“This is the epitome of the stories that seem far too ugly to be in the Bible. This is not trickery of treachery at its most abysmal. It should be said, first of all, that the Hebrew Bible does not romanticize the history of the people of create it, to whom it is addressed, and who have preserved it faithfully over millennia. It is as if America

“Bible study is about learning what this thing we say is inspired actually means. Knowing what all its parts mean will give us a deeper appreciation for the salvation history of God’s people, and the character of God. Jesus is the core component of all that, but there’s a lot more to those things than the story of his life, death, and resurrection;

“Nowhere are we taught in the Bible to ‘search the Scriptures to feel a certain way.’ Ultimately, Scripture is about God—what he did, what he is doing, and what he will do—not about you. You’ll never appreciate God’s story if your story—and solving your problems—is what you focus on when you study Scripture. Comprehending God’s story can go a long