Even if you have little experience in studying the Bible, you can pray for wisdom to interpret and apply Scripture.
When you do not understand something in the Bible, what do you do? Do you google it? Do you read a commentary? Do you make a note to discuss it with someone with more Bible knowledge?
One of the godliest kings in Judah’s history, named Josiah, once faced a situation in which he had an all-important question about the meaning and application of Scripture. Here is what happened.
The lost Bible
During the reign of several wicked kings, the Scriptures were so thoroughly ignored by both political and religious leaders that the sacred scrolls were put into a room somewhere in the temple and forgotten. As a result, although Josiah was a good and godly king who came into power at age 8, he had never seen or heard the Scriptures. Recall that this was a few thousand years before the invention of the printing press.
But then, a few years into his reign, Josiah ordered the repair of the temple. One day the workers discovered the sacred scrolls and showed them to the high priest. Soon he showed them to king Josiah’s secretary, and the secretary brought them to the king and read aloud.
Second Kings 22:11 says, “When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.” In that culture, tearing one’s robe was one of the ultimate displays of grief or outrage. The Bible does not tell us where Josiah read in the Bible, but based on his reaction it must have been a section (such as Deuteronomy) where God described the requirements of his covenant with Israel and the punishments that would fall on the nation if they disobeyed.
Well, Israel had failed egregiously. The land was covered with idols. There were idols in the Lord’s very temple. Josiah suddenly knew that a whirlwind of terrible judgment awaited them.
A heap of trouble
He probably had read something like this from Deuteronomy 28:15–29 (ESV):
“But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
“The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. The LORD will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. The LORD will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
“The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away. The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.”
What to do?
Now you know why Josiah tore his robe.
This was overwhelming. Josiah now knew that Israel was in major trouble, but he also knew that the judgment had not yet fallen upon them. They were in a time of relative peace, far from the prosperity and power enjoyed under Kings David and Solomon and Hezekiah but not mere hours from destruction either.
So Josiah understood in general how to interpret the meaning of the Scriptures he had now heard, but he needed to know what to do about it, how to apply it to himself and the policies of his kingdom. Was it too late? Was judgment inevitable? Could he do anything to avert disaster?
Crisis management
So after the secretary read the Scripture to Josiah and he tore his robe, Josiah said to his attendants,
“Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” (2 Kings 22:13)
Josiah’s first instinct was good. He knew he needed to inquire of the Lord for wisdom. He knew God could tell them what to do.
But this was hundreds of years before Jesus, before the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on all believers, and thus before all believers received the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and the anointing that teaches believers all things (1 John 2:27). This was hundreds of years before God promised, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5).
As a result, Josiah did not believe that God would directly tell him what to do, even though he was king.
Ask the prophet
So Josiah’s attendants found a prophetess named Huldah to inquire of her what the Lord would say. This was common practice during this era. Kings and others inquired of the Lord by inquiring of prophets and priests, who were God’s anointed, authoritative spokespersons, in whose mouths was the word of the Lord.
The essence of the message from the prophetess was, it is too late to save the nation from judgment, but because King Josiah has done what is right he will not see it himself. (see 2 Kings 22:14–20)
Pray for wisdom to interpret and apply Scripture
Don’t you wish you had a prophetess like Huldah at your side when you puzzle over something in the Bible?
As nice as that would be, we should not approach our Bible questions like Josiah. Understanding and applying the Word of God does require supernatural wisdom and insight, but he is willing to help you. When you scratch your head over a verse in the Bible, you should not assume its meaning and application will always remain behind a curtain. Rather, you should pray for wisdom to interpret and apply that Scripture, receive it by faith, and then pursue the answer diligently, patiently, and persistently.
It may be that you will find the answer yourself through study and meditation. It may be that God will lead you to the teaching of someone with far more experience and knowledge in Scripture than you. But it all begins with inquiring of the Lord and believing he is your instructor (Matthew 23:10), who sometimes teaches you directly and sometimes indirectly through others.
This is a prayer based on God’s Word
God shows us in Scripture that we can pray in this way.
Psalm 119:73 says, “Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.”
Psalm 119:34 says, “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.”
Verse 73 is the prayer for understanding the meaning of Scripture, and verse 34 highlights application.
What I do with my toughest questions
This is the practice I have followed in writing this blog weekly over the last four years. I have faced many questions that at first I felt I would not be able to answer, especially as I wrote about the holiness of God. But I have learned not to assume I will never find the answer. When puzzled, I have learned to inquire of the Lord, and I have seen again and again he is willing to teach me to understand and apply his Word sooner or later.
Here is one example of an article I wrote on a question I had puzzled over for decades without inquiring of the Lord, but then when I began inquiring of the Lord about it, he opened the curtain in a few months.
Currently in my “Inquiring of the Lord” file, I have several more theological questions. For example, one of my prayers is, “Lord, help me better understand the harmony of your wrath and love. Do you ever feel anger toward a true Christian?” I have leanings on this, but not yet clarity. I know the Lord will eventually answer questions like these.
When I come to a roadblock in understanding the Bible, I should not assume I will never be able to plumb the depths of the subject. And I do not need to respond as Josiah did, asking a fellow human to inquire of the Lord for me. I can and should inquire of him myself. Then, if he wants to send Huldah to help me, I am all for it. But if he wants to open my mind to understand this on my own, all the better.
Conclusion
You will be surprised how much God is willing to teach you in the Bible if you will ask him for wisdom each time you have a question, write that question down in a spiritual journal, and then keep that question simmering on the front or back burner for as long as necessary.
Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)