Reconsidering Bible Stories for Children

 

Our local library just had a used book sale where I found a Bible storybook for children I hadn’t read. I bought it, thinking I’d review the book on this site, but when I saw it had the same stories almost every other storybook had, I decided to complain!

Inevitably, Bible stories for children include tales of Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob and one most favored by his father. Of those sons, however, God didn't choose Joseph to be the forefather of David, Solomon, and Jesus. He chose Judah about whom far less is known.

Judah’s name means praise, and a closer reading of his story reveals the first person in the Bible who ever admitted he’d done wrong. True, he suggested earlier that his brothers sell Joseph to a tribe of Ishmaelites, who descended from Abraham as they had, but this act kept Joseph from being killed.

Later, when the Jacob’s sons had to go to Egypt for food during a famine, Judah pledged his life as a substitute for his youngest brother, Benjamin, because he could not bear for his father to suffer any more grief over the loss of a favored child. Despite this selfless act, which foreshadowed the sacrifice of his descendant, Jesus, few children or adults know anything about Judah the person – only as one of twelve tribes.

Another descendant of his, however, does receive attention in children’s Bible storybooks – David, the young shepherd boy widely known for killing Goliath with a slingshot, then cutting off the giant’s head with Goliath’s own sword! Although we all love a victorious story of an underdog, is it wise to focus on the hero’s decapitation of the enemy? Instead, why not draw attention to David’s musical ability or his poetry in the Psalms, filled with praise and prayers to God? Or mention how, in the midst of terrible times, David consistently talked to the Lord about everything bothering him, and, with almost no exception, ended on an uplifting note of praise.

Since many other examples of unsung biblical heroes exist, I hope you’ll add those you’re drawn to in the Comments section below. As we focus on the importance of confession, sacrificial love, honest prayers, heartfelt praise, and poetry surely we’ll offer uplifting stories and faith-builders for readers of all ages.

 

Mary Harwell Sayler
who loves poetry, prayers, Psalms, and overlooked Bible people