by Rob Fleenor, PhD
Professor of Old Testament, Johnson University
Inspired scripture is valuable for the task of ministry, Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16–17. That value covers the whole of scripture in its entirety, including all the glorious chaos of Old Testament narrative. But it’s easy to hit hurdles when preaching texts that don’t easily lend themselves to a strong connection to Jesus. Sermons about raging bears mauling children or Jacob’s family fallout from polygamy don’t automatically land audiences at the foot of the Cross. Stories about sex, violence, and God’s wrath aren’t the usual choice of topic for preaching Good News. With the church’s traditional understanding that all of scripture points to Christ comes both the responsibility and opportunity to land in any narrative text and make a beeline for Jesus. Here are a few suggestions about how we pulpit stewards can do just that.
Look for God’s Action in the Wider Story
It’s not uncommon to read past stories that don’t provide a straightforward anchor for a connection to Jesus. Sometimes we’re confronted with seemingly unmoored stories like Hanun’s shaving off half the beards of David’s representatives in 2 Samuel 10 or Uzziah’s innovation with military technology in 2 Chronicles 26. Moving from small to big picture works best here. Micro-stories are always a part of broader stories, that in turn play their role God’s metanarrative.
Find Templates of Christ Everywhere
When a text doesn’t include clear messianic links like Moses, David, or Elijah, you might be left with a Joab or an Ehud. Christ is still there—we just to need listen for him through what God is doing in the story. Christ the rescuer is usually present, as is Christ the generous provider, or Christ the challenging prophet. Christ fills the pages that anticipate him and is revealed by the way God reveals himself in a story.
Look to Problematic Texts as Proclaiming Christ through His Absence
Stories of senseless violence, or wrath from God that seems disproportionate also saturate parts of the Old Testament. It’s difficult to process the mob violence, civil war, and systematic exploitation of vulnerable young women in the concluding chapters of Judges, particularly when God’s presence is barely mentioned. And that’s exactly the point of the text. The anarchy created by God’s absence steers the reader to long for his presence. The missing righteous king longed for in Judges becomes the longing for the greater King to come. God reveals himself throughs stories that reflect his absence.
Avoid the Easy, Low-Hanging Fruit
Sometimes the easiest message to pull from a narrative text is moral—David’s affair with Bathsheba as a lesson in sexual fidelity in marriage or Samson’s tragic ending as a warning against revenge. Paul himself in 1 Corinthians 10 uses the wilderness wanderings as a warning against pursuing evil desires. Emphasizing Christ often means reaching beyond the moral lesson to the very human desperation that results from poor choices. Listeners can relate to temporal and spiritual consequences recorded in the text. Where modern believers have the advantage, of course, is both in the forgiveness God offers through the Cross and the indwelling of his Spirt that produces sanctification and maturity.
Beyond providing a fresh take on scripture and increased variety, preaching from Old Testament narrative will broaden and deepen a congregation’s ability and framework for thinking about biblical story.