Whose Story Is It?
If you were around last week you know that we have embarked on a study of 1st Samuel. It is a book that is filled with many memorable stories: the Lord calling to the boy Samuel, the Ark of the Covenant and the Philistine god Dagon, David and Saul, David and Goliath, David and Jonathan, etc... Last week we talked about the importance of identifying a "melodic line", learning to recognize themes at work, understanding the storyline of the scriptures. But what about these individual stories? How do we approach each of them?
I love the way that Eugene Peterson addresses this question in his intro to Samuel in the Message:
"... the biblical way is not so much to present us with a moral code and tell us “Live up to this”; nor is it to set out a system of doctrine and say, “Think like this and you will live well.” The biblical way is to tell a story and invite us, “Live into this. This is what it looks like to be human; this is what is involved in entering and maturing as human beings.” We do violence to the biblical revelation when we “use” it for what we can get out of it or what we think will provide color and spice to our otherwise bland lives. That results in a kind of “boutique spirituality”—God as decoration, God as enhancement. The Samuel narrative will not allow that. In the reading, as we submit our lives to what we read, we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories but to see our stories in God’s. God is the larger context and plot in which our stories find themselves."
This certainly fits with the overall melodic line that we looked at last week, a refrain that highlights God; who He is, what He is up to in His world, and our very present hope. And I love how Peterson says that there is no picking and choosing when it comes to Biblical stories, but rather we must "submit our lives to what we read"; not see God in our stories, but rather see ourselves in His.
Friends, the only way that we will be able to really do this is through humble, prayerful reading. This week we will be looking at the material in I Samuel 1 and 2 that surrounds Hannah's prayer. Here we will see the struggle of Hannah and get a better read on what is happening in the nation of Israel. Like Peterson says, may we submit our lives to the Word. May God truly give us eyes to see and hearts to embrace His story.