Many of us know several Bible stories from our Sunday school days—Noah’s flood, Sampson and the Philistines, David and Goliath—but, we may not know how they fit into the overall story that stretches from Genesis to Revelation. In today’s podcast, I attempt to give a broad overview of scripture to see how it all fits together.
Bottom Line
There is an inner narrative coherence through the entirety of scripture.
The Takeaways
1) The inner narrative of the Bible plays out in 7 different “acts.”
- The Origins
- The Patriarchal Period and Covenant
- The Exodus and Judges
- The Monarchy (The United and Divided Kingdoms)
- The Exile and the Prophets
- The “In-Between” History and Its Importance
- The Unexpected Fulfillment through Jesus Christ
2) After God creates the world, humanity ends up exiled into a fallen and broken world. But, from the very beginning, God acts to rescue us and “re-create” us as his people.
3) However, over and over again, humanity fails to heed God’s instruction and we end up exiled.
4) But, through Jesus, humanity is finally rescued and everyone is called to become a part of God’s people, fulfilling the promise originally given to Abraham.
5) God’s promise is offered to everyone through grace free of charge, but it comes with a charge: we are to be a people of love: loving God and loving our neighbor.