Updated: This post was originally published on October 30, 2021.
Do you dread reading prophecy in Scripture? Do you worry that it will be “over your head”? So many people have differing opinions about the interpretation of prophetic texts, so how can we know which one is right? Should we even bother to figure it out? Shouldn’t we just watch things play out rather than trying to guess what’s coming?
Prophecy in Scripture can certainly be challenging, and there are many things that will simply be revealed in time. But here are a few tips to help you navigate some of the hurdles you might encounter.
It Is Prophecy, i.e. the Future
One thing to keep in mind is that it is prophecy, which means, at the time the prophet spoke it and wrote it, it hadn’t happened yet. Much of prophecy was given to convince God’s people to repent. The prophecy wouldn’t come to pass if the Israelites would simply turn back to God. Unfortunately, they rarely listened.
It is also important to keep this in mind when we come across the passages where God will punish other nations even as He used them to discipline His people. We often see this as unfair, but those other nations knew about God. They understood that Israel was a nation set apart. They had every opportunity to turn from their wickedness and follow the God of Israel. The prophecy was yet another instance where God gave them that opportunity.
False Prophets Were Also Prophesying
Does prophecy intimidate you? Here are some tips to help you understand prophecy.
It is easy for us to sit back and judge the Israelites when the prophecy seems so clear. How could they not understand what was coming? Yet it is important to remember that, at the same time that God’s chosen prophets were calling the Israelites to repentance, there were false prophets contradicting them. The Jews often chose to follow the “prophets” who were saying what they wanted to hear rather than holding their words up to the character of God.
Scripture tells us that a true prophet proved his authority by speaking the truth about future events (Deut. 18:21-22). So we may think it was difficult to tell the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet. After all, until his prophecy came true, no one could know. However, God gave specific characteristics of a true prophet in Deuteronomy 13:1-11, and one of them was that a prophet never encouraged God’s people to worship another god. This wasn’t limited to golden idols but would also include the god of self, the god of nation, and the god of pleasure. A true prophet would continually point the people to God and God alone.
With Prophecy Comes Hope
Some of the prophecies in Scripture seem to be disastrous. However, even when it is not officially stated, every prophecy comes with hope. Whether hope lies in a future event here on earth or in the triumphant return of Christ, the hardships will pass and His people will be victorious. As you are reading prophecy, look for the hope that is coming.
Prophets Used the Language They Knew
There are many times when reading prophecy that we come across figurative language. Are the locusts in Joel really locusts or is it an army? Are we really looking for a lamb, or is that a metaphor for a person? And what about the book of Revelation? Is it really a beast, a number, and a war? Sometimes it is difficult for us to know, first, if the language is figurative or literal, and second, if it is figurative, what it means. The truth is you can read ALL the commentaries and walk away with no clearer picture than when you started.
Nonetheless, we must always remember that all Scripture is inspired and profitable. While the prophet may have been describing things for which he had no vocabulary or the message he received was full of imagery, his message is still important for us to know. We should still approach the passage prayerfully, read for the purpose of understanding, and do the work of study and discovery. We may not end up with a clear picture, but we will learn and grow through the process.
Don’t be intimidated by the prophetic passages and books of the Bible. Remember that the Word of God is living and active, and approach it with eagerness to discover Who God is.
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One thing that really jumped out at me as I have been studying the book of Genesis is the difference between how Sarah treated Hagar’s son and how Rachel treated the sons of Bilhah. Culturally speaking, Ishmael was Sarah’s son and Dan and Naphtali were Rachel’s sons (though the Bible clearly specifies who the mothers truly are), yet while Rachel seems to have accepted the boys as her sons, Sarah completely rejected Ishmael.
We find Sarah’s story in Genesis 16 and 21:8-21. Abraham and Sarah had been married for a long time, and they were both getting old, but they had no children. God had promised Abraham that He would make Abraham a great nation, but with each month that passed, Sarah wasn’t pregnant. She eventually hatched the plan to give her servant Hagar to Abraham so Sarah could have a child through Hagar. Even though her plan worked, Sarah was more miserable than before. Genesis 16:4 tells us that, “when [Hagar] saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [Sarah].” Sarah went so far as to treat pregnant Hagar so harshly that Hagar fled into the wilderness. The angel of the LORD found Hagar, told her she would have a son, and convinced her to go back to Sarah.
