Preaching Old Testament Narratives

Introduction

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to preach four sermons on the book of Jonah at a neighboring church. Although Jonah is one of the twelve “minor” prophets, three of its four chapters are narrative. Almost everyone knows the first part of the book, when Jonah attempts to escape from the presence of the Lord on a boat, is unsuccessful, and is then swallowed by a fish, which the Lord provides to save him from drowning. After the fourth and final sermon, a woman came up to me and said, “When I first heard that these sermons were going to be on the book of Jonah, I groaned, assuming that this was ‘kids’ stuff.’ I didn’t realize that the book teaches so powerfully about God’s grace.”

Unfortunately, this is often a common perspective in the church, from pastors as well as lay people. We teach the stories of the OT to our little children in Sunday school, because stories are interesting and we want children to see God’s power and love in action. But we are hesitant to preach narratives to adults because discerning the theological message of a story is sometimes quite difficult, and we are not sure how to communicate the text effectively.

In this article, I will argue that it is important to preach OT narratives to the Church, and I will discuss the particular issues we should consider and the approach that we should use when working in this genre.

Why Should We Preach Narratives?

When planning our preaching calendar, it is tempting to keep going over the same canonical ground: the Pauline Epistles, the Gospels, psalms in the summer, and sermons here and there on a passage in Isaiah or Genesis or Proverbs. But God has given us an entire canon of Scripture that is God breathed and useful (2 Tim. 3:16). Over fifty percent of the Old Testament is narrative. Some books, like Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, are almost entirely narrative. Other books, such as Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Jonah, contain narrative along with other genres such as wisdom, prophetic oracles, and prayers. We cannot ignore narratives without ignoring a significant part of what God has revealed to us.

It is in narratives that God reveals the history through which he has worked to bring about his great plan of salvation. Other genres, such as laws, wisdom sayings, and prophecy, are embedded into the grand story of the Bible. Thus, narratives help us understand how the whole Bible fits together and what God is doing.

Another reason to preach narratives is that many people in our churches do not know them. We cannot assume that the adults in our church grew up hearing the stories in children’s classes. Biblical literacy (at least in the Western world) continues to decline. When we preach narratives, we build biblical literacy over time.

It might seem counterintuitive, but the more difficult a text is, the more important that we preach on it. Let me make a provocative statement: the texts that we naturally gravitate to (because they seem easier to grasp) are less important to preach, because our people can understand them on their own. One might argue that it is not as important to preach on Galatians or 1 Corinthians because those books consist of straightforward truths, in the context of the local church, and they explicitly relate their messages to the finished work of Christ. The average member of our congregation can probably sit down and read these and, at least at a basic level, understand what they are saying. However, it is the more difficult texts for which our people need a guide. We are the ones who are trained, and we have the opportunity in our sermons to make accessible those texts which are otherwise inaccessible. (Of course, we should preach on Galatians and 1 Corinthians!  But I hope you understand the point.)

Narratives—at one level—are not difficult. In them, we watch God in action, getting to know his great power as he opens the Red Sea, provides food in the form of manna, breaks down the walls of Jericho, fights for his people, and raises people from the dead. But at another level, they are quite difficult. Narratives are irreducible complexities: their theological meaning is conveyed in the sum and synthesis of their parts. It is in how the author tells the story—what he does with the raw material of historical facts and literary artistry, and what he does not say—that he conveys his message. The theological point of a story is not usually stated explicitly; it must be discerned with skill and practice. Thus, we can serve as guides for our congregations, modeling faithful interpretation and guiding them through texts that they might otherwise have difficulty understanding in all their richness.

A final reason to preach OT narrative is that they are memorable, tangible, emotional, powerful, and inherently interesting. In other words, although they can be hard to interpret, they are enjoyable to preach! We are relieved of the pressure to come up with witty illustrations, because the story itself draws in our listeners. Much of the labor of gaining their attention and holding it is done for us. But we need to preach these texts well, or we will miss out on their benefits.

Convictions That Inform Preaching

Before we get to the mechanics of preaching narrative, let us spend a few moments thinking about our understanding of preaching in general. After all, our sermon goals are going to shape our process for achieving those goals. The following are five of my convictions about preaching.

(1) The power and effectiveness in preaching come from God’s word and the work of the Holy Spirit, not my clever ideas. I constantly try to remember Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 2:4–5, in which he states, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” The good news is that the work that God will do in the hearts of his people does not rest on my clever ideas and dynamic spirituality. God has graciously allowed me to participate in preaching by re-speaking his word to his people. There are certainly some things I can contribute as a preacher, such as clarification and explanation, illustrations based on my knowledge of my audience, and application that is targeted and relevant. But the power and authority reside in God’s word itself, not my personality, tone, reputation, or insightful analysis.

