A tendency that many have when they read the Bible is to look at the human figures in the stories and see them as the heroes of the stories and as people we should be like. For example, we can hear stories about “be a David,” “be a Daniel,” “be a Moses,” “be a Paul,” etc.

However, a problem with this approach is that the closer we read the stories, the more flaws that we find in our so-called heroes. This is apparent in the book of Jonah, which Faith Church is walking through in the coming weeks, as when you actually look at Jonah’s life, he is not really a hero. He says “no” to God when God calls him to go. He does seek to obey God when he knows the storm has come upon the boat, and he would rather die (or actually be killed by the sailors, which they are afraid to do out of respect for another man’s life, they are the better example!). When he prays from the belly of the fish, he never seems to utter words of confession to God (“I’m sorry, I have disobeyed you,” etc.). His mission work in Nineveh seems a bit half-hearted, and he is upset when they repent and throws a temper tantrum when God takes away gifts of grace to him in the last chapter. He never seems to get it. We are not called to be a Jonah — if anything to be the opposite of Jonah. The point seems to be to look to Jonah’s God who is good, great, and gracious even when Jonah is, to put it politely, something of a brat!

Other so-called heroes in the BIble also have flaws. This is because the hero of every story is not really the people but the God these humans, and we, follow. As one of my favorite kids’ Bibles puts it: “The Bible does have some heroes in it but (as you’ll soon find out) most of the people in the Bible aren’t heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose). They get afraid and run away. At times they are downright mean. No, the Bible isn’t a book or rules, or a book of heroes.” (Sally Lloyd-Jones, Jesus Storybook Bible, pp. 15-17).

If the Bible is not a book of rules or of heros, what is it? Jesus tells us that the whole Bible is meant to point us to himself:

• “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,” (John 5:39)
• “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. (John 5:46)
• “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27)

When we read a story or a passage in the Bible, we should always seek to relate it back to Jesus, to see how it points us to our need for a Savior and the provision of a Savior in Jesus Christ. When we see a hero doing a good thing, see how that is a foreshadowing of Christ and his work; the fancy term for that is “typology” (as these people and events are “types” of Christ). While it might seem to be “fancy,” it is something I think we can all understand and utilize as we read the Bible.

Here are some examples of typology. The story of Jonah definitely does point to Jesus, as Jesus gives us the “sign of Jonah” in his death and resurrection (Matthew 12:38-42). The story of David and Goliath is not primarily about us going out to fight our battles but about the one who has fought the battle for us — the greater son of David, Jesus Christ; I can’t “slay the giants in my life” — but I don’t need because Jesus Christ already is. Adam was a “type” of Christ, with Jesus as a Second Adam who undoes what Adam did in terms of sin. It is not just people that point us to Christ but events and laws, as the deliverance of the people of Egypt from Israel (the Exodus) is a “type,” which offers a picture of our deliverance from sin, and the sacrificial laws of the Old Testament point us to Christ and the ultimate sacrifice for our sins (see Hebrews 8:5; 10:1, as well as Colossians 2:17 on other Old Testament laws as types). There are many other types.

Now, I am not saying that we should never look to figures in the Bible as examples or to give us insight or guidance — because to do so would be at odds with the Bible itself. However, we need to make sure that we look to the people in a way that points us to God. For example, in James 5:11, we look to Job as a person who trusts in God in difficult times, as a way to get us to trust in God in difficult times. Paul uses the Israelites as examples of what not to do in 1 Corinthians 10:6, with the example teaching us so “that we might not desire evil as they did” — that we might not be idolaters but place our faith and trust in God.. Like John the Baptist, these figures always point us away from themselves and their acts to true faith in Christ. A practical way to apply this to personal Bible reading is to read a story and see how it points to our sin and then how it points to our Savior.

We should commend Olympic gold medalists for their hard work, but also recognize that earthly heroes are people who surrender their lives not for personal glory for the good of others, like public servants and parents. Similarly, we should be thankful for the great cloud of witnesses who have run before us by having faith in God (Hebrews 11), but we do so as we fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1), the one in whom we place our faith and trust. He is my hero and the hero and point of everything in Scripture and, hopefully, of my life.

Questions about Bible or theology, e-mail them to Pastor Brian at Theology@wearefaith.org. You can also subscribe to the blog and get its weekly updates by clicking here and filling out the info on the right side.