The Importance Of Humanity In The Bible

Humanity. This one word conveys a whole sense of emotion and thought, from melancholy despair to bright hope. We humans are notoriously fickle creatures, and understanding us is rather difficult, as is the mechanisms we construct, like the economy or society. The Bible is a mobile library, and in it has many literary styles, that teach us about humanity, society, God, and how to make sense of it all. The Bible teaches us about humanity through its narrative, its poetry, and its discourses. The Bible Project says that the narrative style makes up about 43% of the Bible, poetry makes up 33%, and prose discourse makes up the remaining 24% (Literary Styles in the Bible, The Bible Project). Each one shows us how humanity works in different ways. Narrative is the most prevalent, and that makes

The corruptibility of humanity is a sad sight, as seen in this proverb. Poetry is a thought-provoking way of explaining ideas and thoughts. However, sometimes, humans just need to have it told as it is, and that’s where prose discourse comes in. Discourse is used quite frequently in the Bible to explore fundamental human truths. The prophet Jeremiah wailed from the streets, “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars… The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17. 1,9). It tells you what life is like in a brutally honest way, and that can be as refreshing as the mountain air. However, without the other two, it falls short. Synthesize the three styles together, and you have three perspectives telling the same story; the story of the Most High God, and what He made, and how to live well in it, and this is why we should read the Bible; it teaches us humanity like no other. Speaking of living in the creation, Adonai has graciously provided a way to learn how to live well in the world, and how to live long and