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The Problem with Proverbs

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What a unique treasure we have in the book of Proverbs! No other book of the Bible is as intensely practical as Proverbs. No other book presents such tremendous hope in the mundane parts of life. And no other book presents its material in quite the jumbled mess Proverbs appears to be.

If you have ever tried a chapter-a-day Bible reading plan, you understand how difficult it is to read Proverbs. Nearly every verse demands a pause for reflection. And much of the book yields only tenuous logical connections between one verse and the next. The book does not tell a story like Job. It rarely presents a train of thought across an extended poem like the Psalms. It (mostly) does not make a sustained argument like Ecclesiastes.

So how should we approach this book?

Photo by Karla Hernandez on Unsplash

The Problem of Practicality

Proverbs is famous because it gets so wildly practical. There is a reason the pocket Bibles produced by the Gideons consist not only of the New Testament but also the Psalms and Proverbs. This book is so practical that people love to pilfer its riches in all kinds of ways.

Take for example, this 2006 work [unabashed affiliate link!] endorsed by such luminaries as David Jeremiah, Gary Chapman, Ruth Graham, and Chuck Norris. What a promising title! The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomon’s Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness. Who wouldn’t want access to such secrets?

In The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, Scott reveals Solomon’s key for winning every race, explains how to resolve conflicts and turn enemies into allies, and discloses the five qualities essential to becoming a valued and admired person at work and in your personal life. Scott illustrates each of Solomon’s insights and strategies with anecdotes about his personal successes and failures, as well as those of such extraordinary people as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, and Steven Spielberg.

At once inspiring and instructive, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived weaves the timeless truths of one of our greatest works of literature into a detailed roadmap for successful living today.

From the marketing copy

This sounds amazing, and the book has more than 1,600 reviews (over 1,300 of them five-star) to back it up.

Now I confess I haven’t read the entire book. I couldn’t make it past the first few chapters, where it was clear that Mr. Scott all but ignores the worldview of Prov 1-9 in favor of the practicals of Prov 10-31. And this simply will not do when we come to the book of Proverbs.

We cannot be dazzled by the book’s practicality to the point of ignoring the context established in the opening chapters.

The Problem of Arrangement

Proverbs 10-31 present six collections of wise sayings. Most of those collected sayings are exactly one verse (two lines) long. For example, Prov 20:3 is a saying about keeping aloof from strife. Prov 20:4 is a saying about the sluggard’s time management. And Prov 20:5 is a saying about the invisible intentions and motivations in people’s hearts. We go from one. Thing. To. The. Next.

The primary exception to this scattershot approach to collecting wise sayings is the first nine chapters. Those chapters consist of many long poems making sustained arguments. That’s why those first nine chapters are the key to understanding the book. They construct a conceptual framework for wisdom, although to say it that way is far too abstract and boring. The way Solomon himself says it is that “wisdom has built her house” (Prov 9:1).

With that house built, personified Wisdom invites you to the feast of chapters 10-31. And the buffet of those collected sayings will make sense only in light of the worldview presented in chapters 1-9.

But that raises a crucial question: How do we read and understand that buffet? And more profoundly: Why did the editors collect these sayings in such an apparently random fashion?

As for the why: We may never know for sure until we can make the acquaintance of these editors in the world to come and ask them directly. The best answer I’ve heard was from my seminary professor, who postulated that the book simulates how real life works. You never have a day of your life where you think about, or have to deal with, nothing but money. And another day dealing with nothing but friendship. And another day dealing with nothing but speech. No, our lives are a jumble of topics from moment to moment. Perhaps the proverbs were collected in a jumbled way to simulate how real life is lived day after day.

As for the how: Proverbs 10-31 nearly demands that we search its treasures for topical threads. We must glut ourselves on wisdom’s feast to find all the verses about money, assembling them into a body of teaching on that topic. And we look for all the verses on friendship. And all the verses on speech.

So much, so good. We just need to make sure we don’t run with the practicals there without first interpreting them in light of the book’s worldview.