Listen to what J. I. Packer says about preaching,

(2) In light of the preceding conviction, the essential content of my sermon should be the biblical text; my comments frame it, explain it, and make it accessible to my audience. Paul tells Timothy, “Preach the word…reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2). In Romans 10:17, he writes, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Whatever my interpretive process and whatever my mode of exposition and explanation, I must allow Scripture to be central. As a preacher, I am a conduit to deliver the biblical text to my congregation in a form that is digestible.

(3) If Scripture should be in control and the basis of the sermon, then the nature and shape of the sermon should match the biblical passage in its genre, tone, and structure.

Genre refers to different types of “texts” that are used to convey different kinds of messages. We see this in everyday life. Business letters, mass mailings, text messages, emails, signs on the side of the highway, novels, and recipes all have different uses. We do not expect a recipe to be humorous, or a novel to guide us through estate planning, or a sign on the side of the road to convey personal messages. In the same way, what is our biblical passage designed to do?  Is its purpose to teach wisdom, help us bring our grief to God, convict us of sin, or encourage us with God’s grace?

Tone is connected to the genre and goal of the text. Some narratives are light-hearted and humorous; they communicate with satire or irony to drive a point home. We do not want to preach these texts with dour seriousness. On the other hand, some texts are deadly serious, and it would be inappropriate to crack jokes.

The structure of a passage is its organization. Legal passages, psalms, epistles, and narratives all have different shapes and structures. The main point is located in various places. The contents of the passage relate to one another in a variety of different ways. To the extent that we can, it is often helpful if our sermons match the structure and shape of a biblical text. Again, as Packer says in the quote above, we are trying to “Get out of the way” and allow the power and message to come through the text. We have confidence that it was written in an effective way, and we must harness that power rather than working against it.

(4) Scripture is given to us by God to make theological statements. There are several different goals that we could have in reading biblical narratives. For example, we might read the story of the ten plagues in Exodus in order to understand the government of ancient Egypt. Or we might read the story of Deborah in the book of Judges for modern social commentary. We might be interested in mining biblical stories for allegorical references to Christ.2 In my view, even though the Bible can be read in these ways, they are not the design of Scripture. Here I use “theology” in a somewhat broad way. What should we believe about God (his nature, grace, love, and hatred of sin), or about ourselves (our creatureliness, dependence, and sin nature)? What should we do (such as evangelize or care for the poor)? What should we understand (such as God’s plan of salvation in Christ)? We are expecting God (and the human author who is speaking for God) to teach us something. It is something true, accurate, and grounded in God’s will and character. It may not be easy to accept, and it may be particularly difficult for those in positions of power or prestige. But it is God’s holy word.

(5) Each biblical passage makes a distinctive theological contribution within the biblical canon. Some passages may seem to teach the same thing, but every passage makes a unique claim. I have two reasons for saying this. First, every passage is in a different literary and/or historical context and has a different role in the argument of the book in which it is located. This means that even truly synoptic passages—passages that are almost identical and share the same wording (such as a passage in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles)—have different theological messages because they occur in different books for different reasons. Second, I believe that God has been very intentional about giving us the biblical canon in its current form. It is a unified whole that comprises what God has determined to reveal to his people throughout time. Therefore, I do not expect that it is redundant or contains information we do not need to know. I also assume that there is no missing information. It is a kind of theological “curriculum” that equips and trains us for our lives before God.

One implication of this conviction is that, when I am trying to discover the main theological point of a passage, I try to articulate a message that is not so general that it might be shared by any number of other passages. I want the theological point to encompass the entire passage and all that it is doing, but I do not want it to be generic. For example, if I identify the main point of a passage as “God hates sin” or “God desires that his people care for the poor,” then I have certainly arrived at something true—something that the Bible clearly teaches. But those might be the main points of any number of texts. Therefore, I probably need to keep working on my passage. The question is: what is the distinctive point of this passage? What is unique here?

