What does the Bible actually say? (Part 9: Reading the text according to the literary genre in which it was written)

      A basic question to ask when you come to a particular passage of Scripture, and one that will eliminate much misunderstanding, mishandling, and misapplication of said text, is, "What kind of literature am I reading?" When we have a basic grasp of the type of literature, we can eliminate, to a great degree, confusion concerning the purpose for which the text was written. The Bible is filled with various types or genres of literature and each has a specific purpose and message to communicate. There is historical narrative (think most of the Old Testament). There is prophetic literature (foretelling of future events), wisdom literature (think Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes), and there are personal letters (think of much of Paul and Peter's letters to the churches in the New Testament). Each type of literature serves a specific purpose and should be read with that purpose in mind. We do this in daily life. We, for example, don't read a cookbook looking for the same kind of information as we would a history textbook. We don't read legal documents looking for the same kind of communication that we would an auto repair manual. Each has its own purpose and is structured according to its purpose. It is the same way with Scripture. We don't read accounts of historical events like we read a personal letter between Paul and the church in Corinth, for instance. 

     Another helpful question is, "Am I reading a description of something that happened (a story) or a list of commands (how God expects me to live)?" These two categories are called "descriptive" and "prescriptive."  Much confusion happens when these two are mixed up. When they are mixed up, the reader looks for personal application from a historical narrative that was never intended in the text. The reader forces the text to be about them, rather than allowing it to speak concerning the historical characters in the narrative. The reader searches for some mystical, hidden, spiritual meaning behind the events in a story that simply aren't there. This happens many times when the reader is taught to assume that, because they serve the same God who wrote the Bible, His interactions with Biblical characters should be the expected norm for His interactions with them - the reader. For example: the story of David slaying Goliath. Rather than allowing the texts to be a description of a historical event in which God gave victory to an unexpected boy for the purpose of His own glory, the reader might jump to the question: What giants do they have in their lives that need to be slain? The text nowhere gives the reader the license or even communicates the expectation that this is something about them. This is a story of God's dealings with actual people in an actual country at an actual, historical, point in time. This story is about God and His ability to save Israel, not about 21st century Christians living in the United States, for example. When the reader confuses the kind of literature they are reading in this way, the Bible becomes a book about themselves, rather than a book about God. They begin to look for themselves in every story rather than look for the Author of the story. 

     This does not imply that all Scripture is not profitable for every believer (2 Timothy 3:16). The means and manner of profitability will differ, depending on the kind of literature we are reading. We can glean principles about God and His character as we observe how He interacts with the people in Scripture. We can learn what He values and what displeases Him. We can learn much about our sinful, fallen nature as human beings as we read the stories of other sinful, fallen, human beings. We can learn what God's expectations of us are when we read His commandments, Jesus' teachings, and the apostles' explanations of those teachings. We see God's hand orchestrate history and learn our place in it. 

     Letting the Bible say what it says, as it says it, frees us up to see the Author of the Bible. It frees us up to search for personal application where it is warranted and to let other passages be historical descriptions of actual events without the frantic pursuit of some hidden, spiritual meaning that isn't there. We are free to learn lessons from the good, bad, and ugly descriptions of other fallen humans and to see the greatness of our God who does not exist for us but we for Him. When we ask basic questions of the text, our understanding is clearer and therefore our application is more in line with the intended purposes of the text.