How To Read The Bible

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How To Read The Bible

• For All Its Worth!

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Goals For This Class

• To give a basic approach to understanding the
  biblical text
• To examine historical methods of interpretation
• To consider other methods of interpretation
• To promote unity of shared understanding
• To relate elders views on interpretation

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Not Goals For This Class

• To ensure everybody believes what I do
• To ensure everybody believes the same thing
• To debate controversial passages of scripture
• To negate or endorse any particular
  interpretative approach
• To confuse, frustrate, or agitate truthseekers

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Old Testament Narratives

• Applications For Today

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What Are Biblical Narratives?

• Basically stories -- Gods stories
• Utterly true, crucially important, often complex
• Show God at work in his creation and among His
  people
• Glorify God and helps us understand and
  appreciate him
• Give us a picture of his providence and
  protection
• Provide illustrations of important lessons for us

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Why Study Biblical Narratives?

• Most common literature found in the Bible
• Over 40 of the Old Testament
• Most of the Gospels and almost all of Acts
• The Holy Spirit knew what He was doing
• Serves Gods revelatory purpose well
• We need to understand how to use it

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Three Levels of Narratives

• The whole universal plan of God worked out
  through His creation
• The focus on Israel as a nation
• Individual Narratives (Joseph, Gideon, David, etc)

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Jesus spoke of the ultimate, top level of the
narrative, in which his atonement was the central
act, and the subjection of all creation to him
was the climax of its plot. Thus he taught that
the Scriptures in their entirety bear witness to
him and focus toward his loving lordship.
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John 5 39-40 You diligently study the
Scriptures because you think that by them you
possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures
that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to
me to have life.
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John 1 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming
toward him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world!
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I Corinthians 1 23-24 But we preach Christ
crucified a stumbling block to the Jews and
foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God
has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
power of God and the wisdom of God.
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What Biblical Narratives Are Not

• Just stories about people a long time ago
• Allegories or stories with hidden meaning
• Direct teaching
• Independent special messages for readers

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Principles For Interpreting Narratives

• Narratives do not directly teach doctrine
• Usually illustrate a doctrine elsewhere
• Narratives record what happened --not what should
  have or ought to have happened
• Narratives are not necessarily good examples for
  us - often the opposite!
• Characters are imperfect and so are their actions

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Principles For Interpreting Narratives

• We are not always told if results are good or bad
• All narratives are selective and incomplete
• Narratives are not written to answer all of our
  questions
• Narratives may teach implicitly or explicitly
• God is the hero of all biblical narratives

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The Joseph Narrative (Gen 37-50)

• Who is the hero?
• A. Jacob
• B. Potiphar
• C. The Egyptian jailer
• D. Joseph
• E. God

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The Joseph Narrative (Gen 37-50)

• What is the moral of the story?
• Dont tell your dreams
• Even slaves can get ahead
• Youre better off in jail with business
  experience
• Foreigners do better than natives
• God was with Joseph

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The Joseph Narrative (Gen 37-50)

• The narrative is not about Joseph, but about GOD!
• Joseph was an unlikely candidate for success
• God used Joseph in His plan for Israel
• Josephs lifestyle, personal qualities, or
  actions do not tell us anything about a moral
• The moral is Gods graciousness and providence in
  preserving His people

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The Ruth Narrative

• Who is the hero?
• A. Ruth
• B. Naomi
• C. Orpah
• D. Boaz
• E. God

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The Ruth Narrative

• What is the moral of the story?
• A. Immigration is a good thing
• B. Losing two sons isnt so bad after all
• C. Its okay to eat leftovers
• D. You can meet that special someone by
  sleeping on a threshing floor
• E. God can use even a Moabite woman to
  provide the Messiah for His people

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Implicit Points In The Ruth Narrative

• Ruth converted to Judaism (117)
• Boaz was a righteous man who kept the law
  although others didnt (23-13,22)
• Ruth was an ancestor of both David and Jesus
  (417-21)
• Bethlehem was an exceptionally faithful city

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Why Do People Find Things In Narratives That
Arent There?

• People are desperate for information that will
  help them personally in specific situations
• People want answers now, from this book and this
  chapter
• People expect that everything in the Bible
  applies directly as instruction

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Errors In Interpreting Narratives

• Allegorizing
• Decontextualizing
• Selectivity
• False Combination
• Redefinition
• Extracanonical authority
• Moralizing
• Personalizing

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Summary of Old Testament Narratives

• Narratives demonstrate Gods involvement in the
  world
• Narratives illustrate Gods principles and His
  calling
• Narratives may teach either implicitly or
  explicitly
• Narratives usually do not directly teach doctrine
  - that is done elsewhere

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Questions or Comments?
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Next WeekThe Epistles Understanding
Context