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How to Understand Genealogies

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If you’ve been persuaded not to skip the Bible’s genealogies, you might still wonder what to do with them. And Scott Slayton has just the help you need. In his article “How Do I Deal with the Genealogies?” he offers three suggestions:

  1. How does it fit within the author’s narrative?
  2. How does it fulfill the promises of God?
  3. What glimmers of grace do we see in it?

Questions 2 and 3 are useful in helping us to reflect on the theological benefit of any genealogy, but I find question 1 most helpful when working through a book. Remember that the genealogy is not a waste of words. It’s not as though the author had nothing useful to say, and so he decided to throw in a list of names. No, the author is making a case for something; he’s trying to move his audience to action. And the genealogy helps advance his agenda. We must observe the genealogy carefully to uncover what that agenda is.

Though Slayton addresses his article to pastors, his suggestions are just as fitting for any teacher or student of the Scripture.

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More on the Bruised Reed

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As a follow-up to last week’s post on the metaphor of the bruised reed in Is 42:1-4 and Matt 12:15-21, here is an article I wrote for Desiring God. Here is a taste:

The metaphor seems self-evident. “Bruised reeds are people who are broken and needy, people worn out and tired and exhausted with life’s circumstances, people neglected by the world, but accepted by Jesus.” We casually toss the phrase out like a trump-suit ace impervious to counter-play. No need to explain; just assert: “Jesus never broke a bruised reed.”

But have you considered why the reed doesn’t get broken? Look at the text carefully, and you might find you’ve become a little too familiar with this biblical phrase and perhaps have missed a profound point. In fact, hastily assuming the “what” may have obscured your insight into the “why”…

We rightly marvel at Jesus’s deep compassion. We rightly delight in his commitment to the down-and-out of society, and we rightly long to imitate his works of service and provision. We rightly praise the one who brought hope and healing to those who had none.

But is the point of the bruised reed image Jesus’s compassion? Should we identify weak, lowly, or otherwise hurting people as the “bruised reeds” who weren’t — and thus shouldn’t be — “broken”? Interpreting the metaphor this way is often assumed rather than argued, but perhaps we’ve grown too familiar with it and should take another look.

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Why You Shouldn’t Skip the Genealogies

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J.A. Medders understands the temptation to skip boring parts of the Bible, such as genealogies, even in his preaching. But he advises us not to do it. Why?

  1. Genealogies remind us the Bible isn’t about us.
  2. Genealogies remind us of God’s promise to send a son.

Medders has some needed encouragement to help us better align our hopes with God’s priorities. And I agree. Each year, as I commit to reading the genealogies along with the rest of the Scriptures, I find myself appreciating them more each time. Medders concludes:

[Genealogies] remind us about a list of names where you are listed. Right now, in Heaven, the Lamb’s Book of Life is filled with the names of those who would be redeemed by the blood of Jesus. And if you believe in the risen Lord, your name is on a page—and it’s written in ink older than the earth (Rev. 17:8). You aren’t listed in Exodus 6 or Matthew 1, but you are listed in Heaven, in a genealogy of Christ’s brothers and sisters.

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What Do We Mean by the Word ‘Meaning’?

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In a recent Look at the Book video, John Piper clarifies what we mean when we talk about the Bible’s “meaning.” According to Piper:

The meaning of a text is what the author intended to communicate with his words.

The key idea is that meaning comes from the author, not the reader. In particular, the meaning of a text is NOT:

  • Whatever comes into our head
  • What we feel
  • All the ways we may respond

These beliefs arise from thinking that meaning comes from the reader, not the author.

Piper explains what he means, and then he gives examples of how the Bible assumes this definition of “meaning.” It is very important that we understand this as we come to study any passage of Scripture.

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8 Habits of the Excellent Bible Teacher

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Whether you are a parent teaching your children, a small group leader, a Sunday school teacher, or a pastor, how can you strive for excellence? Professionals pursue continuing education, athletes need personal training, and academics submit to peer review. What does excellence look like for Bible teachers?

According to Andrew Hess, Bible teachers must develop 8 habits if they want to endure in bringing honor God in their teaching. The 8 habits are:

  1. Preparation
  2. Love
  3. Prayer
  4. Learning
  5. Mastery
  6. Limit
  7. Humility
  8. Gratitude

I appreciate Hess’s decision to call these “habits” and not “tips” or “behaviors.” The habits on this typically feel mundane, but the cumulative effect they will have over a lifetime would be difficult to overstate. Read Hess’s article to see why.

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Hone Your Ability to Focus on the Bible

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If we can’t focus on anything, we won’t be able to focus when it’s time to read the Bible. Along those lines, Scott Slayton has a few suggestions well worth considering:

  1. Shut out distractions.
  2. Read actively.
  3. Read in a consistent place and at a consistent time.
  4. Hone your concentration in other areas.

Slayton fleshes out these principles in his blog post. They sound like simple principles, but in his blog post, Slayton presents some challenging applications that are worth considering.

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The Problem With Bible Reading Plans

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Writing for the blog of Southern Seminary, Joseph C. Harrod describes one common approach to Bible reading plans: reading one chapter at a time from different parts of the Bible. One famous reading plan does one chapter a day from Genesis, one from Ezra, one from Matthew, and one from Acts—then moving on from there each day through the Bible.

I have followed such a reading plan from a lectionary, for many years. I use this in addition to my annual read-through, as well as ongoing voluminous reading of whatever book I’m studying at the time (currently Isaiah). One benefit of the “various chapters” reading plan is that it keeps the whole of Scripture in the forefront.

But I’ve also seen a drawback to such reading plans: They train you to think only in chapter-long chunks, where you can easily miss the context of whole books. And Harrod identifies another drawback I hadn’t thought of: Such plans train you to think it takes a very long time to read through books. So, for example, Genesis takes almost 2 months (50 days) to get through, when, in fact, if you read only Genesis, you could finish it in 3.5 hours.

Harrod shows how even the longest books of the Bible can be read in about the same amount of time we’d take to watch an epic film or a sporting event. It’s worth devouring these books in one or two sittings. Harrod has some helpful insights in this first article on the problem with most Bible reading plans, and in a second article, he shows how you can read half the Bible in 30 minutes!

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