A second implication is likely to be more controversial. Because I believe that each passage in the Bible has a distinctive theological contribution to make, I do not feel any particular pressure to connect it directly to Christ. There are many NT passages that teach us about the work of Christ. And there are many OT passages that talk about the need for Christ, or the expectation of Christ, or the work of Christ (such as Isaiah 52-53). But there are also passages in the OT that do not directly refer to Christ, and instead teach us important theological truths about the nature of God, or the consequences of sin, or what it means to live in a world that has been created by God. My concern is that if I have an a priori requirement to make every passage connect to Christ, I will miss its distinctive theological contribution. You might respond, “All the Bible is about God’s salvation in Christ!”  Yes, I believe that is true. And I believe that every passage of Scripture should be applied in the church today in light of Christ’s finished work. There is no need to pretend that we do not know all that God has revealed to us. My concern here is that we need to do two things in our interpretation: (a) uncover the distinctive theological contribution of a passage and (b) apply it in the church without subverting it and losing the particular point that God has intended it to make. But this is a complex issue that is really the subject of more discussion and another essay.

An Interpretive Process

Having identified some basic convictions about preaching, let us turn our attention now to the process for interpreting narrative. Our method of understanding the theological messages of stories will inform the ways that we proclaim them.

My approach to biblical exegesis has been influenced by Michael Gorman’s book, Elements of Biblical Exegesis.3 I have adapted his seven “elements,” and created the following diagram, which outlines a basic procedure from beginning to end:

Having selected a passage to preach (or been assigned it), I begin with (1) Survey. I read the text several times in English and get oriented. I look at the big picture of the passage: what is happening in this story? What are the main issues? Where will I need to “dig” further and do more research? Are there any obvious difficulties I will need to resolve? I also spend time considering the limits of the pericope, or the exegetical boundaries, of my passage. Authors—including biblical authors—communicate in units. The word “pericope” refers to a meaningful, coherent unit of text that stands on its own and communicates a message. I need to decide, now and as I continue my work on the passage, which verses are included in the unit, and which are not. This will be critical when I get to (5) Synthesis.

After my Survey of the passage, I am ready to start researching and studying it in more depth in the next three elements, though not necessarily in a particular order. In (2) Context, I consider how my passage is related to the literary context. What happened before my passage and informs it?  What happens after my passage, and has it been affected by it?  What role does my passage have in the narrative and argument of the book as a whole?  Why is this story told here (recognizing that authors do not always proceed in strict chronological order)? Also, I study the historical context. What is the situation at this time in Israel’s history? What are the pressures and fears of the people? What was life like at this time?

In (3) Form/Structure, I give attention to the genre of the passage and its organization. Narratives are normally comprised of multiple scenes. In movies, stage plays, TV shows, and short stories, scenes change when there is a change of location, time, or characters (or a combination of these). Think of a stage play in which there are three men and four women on stage, in a restaurant. The curtain lowers, and after a few moments it rises again. Now there is a different man and woman talking together on a balcony. That scene change represents a new sub-unit within the story. The scenes work together to build one long story with a particular argument or theme. In the same way, biblical narratives are often divided into scenes that give them shape and structure. For example, in the book of Jonah, there are four scenes. In scene 1, Jonah and pagan sailors are on a ship. In scene 2, Jonah is praying to the Lord inside a fish. In scene 3, Jonah and the pagan Ninevites are in a city. In scene 4, Jonah is praying to the Lord outside the city. In this case, I believe that each scene is its own pericope and should be a separate sermon. In shorter stories, multiple scenes may divide one pericope, which is the subject of a sermon.

In (4) Detail, I go through the text slowly, verse by verse, examining every element and trying to understand everything that I notice. Because I know Biblical Hebrew, I work through the text in the original language. I ask: Why does the author use that word instead of a different word? Why is that character presented that way? How does that Hebrew preposition affect the meaning of that verb? What does that metaphor mean? Why does the author refer to that historical detail?  And so forth.

After I have studied the passage in detail, it is time for the most difficult and essential part of biblical interpretation, (5) Synthesis. It is time to look again at the big picture and ask, “What is the theological message of this story?” I have made many observations and asked and answered many questions. Now I need to bring everything together in the entire story. The author could have told the story in an infinite number of ways, but he told the story this way. He included some details and emphasized certain aspects, but he omitted other things.

It is at this point that we recognize why it is so important to have properly established the boundaries of the passage—or the limits of the pericope. If the synthesis is the bringing together of everything in the passage, accounting for it, and understanding how it all fits together, then it is critical that we know what belongs in the passage and what does not. Let us use an illustration. Suppose that you are a detective investigating a crime scene in an apartment living room. You must piece together all the evidence in order to arrive at an understanding of what took place. You make a record of the broken mirror, the knife on the couch, the muddy boot print, and the scratchings on the window frame. But should you also note the coffee spill in the bathroom? Is that part of the crime scene?  If it is, then you must not exclude it—it might be critical evidence. But if it is not, then you should exclude it, because it might lead you to the wrong conclusion. In the same way, in our synthesis, we must account for all of our observations in the pericope, but not those outside of it (except for consideration of context).

