He Gave Us Stories
Richard Pratt (1993) P&R Publishing
Reviewed by Rob Munro, Fellowship of Word and Spirit, June 2016
This is one of those books that leaves you thinking, “There’s nothing quite like this!”, which is one reason I have been revisiting it several times over the years. In this one book, Richard Pratt brings a fresh and faith-stimulating perspective to three areas of hermeneutics that are often neglected, but which are vital for our contemporary evangelical scene. His goal is nothing less than reinvigorating our engagement with God in the stories of the Old Testament – trying to move us beyond a simplistic “Spot-the-Jesus” approach, or a historically and personally disconnected “That was then, but this is now!” approach. He takes three steps to bring fresh thinking to our Preparation – how do we bring ourselves to the text; our Investigation – what tools will open up the richness of Hebrew narrative; and our Application – how the text applies personally and relevantly to us today.
The first quarter of the book explores a theology of ‘Preparation’. How do we deal with our presuppositions and prejudices as we approach Scripture relying on the Holy Spirit? He argues for an “authority-dialogue” approach that enables us to avoid the pitfall of a subjectivism which binds meaning to a reflection on our own experience; or the pitfall of an objectivism which ties meaning to the prescriptive outcome of certain methods and tools. To faithfully come to submit to the Word of Sovereign God, he argues, we need to give more honest weight to three things:
The second section on ‘Investigation’, covering nearly half of the book, explores the tools for faithful biblical analysis of Old Testament narrative, including the biblical narrative techniques of characterisation, scene depiction and imagery, structural forms in episodes, audience identifiers and clearer tools for faithfully describing a writer’s intention – and area which is so often prone to subjective judgements. These are all well illustrated from the text, and give a helpful reference resource for those wishing to understand and appreciate the real depths of biblical narrative. If you have not come across these tools before, they will revolutionise your appreciation of the Old Testament narratives.
The final section on ‘Application’, the last quarter of the book, gives us a rare gem: a clear theology of application, one which is relevant not only to the application of biblical narratives, but all biblical preaching. Pratt recognises and articulates how to address vital areas: the influence of the epochal adjustments (where we are in biblical history), cultural variations (how to decide where we can be flexible or resolute), and even the unique providence of our own personal make-up (overcoming the obstacles of our own inadequacies and histories). Finally he even addresses how God’s Word is intended to impact us conceptually, behaviourally and emotionally, the latter so often traditionally neglected. It is worth the price of the book just to get preachers to think through this area more clearly.
Overall, while this book is not for the fainthearted and it is not always easy to find, it is well written and illustrated, systematically presented and will stimulate any serious bible scholar or preacher in their approach to biblical narrative. It also provides a very helpful contribution to the much-needed development of a theology of application that honours us as a whole person as we engage with the authority of God’s Word, but avoids the too-often simplistic subjectivism of a ‘what does it say to you?’ approach. If we are as evangelicals committed to preaching ‘the whole counsel of God’, we will need to be less afraid of preaching and applying the Old Testament; and this book will certainly help inspire and help you in that task.
The first quarter of the book explores a theology of ‘Preparation’. How do we deal with our presuppositions and prejudices as we approach Scripture relying on the Holy Spirit? He argues for an “authority-dialogue” approach that enables us to avoid the pitfall of a subjectivism which binds meaning to a reflection on our own experience; or the pitfall of an objectivism which ties meaning to the prescriptive outcome of certain methods and tools. To faithfully come to submit to the Word of Sovereign God, he argues, we need to give more honest weight to three things:
- Who we are – Recognising the influence of our sanctification, as our spiritual condition may help or hinder our study of the Bible; our ‘endowments’- the way we are shaped by our heredity, environment, spiritual gifting and even preferred styles of learning; and our calling – the role or responsibilities we have in God’s Church.
- Which community we interact with – Other people shape us: our heritage, who we hang out with, and our own private judgement all influence us with important checks and balances to the hermeneutical task.
- What the text says – Exegesis has always been influenced interdependently by thematic, historical and literary concerns – as mirrors that reflect our own interests, windows that illuminate history and pictures whose form and content we appreciate.
The second section on ‘Investigation’, covering nearly half of the book, explores the tools for faithful biblical analysis of Old Testament narrative, including the biblical narrative techniques of characterisation, scene depiction and imagery, structural forms in episodes, audience identifiers and clearer tools for faithfully describing a writer’s intention – and area which is so often prone to subjective judgements. These are all well illustrated from the text, and give a helpful reference resource for those wishing to understand and appreciate the real depths of biblical narrative. If you have not come across these tools before, they will revolutionise your appreciation of the Old Testament narratives.
The final section on ‘Application’, the last quarter of the book, gives us a rare gem: a clear theology of application, one which is relevant not only to the application of biblical narratives, but all biblical preaching. Pratt recognises and articulates how to address vital areas: the influence of the epochal adjustments (where we are in biblical history), cultural variations (how to decide where we can be flexible or resolute), and even the unique providence of our own personal make-up (overcoming the obstacles of our own inadequacies and histories). Finally he even addresses how God’s Word is intended to impact us conceptually, behaviourally and emotionally, the latter so often traditionally neglected. It is worth the price of the book just to get preachers to think through this area more clearly.
Overall, while this book is not for the fainthearted and it is not always easy to find, it is well written and illustrated, systematically presented and will stimulate any serious bible scholar or preacher in their approach to biblical narrative. It also provides a very helpful contribution to the much-needed development of a theology of application that honours us as a whole person as we engage with the authority of God’s Word, but avoids the too-often simplistic subjectivism of a ‘what does it say to you?’ approach. If we are as evangelicals committed to preaching ‘the whole counsel of God’, we will need to be less afraid of preaching and applying the Old Testament; and this book will certainly help inspire and help you in that task.
Rob Munro, Fellowship of Word and Spirit, June 2016