The Problem of Probability

One last potential problem is worthy of consideration. Because the particular sayings of Proverbs are so utterly specific and practical, that has led many Bible teachers to develop a conventional wisdom that “proverbs aren’t promises but only probabilities.” While this conventional wisdom has some value, it can be quite misleading.

To understand why it is misleading, we need to examine how we arrived at such a principle to begin with. The reason is typically because various proverbs seem to contradict one another (such as Prov 26:4 and Prov 26:5), or because some verses are easily abused to browbeat people (Prov 22:6). So we seek to solve such errors with a sweeping principle such as “proverbs aren’t promises but only probabilities.”

But here’s the thing: The statement that “proverbs aren’t promises but only probabilities” is itself a wise saying. A summary statement. Dare I say, a proverb? And is that statement only a probability and not a certainty? Is it certain that proverbs aren’t promises? Or is it only a probability itself?

And here’s the bigger issue: The proverbs do not present themselves as probabilities. They do not talk about what might happen or what is likely to happen. No, they make legitimate observations about the way the world works. And at times, they offer clear commands and not simply suggestions (e.g. Prov 14:7, 23:23).

We can get close to solving the problem of probability when we simply bring in the matters of practicality and arrangement. The arrangement means that no single proverb tells the whole truth on a topic; that’s why many verses all speak to various aspects of the same topics! The practicality tells us that any single proverb is speaking to a very narrow, very particular situation. And in those intensely practical, extremely particular settings that the proverb speaks into, the proverb speaks truth. Not probability, but truth.

We misuse the proverb if we try to make it speak to a related but different practical situation it was not meant to speak to. (Prov 26:4-5: Don’t answer a fool in those particular settings when it is best not to answer him!) And we deeply confuse people if we teach that the proverb is not true but only likely. (Prov 18:10: Is it only likely but not certain that Lord’s name will be a strong tower to the righteous who flee to him for final refuge?)

Conclusion

No other book of the Bible is like Proverbs. It presents some unique problems, such as the problem of practicality, the problem of arrangement, and the problem of probability. But studying this book along its natural contours yields a wealth of results, as it leads us to Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:2-3).

4 Mistakes When Reading the Parables of Jesus

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I recently wrote a piece on the parables of Jesus for the Logos Word by Word blog. It’s a pretty thorough look at what parables are, why Jesus used them, along with an exhaustive list of all of Jesus’ parables.

The final section offers strategies for overcoming four mistakes when reading the parables. The four mistakes are:

  1. Read them as abstract, universal stories for humanity.
  2. Read multiple versions of the same parable in the same way.
  3. Read them as stories for people today.
  4. Read them as though there was no Bible at the time.

Here is a taste:

In the act of persuasion, why not focus exclusively on logical argumentation, miracles, or Old Testament prophecy? Jesus uses all of those means, but what do parables contribute to the other forms of persuasion?

Jesus’s disciples ask this very question: “Why do you speak to them in parables?” (Matt 13:10). Jesus answers their question, but in a way that is sometimes wildly misunderstood. To grasp his two answers, we must grapple with the two Old Testament texts quoted by Matthew (13:10ff) and echoed by Mark (4:10ff).

Check it out!

What to Do When One Passage Refers to Another

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Though the Bible was written by dozens of human authors across centuries, it also claims to have been written by a single divine author (2 Tim 3:16) who was and is and is come. For that reason, these 66 books are all parts of that one great book, the Good Book, that the Lord caused to be written and preserved for his people through the ages.

You may have heard about New Testament quotes of the Old Testament. But that is not the only sort of intertextuality present in the Bible. Because the Bible is one unfolding revelation of God’s rule through his chosen Messiah, later portions of the Bible make constant reference to earlier portions.

Examples

In Ephesians 4:8, Paul quotes Psalm 68:18. And Psalm 68 itself (in Ps 68:1) quotes Numbers 10:35.

Hebrews 3:7-11 quotes Psalm 95. And Psalm 95:8 refers to the events of Exodus 17 and Numbers 20.

Mark 4:12 quotes Isaiah 6, but Isaiah 6 is difficult to understand apart from its allusions to texts such as Psalms 115 and 135.