It is helpful, when identifying the main theological point of the story, to articulate one main idea, not a complex paragraph, and not multiple ideas. There are a few reasons for this. First, you want clarity. If you try to write a paragraph that articulates several different ideas, then you have not yet made a synthesis. If you have identified multiple themes or issues, how do they relate to one another? Which subordinate ideas actually support the main point? Second, you want a statement that is concrete. You want a main idea that is falsifiable (i.e., obviously based on concrete observations in the passage). Avoid hazy, generic thoughts that are imprecise. Third, one main idea will provide you with the “backbone” of your sermon. It will be the organizational principle and the main idea that you convey to your listeners when it is time to explain this story to others, and to bring it to bear on their lives.

Perhaps you might object that this is a story and it will “kill” the literary artistry and the emotional power of the narrative if we try to reduce it to a propositional statement. Good point. After all, I said above that we want to respect the form and genre of the text. Should we not recognize that this is a story that should be treated as such? However, my response is that arriving at one main idea is really just a technique, first of understanding and then of communication. It brings clarity. When we preach the narrative, we will do so in a way that takes advantage of its literary form, as I will discuss below.

Finally, (6) Reflection is the application of the main theological idea. Here, we bring the message of the text into our own particular situation. We recontextualize it, from life in Israel and the time of the Old Testament to our church, in the present day, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, Pentecost, and the books of the NT. This is an application of the main theological idea that we identified in (5), not individual details of the passage. As I said above, a narrative is an irreducible complexity. The author has selectively used details to tell a story in a certain way, to make a certain point. It will not work for us to choose one detail (no matter how interesting it is) and try to apply it directly to us today. Consider cooking as an illustration. When I make a pasta dish, I combine olive oil, pressed garlic, cooked pasta, grated cheese, and other ingredients in the right combination and proportions to produce a delicious dish. I do not recommend serving olive oil directly, or placing a small pile of garlic on my guest’s plate! Those are only ingredients. In the same way, the details of a story are used in combination to make a point. Applying details leads to exegetical errors like allegory, moralism, historicism, and subjective judgments that may not be what the author intended.

Gorman has a seventh element, (7) Refinement. This involves reading the work of other pastors and scholars and refining our analysis and synthesis accordingly. Therefore, in the diagram above, I have placed this between (5) and (6). It is a good idea to work on the passage yourself and make your best attempt at understanding what God is teaching. Then, check it against the work of others before you apply the text. I also have an arrow going to (4) Detail. This is because we all need the help of additional resources as we are studying the text on topics such as history, geography, and original languages.

Preaching Old Testament Narratives

We have taken the time to review the exegesis of narrative because our narrative sermon will follow a similar outline. In the following diagram, compare the exegetical process (red) with the various moves in the sermon (blue):

In preparing our sermon, we actually begin conceptually with the “main point” that we have identified as the central theological teaching of the narrative. In our sermon, everything will flow toward this main point, or from it. This will give the sermon coherence and ensure that we are not getting sidetracked with extraneous details. Furthermore, it will be a benefit to our listeners—they will know what they should take away from our exposition.

With our main point precisely identified, we can now start developing the sermon from the beginning.  First, write an introduction that anticipates the main point. This corresponds to “(1) Survey” in your exegesis. You are orienting your listeners to the passage and its meaning. You might pose a provocative question, give a contemporary illustration, or something else. It should get the listener thinking about that main point. I do not recommend actually stating the main point yet. Rather, preserve some mystery and let your listeners anticipate what is coming.

Second, take a few moments in your sermon to review the context of your passage. If this is a one-off sermon, then your listeners are dropping into the middle of a larger story. Where are they?  What is happening in Israel’s history? What has been happening in the previous chapters? If you are in the middle of a series on this book, then you probably preached on the previous material the week before. If so, take this opportunity to review. Be selective. Do not simply give them a bunch of facts. Rather, ask yourself what they need to remember or know to make sense of the story that you are about to explain.

Third, preview the structure. This corresponds to “(3) Form/Structure” in your exegesis. Give your listeners a basic framework. Tell them how many different scenes make up your story. Or, for example, if the story has a complex plot, you might tell them that the story will come to an initial resolution, then be complicated by something, and then finally resolve. The point here is that you want to help your audience be good listeners. They need a kind of “roadmap” for the story that is coming.

