By Brandon Lyons
If you’ve ever checked out a commentary of the Holy Scriptures, you’ll know they are an amazing way to learn more about what the Holy Scriptures are teaching. They often explain context, both cultural and historical, but one thing they don’t teach is how to decipher, in a practical way, what scripture is saying. That isn’t their fault. That isn’t what a commentary is for. For those of you want to go just a little bit further in their studies, I hope this article proves helpful for you.
As a small preface this is going to deal with how to study Biblical narrative. So, I’ll be referring to books like Genesis, Exodus, Acts, and any other book where a story is being played out. Some of these principles may be helpful when it comes to studying Psalms, The Prophets, or any of the Epistles, but just keep in mind that this article is primarily concerned with narrative.
I think one of the big issues when studying the Bible is that people are mainly asking themselves, “What is happening?” This is obviously an important question, but it’s too big of a question. Because it’s too big, we can break it up into smaller questions. When you do this, you will find stories in the Bible easier to navigate. Instead of trying to climb stairs all at once, we are going to take one at a time.
Here are the questions that I use when studying Biblical narrative. What is the setting? Who are the characters? What was said? Who said it? Why is that important? What was done? Who did it? Why is that important? So what? Remember, all we are doing is taking one question, “What is happening?”, and breaking it up into smaller questions. These smaller questions are going to allow us to take scripture little chunks at a time. By studying smaller chunks, you will find new details that can seem to hid when studying a large portion of Scripture. It may sound like a lot but just continue with me.
Let’s put these smaller questions into practice by studying through the story of the golden calf in Exodus, chapter 32. We are going to take a zoomed in look, though. Instead of the whole chapter, we will focus on verses 1-6. Question one, what is the setting? Chapter 32 puts us at the foot of Mt. Sinai with the nation of Israel. We know that Moses went up the mountain at the behest of God to receive the law. We also know that Aaron has been left in charge, by Moses, to look after Israel. And we also know that Israel has just been delivered from Egypt by the very hands of God through His plagues and miracles.
Before continuing in our study take a moment and realize how much information there is already. This is all before we have really got into the text. The only thing we have done is open up to the chapter and asked, “what is the setting?” The more questions you can ask, the deeper your study will be and the greater your understanding and realization of the scriptures becomes. Think of studying Biblical narrative as putting together a puzzle. You can read the whole story at once and in doing so see the finished picture, but when you break it down by asking questions you are able to see all the little pieces that make up that big, beautiful picture.
Ok. We have our setting. Now let’s get our characters. We have God, Moses, Aaron, and Israel. Is there anything important about these characters? Do they have an impact on the story? Are any just background players? Do they play a significance? When asking who our characters are we also want to figure out who is important and who is not. By figuring out who the main players are this will put on the main path of what scripture is teaching.
First character: who is God? Creator of the universe. Judge of good and evil. Redeemer. King of kings and Lord of lords. He who blessed Abraham, made a covenant with Him, and will make a people for Himself through the children of Abraham. The One who spoke to them from Mt. Sinai back in chapter 19, with a voice that peeled like thunder and blasted like a trumpet. He’s the same One they no longer wished to talk to directly because they were afraid that they would die. He is kind of a big deal, to put it lightly.
Second character: who is Israel? They are the inheritors of the promise made to Abraham. The chosen people of God; the ones rescued from Egypt. They are the ones to whom God will give a good land to. They have seen the wrath of God and, at the same time, experienced the saving grace of God. Alright, this is a good working description.
Third character: who is Moses? The one who God used to deliver Israel. He is a worker of miracles, the mouthpiece of God, and the current leader of Israel.
Finally, fourth character: who is Aaron? Moses’ righthand man. A man who was next to Moses every time Moses spoke to Pharoah. Actually, he was the man who spoke to Pharoah on Moses’ behalf, designated as the man God said would speak for Moses.
Ok, we have our characters. They all seem important. Each has a relevance to the initial and larger story. From here we can now go into what was said and what was done. The first thing we read spoken is that Israel wants Aaron to make gods for them to worship. Our running description of our characters should make this rather alarming. Israel, God’s people, are seeking a God other than the One that ruined Egypt with plagues? The One that split the sea for them? That placed a pillar of fire between them and Pharoah’s army? This seems like a horrible request.