Many places in the Old Testament reference “steadfast love and faithfulness” (2 Sam 2:6, Ps 25:10, Ps 40:11, Prov 3:3, Is 16:5, etc.), a pair of treats heavy with allusion to the character of the God in covenant with Israel (Ex 34:6).

What to Do

So quotations and allusions are not only what happens from the New Testament to the Old Testament. They also occur from later OT texts back to earlier ones. Identfying an OT quote in a NT passage may be only the first step in a linear chain of references that go farther and farther back.

That means that, in order to understand the passage with the quote, we must go back and understand the passage being quoted. Ancient authors didn’t quote older texts the way we today turn things into soundbites.

I’ve written before about what to do with such quotes. I’ll restate the principles here, but I encourage you to check out that blog post for further explanation.

  1. NT quotes of the OT are referencing passages, not verses.
  2. Don’t read past the OT quotes.
  3. Look up the OT quotes and study them in context.
  4. Consider how the NT author employs the OT context and repurposes it for his audience.
  5. What seems obvious may not be all that obvious.

These principles apply just as much to quotations or allusions from an OT text to a prior OT text, as to quotations or allusions from a NT text to an OT text. Such connections are like divine road maps showing us how the Good Book fits together. Let’s take advantage of these opportunities to deepen our understanding of the entire body of God’s revelation.

How to Handle the Charge of Contradictions in the Bible

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TGC Africa has a great piece called “Can You Trust the Bible When It’s Full of Contradictions?” In it, Ryan van der Avoort asks three questions and offers four suggestions. His approach would help anyone wrestling with the question, or speaking to someone wrestling with the question.

The necessary questions:

  1. Could you be more specific?
  2. Are you willing to be humble?
  3. Will you read and study the Bible for yourself?

The four suggestions:

  1. No one is saying that the Bible is always easy to understand.
  2. Tensions are not necessarily the same as contradictions.
  3. The immediate context of a passage matters.
  4. The larger storyline of the Bible frequently brings clarity.

Check it out!

Why it Matters that the Bible was Written to Specific People at a Specific Time

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While the Bible was written for us (1 Cor 10:11), it was not written to us. When we read the Bible, we are reading someone else’s mail.

This is why context matters. It is not appropriate to isolate sentences and sentiments and use them to our own ends. We must grasp the author’s main point to his original audience. We must consider how that main point either looks forward to Christ or reflects back upon him. And only when we have done those things are we in a position to consider how the text ought to produce change in anyone’s life today.

Photo by Mr Cup / Fabien Barral on Unsplash

Historical Context Defined

We’ve spent much space on this blog giving examples of how the literary context matters. But that is not the only kind of context.

One other such context is the historical context. How does the historical situation of this text affect the way we read it? And by “historical situation,” I’m not referring to cultural practices or artifacts within the text. I’m talking about the real-life situation of the author and audience of the text. What was going on in the lives of the author and audience that caused this person to write this text to these people at this time?

We cannot answer that question with certainty—or even high probability—for every book of the Bible. But whenever we can answer it, we ought to make sure that answer guides us whenever we seek to understand a text.

An Example

Have you ever noticed the difference between how the books of Kings and Chronicles describe the moral character of King Abijah (Abijam) of Judah?

In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam… Abijam began to reign over Judah… He walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to Yahweh his God, as the heart of David his father. Nevertheless, for David’s sake Yahweh his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem. (1 Kings 15:1-4)

Then Abijah stood up…and said… “But as for us, Yahweh is our God, and we have not forsaken him… Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.” (2 Chron 13:4-12)

Both Kings and Chronicles go out of their way to label each king of Judah as doing either what is right or what is evil in God’s eyes. There are clear good guys and bad guys, good kings and bad kings. But when it comes to Solomon’s grandson Abijah, the authors of these two books just couldn’t get their assessments aligned.

The author of Kings definitely knew about the warfare between Abijah and the northern kingdom (1 Kings 15:6; see 2 Chron 13:2). But he chose to leave Abijah’s faith in God, as demonstrated in that warfare, out of his narrative. Why would he do that?

The historical context of these two books can help.

