Bible Study Tools: Who am I?

We haven’t talked much about application yet, in Bible study. That’s deliberate, because I think we need to learn how to properly understand biblical passages before we can apply them. We’re usually too quick to skip from reading to application in our Bible studies (and then don’t really do the thing we’ve said we should, because we walk away and forget it instantly!).

I must confess I’m also not great at looking for the application part. I love to dig really deep and understand the text in new ways, but I too often neglect to pay attention to how the text should change me.

So today we’re going to look at one aspect of application that we often do almost without noticing it – and usually get wrong!

Who am I?

When we’re reading a Bible passage, especially an Old Testament story, we often think of ourselves as the main character in that story. We are Noah, obediently building the ark in the face of mockery. We are Deborah, going into battle with Barak because he was too scared to go alone, or Jael bashing a tent peg through Sisera’s head. We are David defeating Goliath, Moses standing up to Pharaoh, Joseph honoured for his faithfulness and put in a position of power.

In part, this is learned behaviour – if you were brought up in Sunday school, this is likely how you were taught to think – be obedient like Noah, wise like Deborah, brave like David, forgiving like Joseph…

And of course, those are all important character traits to develop, but if we’re not careful, they can just turn into moral lessons about how to be good little boys and girls. They become about behaviour modification rather than inner transformation.

Worse, they become all about us, and not very much about God.

Sure, God usually pops up in the background somewhere, giving David the courage to step out, or speaking to Moses from the burning bush, or enabling Joseph to interpret dreams, but the lesson tends to be that we should remember God is with us (like those people did), then go and do something awesome.

But that is not usually the point.

Who is Jesus?

The purpose of the Bible is not to give us nice little life-lessons and moral pep-talks. It is not an encouragement to go out and be a hero.

Its purpose is to teach us who God is, and woo us to love and worship him.

And part of who God is, is who Jesus is. And that is what most of the stories are showing us. The vast majority of the Old Testament is meant to develop in us a recognition of our desperate need for a saviour, and a longing for him to be revealed.

So our first question as we read should be, “Where is Jesus in this passage?”

He is the shepherd, stepping out on behalf of Israel, defeating her enemy. (And where am I? I am part of Israel – cowering, afraid, powerless…then exalting in the victory of my saviour.)

He is Moses – the baby saved from a murderous king’s edict, returning to lead his people out of slavery. (And I am one of those slaves – helpless, longing for release, marked by the blood of the lamb and led to freedom by my saviour.)

He is Joseph, rejected by his own family, unjustly accused and imprisoned, only to be raised up and exalted to a high place, from where he can forgive, restore and feed me. (And I am one of those who rejected him, and who returns, humbly, and receives far more than I ever deserved.)

He is the true and just judge who every flawed judge pointed to. (The judges also pointed to our need for a king, as we see in the repetition of the phrase “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” with increasing frequency towards the end of Judges.) And he is the true and eternal king.

Each time a king stumbles, falters or leads his people into sin, we are meant to long for the true king, the one who is without sin, who will rule with righteousness and justice.

He is the prophets, speaking God’s word to me, and the priests, mediating for me before God (and also the sacrifice, making propitiation for my sins).

He is the ark in which I am carried through the waters of death to salvation.

He is Boaz, the redeemer of Israel (Naomi) and I, as a gentile, am Ruth, graciously brought into the family of God through my bridegroom.

He is Isaac, the son of the promise, preparing a place for me (and his servant is the Holy Spirit, giving me gifts and remaining with me until the time is right for the wedding, as my guarantee that it will happen).

He is everywhere, and I am never the hero, but always the subject, in need of a saviour – though often not recognising it.

He is the bridegroom, and I am the bride.

Be like Jesus

As I said above, it is not wrong to encourage one another to grow in the positive character traits of Old Testament heroes, but we do it not because they were good examples of humans doing well; we do it because we want to be like Jesus. The character traits we admire in biblical heroes are the ones in which they most resemble our perfect prophet, priest and king.

We should be growing more and more Christlike every day, through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. And where we are weak, we can rejoice, knowing that it is not down to us to be the hero – Jesus has done it all. We want to be like him because we love him, not because one day we might have to redeem a nation, so we’d better be ready.

So remember, when you’re reading OT stories (and the rest of the Bible), look for characters who represent Jesus, or those who show us our need of him, then look for yourself, somewhere in the background, and thank him that you aren’t meant to be him!

This week’s download

Today’s theme is one that I’ve heard Jen Wilkin talk about, and it is also a chapter in Andrew Sach and Nigel Beynon’s book Dig Deeper: Tools to unearth the Bible’s treasure. The download is a sheet with this and the other chapter titles from the book, with a brief explanation of each. It has three copies of the list, as I originally made it as book marks for a group I was teaching some of these skills to. Why not print it on a bit of card and give two copies to friends?

And if you’re doing a giveaway, I will too – I’ve got two copies of the book to give away. They are both used (but in very good condition), and are an earlier edition of the book than the one out now, but I don’t think the content has changed substantially. If you’d like a copy, just leave a comment below requesting one (or reply to the email), and I’ll draw two names at random on Friday 1 August. If one of my tools has been particularly helpful or enjoyable for you, I’d love to know that, too, but there’s no obligation!

I look forward to hearing from you.

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This post is part of a series of ideas for how to get started with studying the Bible either for yourself or as a small group leader. Follow this link to find the other posts in the series.

PS All these resources are absolutely free, but if you find them useful, consider making a small donation through my Ko-fi page. Thank you!