The open Bible returned the preacher's confused stare as he read through Judges 19. Head down, staring into the text he pondered his options. It was a good story. Well, most of it was good. He had difficulty when the Levite dismembered his murdered concubine and sent her, limb by limb to the twelve tribes of Israel!

How on earth could he preach such a text? How could this ghastly account hold any application for his congregation? He began thumbing through the pages of his worn Bible. Was it better to preach from another text? Yes, it was better to do that. The new stewardship drive was getting underway next week...

If you preach regularly, the above account contains a familiar ring. As preachers we often encounter texts from which we'd rather not preach. The text mentioned above serves as a suitable example. Is it possible to preach a meaningful sermon to your congregation from a text such as Judges 19? I believe it is. More than that, I believe sermons from these kinds of texts are valuable.

Why should you seek to preach these difficult texts? These texts have something to say. I believe God did not inspire Biblical writers to compose accounts that have no meaning or application. God has something to say to your people through these texts just as he has something to say through Romans or Isaiah. All Scriptures are sermon worthy. True, some are more sermon worthy than others. Yet all can be preached. It is important, at this point, to define exactly the class of difficult texts with which this article deals. When one considers the topic of difficult Biblical texts many types of difficulties come to mind. For example, there are texts that are difficult because they perplex our understanding. The following pericope is difficult for that reason.

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:53-54, NIV)

A preacher will find this text difficult because he may not be sure what Jesus meant by a disciple eating His flesh or drinking His blood. Other texts are difficult because they are challenging to live. Jesus' words to love one's enemies is a good example. As preachers we often encounter texts from which we'd rather not preach.

Biblical texts are difficult for many different reasons. Obviously, this article can not deal with all categories of Biblical difficulties. This article defines a difficult text as a pericope in the Bible that offends our sense of ethics and violates our scientific understanding of the world. It is also a text that is difficult to apply effectively to a modern American audience.

Let me expand this definition by detailing five main reasons why these types of texts prove challenging. First, in this category of difficulties the text conflicts with our moral and emotional sensibilities. We know our modern sensibilities are subservient to the authority of Scripture. However, we may still feel an underlying emotional discomfort with a difficult pericope. For example, we find Judges 11, where Jephthah sacrifices his own daughter, morally and emotionally difficult. We cannot comprehend a father sacrificing his own daughter. So these kinds of texts elicit an immediate, possibly intense, negative emotional and moral response from the reader. I do not believe this emotional and moral reaction is true of only modern readers.