Rachel’s story is a little more complicated because she was Jacob’s second wife. We read all of the details in Genesis 29:9-30:24. Jacob was in love with Rachel, and he worked for her father, Laban, for seven years as a condition to marry her. But on their wedding night, Laban switched Rachel out for Leah, her older sister. A week later, Jacob married Rachel with the requirement that he work for Laban another seven years. Before we know it, Leah started having children, but Rachel was barren. After Leah had four sons, Rachel gave her servant Bilhah to Jacob in desperation, so she could have children through Bilhah. Bilhah had two sons, and this seemed to appease Rachel somewhat. There is no indication in the text that Rachel mistreated Bilhah or rejected her sons.
As I read and reread these passages, studying the book of Genesis, I realized that their situations, though similar, were also very different. From the beginning of her marriage, Rachel had watched her sister bear son after son. Jacob and Rachel had no children, but it clearly wasn’t a problem with Jacob. Rachel had to accept early on that she could not have children.
Sarah, on the other hand, was Abraham’s only wife. For their entire marriage, there was always the question: was Abraham sterile or was Sarah barren? Culturally, the blame always fell on the wife, but I imagine Abraham and Sarah had this conversation periodically throughout their marriage. All doubt was removed the second Hagar announced she was pregnant. The couple’s infertility issues lay squarely on Sarah. This could surely cause Sarah to lash out, as she did, not only at Hagar, but also at Abraham. It also explains her bitter laughter when the three visitors tell Abraham that Sarah will have a child after she has already gone through menopause (Genesis 18:9-15).
While this realization broke my heart for Sarah, it was also sobering to recognize this was pain of her own making. While the suffering she faced in infertility was something God would use for His glory, the suffering she experienced by watching Hagar bear Abraham a son was a natural consequence of her lack of faith. God had already promised to make Abraham and Sarah a great nation, but He wasn’t moving fast enough for Sarah. Perhaps she thought she needed to help the plan along. Perhaps she thought God gave her this scheme to use Hagar. Perhaps she thought the promise was only for Abraham, and not for her, too. As a result, she got ahead of God. It is clear that Abraham developed a relationship with Ishmael, Hagar’s son, which probably strained his marriage with Sarah. And we see that she allowed this pain to take root in her heart and turn in to bitterness. How much sweeter would it have been when she gave birth to Isaac if she had simply trusted that God would do what He promised in His time? How much heartache would she have spared herself, Abraham, Hagar, and the nation of Israel if she had believed God is faithful?
While Rachel’s story is not exactly a romantic fairy tale—after all, Leah and Rachel barter for sex with Jacob over some mandrake fruit (Genesis 30:14-16)—Rachel dealt with her insecurities very early on in her marriage, and she was always especially treasured by Jacob to the detriment of his children. I could write an entire post about Leah’s relationship with Jacob. Suffice it to say, though Jacob always chose Rachel, in the end God chose Leah by placing Judah, her son, in the lineage of Christ.
There are several lessons for us in the account of Sarah. Throughout the entire book of Genesis, God repeatedly says “I will.” The fulfillment of God’s promises is wholly and completely dependent on Him, not us. We don’t need to make our own plans, come up with schemes, or kick down doors. That never works in our favor and is often detrimental not only to us, but also to those around us.
You might be asking why the Bible is full of stories of barren women. After all, God promised to make Abraham a great nation, yet he was married to a woman who would give him one son in their old age. Not quite the same as the number of stars in the sky and grains of sand as he was told. When Sarah laughed at the prophecy of the visitors in Genesis 18, they asked a very important question in response: “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” God chose to use barren women, even one who had already gone through menopause and was ninety years old, to demonstrate that no, nothing is too hard for Him. There was no question in anyone’s mind about the birth of Isaac being a miracle. It was why Abraham could “rise early in the morning” eager to obey God when God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac, the promised child of the father of the Israelites.
While the story of Sarah tugs at our heartstrings, especially as women, God teaches these lessons again and again throughout the book of Genesis and beyond. We see it in Isaac’s life, Jacob’s story, and Joseph’s drama (and oh, what a drama it is!). God’s plans will not be thwarted by our interference. He will fulfill His promises because of Who He is. Nothing is too hard for the Lord!
Are you trusting Him in your life, or are you trying to take the lead, hoping He backs you up?
