...by the Greatest Story-Teller Ever! (part 2 of 2)

The Word for today:
Psalm 78: 40-72

mark this: Psalm 78:1-2
O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old.


The Bible has been called the Greatest Story Ever Told--because it is!  Do you  know why it's so great? 

Because the Bible is told by the Greatest Story-Teller ever, that's why.

As a Bible teacher, if I were allowed to give only one piece of advice to students who really want to understand their Bibles, this is what my advice would be:

If you want to understand the Bible, you must read it as one big story.

Today,  at the beginning of Psalm 72, we hear a voice:

O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old.

That's the voice of the Great Story-Teller!  This we know 'cause the Bible tells us so:
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
"I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."
 (Matthew 13:34-35)

***

Today concludes a two-part article about the the importance of seeing the Bible as, first and foremost, a story.  If you haven't, I hope you'll look over yesterday's blog as well as this one. 

Yesterday I quoted another writer on this important subject.  Today I leave you with notes written for a Bible class I teach.  (The class is  called "Behold" and can be heard by clicking here.

The Bible is a story.  It's not history or philosophy or a manual for self-improvement.
It's not about creation, it's about the Creator.
It's not about redemption, it's about the Redeemer.
It's not about forgiveness, it's about the Forgiver.
The Bible isn't about salvation; it's about the Savior.

Even the Parable of the Good Samaritan is about a Samaritan half-breed--his mother a Jew, his father unknown--from Nazareth of Galilee.

Even the Parable of the Prodigal Son isn't about the younger brother who went when he should have stayed, or about the older brother who stayed when he should have gone. It's about an Other Brother--who went to a far country to search for his lost brothers and sisters so he could bring them back home. 

At its deepest level, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is not about the characters in the story, but about the storyteller--Jesus.  At its deepest level, the Word of God, even when it might not say so, is about the Author.

The Bible isn't about the law, it's about the Lawgiver; it's not about judgment, it's about the Judge; it's not about prophecy, it's about the Prophet.

It's not even about the kingdom. It's about the King.