The Library of Scripture

This episode contains portions from the following programs:

"A Crash Course in Bible Genres."

"A Lifeline in Times of Trouble."

"Thus Says the Lord."

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Dannah Gresh: When I walk into a library, what section do I head to? If I'm about to go on vacation, it will be the fiction section, and I like a good mystery. Now, if I'm not on vacation, I still might check anything out because I like dreaming about all the things I would read if I were going on vacation! But I'll tell you where I don't head—the scary books. I simply don’t like horror and murder and all of that stuff—no way!

Maybe you hang out near the craft books or the biographies. If you have young kids, you spend a lot of time in the picture books, I'm sure. On the other hand, there are probably areas of your library that you’ve never been in.

Well, the Bible is sort of like a library, but we shouldn’t use it the same way. 

Welcome to Revive Our Hearts Weekend. I’m Dannah Gresh.

Okay, to be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve been to the library. I hope you go more often than I do. But I remember what it was like back when I had children and I was inviting them to love books the way that I do. Either you know what you’re looking for and you go and get it, or you go just to browse and see if you can find something interesting. Chances are you’ll find something. Even a small library has a pretty wide range of genres to choose from.

I’m thankful we’re able to do that here in the United States, but what happens when we start to approach the Bible that way? Your aunt prefers the Gospels, you like Psalms, your pastor seems obsessed with the Epistles, and everyone avoids Leviticus. But all of the Bible is God’s Word, so we should know all of it while recognizing that not all of the Bible is the same kind of literature.

There’s poetry and history, prophecy and letters, and more. And while they’re all important, they’re all different. You don’t read a psalm the same way you read the book of Revelation. Did you know that realizing this and understanding how to read the different genres of Scripture can actually help you in your Bible study?

Kristie Anyabwile knows that. She’s a pastor’s wife and mom, and she wrote a book called Literarily: How Understanding Bible Genres Transforms Bible Study. 

She was a guest on our Grounded videocast and podcast some time ago. Let’s listen to the conversation she had with Portia Collins and Erin Davis.

Erin Davis: I think we can sometimes take the “open your Bible and read what you come to” approach. Or we could just read straight through and approach all of it as the same kind of text. How come that's not a great strategy for knowing and loving God's Word?

Kristie Anyabwile: People always ask the question, Is the Bible literal? Like, are you supposed to really read it literally? And that is an excellent question. I actually think the thought behind that question is, people kind of innately understand that in some places, it doesn't make sense for me to read the Bible literally, right? 

And so, for example, we can talk about plenty of examples, but the one I always use because everybody's familiar with it is, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he's old, he won't depart from it.” Well, that sounds great. If that's a promise from God, I am holding on to that. What parent wouldn’t hold on to that? But if we understand that the book of Proverbs is wisdom literature, and this is proverbial—it's kind of a generally true statement, but it's not a promise from God. It's not like if you plug in A you get out B. We know that just from experience. But the problem is, not only does it not help us to put it in its right place of, “Okay, this is wisdom, it's not a promise,” but if we do read it literally, for example, it really puts us in a crisis of faith. 

Because if you're a faithful parent, and you've raised your child in the fear and instruction of the Lord as we’re instructed, and you read this statement, and you see that your child is wayward, and maybe not following the Lord, then there's a problem. Is there something wrong with me? Is there something wrong—like, who messed up? Was it me or God? Right? 

Erin: Right.

Kristie: I've experienced that with friends who have said, “I raised my child this way. I did this, and I did all of these things. And the Bible says, train him up in the way that he should go and when he's old, he will not depart from it.” And so, it puts us in a real dilemma and can even lead us into this crisis of faith when we don't read portions of Scripture in the way they were intended.

Erin: That’s so good.

How would somebody maybe they've been studying the Bible? 50 years? Or maybe they've been studying it five minutes, but they don't know what the genres are? How do they get started in thinking about it through that grid?

Kristie: Thinking about it through the grid or knowing what they are, genre is just a category. It's how we write. Yeah, so it's just how we categorize things like genres of music, genres of books, fiction, nonfiction, those kinds of things. And so, if you're just being introduced to genre, I would say, take so and so in the Bible. Those categories, I think, are laid out fairly straightforward in our Bibles. 

So, the first five books are the law. And then you have Joshua through Esther, those are narratives, Old Testament narratives. They're stories, but they're historical. These are historical accounts. Then you move forward in the Bible, and you get Psalms, that's poetry. Then you get books like the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, that's more wisdom literature, and then you move forward in the prophets, and then the gospels, epistles, and apocalyptic literature. 

So, those are the main literary genres in Scripture. And each one of them has a unique function in terms of how we enter into that piece of literature, and what God's intentions are for us in that piece. So, I think if someone's just getting starting, I really would start with the law, because that's the beginning. That's where we find out what God expects of us. And so, I would start there. 