The book of Genesis is under attack! In fact, it has probably been under attack in one way or another since it was written. Not only is Genesis the seed plot of the Bible where every other account of Scripture begins, but also it tells the story of Satan’s deception and ultimate failure. Because it is foundational to everything else in the Bible, Satan knows if he can get us to doubt Genesis, we will throw the Bible out all together, and nothing would make him happier.
The biblical account of creation is under attack
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1 (ESV)
Currently, the attack on creation is through the faulty theory of darwinian evolution. While much of the scientific community has rejected evolution as a plausible explanation for how we came to be, it has been taught for so long that it is ingrained in our culture, accepted by most of our society. It has infiltrated cartoons, movies, even some “Christian” literature. We could spend time discussing all of the ways the theory of evolution falls short of a scientific fact, the differences between micro and macro evolution, or the unreliability of carbon dating, but the truth is if it wasn’t evolution, it would be a different theory.
The theory of evolution and the Big Bang Theory are not believable in the least, yet mankind would choose to believe we came from stardust or primordial sludge rather than believe the biblical account of creation because to accept God as creator means to accept Him as judge. If He created the universe, then He gets to say what happens, what is good and what is bad, and what brings Him glory. Satan himself rebelled against God’s authority, so he rejoices in our deception in this area.
Biological sex is under attack
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27 (ESV)
While it may seem that the transgender movement is fairly new, it has been around for a long time. It is actually simply the logical conclusion of the feminist movement. God’s ultimate creation was mankind, created in the image of God, and created as two distinct creatures made to complement one another.
When we question our identity based on how we feel, we are questioning God’s goodness in creating us for the purpose of glorifying Him. When we dig into the Bible and discover our identity through Him, we allow our knowledge to override our feelings. Satan would love for us to get lost in emotionalism, questioning who we are and why we’re here, and finding our answers in our feelings rather than God’s Word.
The family is under attack.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24 (ESV)
Because the family is the foundation of society, dismantling it is a great tactic to destroy God’s intended plan. We were created for community, and the first community we have is our family. Parents are tasked with raising their children in the knowledge of God. Deuteronomy 6:7 tells us exactly how to do that, “You shall teach them [the words He commanded them] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” The goal of parenting is to create in our children a biblical worldview.
What God created as a perfect union—because it is a picture of His relationship with His people—was marred by sin. Children are not supposed to be fatherless, abused, neglected, or murdered in the womb. Wives are not supposed to be ignored, abused, or controlling. Husbands are not supposed to be emasculated, ridiculed, abusive, or weak. Because society has followed the ways of the world rather than the ways of God, we have drifted away from God’s purpose for the family.
This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.
Genesis 5:1 (ESV)
The book of Genesis teaches us that there is only one race. We are all descended from Adam and then from Noah. God did not create different races to be different in value. He created one race: the human race. In fact, when we read the account of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9, we find that ethnic lines were created by language differences, not skin color.
But if Satan can get us to hate one another or try to control one another based on the color of our skin, then he gets us to dishonor God’s creation of humanity. Every human being, no matter his culture, color, language, or country is an image bearer of God because he is descended from Adam, the original image bearer.
The earth is under attack
While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.
Genesis 8:22 (ESV)
Not only does the climate “crisis” take our attention off of the things we should be focused on, it also gives us a false sense of control over God’s creation. It is a way for us to think we know better than God and act accordingly. When we interfere with God’s creation and how it works, at best, it is a futile waste of energy, and at worst, we actually cause more harm.
What God created, He sustains. I’m not advocating for setting out to destroy the earth, but the earth was created for us to subdue, not the other way around. God’s creation is a testament to God’s creativity, pleasure in beauty, and even sense of humor. If the polar ice caps melt, that is God’s plan. If a species goes extinct, that is also God’s plan.
But Satan longs to distract us with causes that waste our time and energy. We can trust God to sustain His creation because He promised He would. While we honor His creation, we cannot do His job.
God’s promises are under attack
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
Genesis 9:12-13 (ESV)
God created the rainbow as a sign of His promise to us that He would never again destroy the whole earth with water. By taking the symbol of God’s promise and perverting it to be a symbol of a lifestyle that is a direct affront to God’s commands, we attack His promises. Furthermore, the climate “crisis” is a manifestation of our unbelief in this specific promise.
It seems that everywhere we turn, the book of Genesis is under attack. In every case listed, Satan has taken something God created and called “good” and twisted it into a counterfeit of truth. Much like he did with Eve in the Garden of Eden, he asks us on a daily basis, “Did God actually say…?”
Genesis fights back!