Different Audiences, Different Times

The book of Kings (1 Kings and 2 Kings make up one long book that happened to be divided into two scrolls) was written for the people of God languishing in Babylonian exile. The book tells the story of the kingdom, ending with Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Jerusalem and the deportation of the population to a foreign land. The book is not without hope, as the final paragraph describes the reversal of fortune for one of their last kings (2 Kings 25:27-30).

But when all is taken into account, the book of Kings answers the chief question of those stuck in Babylon without temple, priest, or sacrifice: How did we get here?

The book of Chronicles (again, 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles are one book kept on two scrolls) was written for the people of God who had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and repair their lives. This book also tells the story of the kingdom, but it ends with a very different hope: Cyrus’s decree to return and rebuild (2 Chr 36:22-23). From the detailed genealogies of 1 Chr 1-9 to the lengthy liturgical sections (1 Chr 15-16, 22-29; 2 Chr 15, 19-20, 24, 29-31, 35), the book of Chronicles provides pertinent instruction and thrilling hope for those reconnecting to their past and reinstating the proper and authoritative worship of their God.

So when all is taken into account, the book of Chronicles answers the chief question of those who have returned from exile: How do we start things back up in the right way, without repeating the mistakes of our ancestors?

Employing Historical Context for Interpretation

How does this historical context help us to answer the thorny interpretive question of King Abijah? Was he good or evil? Faithful or disobedient?

The audience of Kings needed to hear of Abijam’s faults. The thrust of his life and rule was more like his father Rehoboam than his great-grandfather David. He was not undivided in his allegiance to Yahweh, and he carried the pride and insecurity of Rehoboam into a new generation. This was not pleasing to Yahweh, and it was one step along a lengthy slide into Judah’s abandonment of the covenant, leading to her demise and deportation.

But the audience of Chronicles needed a different message. They needed to know that Abijah was not as bad as he could have been. In fact, he had his shining moments. One such moment was when he publicly professed his faith in Yahweh and gave the priesthood its proper place: not as a magical totem but as an opportunity to lead the people toward covenant fidelity. Now that you are back in the land, you need to know that you, like Abijah, have a history of great sin against God. But if you bear fruit in keeping with repentance—demonstrating your faith through establishing a legitimate priesthood that leads the people to serve Yahweh above all gods—you, too, will find great success and security in the land you rebuild.

Conclusion

The historical context is an important piece of the puzzle we call Bible study. By placing yourself in the shoes of the original audience, you are more likely to grasp the intended message for them in their day. And when you have done so, you will unsurprisingly find the Bible becoming even more — not less — relevant to our lives today.

Does God Know His Plans for You, or Only for Exiled Israel?

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Over the years, numerous readers have requested a “context matters” post on Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

I have not provided one, partly on the ground that the misuse of this verse is well documented on many other websites. I have, instead, provided a satirical “context matters” post on the frequently overlooked life advice of Jeremiah 25:27. We can apply precisely the same reading strategy to Jer 25:27 that we generally apply to Jer 29:11, with an unexpectedly staggering result.

With that said, here comes Christopher Kou with a wonderfully sane treatment of Jer 29:11, which—wonder of wonders!—can be applied sensibly to Christians living today!

Although serious Bible students are not wrong to insist on a methodic approach to Scripture, including a consideration of the historical context in which it was written, the Old Testament texts are given to us for our instruction today (2 Tim 3:16). How, we may wonder, should we balance a sound reading of the Bible with more immediate application?

Kou does a great job pushing back on a knee-jerk overreaction to the contextless misuse of Scripture, in favor of a contextually nuanced what-it-meant-back-then, that then translates into a robust how-it-ought-to-change-us-today sort of application. I commend this work for your consideration.

Check it out!

Units of Thought in Poetry

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The Bible’s poetry can seem so strange and foreign, until you realize how to follow their train of thought. Then you can see why so many of them are among the most moving and beautiful poems in the history of the world.

The trick is to learn to read them as poems and not simply as random collections of inspiring sentiments. Why is it encouraging to be assured that you will regularly traverse the valley of death (Ps 23:4)? Because you have a divine shepherd (Ps 23:1-4) who is a lavish host (Ps 23:5-6).

