In last week's newsletter we looked at how Jesus used stories to draw us closer, into a dialogue with God Himself, and this week I want to take a look at the overarching narrative of scripture, and how reading the text through that lens can shift our gaze to God. The Bible is largely a collection of stories, and each of the smaller narratives function as a part of a larger story. The Bible centers God as the protagonist–He is there in the beginning, hovering, and through Him everything is made, preserved, and eventually, restored.
In a story, the protagonist demands the focused attention of the audience. When we identify the protagonist, the reader knows to center every event in the story around them. Their goals, desires, and challenges set the narrative arc and it is their decisions and actions that drive the plot. God Himself is the protagonist of the story of the Bible.
Too often we are tempted to read the stories of the Bible focusing primarily on what the human “heroes” are doing. But when we understand that the narrative of scripture has a clear protagonist, we can recenter our gaze on Him and the lessons that we learn are often quite different.
Let’s consider the story of David & Goliath. In the valley of Elah, the Philistine giant Goliath mocks Israel. Young David volunteers to fight him. Armed with a sling and five stones, he kills the giant. Against impossible odds, courage wins. A typical, human-hero reading teaches a clear lesson:
David is the hero.
We are David.
Our problems are Goliath.
There are valuable lessons in this type of reading, to be sure. But when we shift our perspective, when we remind ourselves that God is our protagonist, we center the story on Him. And this is what the text is asking us to do, by the way. What does David say when he walks out to face Goliath? “Today the Lord will conquer you…this is the Lord’s battle…” (1 Sam 17:46,47)
The text tries to remind us that God is acting. God is the protagonist. God is the hero.The real drama is not can David be brave enough? The real drama is:
Will God defend His name?
Will God keep His covenant with Israel?
Will God show that human power means nothing before Him?
With God as the hero, the story is no longer a call to believe in yourself, believe in God, and slay the giants in your life. The giant isn’t a metaphor for your debt or anxiety or career. The giant is defiance against God Himself. And it’s God who will deliver the giant into the hands of His people.
David is almost incidental. In fact, he’s intentionally weak. Because David isn’t the hero. And good thing, because he goes on to fail repeatedly: pride, political violence, murder, adultery. His redeeming quality is His relationship with the protagonist.
With David as the hero, the story collapses, but with God, it holds. David isn’t the savior, He’s the signpost. David points us to the God that wins the battle and teaches us that God’s people get to share in the victory that they didn’t accomplish. Sounds like the gospel, doesn’t it?
When God is the protagonist, the Bible stops being primarily a collection of moral examples for us to follow and becomes the story of
God acting
God rescuing
God keeping promises
God working through weakness
And that changes everything.
Episode 04| The Bible's Story is out tomorrow, wherever you get your podcasts.
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