Reading the Hard, Holy and “Not So Hot” Parts of the Bible

Confession: There are parts of the Bible that I don’t particular care for, disassociate from or have a strong desire to skip altogether. 

Yes, I said it and I know this statement would make any theologian or Bible scholar “clutch their proverbial pearls.” Let’s be honest, you might be reading this too and saying, “Oh good! I’m not the only one who feels this way.” There are simply parts of the Bible that seem too complex, confusing, and colossal to understand (Hi, Book of Revelation). 

My first inclination is to gloss over and skip over these parts entirely like the book of Numbers. It has genealogy and names I feel like I have no business pronouncing with a numbered census that I struggled to care about. I find myself bored with math already not being my strongest suit anyway. 

I’ve only read the Book of Leviticus about 2-3 times in its entirety and that was excruciating. If I’m doing the Bible in a Year Reading Plan, I completely check out my 1-2 Chronicles. Let’s not even talk about prophetic books like Ezekiel and Revelation. The imagery alone can make you question your sanity. Approaching these books to read, understand and enjoy may seem like an impossible task but something changed during a study a few years back. 

In 2022, an app called First 5, an online Bible Study app by Proverbs 31 Ministries did a study on Leviticus. It was titled The Hard and The Holy: What the Book of Leviticus Means for Today. This was my chance to conquer a personal biblical mountain that has always intimidated me when it came to Studying God’s word. 

For 6 weeks, I rose to challenge to stick it out and complete this study. Let me tell you that it was the most memorable and transformative study I’ve ever done. I still think about it often to this day. Remember, Leviticus in NOT my favorite book in the Bible. The app and study was not only a helpful tool to engage in God’s word, I also learned so much about myself, about God and how to connect with Him even with the impossible 600+ rules written in that time.  

The biggest lesson I learned that really stuck with me is how I was challenged to change my perspective and approach when it came to reading passages, scriptures, and books of the Bible that were difficult to comprehend. 

Here are some powerful and helpful tips I learned:

If It’s In the Bible, It’s Important

This is obvious but as you read scripture and find yourself checking out, you might have a hard time agreeing. You might start to ask yourself, “Why is this in here? Did we really need to know all this?” My answer is YES! 

Even the mundane or minuscule details plays in an important part of how Jesus Christ ultimately came fo fulfill the plan of salvation for humanity. Those little details also show much God is involved in His own plans but also in our lives as well. Reading about Noah’s ark construction blueprints or how and what the tabernacle is built with sound anything but fascinating (at least, to me). However, I discovered that these important details served a much bigger purpose that generations after still mention and it goes to show that nothing is left unnoticed by God because He truly cares.

SLOW Down 

Speaking of important details, I realized that vital pieces of information and context that were missed from studying other books of the Bible were missed because me glossing over and outright skipping the seemingly hard and not so fun parts of scripture. Going back to my study in Leviticus, I was challenged to slow down and I’m so glad that I did. I saw laws written that I had never seen before and also discovered that a little over half of the laws that are in Leviticus are still relevant or have shaped and influenced the laws that we as humanity have today. 

Slowing down helps me to retain the information and what scripture is trying to convey better while raising thoughts and even some questions I may have for God. 

God WELCOMES the Questions and Wrestling

When reading Leviticus, there were a few burning questions that I had regarding ceremonial law and especially the purification laws regarding child birth recovery in Leviticus 12. Questions I had a hard time reconciling with was why there’s a difference in recovery time when a woman gave birth to a male or female child while being called “unclean.” Female births required more days while males were significantly shorter. 

I expressed to God candidly that I found this law to be off-putting, unfair, and I didn’t like it. It made it seem like males were valued much more than females. I wrestled with this question especially and with a few others for weeks. If I can be honest, being candid about my questions and even response to His scripture was something that deeply wrestled with alone. I had so many mixed emotions about it because I was always taught not to question God’s word. This is something that I’m still wrestling with now. 

I realized that in that moment, God didn’t condemn me or shame me. My questions and even candid feelings challenged me to Get closer to God to see what His true heart and intention was behind His words and law. While this is something that I’m SLOWLY learning to be comfortable with, I realize that God will either direct me to the answer, His heart, or to deeply trust Him even if the question isn’t answered. 

Reading the hard, holy, and “not so hot” parts of the Bible while remembering these lessons gave me a greater appreciation for God’s word and more enjoyment while reading. You won’t believe how many times I’ve asked myself, “Wow! Was that really in there?” or have the luminous “aha” light bulb moments because I slowed down to read while writing down my questions and taking them to God. 

I believe that the Bible is the most powerful book in the world. While there are tons of blessings and lessons, there are some shocking and heavy reads. With what I learned and discovered, reading books like 1-2 Chronicles and 1-2 Kings aren’t so bad and not as difficult with my new found approach. God’s still working on me with Ezekiel :)

Something For You To Think About...

What’s a book in the Bible you either check out/disassociate from or skip completely? What are some other tips and lessons that you’ve learned in how to approach hard and not so hot scripture? What would you add?

Let me know in the comments.