I don't think Lisa would mind me sharing that she reaches out from time to time with different Biblical or theological questions. Some of them make me stop and think for a moment while others give me an excuse to engage in the guilty pleasure of deep-diving into Biblical analysis. I don't think she would mind me sharing this week's question: (paraphrased) how do I know when I can apply a piece of scripture to my life today vs when it only applies to the people the scripture was referring to?
Man, what a great question!
The Bible has all sorts of scriptures, almost all of which were written with specific audiences in mind, at least to their earthly authors. My starting point is that context always matters. This shouldn't come as a shock. If we were free to read scripture completely absent the context which accompanies it, we could twist the Bible into supporting almost anything. In fact, many in our world do precisely this. They support whatever self-serving or ignorant worldviews they have based on random verses without stopping to ask if those words actually apply to their situation.
With that said, it's important to remember that all scripture comes from the source of all good... God.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
When I responded to Lisa, I told her that there are two ways to read any section of scripture. There is what was intended by the author (which has a correct and incorrect answer), then there is revelation God may be revealing to us in our own lives. All scripture, from the most eloquent to the simplest, is God-inspired and can therefore impart wisdom, encouragement, conviction, or contemplation. God works through all things to see His will done, so why wouldn't God work through unassuming scriptures? It is important that we read scripture with both of these objectives in mind: first to discern what the scripture is actually talking about and second what God may be trying to communicate to us.
The caution I would offer is to not conflate the two. It is important to remember that our lives are not the ultimate source of truth for all people. What God inspired an author to write has a purpose and we should not become blind and deaf to that truth. To do so would be to ignore God's direct wisdom. At the same time, if God is speaking some truth to us by the scriptures, we should not be so quick to discard what God is telling us simply because "that's not what that scripture is about". Maybe the verses which provided us inspiration were not intended for how they resonated with us, but God works through all things for his purposes. So long as we keep objective truth objective, and we keep personal revelations personal, we can read the Bible in a way that we are open to receive any revelation God has for us.
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