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Do you ever read a Bible passage and think “What is the point of that?” It’s a good question to ask.
It sounds obvious when you say it, but the Bible authors wrote their books with a particular purpose in mind. They weren’t just scribbling down random things that popped into their heads. We know that, because they often tell us what their aim is.
For instance, near the end of his Gospel, John says: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20 v 30–31).
Since the writers of the Bible were inspired by God (2 Timothy 3 v 16), their purpose is God’s purpose.
There are loads of things that John could have told us about Jesus but hasn’t. He has selected his material with the specific aim of showing us that Jesus is the Messiah/Christ, the Son of God, so that we will come to believe in Him and so have eternal life.
Since the writers of the Bible were inspired by God (2 Timothy 3 v 16), their purpose is God’s purpose. This means that one of the most helpful questions we can ever ask is “Why did the author write this?”
Sometimes the author bluntly tells us why he is writing his book, in what’s sometimes called the “purpose statement”. We’ve already seen one from John’s Gospel. Now check out these two:
But what about Bible books that don’t obviously state their purpose? Here are a few tips.
1. Get to know the book
Nothing beats reading the whole book several times. Becoming familiar with a Bible book helps you to notice themes running through it and to work out the writer’s purpose.
2. Ask key questions
These questions are especially helpful if you’re reading a New Testament letter (like 1 Timothy) or an Old Testament prophet (like Habakkuk). You might need to grab a study Bible or a commentary to find the answers.
3. What’s in and what’s out?
“Narrative” books are ones that talk us through historical events (like Genesis or Acts). In these books, you can get an idea of the author’s purpose from what he chooses to put in and what he leaves out of his account. Sometimes the author hits the accelerator pedal and covers someone’s whole life in two verses; at other times he slows down and gives us a few hours in great detail. We should be asking, “Why do we hear so much about this and so little about that?”
Whenever you read a Bible passage, ask: “What’s the author’s purpose for writing this?”, “What are the big themes?”, “What is the author trying to do?”
In other words, what’s the point?
(These ideas are taken from Dig Deeper by Nigel Beynon and Andrew Sach, published by IVP.)
This is an extract from Engage 365: Get to Know God's People, edited by Alison Mitchell. In this second volume of Engage 365, older teenagers will meet key characters from the Old Testament, including Joshua, the judges, Ruth, Job, Nehemiah, Esther, Jonah and Daniel; as well as exploring books authored by Matthew, Peter and Paul (Romans, 1 & 2 Timothy).
Alison Mitchell is a senior editor at The Good Book Company, where she has worked on a range of products including Bible-reading notes for children and families, and the Christianity Explored range of resources. She is the best-selling author of The Christmas Promise and the award-winning Jesus and the Lions' Den.