Your introduction is complete: you have introduced the issues that the sermon will address, brought your listeners “up to speed” on what has led to your story and the current situation in the text, and provided them with a mental map of how things will unfold. Now it is time to selectively tell the story. If it is a short story (seven to ten verses?), you will probably have time to mention and explain (briefly) each verse. If it is a long story (30-50 verses?), then you will have to be very selective. You will need to read some verses, paraphrase some verses, and summarize sections of the story.

Remember that you must preach on an entire pericope. The author has communicated a point in that story. If you preach only half of the story, or if you preach two stories, you are not in sync with the way that the author is communicating. Similarly, attempting to explain—and apply—a narrative one verse at a time is like feeding your listeners olive oil and pepper. The verses are only “ingredients” in a complete story. If the story is long enough to have multiple scenes, I tend to announce them as I go through the story. Instead of talking on and on with no break, this helps the audience to follow that mental “road map” that I provided previously.

Not only will you need to be selective in the number of verses that you explain, but you will also choose which details in the story to highlight and which to ignore. Let us say that in your exegesis, you observed or examined in commentaries 127 exegetical details. Some of those will be critical to the main point, and some will be relatively unimportant. As you work through the story, be an intentional tour guide and highlight those issues that your audience needs to see. A tour guide at a historic fort walks in front of visitors and says, “Look at this!” and “Make sure that you notice this!” and “Let’s move on to this other area.” In the same way, you will stand before your audience and—as you go through the story—you will draw attention to certain metaphors, reactions by characters, plot twists, concluding statements, and so forth. Again, you are anticipating the main point. You need to draw attention to the most important details in the story (in the time that you have) so that when you announce the main point, your audience finds it plausible and convincing.

As you retell the story, use your imagination to make it interesting. You can do a bit of speculating, but recognize that the author has told the story in that way and with those details for a reason. If you try to fill in things that the author left out, you may be obscuring his intended point. Try to match the tone of the story. If it is lighthearted and even funny or ironic, then capture that in your retelling. If it is a tragic story, then keep a serious tone. Avoid apologizing or expressing embarrassment for strange details in the story. Often, it is the shocking and unexpected details that are key indicators of the main idea.

When the retelling of the story is complete, it is time to announce the main point. However, prior to this, I usually take a few minutes to review some things. It is a big jump for the listeners to go from a complex story with multiple characters and actions to one main theological point. I think it is helpful to bridge that gap with some summarizing. What are the broad themes that have emerged?  Are there patterns that you need to identify? Are there elements of the story that have repeated?  You now have the opportunity to correct misconceptions, solve last-minute problems, or clear up any remaining confusion.

Now, clearly announce the main point, and tell your audience that you are doing so. There is no reason to be ambiguous. Say, “This is the main point of this story,” and then state it. And then state it again. Clarify what you mean, and what you do not mean. Everything in your sermon has led to this point, and this is the big idea that you want your listeners to remember.

Finally, move into the last part of your sermon, the application. When preaching a narrative, remember that you are applying the main point, not the details in the story that you find relevant or interesting. As I said above, the details of the story are usually not meant to be authoritative in isolation. Characters are not always positive moral examples. Situations are not always meant to be normative. It is the synthesis—the main idea—that has authoritative bearing on the lives of your listeners.

As I discuss the application of a story and its main point, I try to weave the story back in at certain points. This keeps everything anchored in the text, underscoring its authority and making it memorable. Also, because a narrative involves the actions of characters, it can be illustrative of certain points.

Conclusion

Preaching narratives in the OT is exciting and rewarding. The stories of the Bible are inherently interesting, but it is not always easy to discern their theological intent. As a preacher, you have the opportunity to serve as a guide for your listeners, both in understanding the details of an ancient story as well as the enduring and authoritative main point that the author is communicating.

Develop your sermon in such a way that it harnesses the power of the narrative. Be a good storyteller, delighting in the literary artistry and guiding your listeners to see the most important features. Treat the story as part of a larger narrative, and help your audience see how it fits into the big picture of the Bible and Israel’s history. Anticipate the main point, but do not state it explicitly until the story is complete. This inductive approach builds suspense and allows everything to come together for the listeners. Give sufficient time to the application, so that it is obvious how the main point is relevant to the church today.

Over time, and in the course of many sermons, your listeners will learn from your example. They will understand that these narratives are critical components of God’s revelation in Scripture. They will learn how to read them for themselves. And they will be edified as they encounter distinctive theological ideas and nuances that are not found anywhere else in the Bible. And God will be glorified. He wants to reveal himself to his church, and you will be his spokesperson as you teach and expound these stories not as historical trivia, but as his holy Word.