So how do we go about observing the structure of a biblical poem? How do we distinguish the stanzas or sections?

Photo by Trust “Tru” Katsande on Unsplash

Stanzas

The primary structuring device in a biblical poem is the stanza. A stanza is sort of like a paragraph in prose texts; it’s a collection of lines or sentences into a coherent unit of thought. So when seeking the structure of a poem, the first and primary goal is to divide the poem into stanzas.

Many modern Bible editions help immensely, since they put a blank space between stanzas for you. The main challenge is to figure out from the text whether your Bible’s editors are right.

For example, in Proverbs 3:13-35, every translation seems to have a different idea of where the thought-divisions occur. Though most treat Prov 3:13 as the start of a unit, the LEB includes verses 11-12 with the first stanza. There is some diversity as to whether to treat Prov 3:19-20 as its own unit or as part of what follows. Also, the ESV sees Prov 3:27 as the end of the stanza that begins with Prov 3:21, but nearly every other version considers Prov 3:27 as the start of a new stanza.

ESVCSBLEBNETNIV
13-1813-1811-1813-2613-18
19-2019-2019-3519-20
21-2721-2621-26
28-3527-3527-3527-30
31
32-35
Stanza divisions in Proverbs 3:13-35

How do we decide who is right? A few tools will help us make such a decision.

Refrains

The first and simplest structuring device in Hebrew poetry is the refrain. A refrain is a line or sentence that repeats at regular intervals to mark off units of thought.

Here are some examples of refrains:

  • “Restore us, O God, let your face shine that we may be saved” (Ps 80: 3, 7, 19) divides Psalm 80 into three stanzas.
  • “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Ps 46:7, 11) divides Psalm 46 into two stanzas.
  • “Why are you cast down… Hope in God” (Ps 42:5, 11; Ps 43:5) divides Psalm 42-43 into three stanzas.
  • “For all this his anger has not turned away” (Is 9:12, 17, 21; Is 10:4) divides Isaiah 9:8-10:4 into four stanzas.
  • “Yet you did not return to me” (Amos 4:6, 8, 9, 10, 11) divides Amos 4:6-12 into six stanzas.

Inclusio

An inclusio is a word or phrase that occurs at the beginning and end of a passage. It is similar to a refrain, except that it occurs specifically at beginning and end, like bookends on a library shelf.

  • Some psalms use an inclusio at the beginning and end of the entire poem (e.g. Psalms 8, 103, 113, 118). That encompassing inclusio may help us to grasp the poem’s main idea, but it doesn’t help us break the poem down into subdivided stanzas or units of thought.
  • Other times, an inclusio marks off a stanza or unit of thought for us. For example:
    • “wisdom and instruction” repeated in Prov 1:2, 7—showing us that those verses all fit together as a unit of thought.
    • “gazelle or young stag on the mountains” bookends the poetic stanza in Song 2:8-17.

Metaphor Shifts

Often, a poet shifts gears in his thought when he shifts from one overriding metaphor to another.

  • In Psalm 23, there is a shift from the larger metaphor of shepherd (Ps 23:1-4) to the metaphor of host (Ps 23:5-6).
  • In Psalm 71, the poet seeks refuge in God (Ps 71:1-6), proves that enemies aren’t so scary (Ps 71:7-15), remembers God’s work in the past (Ps 71:16-18), and employs the past to provide hope for the future (Ps 71:19-24). The shifts in these metaphorical phases of life outline the poem’s train of thought.
  • In Isaiah 5, the metaphor of the vineyard dominates Is 5:1-7. Then the threat of curse (Is 5:8-23) turns into the metaphor of fire (Is 5:24-25), before the chapter concludes with the metaphor of signal or alarm (Is 5:26-30).

Grammar Shifts

Sometimes, the changes from stanza to stanza are evident through shifts in the grammar.

  • There could be shifts in subject, as in Psalm 24: God (1-2), God’s people (3-6), God together with his people (7-10).
  • There could be shifts in pronouns or audience, as in Psalm 29: speaking to heavenly beings (1-2), speaking about Yahweh’s voice (3-9), speaking about Yahweh’s enthronement (10-11).

