Episode 4: How to Read Bible Stories

The Bible is full of true stories:

• There are more stories in the Bible than anything else, so we can’t read the Bible well without reading stories well.  
• We’re calling them stories, but they’re true!
• Some say “narratives” instead because “stories” implies fictional bedtime stories (Fee & Stuart, 78-79). 
• There are some fictional stories in the Bible, but the author makes it clear that they’re fictional

Dave: Like a good movie saga, there are three stories going on at once
Examples: Star Wars, Marvel Movies, Harry Potter Movies

• The Story of the whole Bible (The Gospel, God creating worshipers of Jesus in a new creation)
  • Andrew: Revelation of Jesus’ glory and Jesus’ ways
  • Andrew: Know where you are in the big story
    • Dave: Major points in the big story:
      • Creation, Fall, and Initial Promise
      • God promises Abraham: many descendants made into a nation and given a certain land (today’s Israel), one of his descendants would be a blessing to the whole earth 
      • God promises Moses & Israel: I have brought you out of slavery, I am your God, by my people and live this way, and I will bless you. Worship other gods and disobey me, and I will curse and scatter you. 
      • God promises David: one of David’s sons would reign forever
      • Divided Kingdom: they didn’t keep God’s law, and the kingdom broke in two
      • Exile: the kept breaking the  Law and worshiping idols, so they eventually got taken away to Babylon. 70 years later they are allowed to come back, but it’s not the same. 
      • Jesus comes: fulfills all the promises
      • Jesus leaves: church age begins, with the commission that Jesus’ church make disciples of all nations
      • Return: he will come back and set up his final rule on earth
      • Jesus Storybook Bible and According to Plan
• Andrew: The Story of the Biblical book

• Dave: Most books have a storyline to them, so pay attention to the story of that book. 

• Most people pick up on that stuff if they read the whole book. So read the story of that books and pay attention. 

• Andrew: Look for thematic statements book the story is in. (Plummer, 194; Doriani, 37)

• Dave: Example: Acts 1:8, you will receive power . . . (Plummer, 194)
• Andrew: Judges 17:6 and 21:25, “everyone did what was right . . .” shed a lot of light on all the terrible stories in that section.  (Doriani, 37)
• Dave: Another example: Matt 4:18 “from that time Jesus began to preach, saying “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 
• The Story

Dave: How Stories Work:

• The setup and emphasis tell you the storyteller’s primary area of interest. (Wiarda, 61)
  • Ex: Ezra 7: Three times it says that God’s hand was upon Ezra. Once you know to look for that, you see it all over the story. The setup beforehand also helps us understand why God’s hand was on Ezra. 
  • the climax and final comment usually present the main point (Doriani, 65)
    • Ex: Luke 7:11-17. what’s the point? Luke records the people commenting on Jesus as a mighty prophet. (Doriani, 69)
    • Ex: Ruth, Esther, Joseph, Samson, David’s pre-coronation years
  • Pay attention to the setting and the characters.
    • Stories are supposed to fill our imagination, so imagine the setting and the characters. 
    • Look for repeated words or phrases
    • They didn’t have bold or italics, so they emphasized with repetition. (Doriani, 37; Plummer 194)
  • So much of this comes down to reading it like you would any other story: looking for the plot, imagining it happening, and wondering what will happen next. 
    • It’s not a boring book; don’t read it like it’s a boring book!

Look for a moral lesson:

• Stories don’t just give moral examples, but they do give moral examples (Vickers, Narratives)
• 1 Corinthians 10:11 “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”
• Sometimes the author clues you on who the good and bad guys are (Plummer, 194)
• Ex: Noah, Genesis 6. 
  • The story starts by telling us he’s righteous and walked with God, so we know he’s the good guy. 
  • But the point of the story is connected with the big picture. God promised that a descendent of Eve would crush Satan, which could not have happened if every human were wiped out in the flood. 

Andrew: Watch for the one consistent character: God. 

Bibliography

Doriani, Daniel M. Getting the Message: A Plan for Interpreting and Applying the Bible. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 1996.

Fee, Gordon D., and Douglas K. Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993.

Goldsworthy, Graeme. According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002.

Lloyd-Jones, Sally. The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name. Grand Rapids: Zonderkidz, 2007.

Pennington, Jonathan T. Reading the Gospels Wisely: A Narrative and Theological Introduction. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012.

Plummer, Robert L. 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible. 40 Questions Series. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2010.

Strauss, Mark L. Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.

Vickers, Brian. Hermenutics. Lectures. Louisville, KY: The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Wiarda, Timothy. Interpreting Gospel Narratives: Scenes, People, and Theology. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2010.