If you’ve ever read a passage of the Bible and said, “huh?” then you probably know the level of shame or embarrassment that comes along with not understanding the Bible. I get it — it’s a big book with lots of things going on. Most of the time we don’t want a history lesson, we just want God to meet us today and empower us for the struggles we face.
We know we are supposed to love the Bible and feast on it — but if we are being honest, most days we struggle to enjoy it. After all, who wants to come home from work and study Leviticus when Netflix and Facebook are much easier to scroll? We open up the Bible saying “God speak to me! I need to hear from you!” and read, “Do not mate two different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two different kinds of seed” (Lev. 19:19, NLT) and wonder what that means for our lives today.
In 2 Timothy 2:15 we read, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (NIV). In this verse Paul challenges Timothy to do his best to do the “work” of correctly handling the “word of truth” … yet most of us struggle to even open it up.
‘Word of Truth’
The challenge comes when we think about truth. If the Bible is true, then it is worth reading. If the Bible is true, then it is worth struggling through the historical, complicated spots. You see, I believe the Enemy takes away our sword for battle (Ephesians 6:17) by convincing us it’s not worth wielding.
But friends, no swordsman would say his sword is too heavy or long to carry around. It is his weapon! We, however, have dusty Bibles on our nightstands.
There is a disconnect between our doctrines and our practices when it comes to reading and enjoying the Bible. We struggle to live out Paul’s instructions because we aren’t even reading our Bibles.
Why do we avoid it?
I believe it is because too many of us don’t enjoy it. We don’t enjoy it because we don’t understand it. We don’t understand it because we were never taught the basics of hermeneutics.
What Are Hermeneutics?
Hermeneutics is a fancy word that simply means the study of how we read, interpret, and eventually apply scripture to our lives. It’s the study of why we read the Psalms as poetic songs and Genesis as direct narrative.
Hermeneutics is what makes sense of the Bible. It’s the study of who wrote a text and why. It’s also the study of how we find the meaning of the text (exegesis).
Now, this all may sound like too much “study” for you. I get it! But, I think studying Scripture is much different than studying anything else. Why? Because it is the Word of life (John 6:63).
The Bible in One Sentence
It’s time I come clean to you: I have fallen in love with the Word through studying it. And it’s not as complicated of a study as you might think. For example: here’s one little tip that will transform your reading of the Bible:
The Bible can be summarized as the story of God redeeming His people for His glory.
So, no matter where you are in the Bible, it’s always a small part of that story of God redeeming. That also means God is the main character in all the stories — so we need to look more for God and less for ourselves in the text!
Putting Hermeneutics in Practice in the Book of Jonah
Now before you click away, convinced I’m trying to ruin your Bible studies — stick with me for a second and consider Jonah. Famous for running away from God, Jonah was a prophet called to prophesy to a people he hated. (We’d probably hate them too. They were the worst.)
So, logically, after receiving the call to go to Nineveh, Jonah sails in the opposite direction. But then a storm comes, and he immediately interprets it as God’s judgment on him. Instead of repenting, Jonah becomes so depressed that he tells the sailors, “Throw me overboard!” (He’d rather die than head to Nineveh.) A large fish swallows him, he’s inside the fish for a couple of days, and then he repents and goes to Nineveh after the fish spits him out. (Yes, he was brought so low he was fish vomit!)
While many simplify the book of Jonah down to the general lesson of “Don’t disobey God,” there is so much more going on in the text. Jonah never really seems to learn his lesson because when he does prophesy to the Ninevites, they miraculously repent — and he throws a fit!
You see, the book isn’t to be read as some kind of “be like repentant Jonah and go to your Nineveh!” lesson. At the end of the book, Jonah is still just as depressed and belligerent as he was at the beginning, and we are left wondering, “Did he ever learn?”
Actually, the book of Jonah is all about God. It begins with the Word of the Lord calling Jonah (Jon. 1:1) and ends with God’s speech (Jon. 4:9–11). Even when Jonah runs away, it’s always in reference to God’s presence (see Jon. 1:3). Additionally, the book continually shows us God’s actions “appointing” a storm, a fish, and a plant (Jon. 1:4, 1:17, 2:10, 4:6–8). Even when Jonah tries to throw a fit and verbally attack God, he says, “I knew you were gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love!” (Jon. 4:2). Is that really supposed to be some sort of insult, Jonah?
The book of Jonah is so much richer than just “Don’t run away from God.” After looking at Jonah a little deeper, we see it is the story of how God worked in, through, and despite Jonah.
But reading Jonah knowing that it’s about God and not us does not mean it doesn’t change us or transform our hearts.
Rather, reading Jonah knowing that it’s about God, frees us up to see Christ.
Where Is Christ in the Book of Jonah?
Notice the similarities between Jonah and Christ:
- Both were from Galilee (2 Kings 14:25; Matt. 21:11).
- Both preached to Jews and Gentiles (Jonah 1:2; Eph. 2:17).
- Both slept in boats during a storm (Jonah 1:5; Matt. 8:23–27).
- Both had lots cast over them (Jonah 1:7; Matt. 27:35).
- Both spent three days in a lowly place — Jonah in the belly of a fish and Jesus in a tomb (Jonah 1:17; Matt. 12:40).
Finally, both were called to prophesy truth. One did it begrudgingly, suicidal at the thought of Ninevite repentance and God’s mercy (Jonah 4:3), while the other did so willingly. Jesus was perfectly obedient to the will of the Father (John 6:38), laying down his life for our ransom (1 John 3:16) while Jonah threw a fit over Nineveh’s repentance.
The book of Jonah shows us God’s nature of love and kindness despite Jonah’s seemingly rightful hatred, and it also shows us how Jesus is the greater, perfect prophet.
Jesus came not just to be a mouthpiece of God but also to model true, pure love. He genuinely desires the salvation of the undeserving, which is us. We are the undeserving. We are the unfit Ninevites whom Jesus went to great lengths to reach. This is the difference that reading the Bible in this framework — a story about God redeeming us for His glory — makes.
Our Nineveh
Hopefully you see that Bible study is actually not boring at all. Taking your Bible study deeper also doesn’t take much work either; sometimes it’s just a small reframing to have our eyes on Christ, not ourselves.
Maybe we are a little like Jonah, only our Nineveh is Scripture itself. Maybe all we need to do is have our eyes on God.
Take this framework and apply it to any piece of Scripture. The Bible is the story of God redeeming His people for His glory. Not only will it transform the way you view that passage of the Bible, but it may also transform you.
The Bible can feel overwhelming, but studying it is easier and more exciting than you think. It’s time to free yourself from the guilt of not “getting it.” With No More Boring Bible Study, Faith Womack will help you make your Bible study exciting again!
As a content creator, Faith aims to inspire Christians to get back into the Word of God. Her courses, including “Bible Study Bootcamp” and “Theology Bootcamp,” have reached thousands, and her Bible study content has reached over 10 million people on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Faith aims to empower Christians not only to understand the Bible but also to enjoy it. Faith has a BA in biblical and theological studies from Covenant College and a MATS from Erskine Seminary. When she’s not filming or teaching, Faith spends her time with her family going on hikes, crafting, and drinking way too much coffee.
