How Many Bible Stories Are There in the Bible?

As a young boy I recall many stories read and shared with me about Bible characters and their great adventures.  My teachers would always strive to share with me the significance of why a certain story took place.  In my young opinion the Bible contained a great number of stories spanning thousands of years that talked about God’s goodness and often man’s disobedience.  However, I failed to see the single storyline of God and the great unity amongst the many stories that I was learning. 

Churches and Christians run the risk of proclaiming a false Gospel unintentionally by failing to read and teach the Bible in light of its main message, which is culminated in Jesus Christ.  The main storyline of Scripture is the redemption of sinful man by a holy and loving God.  It is imperative that we as God’s people understand the framework of the Bible in order to provide a better understanding of the events that have and are taking place in Christian history.  God is actively involved, sovereign, and bringing about events in order that His great name might be glorified.  All 66 books in our Holy Bible bring about a single unity in one common message. 

Allow me to share a few thoughts about the single storyline that stands at the center of God’s Word.  We need to keep in mind that the story of Scripture is God’s story of Himself as King over everything.  He is the sovereign Ruler and Creator of all things.  David says, “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” (Psalm 103:19)  Unlike all of creation, God created humans with a unique relationship with Himself.  He created all of mankind in His image.  This story, like most stories, started off as happy and joyful.  However, Adam failed to listen to the voice of God and attempted to cover his sin by blaming others.  Both Adam and Eve’s sin were comprehensively catastrophic to the human race and all of creation.  Yet, even on this very dark day, God provided news of a future hope that would come through the seed of Eve that would crush the Serpent~~Satan (Gen. 3:15).

The wickedness of man grew and God provided rulers, stipulations, laws, and covenants in order to guide and prepare His people for a Redeemer.  God, in His goodness and justice, chose a people that He would call His own.  This people would come through a man named Abraham.  God used various leaders, kings, judges, prophets, and even enemy people to guide the hearts of His people in preparation of the ultimate Savior.  In the midst of God’s patience and kindness towards His chosen people, they chose to dishonor God and make for themselves graven images and gods that would bring them trouble and dissatisfaction. 

It would be the King of kings Himself who would come to rescue His people for His praise.  It would be after many years of darkness that the Light of the world, the true light, would come into the world (John 1:9).  His name was Jesus.  He was not the kind of king that His people expected so they rejected and despised Him (John 1:10-11).  This King (Jesus) would not set up for Himself an earthly kingdom but His destiny was to the cross.  The reason why was because Jesus would give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).  Jesus Christ would be the fulfillment of prophecy and the fulfillment of every Old Testament requirement found in the Law in order to forgive sins.  This King not only died to pay for the price of sin but He rose from the dead just as He said he would.  This was a demonstration that Jesus Christ was truly the almighty King and that not even death could stop Him (Mt. 28:18-20).

You see, since the beginning of time, God had a purpose in all that He was doing.  The entirety of Scripture tells of that single storyline.  When reading the Bible, make an attempt to see a single message that God is sharing with His people.  Keep in mind that “all Scripture is Profitable” (2 Tim. 3:16) but the intent of Scripture and how it fits together is for us to study and understand.