Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story

When I taught through my first Old Testament Survey at church during the first quarter of this year, I did so chronologically, because this is how most people think, and because it better helped my students to understand that amazing story of God’s redemption exactly as it unfolded in history. As guides to help me rearrange Old Testament books and passages into their proper chronological order, I used a number of Bible Study resources like Talk thru the Bible and An Analytical Survey of the Bible, as well as chronological Bible reading plans (which, reader beware, are very hit-and-miss).

With such an analytical plan in hand, I felt ready to feed the minds of my students but not, of course, their hearts. Beyond teaching folks the importance of historical and literary contexts or the processes helpful in Bible study, how applicable really can a Bible Survey actually be? I had to ask myself that question, because I never want to be the leader who fills the mind but ignores the heart! At the same time, I also don’t want to be the kind of teacher who forces application into nooks where it doesn’t belong, or extract it from crannies where it doesn’t exist.

To help make sure I didn’t skim over any of the most important scenes of the Old Testament but instead extracted essential elements of God’s working through it, I used this delightful textbook by biblical scholars Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen, The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story. Using a narrative approach to biblical study, these authors break human history down into 6 Acts with an Intertestamental Interlude, each emphasizing the King and His Kingdom. They write excitedly, moving the reader on, and I always looked forward to the end of my study time when I could polish my study off with the wisdom these guys share.

This book differs from most “Bible as Story” novelizations in that it is willing to skip whole scenes and characters in order to keep The Drama moving forward. Because I found this book eminently encouraging and insightful, I hate to make the following comparison, though I think it’s helpful for the sake of contrast.

This book reminds me most of another similarly-styled piece that I read several years ago and with which I was most unkind in my review. In The Miracle of the Scarlet Thread, author Richard Booker takes a similar approach as Bartholomew and Goheen, seeking to trace God’s thread of redemption throughout the Bible, from Creation to Christ. Where Bartholomew and Goheen shine, though, Barker fails, for while, the Drama of Scripture authors extract meaning from the text to support their drama, Barker infuses meaning into the text to support his ideas. One of these two books is fit for the pastor’s shelves, and the other for the waste bin. Reader, you can decide which is which.

I really enjoyed this overview of Scripture and found it extremely helpful in teaching my Old Testament class. I recommend it to serious students of the Bible who may need a refresher in history’s “Big Picture” (God’s redemption of sinful humanity to Himself through the sacrifice and victory of his Son).

©2021 E.T.