Conclusion

To draw defensible conclusions regarding a poem’s main point, we must be able to identify the poem’s units of thought. Then we can show how each of those units builds a case and contributes to the main idea. The trick is that we can’t simply go with what “feels right.” We ought to have observable clues within the text that mark the divisions for us. Refrains, incusios, and shifts in metaphor may be among such observable evidence.

Back to Proverbs 3

So where does that leave us on the question of Proverbs 3:13-35? How do these tools help us identify the stanzas (see the chart above)?

Prov 3:13-18 has the inclusio of both “blessing” and the concept of finding or laying hold of wisdom. Prov 3:21-26 has an inclusio of “keeping” or being “kept.” That whole section of Prov 3:13-26 thus has a unified metaphor of finding and keeping wisdom. At the center of that section is a brief description of how Yahweh built wisdom right into the fabric of the universe at the moment of creation (Prov 3:19-20). This explains why it “works” that finding and keeping wisdom will result in great blessing.

Prov 3:27-28 has two prohibitions against “withholding good.” Prov 3:29-30 has two prohibitions against “planning evil.” The chapter ends (Prov 3:32-35) with a grammatical shift to four assurances (parallel to the four prohibitions) that Yahweh neither plans evil nor withholds good from the right people at the right time. In between those two four-verse chunks is a warning not to envy violent men (Prov 3:31)—those who constantly plan evil and withhold good from others when it suits them. So the entire section (Prov 3:27-35) sticks together under the larger metaphor of humanitarian dealings (love your neighbor as yourself).

So in the end, I agree with both the NET and the NIV (though the CSB is not far off). The NET is correct that there are two main units of thought. The NIV is correct that each of those main units has three subsections. We’d be greatly helped if there were a clear way to represent both the main stanzas and their subdivisions in the way our Bibles lay out the text.

Can Our Interpretation be Trusted?

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John Piper answers a question about whether anyone can trust their own attempt to interpret the Scripture, especially the Bible’s moral teaching.

He divides his answer into two parts:

  1. What the Bible says about how to interpret its own teaching.
  2. What the Bible says about skeptics who aren’t sure they can trust anything.

I encourage you to consider his thoughtful responses to these two fundamental matters. Check it out!

Units of Thought in Narrative

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One of the most important observations to make in a passage is the structure. And the way to observe structure is to first identify the parts of the passage (the units of thought) so that you can figure out how those parts relate to one another. In this post I’ll show you some of the ways to recognize the units of thought in a narrative.

What is a Narrative?

Along with discourse, narrative is one of the three text types in Scripture. A narrative is any sort of passage that describes an event or tells a story in prose (not poetry). It could be a brief episode or a sprawling epic. Either way, most biblical narratives record true events.

That adds some complexity, because we don’t typically write history books today in a narrative format. Even biographies and historical “retellings” are more concerned with chronology and sequence than with plot. But ancient writers, including biblical narrators, saw no conflict between writing true history and telling a compelling (though perhaps dischronologized) story. Such stories became an essential part of the Jewish (and later Christian) cultural consciousness. With that in mind, a few tools will help us to discern the units of thought in that narrative.

Photo by Klim Sergeev on Unsplash

Scenes

The primary building block of a narrative is a scene. A scene is an interaction between characters in a particular place at a particular time. Therefore, the clearest way to distinguish between scenes is to identify major changes in either characters (the main actors) or setting (the time and place).

For example, in Mark 7, the first scene consists of Jesus speaking with or about the Pharisees (Mark 7:1-23). In Mark 7:24, the setting shifts up to the region of Tyre, and in Mark 7:31 it shifts again back to the Sea of Galilee. So Mark 7 has three clear scenes (Mark 7:1-23, 24-30, 31-37) based on the various settings.

In 2 Kings 4, we have an example of clear shifts in who the characters are. In 2 Kings 4:1-7, Elisha serves a widow of one of the sons of the prophets. In 2 Kings 4:8-37, he serves a wealthy woman of Shunem. In 2 Kings 4:38-41, he serves the sons of the prophets themselves during a famine. And in 2 Kings 4:42-44, he serves a man from Baal-shalishah, who himself wishes to serve the sons of the prophets during the famine. So the chapter divides into four main scenes based on the characters involved.