But take heart, my friend, because Genesis fights back!
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:15 (ESV)
This is the first promise of a coming Messiah. While Satan set out to destroy God’s creation, God had already set in place a plan of redemption and the ultimate defeat of the enemy. No matter how much Satan questions God, hates His Word, or deceives us, God is still in control!
Let me leave you with some words of comfort from Psalm 2:
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
Psalm 2:1-6 (ESV)
This post only goes through Genesis 11, and there are 50 chapters in the book. In what other ways is the book of Genesis under attack? I would love to hear your thoughts.
If you would like to go deeper in the book of Genesis or in your Bible study in general, join the Bible Study Academy. You can learn more by clicking the button below.
Out of all of the books in the Bible, I would venture to guess that Genesis is the most read. I think back to all of the times I set out at the beginning of the year to read the Bible through in that year. I always managed to make it all the way through Genesis even if I bailed on my reading plan shortly thereafter. Even then, I felt like I was reading something I already knew. Having grown up in church, I had sat through the flannel graph lessons about creation, the Garden of Eden, Noah’s ark, and the coat of many colors. I felt I had a good grasp on the content of Genesis.
You may find yourself in the same boat and wondering why you need to go back and study a book you already know. Or you may be thinking you don’t want to spend time in Genesis because you don’t want to feel guilty. After all, you could never do what Abraham did and leave everything and everyone you’ve ever known without a destination in mind. Or you could never preach for 100 years without a single convert while becoming the laughing stock like Noah did. Or you can totally relate to a mother telling her son to lie to his father the way Rebekah told Jacob to lie to Isaac. Or you could never do what Joseph did and forgive your siblings for selling you as a slave.
Whether you think you have a good grasp on the book of Genesis or you’re just afraid to read the book, let me encourage you with these five reasons you should study the book:
Genesis Is the Inspired Word of God
While this reason could probably go without saying, many so-called Christians have started to cast doubt on the inspiration of Scripture, primarily attacking Genesis itself, so it is important we understand this fundamental truth. While God used humans to pen the words of the Bible, He is the author of every single word (2 Timothy 3:16). He told those human writers what to write and what to leave out of their writings.
God provided the content of the book of Genesis. He knows what we need to know and what will be a distraction, so He gave us exactly what we need in order to fulfill His purposes. We should study Genesis because God wants us to study it.
Genesis Is Foundational to Christianity
Many scholars refer to the book of Genesis as the seed plot of the Bible—the place where all the other stories and principles in the Bible begin. When we encounter events in the rest of the Old Testament and even into the New Testament, we can tie them back to where they began: Genesis. Our very purpose is rooted in the events described in the book.
Genesis establishes the metanarrative of Scripture: Creation, fall, redemption, restoration. This is the overarching theme of the entire Bible, linking every seemingly random account to all of the others. This metanarrative given in Genesis helps us interpret the whole of Scripture. The book of Genesis provides the context for everything we read in the Bible, so we should study it to help us better understand everything else we study in Scripture.
All of Human History Begins in Genesis
Genesis begins our family tree. Through its genealogies we can trace how mankind fulfilled God’s command to replenish the earth not only through the blessed offspring, but also through the rebellious offspring. We also learn how God started over with Noah from the lineage of Seth and through the lineage of Shem. We read story after story of people just like us, doing things just like we do, suffering just like we do, and messing up just like us.
Though many try to argue that Genesis is allegorical or metaphorical, Genesis is an accurate historical narrative intended to be taken as fact. Moses, the human author, is telling the people of Israel where they came from, where they are going, and how they should live in light of those facts. He doesn’t pull punches as he recounts all of the ugly events so the Jews could learn from their ancestors’ mistakes (1 Corinthians 10:6).
We should study the book of Genesis so we know where we came from and can learn from others’ mistakes and triumphs. Studying the book helps us understand the importance of obedience in spite of our own reason. It creates a firm foundation for a faith-based salvation.
The Entire Bible Is a Book about God, Including Genesis
Through the events of the book of Genesis, we get to know who God is and how He works.
We see His omnipotence (all-powerfulness) in the creation of the world.
We see His love for His creation as He longs to give them everything good.
We see His kindness in His provision of a way of redemption after mankind damages the relationship with Him.
We see His justice in the consequences for sin, including when time runs out to repent.
We see His mercy in sparing a remnant for the human race.
We see His long-suffering patience in the life of Methuselah.
