Reading Scripture Faithfully

Back in October of 2020, I was listening to the She Reads Truth podcast and heard Jen Wilkin say, “Scripture is for them and for then; for us and for always.”  Something about those words stuck with me. A reminder that the words we read in the Bible were written for a specific group of people at a particular time in history and that those words still matter to us today and forever.  

When I was at university, one of my favorite classes was Hermeneutics. Learning about interpreting Scripture was fascinating to me. I wish I still had all of my notes from that class. I’m sure there are so many nuggets of wisdom that I’ve forgotten over the years.  

When thinking about faithfully interpreting Scripture, Old Testament scholar John Walton comes to mind. His writing and teaching remind us that how we interpret Scripture matters.  

In his recent work Wisdom for Faithful Reading: Principles and Practices for Old Testament Interpretation, he writes, “Faithful interpretation - that is the essential quest for anyone who takes the Bible seriously. If we believe the Bible is God’s revelation, carrying God’s message, then we must receive it as a trust over which we have a certain stewardship. When we talk about being faithful, we are acknowledging that we must submit to the authority that is inherent in the Bible - because it was given by God. Submitting ourselves means that we recognize our accountability to God and the human instruments that he used. We are not free to pursue our own meanings and message. We cannot be content with “what this passage means to me” as we seek to appropriate the message that is inherent in the text itself. God’s message is in the text, so we are accountable to the text. Nevertheless, the message was communicated by Spirit-led authors, writing with purpose and intention. So our accountability to the text cannot be separated from our accountability to the literary intentions of its authors.” 

Both Jen and John are saying that the words we have in Scripture were written to a specific group of people with a particular purpose. Those words still matter to us today, but we need to read them faithfully - not starting from a place of what does this mean for me, but rather beginning from a place of understanding the people, the place, the culture, and what God had in mind for them when the words were originally written.  

So what does that mean for us when we read our Bible? What if we aren’t Bible scholars and we don’t know all the ins and outs of the people, the places, or the cultures? What if we don’t know any of the original languages?  

I think there are different ways of engaging with Scripture.  

Sometimes, we study it deeply, reading thoughts and insights from scholars who have spent decades studying the languages and history of a particular people or place.  

Sometimes, we dig into the history ourselves to get a clearer picture of what is happening.  

Sometimes, we meet in community to hear other people’s ideas about what is being said in Scripture, and then we wrestle with those ideas over time.  

Sometimes, we read to encounter God on the pages - to better understand God’s character and the prominent themes of Scripture.  

Sometimes, we meditate on the words, rolling them around in our minds and spirits as we wonder what they might mean.  

Sometimes, we sit in prayer and hold onto the words of Scripture that seem to guide us on our journey with Jesus.  

There are days I read my Bible and have tons of questions about what is being said and why. On these days, I might pull out several books and open several websites as I try to understand something that has grabbed my curiosity. There are other days I read my Bible, and I’m less concerned about the interpretation and more focused on just sitting with Jesus as I read and reflect on his faithful love.  

I think there is room for all of this. And I believe that as we engage with Scripture, we need the Holy Spirit to journey with us as we work to understand the people, places, and cultures more fully.  

In Walton’s Wisdom for Faithful Reading, he offers us these thoughts on interpreting well - “But for those who consider the Bible to be God’s word, interpretations of it can become the basis for life and faith, for action and belief, for values and priorities. Different interpretations and different methodologies can have significance not only for how an individual lives, but for how societies and movements take shape. The cost is high, and we cannot afford to treat interpretation lightly or to be nonchalant about it.” 

~  Melissa