dwell AppBecome a DOD PatronESV Gospel Transformation Study BibleESV online concordance. Strong’s ConcordanceESV Archaeological Study BibleEerdmans Dictionary of the BibleConnect with Elle on Instagram