Sequence of Scenes

Average scenes in Matthew, Mark, and Luke tend to be quite short, when compared to average scenes in other narrative books (such as Genesis, Kings, John, or Acts). In the case of those three Gospels (called “synoptics”), it’s easier—and perhaps more important—to keep multiple scenes together when studying so we can see how one flows to the next and the next.

For example, there is certainly profit to be gained from studying the solitary scene of Mark 2:13-17 to reflect on Jesus’ mission to be a physician to sinners. But we’re more likely to grasp Mark’s main idea when we observe that this scene is the first of four controversies right next to each other (Mark 2:13-17, 2:18-22, 2:23-28, 3:1-6). And shortly before these four controversies, Mark narrated four healings in a row (Mark 1:21-28, 29-34, 35-39, 40-45). And right in between the four healings and the four controversies is a story that is both healing and controversy (Mark 2:1-12), functioning as a pivot between the two four-part sequences. Therefore, the episode with the paralytic ought to cast its shadow over our interpretation of the entire segment of Mark 1:21-3:6.

Narrator Insertions

Most of the time, biblical narrators write about other characters and the events surrounding them. But with some regularity, those narrators step into the story to share their thoughts on what just happened (or what is about to happen). They do this not only through introductions and conclusions, but something through summaries or assessments. When we come across such narrator insertions, it is not enough to consider what the narrator says. We must also account for why the narrator has inserted himself at this point in the story. Sometimes, such insertions mark off units of thought for us.

For example, Mark uses narrative summaries to mark off the main sections early in his gospel. Mark 3:7-12 summarizes Jesus ministry in Galilee as one involving great crowds coming to hear him and be healed by him. Unclean Spirits attempted to name him the Son of God, but he would not permit them. This summary is not here by accident. It is the narrator’s way of bringing everything since Mark 1:16 to a conclusion before he launches into a new idea in the following section (which ends with a briefer narrative summary at the end of Mark 6:6).

Plot

When you’re studying a book with lengthier scenes, such as John, Acts, or Old Testament narratives, the tool of marking scenes will get you only so far. What if a single scene is 20, 30, or 40 verses long? How do you break that scene down further into units of thought to help you determine the author’s main point?

In such cases, the best tool to employ is perhaps the plot structure. Develop the skill of identifying precisely where conflict is introduced, where it is solved, and how the tension escalates on the way from its introduction to its resolution—and you’ll be well-equipped to map out the structure of many biblical narratives.

The bad news is that I don’t have enough space here to elaborate on how to develop these skills. The good news is that I have already done so in another post.

Conclusion

Bible stories provoke the imagination and grip hearts. Bible characters might be used as examples to imitate or avoid (though not as often as you might think!). Bu our chief goal with narratives ought to be discovering the author’s main points in telling them. What is it the author seeks to persuade his audience of?

As you develop proficiency in distinguishing between scenes, observing the logical flow from one to the next, recognizing the structural use of narrator insertions, and tracking plot arcs, you will become equipped to identify the structure of the Bible’s narratives. And once you’ve identified your passage’s structure, you’re well on the way toward drawing credible and defensible conclusions about the passage’s main idea.

You Cannot Trust Christ Without Trusting the Scripture

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Note: I’m not sure why the original post no longer appears on the CCW site, but you can still read it via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

In this post, Jim Elliff makes a profound point: It is not possible to know or trust Christ while denying the authority or reliability of the Bible. Elliff tells of a learned man who claimed to see a vision of Jesus, while doubting that he could trust what the Bible says about him. But such deception is one of Satan’s tactics, and the fruit of such deception is the very reason for which Jesus pronounced a curse on the religious leaders of his day.

Elliff remarks:

I have many friends who struggle with the Scriptures. I’m really not unsympathetic to their viewpoint. Believing in the Scriptures as true and reliable and inerrant has many detractors. Voices of disbelief come from all sides. But when you see the glory of Christ in them, something changes in the reader.

Check it out!