Check out this article on how to study the Bible. Catch the first two points below, then read the whole thing for yourself.
Here are 10 quotes from Holmes that will equip you to solve mysterious passages of the Bible.
1. The number one mistake to avoid.
Holmes: “I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”
Far too often students of the Bible twist verses to suit interpretations instead of formulating interpretations to suit what the verses say.
Don’t approach your passage assuming you know what it means. Rather, use the data in the passage – the words that are used and how they fit together – to point you toward the correct interpretation.
2. The kind of looking that solves mysteries.
Holmes: “You have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.”
Watson: “Hundreds of times.”
Holmes: “Then how many are there?”
Watson: “How many? I don’t know!”
Holmes: “Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed.”
There is a difference between reading a Bible verse and observing it. Observation is a way of collecting details contained in a passage. As you read and reread the verses, pull the words into your brain where you can think about them and figure them out.
This habit will shed light on how you understand the text, even if the passage is as familiar as the stairs in your house.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevinwax/2012/07/02/10-tips-on-solving-mysterious-bible-passages-from-sherlock-holmes/