We see His generosity in the lives of Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph.
We see His omniscience when His people lie.
We see His faithfulness when He provides a ram for Abraham’s sacrifice.
And the list goes on and on. Genesis is a picture of God’s first encounters with mankind and shows us who He is. It helps us hold the tension between the fear of the Lord and confidence in who He is (Romans 15:4). Genesis gives us our purpose and presents God’s plan of redemption for the first time.
When Jesus spoke of the book of Genesis, He confirmed that it speaks of Him (John 5:39-42). So when Moses wrote about creation, Jesus was there. When he wrote about God walking in the garden with Adam and Eve, Jesus was there. When he wrote about Noah and the ark, Jesus was there, etc. We should study the book of Genesis because it will give us insight not only into God the Father, but into the Trinity as a whole—the Godhead.
The Devil Doesn’t Want You to Study Genesis
If you have a rebellious streak like I do, perhaps one of the most compelling reasons to study Genesis is because Satan doesn’t want us to. At every turn, we are seeing the enemy attack the truth in Genesis, whether it be through evolution, transgenderism, even climate change. If he can get us to doubt the truth of the book of Genesis, then he can get us to walk away from Christianity all together. So if we are firmly rooted through our study of Genesis, we will be armed to recognize the lies of the world. I will dive deeper into this topic in a future post.
There are many reasons to study Genesis, and I know this list is not exhaustive. My hope is that this short list has shown you, like it did me, that you may not know Genesis as well as you thought you did. I pray you will make the investment of time and effort to open your Bible to the beginning and walk through the fifty chapters of Genesis. Loving God is not just about our feelings, but also about our knowledge. We are to love God with all our hearts, but we are also to love Him with all our minds (Luke 10:27).
If you would like to go deeper in the book of Genesis or in your Bible study in general, join the Bible Study Academy. You can learn more by clicking the button below.
Updated. This Bible study post teaching you to pray the passage was originally published on June 5, 2020.
I know, I know, you thought we were done. But I couldn’t end a series about Bible study without bringing it back to prayer. And I couldn’t make this step 7 because it can and should be happening throughout the entire Bible study process.
One of my favorite ways to pray is to pray Scripture. The Bible is living and active, and as such, there are no more powerful words we can speak. Once you have spent time in the passage and have walked through all of the steps, your understanding of the Word will bring new light and perspective to it. When you pray the passage back to God, you know you are praying His will and His way since you are praying His words.
Simply take the content from the passage along with your understanding of it and reword it as a prayer on behalf of yourself, your loved ones, your nation, etc. Pray that the Holy Spirit will show you the best way to apply what you have learned and give you direction for how it should change your life.
We could do a whole different series on prayer, but for now, take a minute to write out a prayer that incorporates what you’ve learned in the passage you’re studying. Again, there is something that happens in our brains when we put pen to paper. God wired us that way.
Ok, now I’m done with the series. I pray you have come away from this process walking closer to the Lord.
Please reach out to me with any questions I may not have answered.
If you would rather download this entire Bible study process in the free workbook, you can enter your information below, and it will be delivered directly to your email.
In this step, it is time to transfer your notes to your Bible. If writing in your Bible gives you an anxiety attack, that’s ok. There are some work arounds for marking up the passage. Feel free to print out a copy of the verses on a piece of printer paper. Another option is to handwrite the verses in your notebook, and mark that up instead. Don’t stress if you don’t want to write in your Bible.
Tools
I figured the easiest way to show you the tools I use was to make a video. Click here to watch the video where I talk about pens and highlighters:
In the video, I talk about Sharpie pens, Bic pens, and Ink Joy pens. I also talk about the pros and cons of highlighters and gel highlighters.
Color Coding
This is a question I get often, and it’s very important to me that you know I don’t follow any color-coding system. If I tried to highlight certain themes, speakers, promises, etc. in their own colors, the process would become more of a project for me than Bible study.
My system for color is simple: no two sections that are back-to-back and have their own separate notes should be highlighted in the same color. That’s it. So as long as you have at least two colors, you can follow this process to mark up the passage.
Notes
I made a video where I have added my notes to Proverbs 3:5-8 in my Bible. Feel free to follow along as you add your notes to your Bible. You can watch the video here.
That’s it! You’ve made it to the end. I would love to know if you have learned anything new about the passage along the way.
If you would rather download this entire Bible study process in the free workbook, you can enter your information below, and it will be delivered directly to your email.