We don’t just learn they want new gods, we also learn why. They claim they don’t know what happened to Moses. Moses has been up on the top of the mountain for about forty days now. Remember, all the way back in chapter 19, they think they are going to die from hearing the voice of God. So now, Moses goes up by himself into the epicenter of God’s holy presence and he hasn’t come back down. They suspect Moses is dead. They imagine Moses went, met God, and is now dead. So, because Moses is dead, they now have no leader. They have no one to teach them about God. They have no one to teach them how to worship God. They think they are just at lost as when they were in Egypt. In being lost, they seek for a god. They know, at minimum, a god is to be worshiped and credited with their deliverance. With that knowledge, they do what seems reasonable: create an idol and worship it. That’s what Egypt did, right? That’s what the nations do around them. It’s what everyone does.
What happens next? Aaron collects their gold, proves himself a handy blacksmith as well as a priest, then he speaks. He then says something very peculiar, and if we aren’t asking ourselves the question, “What was said?”, we will miss it. So, pay attention. What comes out of our mouths is so important. The Holy Spirit knows this. That is why He recorded them. Aaron says that they will have a feast unto the Lord tomorrow. Hold on. Notice what word he used there when talking about God. The word Lord is spelled with capital letters. The reason that is a big deal is because it means Aaron used the name Yahweh, which is the covenant name of God. This is the name that was given to Moses from God back at the burning bush. This is the name that God told Moses to tell the rest of Israel when they asked Moses who sent him. Aaron uses the very treasured name of God here. Why is that important? They think what they are about to do will be actual and acceptable worship to God. In their minds, they were not abandoning God, but rather creating something to establish His presence among them and then worship Him. To them this wasn’t a rejection of Yahweh, this was the worship of Yahweh.
We have now entered the “So what?” part of our questions. What does this matter to us today? To get there let’s finish out our thoughts on what Israel was doing and that what they considered to be genuine worship was, in reality, blasphemy. Now if Israel, the very people of God, can fall into such a delusion, can we? Considering how everything in written is for our instruction, I would argue yes. Didn’t Peter think he was doing a good thing when he cut the guard’s ear off? Or telling Jesus that he should not die? Yet, he faced a rebuke at both times. Our flesh fights against us just as well as Israel’s did. Do not think we are wiser or better. There is a reason they serve as a warning in the book of Hebrews. Pay close attention to what God has made known. You and I are capable and susceptible to blasphemous worship, worship we think is holy and pure, while at the same time something the angels would fear to be next to.
With our realization, we now naturally arrive at our application. Avoid blasphemous worship. How? Know who God is. Know what God enjoys. Know what God despises. Know what worship He has prescribed. Know what worship He detests. Know what He praises as worship. Know what He counts as empty worship. How can you know that? Read your Bible. Read not just to know, but read to worship. Read not just to know what God has said, but to know who God is.
What is the setting? Who are the characters? What was said? Who said it? Why is that important? What was done? Who did it? Why is that important? So what? These questions are by no means the definitive way of studying the Bible. The Holy Spirit is who makes the Word plain and clear. The thing about questions, though, is that they allow you to focus on one thing at a time. The reason I have enjoyed these questions is because they help me listen to every part of what the Holy Spirit has recorded, one piece at a time. Have you ever listened to orchestral music? While listening, do you ever ask yourself, why are there flutes here? You can’t hear them so why include them? But if you could make it so that you hear only the flutes, you would realize their place. In doing so, you would be able to hear them in the piece itself. You would grow a new understanding and appreciation for the music.
These questions are meant for that purpose. These questions are meant so that as a reader you can ask the Holy Spirit to make known the importance of every part, and from that gain a deeper understanding of the Scriptures. I hope that these few questions are able to serve you as they have me. I look forward to running into you during eternity and hearing about how God revealed Himself to you through His Word.
Author Note: Brandon Lyons attended Moody Bible Institute from 2012-2016. His wife and him were married in 2015 and she got three children out of the deal. He is currently the pastor of a home church in Cornell, Illinois. He prays the Lord can use his writing to bring a new life to your Biblical studies.
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