Did Biblical Writers Ever Misunderstand God? How Inspiration Works Through Human Eyes

For many Christians, the idea that a biblical writer could misunderstand God can feel uncomfortable. We have often been told that if a verse appears in Scripture it must perfectly express God’s mind, motives, and character. Yet the Bible itself reveals something honest and beautiful. God has always walked with humanity even while humanity was still learning who He really is.

The Bible is inspired, but inspiration does not erase the humanity of the writers. God did not dictate Scripture mechanically. He worked through real people living in real cultures, shaped by their assumptions and limitations. Scripture shows the journey of discovering God rather than only the final conclusion.

Scripture records moments where people spoke for God and were later corrected

The Bible does not hide human misunderstanding. It deliberately exposes it, so the contrast between human thought and divine truth becomes visible.

Job’s friends

Job’s friends confidently preached that God punishes sinners and brings suffering as judgment. Yet when God finally spoke, He said:

“You have not spoken of Me what is right.” (Job 42:7)

Their theology was sincere but wrong. Inspiration preserved their speeches so we could see how human ideas about God can be flawed.

Nathan and David

David planned to build a temple. Nathan the prophet immediately told him to do it, believing this must be God’s will. Later that same night, God corrected Nathan (2 Samuel 7:4–5). Nathan first spoke from assumption and goodwill, not from God. Scripture preserves both the assumption and the correction.

Samuel and Eliab

When Samuel saw Jesse’s tall and impressive son, he thought this must be the Lord’s chosen one.

“Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” (1 Samuel 16:6)

But God responded:

“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

Samuel had a cultural expectation of what a king should be like. God adjusted his thinking.

The disciples and the request to call down fire

When a Samaritan village rejected Jesus, the disciples asked if they should destroy the people with fire from heaven.

“Lord, shall we call fire down from heaven and destroy them?” (Luke 9:54)

Jesus rebuked them and told them they did not understand what spirit they were acting from (Luke 9:55). They believed destruction of enemies was God’s will. Jesus showed that this thinking was not from the Father.

The Bible reveals progressive understanding, not a flat portrayal

Scripture is not a single moment of perfect theology. It is a history of God slowly revealing Himself to people who did not always understand Him. The Old Testament shows people approaching God through cultural ideas shaped by fear, sacrifice systems, tribal warfare, and beliefs about angry gods. God loved, guided, and spoke to them, yet their interpretation of His actions was not always accurate.

This is why the New Testament identifies Jesus as the highest and clearest revelation of God.

“In the past God spoke through the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1–2)

“He is the exact representation of the Father’s nature.” (Hebrews 1:3)

“Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

The prophets had glimpses.

Jesus is the full picture.

Therefore if we find a portrayal of God that conflicts with the character of Jesus, the safe conclusion is not that Jesus needs to be adjusted to match it. Instead we read that passage through Jesus, not the other way around.

Why God allowed misunderstanding to appear in Scripture

God could have removed every inaccurate statement about Him, yet He allowed them to be preserved. The Bible does not give us a history of perfect people who always understood God correctly. It gives us real people discovering Him gradually. Inspiration does not hide their mistakes. It preserves them so that we can learn from them. It lets us see the contrast between what people assumed about God and who God truly is.

Jesus did not come to change God’s attitude toward humanity.

Jesus came to change humanity’s understanding of God.

“No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” (Matthew 11:27)

What this means for believers today

We no longer need to force every violent and punitive portrayal of God to align with the self-giving love of Christ. We do not have to justify every destructive act that ancient people attributed to God. We do not need to call evil good to defend doctrine.

Instead we can let Jesus be the lens.

If something in Scripture reflects the love, compassion, forgiveness, healing, and self-sacrificing goodness of Christ, then it reflects the true heart of the Father.

If something conflicts with the character of Christ, then it reflects human misunderstanding on the journey toward truth.

The Bible is inspired.

Jesus is the revelation.

He is the perfect picture of the Father’s heart.