One of the most important skills for learning to read the Bible well is learning how the inspired authors designed their books communicate their main ideas clearly. Think about a photo mosaic: when you zoom in, you see lots of little pictures, each with its own details. But it’s only when you step back that you can see how all the little pictures fit together to make one big picture.

Similarly, while it’s good to focus on small sections of verses or one particular Bible story, it’s also important to step back and consider how entire books are structured to fit together to understand the main ideas of the inspired authors.

For example, the book of Genesis contains numerous stories that many Bible students are familiar with. But when  you notice how these stories are intentionally woven together, you start to pick up on some important key ideas.

The Problem

Consider the first few stories in Genesis. First, we read the account of creation (Gen. 1), where God created the heavens and the earth and repeatedly said that it was “good”. Then, we read about the first couple, Adam and Eve, who, rather than trusting that God knows what is good for them, eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2-3). This failed test leads to a series of stories describing other times when Adam and Eve’s descendants failed the test: Cain and Able (Gen. 4:1-16), Lamech (Gen. 4:19-24), and the flood (Gen. 6:1-8). Noah, with his righteous obedience shines as a bright spot (Gen. 6:9-9:17), until he too falls into sin (Gen. 9:20-27). These stories of rebellion culminate in the building of Babel, which functions as the origin story of the Gentile nations that fill the world (Gen. 10-11).

In the aftermath of Babel, we are introduced to Abraham and his family. Although Abraham gives us an incredible example of faith in many instances (e.g., Gen. 15, 22), he also struggled at times to trust in God’s promises (Gen. 16), and was described as somewhat of a coward (Gen. 12, 20). His son Isaac acted in much the same way (Gen. 26). His grandsons, Jacob and Esau were not the kind of examples you would want to follow. Esau lacked self-control, and Jacob was a deceptive schemer (Gen. 25-31). The story of this dysfunctional, sin-filled family comes to a climax in the stories about Jacob’s sons, who sold their own brother into slavery (Gen. 37).

The same basic problem of sin (Gen. 2-3) which characterized all the nations of the world (Gen. 4-11) also characterized Abraham’s family (Gen. 12-50).

God’s Providence

The last section of the book of Genesis focuses on one of Abraham’s great-grandsons, Joseph. Joseph’s life was continually characterized by a series of providential reversals. Joseph went from being sold as a slave to being exalted as the overseer of Potiphar’s house (Gen. 39:1-4). He went from being a prisoner to being the second in command over all Egypt (Gen. 39:20; 41:41-44). He went from being hated and betrayed by his own brothers, to being the savior who delivered his family from starvation (Gen. 37:4; 42:6).

When we arrive at end of Genesis, the book closes with Joseph speaking to his brothers:

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Genesis 50:20

No matter what evil his brothers intended to do to him, God was still faithful to Joseph. Despite the family’s many flaws, God responded with good, weaving together the events of Joseph’s life in such a magnificent way as to save and bless this messed-up family. Joseph was speaking to his brothers, but by inspiring Moses to place this statement at the very end of the book, God shows us that he wants us to think about his providential faithfulness in all the events that led up to this point.

The Result of Reading the Bible Well

When we read the book of Genesis not as a mere collection of random stories, but as an entire inspired work, we begin to see certain patterns arise.

On one hand, we see a pattern of sin and failure. We see the serpent from Genesis 3 at work. We continually see the deceptive nature of sin. We see the mess that continually results when people seek to define good and evil on their own terms instead of trusting in God’s definition of good and evil. We see what happens when sin is crouching at the door, and man does not rule over it.

On the other hand, we can see positive patterns of faithful obedience. Against a dark background of a world filled with evil, faithful examples of men such as Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Joseph shine even brighter. People find their greatest successes in those times when they faithfully trust and obey God.

Finally, we see patterns of God’s faithfulness. On multiple occasions throughout the book of Genesis, God makes promises to his people. He promises that Eve will find salvation through her seed who will crush the snake (Gen. 3:15). He promises to bless all nations through Abraham’s family (Gen. 12:1-4). He repeats these covenant promises to Isaac (Gen. 26:1-5) and Jacob (Gen. 28:13-15). We see God’s faithfulness at work, even in the darkest moments of human failure. We see that God can use human evil, which He has not caused, to accomplish His purposes.

When God inspired men to write the Bible, He didn’t only inspire individual verses or even individual stories. He inspired entire books, which were thoughtfully crafted together and intended to be read and meditated on as inspired wholes. One way to pay attention to the key messages of entire books is to pay attention to the way certain themes are repeated throughout the book. Learning to pay attention to repeated themes is one of the most important Bible study skills you can develop. As you develop an eye for picking up on these patterns, your ability to understand the key ideas from the individual stories will improve.

But the point of learning to read the Bible well is not simply to make you a more intellectual Bible student. When you see these patterns at work in the lives of these various Bible characters, you will begin to see how the patterns are at work today, even in your own life. You can begin to see your temptations, failures, and sin in a new way. You can be encouraged to trust and obey God, even in the most difficult of circumstances. And you can begin to look at all the problems and pains in the world and contemplate how God’s faithfulness is continually at work.

As you pay attention to divinely inspired patterns, these themes will begin to sink into your way of thinking about the world, and give you hope that despite the failures and sins of yourself and others, evil will not get the last word, which in turn should encourage you to faithfully trust in God’s directions for your life.