Thursday, April 3, 2008

Explore the Bible for Yourself, Part 27 of 52

IDEA: God, not people, is the hero of biblical narrative.

PURPOSE: To help the listeners realize that mistakes can come from ignoring this principle.

We said that the first principle in studying the narratives of the Bible is that God is the hero.

How do you think many people respond to that statement?

We might agree with that in principle but not in practice.

I. God is the hero of every biblical narrative. Directly or indirectly God is involved.

In the book of Esther God is not mentioned, but there is no doubt that God is there at work on behalf of His people.

In the Joseph story you have again and again the phrase, "The Lord was with Joseph." Or "The Lord blessed Potiphar's house for Joseph's sake."

II. If God is not the hero in the story, then look what happens when you choose other heroes.

You could say that the reason Joseph did well in Potiphar's house was that he had great managerial skills.

Or you may have as a principle, "Don't tell your dreams to other people, lest you sound like a braggart."

Or it's important to make friends of even lowly people like bakers and cup-bearers because they can some day do you some good.

Jacob, Joseph's father, is an example of bad parenting, and this proves that even if you come from a bad home, if you work hard, good things will happen to you.

Conclusion: The major teaching about the Joseph story is not that there is something intrinsically noble about Joseph as a likely candidate for God to use; it's really the opposite: God uses unlikely people to accomplish His will.