We think about law, we think about rules. The law is really rules, its guidance, instruction, the Torah. And so, I think in the law, that's what we want to be looking for—not rigid rules, per se, but what are these initial covenants, the sustaining instructions that God is giving to His people and what He expects, and how He expects us to live those things out. 

And then the rest of the Bible is showing how people respond to God's instructions. I think each of the other genres are responses in different ways to God's instructions. So, the narratives we get how people lived out God’s structures, and the Wisdom literature is how to live wisely under God's instructions. The prophets are reminding God's people of His instructions and giving them warnings if they disobey and hope for the future. They are also giving them reward or blessing for their obedience or reminding them of that. 

And then of course, we get to the gospels, and that's the embodiment of God's law in the person of Jesus Christ, who perfectly obeyed all of the law of God, and through whom we have redemption. And so, the full suite of the genres is to show us God's redemptive plan from beginning to end. That helps us to see who Christ is, what He has done for us, and how we are to live in light of His person and His work. 

Portia Collins: I'm hearing a running theme, how the Scriptures are pointing to God. And when we actually study the Bible literarily, we can see God as the main thing. And so, I don't want our sisters to check out on us this morning because I know that this can be a little bit meaty. Some people are probably saying, “Well, I'm not a seminarian, I just want to read my Bible.”

Kristie: Join the club.

Portia: Right. Right. And that's it. But I really want to encourage our sisters. What type of word or advice or encouragement would you give to that sister who is maybe feeling intimidated? Or maybe even put off a little bit about studying this way? How does the way that you're proposing, how does that help us to see God clearly in the Scriptures?

Kristie: Yeah, that's a great question. I think for sisters who are like, “I didn’t go to seminary; I don’t really understand . . .” I honestly think that the way God, in His sovereignty, in His wisdom and His kindness to us, He has given us the Bible in a way that is meant for us to have understanding. And so again, everybody's familiar with instruction, training, expectations. Everyone is familiar with stories and what makes a good story and finding tension and relief and stories. 

Everyone is familiar with wisdom, and we desire it, and we give it. We kind of have this base in the Lord's common grace to us. He has given us basic understanding. 

And so, there's a little bit of innate ability in this. So those innate common grace gifts that God has given to us are meant for us to have an entry point into who He is and what He's done. 

And so, for sisters struggling with that, I would just be like, relax. God’s done the work already and giving you just some basic skills. Then I'm just kind of filling in the blanks. Don't think about it as kind of school or class; that's not really the intent. So, I'm hoping just understanding how to make an argument and how to read an epistle and to see the argument that the author is making, how to find those little layers, that will help you more easily enter God's Word. It’s not so we can have academic, intellectual knowledge, but so that we can help really encounter our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That's the goal, right? 

And so, it's not just head knowledge. It is not just learning these tools. The tools are just a way for us to relax a little bit, open our Bibles and say, “Okay, God, let me hear what You have to say today.” So it's for us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, to deepen our love for Him and our understanding of His Word. And not to just merely have academic class markers. 

Erin: High five. 

Kristie: Right, that's my encouragement too. You know what, it's all about communion. You don't have to use any of these tools, honestly. It's just a way for people who are interested to get in that extra layer of entry points into the Word so that it can help us grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.

God is sovereign, and the Holy Spirit is active. The Holy Spirit is working in us. And so, we have to trust that God is going to give us what we need, regardless of how we get into the Book. But if there are ways for us to grow, why wouldn't we do that? I would just say, depend on the Holy Spirit, even if you use extra tools and resources and guidance to get into the Word of God. 

Dannah: What a good reminder from Kristie Anyabwile—the purpose of learning about the different Scripture genres is not just to have knowledge, but to know God better, to grow in your relationship with Him.

One genre that we sometimes have a hard time understanding is poetry. Let’s face it, poetry reading might have been popular 150, 200 years ago, but by and large, we’re just not used to it anymore. We suffer through a couple Shakespeare plays in high school and enjoy a little Isaac Watts, and that’s about it. (If you’re a poetry-lover, please don't take offense. Do know that I’m generalizing here!)

So, why is so much of the Bible written in poetry? It might not always sound like what we think of as poetry, but the art and beauty of that wordsmithing is there . . . and it can be hard to follow!

I wondered that several years ago when I studied the book of Habakkuk. 

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Now, Habakkuk is not an easy read. You’re going to have to roll up your sleeves. I have to tell you: I think you’re going to like Habakkuk. My friends who have also studied this book in-depth say that they finish it with a sense of friendship.

I feel that way about Habakkuk. He seems like he’s a familiar friend. I can identify with him. He’s been through some of the same sources of emotions and feelings and trials that I have been. He’s had some of the same responses to God and to hardships that I have had. He’s easy to identify with.

