Episode 139: Biblical Genres, Part 2: Histories

Conventional wisdom says that the "great" leaders are the ones who expan the size of their nations' territory, increase their wealth, or help the markets climb to record heights.  But the voices in the histories of the Hebrew Scriptures (like the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ruth, and Esther) see things differently.  They offer a minority report: that true "greatness" has less to do with military might but with covenant and character, and that it doesn't matter if markets are booming when it comes at the cost of justice and mercy.  These books in the Old Testament remind us that even the recording of historical events comes with a perspective.  And it can be surprising to discover that even in the Bible itself there are multiple perspectives on events, rulers, and the times in which they lived.  Through it all, we meet a God who is surprisingly vulnerable, relentlessly faithful, and at the same time deeply committed to creating a people who life differently from the nations around them because of their commitment to justice, to mercy, to faithfulness, and to love of neighbor. As pastors Sarah, Erica, and Steve continue looking at biblical genres in this series, join them for this conversation about the stories we tell about our past, and how those stories shape our path into the future.