I love when I come across the same thought in two totally different places. Here’s the latest:From Hermeneutics and Children’s Curriculum, John Walton:
The Bible is God’s revelation of himself, and its message and teaching is largely based on what it tells us about God. This is particularly true of narrative (stories). While we are drawn to observe the people in the stories, we cannot forget that the stories are intended to teach us about God more than about people.
If in the end, the final point is “We should/shouldn’t be like X (= some biblical character)” there is probably a problem unless the “X” is Jesus or God. Better is “we can learn through X’s story that God . . .”
Then from How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart:
One crucial thing to keep in mind as you read any Hebrew narrative is the presence of God in the narrative. In any biblical narrative, God is the ultimate character, the supreme hero of the story. ...To miss this dimension of the narrative is to miss the perspective of the narrative altogether.
So as I read through the Old Testament and New, am I just learning stories about people? Or stories about God? It’s a matter of perspective.