But I need to warn you: He’s not all that easy to understand sometimes because he’s very creative. He is a poet. And he does not speak to us in the pages of Habakkuk with prose, with subjects, verbs and direct objects. And so, we have to think a little harder. We have to pause and ponder the poetry.

I had so much trouble with this when I first began studying it that I had to call a college professor. I called a professor of Old Testament theology, and I said, “I have a question for you. Why did Habakkuk have to write in poetry? I mean, it says right in his book that God told him to make the message plain and clear. So why does he use poetry?”

And he told me something very interesting. He said, “God often communicates His best truths poetically.”

He went on to share with me how in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, some of the most important verses in those two chapters of the Bible are poetry.

He reminded me that the celebration of exodus—poetry.

Psalms, Proverbs, the book of Job—another book about living through difficult times—poetry.

Most of the prophetic books are also poetry.

Why would God do that? Because He has something very significant to say, and poetry doesn’t allow us to skim over it. We have to slow down and look carefully.

Here are a few things that I’ve learned as I’ve studied Habakkuk. I hope these are encouraging to you as you dive into the power of poetry in Scripture.

The first thing is this: Poetry requires us to get face to face with God. It’s very intimate. If you don’t slow down and look it in the eye, you’ll not truly understand it.

I had so many sweet moments where I felt a new intimacy with God as I was studying Habakkuk. I hope that you will, too. One particular time that stands out: I set an hour aside just to read Habakkuk and then sit in God’s presence and see what He would speak to me.

And do you know what? After the hour was over, I didn’t want to leave that sweet place of intimacy. I sat with the Lord that day for four hours, watching woodpeckers at my feeder and talking to the Lord.

I hope you’ll experience intimacy with the Lord in the days to come.

The second thing is: Poetry is pregnant with persuasion because poetry tends to be emotional. It tends to be persuasive, and that’s a good thing. We want to be persuaded when we’re reading God’s Word, after all, it is God’s Word.

The other thing: It’s beautiful. Some of the verses that we’re going to come to in chapter 3 of Habakkuk will be very familiar to you. They’re memorable because they’re beautiful.

The fourth thing: The extra work poetry requires results in eureka moments. To be truly present with the Word, to understand it, you have to dig so deep. And when you get down into the truth of it, up to your elbows, you find a treasure that you didn’t know was there, you will have this wonderful sense of reward and this great moment of eureka. I hope that you will experience that in the days to come.

But finally: It helps us to remember. Poetry, because it is beautiful, because it is emotional, it helps that part of our brain that recalls things and remembers things. We’ll store it, and we have it there at the ready. I can’t think of anything better for us to walk and live by faith than passages of Scripture at the ready in our brains. We’re going to need help remembering because when we walk through those difficult times, it is so easy to forget God.

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Now, it’s been several years since I studied that book, but Habakkuk still feels like a friend. Even though I didn’t set out to memorize it, it’s familiar. I know how it goes. Of course, just spending a lot of time in one passage will help with that—but I think the poetry helped, too.

The book of Habakkuk isn’t just poetry. After all, it is one of the minor prophets, right? Now, there’s a lot of prophecy in the Bible, and that can be just as intimidating as poetry. The concept of prophecy isn’t something we talk about very often. But we shouldn’t avoid it. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth explained what prophets and prophecies are and how we can understand them. Let’s listen.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: Now that word "prophet" and "prophecies" . . . you hear it used in a lot of different ways, some of which are more biblical than others. So let’s just stick to Scripture here. The Old Testament prophets were messengers. They were communicators on behalf of God. They were chosen and appointed by God. They were not self-appointed. Nobody got up one day and said, “Oh, I’d like to be a prophet. I think I’ll go to seminary and be a prophet.”

No, God pulled them out of whatever else they were doing and said to them, “I’ve ordained you as a prophet.” Here’s how that worked: God spoke to His prophets and revealed His will to them. He communicated directly to the prophets what He wanted His people to know.

Now keep in mind, they didn’t have the Bible. So this was God’s means of communicating with His people. God would give the prophets announcements, instructions, words of comfort, words of warning. Whatever He wanted the people to know, He would speak to the prophets, and the prophets would hear and speak to the people.

The words from God to the prophets included two essential kinds of speaking. First of all there was forth-telling and then there was foretelling.

• Forth-telling, giving forth the message of God which could be something about their sin or about His righteousness or about His ways or His will.
• Then foretelling was of the future.

Sometimes in the prophecies you’ll see one—the foretelling—or you’ll see the forth-telling. Sometimes you’ll see the two mixed together, but you kind of can divide the prophecies that God sent into those two categories. Not all prophecies were about the future. Some were about the present: that was forth-telling. Then some were foretelling the future.

