“Lastly she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood; and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago; and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days.”
Does this statement make any sense? Does it sound familiar? This is the closing paragraph from the famous book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Although most of us are more familiar with Walt Disney or Tim Burton’s version of the story, knowing the literary context of this paragraph helps us understand it better.
When it comes to Biblical literature, literary context refers to the way a passage fits into and functions in a book, in a group of books, or in the Bible as a whole. For example, in Philippians 3:2 Paul wrote “Look out for the dogs.” Someone could look at this passage out of context and say, “Christians really need to be careful around canines, they can do some serious damage!” Especially the sketchy looking little dog that will not leave our parking lot!
But that would be a misunderstanding of what Paul was saying. If we look at the literary context of what is being said here Paul’s message becomes clear. In Philippians 2:19-30 the Apostle was celebrating the ministry of Timothy and Epaphroditus, good ministers who serve as examples to the church. If you read the rest of the verse you see the parallel that Paul was drawing between these good ministers and the alternative. Finish Philippians 3:2-3.
You can see now what Paul was saying. He was saying that there are evil doers who are “like” dogs who would mutilate the flesh of the Body. The use of the word “dog” in Paul’s culture would be one that was familiar to the readers in this day. It was a word that was distinctively used to describe false teachers who were working against the Church.
Let’s look at another example of literary context in the Bible.
After David became the king of Israel , he captured Jerusalem Jerusalem
But on the way to Jerusalem
READ 2 SAMUEL 6:1-11
- What is your initial reaction to this passage? Note it in your journal.
- Why do you think God acted so forcefully in this situation?
- Now read Numbers 4:1-15
Numbers 4:1-15, gives us a broader literary context of the important frame of reference that helps understand the story about Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6. In Numbers 4 God gave very specific instructions for how the ark was to be moved - guidelines that David was not aware or to which he had not paid attention to. God’s guidelines stressed His holiness. People were not to approach God lightly. The neglect of these instructions cost Uzzah his life. Understanding the context helps us understand how serious this neglect was.
- Think about your seriousness when it comes to God’s Word. How do you treat it?
- Read Matthew 4:9 in your Bible and think about the literary context of the passage and note the following in your journal:
- The Context
- The Speaker
- The Person Spoken To
I heard of a church who used this as a “Theme Verse” for their church!! This is an unfortunate example of failing to understand the verse’s literary context.
- What does Jesus’ example in Matthew 4 teach us about standing against temptation?
- Take a look at the charts I have attached with this study and identify at least one Bible book you would expect to find information on the following:
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