As a small boy growing up in a rural community, I can still vividly remember my Bible class teachers reading the stories of Noah’s ark and the flood (Genesis 6-8), Samson and Delilah (Judges 14-16), David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17), Daniel in the lion’s den (Daniel 6), and Jonah and the great fish (Jonah 1-2). These spiritually rich and exciting stories of the Bible were never meant to be outgrown. There are profound spiritual lessons still to be learned from the amazing accounts of those who faced giants, floods, and fish (Romans 15:4).Hundreds of years after the fact, the apostle Paul explained that the things that happened to Moses and the Israelites as they wandered through the desert “happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition” (1 Corinthians 10:11).
In reality, these stories are really about each one of us. They mirror the tensions of life and the challenges we face every day as we too seek to apply God’s will (Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 5:14; James 1:21-25). They teach us of the treachery of sin (Hebrews 3:13), our desperate need to trust God unswervingly (Job 13:15), and the importance of staying faithful and true to Him regardless of what happens to us (cf. 2 Corinthians 4; Romans 8:28-39).
Beloved, let us never ignore the reading and teaching of these ancient stories to our children and grandchildren (cf. Deuteronomy 6:1-7; Psalm 78:1-8). They are just as fresh today as when they were first written centuries ago. We might even be surprised at the spiritual lessons God still wants to teach us, our children, and our grandchildren through them.
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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