• So God would speak to His prophets, reveal His will—what He wanted the people to know.
• Then the prophets had tolisten to what God said. They had to receive His revelation.
• Then it was the prophet’s responsibility to proclaim to the people the message they had received from God.

So there was this dynamic communication going on. God would speak to His prophets; the prophets would listen; they would receive the message, and then they would give the message out to the people.

So often when the prophets spoke, they would say a phrase you see many, many times in the Old Testament: “Thus says the Lord.”

These were not the prophet’s own words. The prophet wasn’t giving his own thoughts or his own opinions. It wasn’t, “This is what I think,” or “This is what I believe.” It was, “Thus says the Lord.”

When the prophets spoke with God’s authority behind them, it was as if God were speaking to the people. Now there were sometimes false prophets who would say, “Thus says the Lord,” but they weren’t really speaking for God, and there were severe consequences for those false prophets.

We’re talking here about true prophets of the Lord. They would say, “Thus says the Lord.” These were God’s words. So when they said, “Thus says the Lord,” people needed to stop and listen and realize when this prophet speaks, God is speaking.

Now remember that God had called them and appointed them, so their job was to speak whatever God commanded and directed them to say. They worked for God. They were God’s servants. They were His messengers, His communicators, and they were responsible to say it just as they heard it—no changing it around; no adding; no subtracting. Say it as you heard it.

Let me give you a couple examples of this:

God to the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:

You shall go to all to whom I send you. . . . And whatever I command you, you shall speak. . . . Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.” (vv. 7, 9 NKJV)

That’s a prophet. Ezekiel chapter 3:

And he said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them.” (v. 4)

That’s a prophet . . . hearing the Word of God, speaking the truth and the Word of God to others.

One book on Christian doctrine summarized it this way, “A prophet of God is one who speaks for God, making known and interpreting the word and will of God to man.” That’s a prophet.

Now, I want to point your attention to a really important Old Testament passage. If you have your Bible, let me encourage you to turn to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 18. This is an Old Testament prophecy about a prophet. It becomes very important once we see Jesus coming on the scene.

Moses is the one speaking here. He is one of the greatest Old Testament prophets. In verses 9 through 14, we won’t read that right now, but he tells the people: “You are not to be like the pagan nations around us who listen to fortune-tellers or sorcerers to divine truth. Rather, you are to listen to God and His messengers. You are to listen to His prophets.” Then He speaks of another prophet, even greater than himself, who is yet to come. Look at verse 15:

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly [when the law was given], when you said, "Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.” (vv. 15–16)

Now, he’s hearkening back to an instance at Mount Sinai where the people were terrified to hear the voice of God directly. They couldn’t handle it. They feared they would be consumed by His glory. So they asked God to speak to them through an intermediary, someone who would go between them and God. That’s what a prophet was. Moses was that kind of prophet.

God would speak to Moses there on the mountain, and then Moses would come down the mountain and tell the people what God had said. And Moses is reminding them: “You said, ‘Don’t let God speak to us directly. It will kill us. Send us prophets.’” Verse 17:

And the LORD said to me, "They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, [God said] and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” (vv. 17–19)

This is a prophecy in the Old Testament in relation to the Messiah. The Jews, over hundreds of years, came to believe and to see that this was prophesying of the coming of the Messiah. God promised He would send another Prophet, a prophet like Moses in many respects. He would be a teacher, a ruler, a deliverer—only greater. He would be the ultimate Prophet through whom God would make Himself and His will known to His people.

Dannah: That’s Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, reminding us that Jesus is the ultimate Prophet. Isn’t it amazing how many prophets and prophecies led up to His coming? You might miss that if you aren’t aware what type of Bible passage you’re reading.

Maybe today’s topic is totally new to you, and you’re feeling a little lost because we only talked about a couple Bible genres. I get it. If you want an overview of all the genres, I have a couple blog posts for you to check out. Go to ReviveOurHearts.com/weekend, click on today’s episode, and we’ll have links to those posts for you to read.

And there’s something else we’d like you to have this month. When you give a gift to help support the ministry of Revive Our Hearts, we’ll send you a booklet that I hope will be encouraging and helpful in your walk with the Lord. It’s called Biblical Portrait of Womanhood: Discovering and Living Out God’s Plan for Our Lives. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth wrote it several years ago, and it shows you not only what it means to be a woman, but what it looks like to be a woman who lives for God’s glory. 

You can give a gift by calling 1-800-569-5959, or go to ReviveOurHearts.com/weekend and click on today’s episode. When you contact us with your gift, request your copy of Biblical Portrait of Womanhood.

Come back next week! We’re going to talk about how to pass on your faith to your kids and grandkids while recognizing that God does all the work. I hope you’ll join me for that.

Thanks for listening today. I’m Dannah Gresh. We’ll see you next time for Revive Our Hearts Weekend.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

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