God Loves Stories

Currently, the DiscipleGuide Sunday school quarterlies are taking us through the books of the Bible over a period of twelve months. Last Sunday’s lesson was on Esther. I had the privilege of teaching the class, but I did something I’ve never done before for a Sunday school class. Typically, we will have a text to read and we will discuss how to apply that text to our own lives or we might discuss the historical significance of something. What I did instead was to read the book of Esther to the class—all ten chapters. It took about forty minutes to read the book aloud.

I believe we need to understand the importance of reading God’s word, as is, without commentary. I’m not saying the commentary isn’t useful and important, but the words of the Bible can stand alone. We often get too caught up in trying to explain what God has already stated clearly. In the case of the Book of Esther, the book is written as a story. God understands the power of a story. There is much in Esther that is worth discussing, but if we haven’t read the story as a story then we are missing the main point.

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