Knowing the Bible is an endless pursuit. The more time spent reading it, the more there is to discover. No one can know all of it equally well. How can a person possibly come to grasp it? Gaining a sense of the central message for each book helps. I would like to look at two practices that can help one identify the central message of a biblical book and gain insight into what the book is communicating: (1) examine the structure of the book and (2) look for key or distinctive vocabulary that points to unifying concepts.
Examine the Structure of the Book
Ask questions such as: How is the book put together? Are there any noticeable patterns? What does the structure suggest about the book? Let’s look at the book of Proverbs. The book has three major sections: an introduction (1–9), main body (10–29), conclusion (30–31).
The introduction addresses several themes in longer discourses. Most prominent is the discussion of Lady Wisdom and the Adulterous Woman. These chapters provide a look at wisdom from the divine side. The main body primarily consists of short sayings that are not neatly connected to one another. For the most part, they are practical wisdom from the human side. The conclusion points to the importance of knowing the Holy One and His son to gain any wisdom (30:1–6). The main body records proverbs that one could find elsewhere in the world, including the cultures around ancient Israel. These proverbs help one achieve wisdom. However, the introduction presents wisdom as an invitation and not an achievement. The conclusion points to the uselessness of wisdom apart from knowledge of God. The divine side of wisdom frames practical wisdom from the human side. As a result, the central message of Proverbs points to wisdom as a divine invitation that leads to practical skill in living life well. In other words, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
Look for Distinctive Vocabulary that Points to Unifying Concepts
For this step, it is important to look for what is distinctive in the book. For instance, one could argue that the central message for any biblical book is that God is good, and people are bad. However, such a message would hardly be insightful. Finding distinctive vocabulary can point to a book’s distinctive message.
The book of Malachi uses a phrase that is not found often in other books. In Malachi 1:14, God refers to himself as “a great king” whose “name is feared among the nations.” This distinctive phrase presents God as an emperor, not only ruling over a specific people, but ruling over all peoples. The underlying concept of “great king” helps explain the dual focus of the book: 1) honor to the LORD and 2) justice to one another. As the great king, God deserves honor and loyalty from His people (in their sacrifices, in their tithes, in their exclusive worship), and as the great king, God commands justice in His realm (in relation to other nations, in relation to wives, in relation to the wicked). In this case, the distinctive phrasing of the book leads to an underlying concept that helps draw the passages of the book together.
Closing Thoughts
Knowing the Bible is an endless pursuit. The depths of Scripture are too deep to exhaust. Hopefully, these practices provide a bit of light in exploring Scripture’s depths and gaining a clearer, more profound picture of who God is and what God has done.
