{"id":11098,"date":"2025-01-28T11:36:03","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T18:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/?p=11098"},"modified":"2025-01-28T11:36:04","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T18:36:04","slug":"why-reading-scripture-in-context-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/why-reading-scripture-in-context-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Reading Scripture in Context Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Bible is God\u2019s true Word. It is inspired, infallible, ancient, and entirely trustworthy today. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I was in college, I had a lovely roommate from Mississippi. As a Chicago native, I was unlike anyone she had ever lived with and vice versa. We loved each other\u2019s accents, and often asked questions about one another\u2019s life back home to compare differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One afternoon on a drive to Walmart, we were talking about coffee shops. I asked her, \u201cDo you all have Caribou in Mississippi?\u201d She had a very puzzled look on her face and got quiet for a minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell\u2026\u201d she thoughtfully began, \u201cI don\u2019t know that we do \u2026 we have white tailed deer, though!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took me a minute to realize she misunderstood what I was wondering and thought I was asking about ACTUAL caribou \u2026 the animal \u2026 not Caribou Coffee! When I explained to her that \u2018Caribou\u2019 was a popular coffee shop chain up north, we laughed until we had tears streaming down our cheeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a hilarious exchange that still makes me smile, but it\u2019s also a great example of what happens when we hear something and develop a response to something without knowing the context or place in which it occurs. I\u2019m sure you have your own funny \u201ccontext\u201d stories!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Context matters in understanding so much of what we encounter in our lives, but it is especially critical to how we encounter and understand Scripture<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is it important to see Scripture in its time, place and language?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Bible is God\u2019s true Word. It is inspired, infallible, ancient, and entirely trustworthy today. To articulate its substance succinctly, it is God\u2019s revelation to mankind about Who He is, who we are, our relationship, and what His Kingdom is like. The infallibility of Scripture was accomplished through God\u2019s oversight of different human authors to record this revelation. Because these things are true, it is therefore also true that Scripture shines from a prism of rich context. It has settings, language, culture, and timeframes in which it was recorded alongside the timelessness of the truths it reveals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This context is a vital key to grasping the intention and deeper meaning of the text and experiencing the unending goodness of Who our God is in a real, transformative way. Outside of its time, place, culture, and language, the Scriptures can be muted (like vivid colors becoming dim) or easily misunderstood and dismissed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we explore and study the Bible in context, we grow in understanding that Scripture reveals the Living God is infinitely more wonderful than we can describe. There is quite a difference between hearing the Word and tasting and seeing the Word in its glory. Many people are sitting at the table and benefit from hearing it. But everything changes when they feast on it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Credit:Unsplash\/Priscilla Du Preez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Glimpse of Scripture in its Context<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Authors and Stewardship<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The TaNak\u2014the Torah (law), the Nevi\u2019im (prophets), and Ketuvim (writings)\u2014is what Christians refer to as the Old Testament. These Scriptures are a collection of books written in Hebrew and produced over a thousand-year period that arose from the history of ancient Israel. The Jewish prophets and biblical authors grasped, stewarded, and revealed that the story of what God is doing through Israel is central to what God is doing for all humankind. The TaNak reveals the origins of mankind, the birth of the nation of Israel, their history in the land, various exiles, and how God would bless the world through Israel with the coming Messiah and the establishment of His Kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New Testament is a collection of books and letters written in Greek (yet from a very Hebraic context) by Jewish authors who were Jesus\u2019 earliest followers. The writings not only served as a guide for early believers in their discipleship to Jesus, but also served as a continuation of the epic throughline found in the TaNak of what God was doing to restore His creation to Himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t

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Wonder Ink\u2019s 3-year, 52-week children\u2019s ministry curriculum offers kids space to fully find their place in God\u2019s Big Story. Children discover they are Known by God, Loved by Jesus, and Led by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Language and Time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The biblical authors and the people to which these messages were originally delivered were residents in an Eastern cultural landscape. The Bible communicates most often through concrete images and parables\u2014an ancient Eastern way of communicating – rather than abstract concepts and argumentation common in Western\/modern forms of communication. Hebrew is a language rich in imagery, and the understanding of it profoundly impacts the depth we experience in the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people of ancient Israel followed a calendar established by God in the Torah that not only connected to their seasons and times of harvest, but also established forever what He called \u201cappointed times.\u201d The biblical feasts, festivals, and sabbath highlighted their covenantal relationship as well as God\u2019s provision and presence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each appointed time holds prophetic significance regarding the Messiah and the Kingdom. Shabbat (sabbath), Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), and Passover are just a few of many of these appointed times that all continue to be a vital part of the Jewish people\u2019s lives to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The timelines found in Scripture anchor themselves in this God-given calendar. To not understand time, seasons, and the incorporation of appointed times into the stories of Scripture can cause confusion for readers\u2014even down to how we see a day, for example. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When God was creating the world, we see in Genesis that he first created night and then day. Because of this precedent, the Jewish calendar date begins with the night before. So, while modern calendars track days from midnight to midnight, the Jewish day is tracked from nightfall to nightfall. This reality of time shifts how you see and understand things as simple as time\/days when you are reading the Bible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To articulate [the Bible’s] substance succinctly, it is God\u2019s revelation to mankind about Who He is, who we are, our relationship, and what His Kingdom is like. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Social Structures and Priorities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Modern Western culture elevates the individual, the biblical world of ancient Israel and current Eastern contexts elevate community. This reality guided how society was also organized\u2014instead of business or industry determining how culture organized itself, the Eastern world of the Bible was organized around the family and tribe. This reality meant that values like hospitality, community, and honor were not just practiced, they were hills to die on. (This changes how you read passages like Genesis 18, Luke 9, or even Hebrews 13:2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors scribed God\u2019s Word not from a modern individualistic point of view, but from a \u201cwe\u201d understanding of God\u2019s love for all creation. Modern readers tend to assume that they as the individual are the ultimate audience intended by the Scriptures in how they are to be read and applied; however, the majority of Scripture is communicated through imagery of a Kingdom that is inherently plural. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we grasp this, it transforms not only how we understand the Kingdom as it is described in God\u2019s Word, but how we live it out together in a modern society that over emphasizes the individual and diminishes the importance of community.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to grow in feasting on God\u2019s Word<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Friend, the Word of God is for you! Pray for the Lord to reveal Himself to you through His Word, and engage it daily. Here are some practical ways to grow in seeing the Bible in its language, time, and place:<\/p>\n\n\n\n