Connecting Historical Examples to Modern Audiences in Preaching
The practice of connecting historical examples to contemporary audiences in preaching is deeply rooted in biblical tradition, serving to illustrate God's consistent character and actions across generations. This method is evident throughout the Old Testament, where past divine interventions and human responses are recounted to instruct and encourage later communities [1, 4, 5].
One prominent example is found in Deuteronomy, which Matthew Henry describes as "the use and application of the foregoing history" [1]. Moses, in this book, reviews God's providences concerning Israel, using past events to quicken and engage the people to duty and obedience [1]. This approach highlights how historical narratives are not merely records of the past but serve as foundational lessons for present and future generations [1]. The historical accounts in Deuteronomy are presented as a means to confirm faith and encourage obedience, demonstrating a direct link between past divine acts and present ethical and spiritual responsibilities [1].
Similarly, the Psalms frequently employ historical recollection to reinforce faith and understanding. Psalm 48:8, for instance, reflects on God's "glorious and gracious appearances" for His people against their enemies, urging them to make good use of these past events [2]. The psalmist encourages a comparison between "what God has done with what he has spoken," concluding that "as we have heard, so have we seen" [2]. This suggests that contemporary experiences of God's faithfulness confirm the historical accounts of His actions, creating a continuous narrative of divine reliability [2]. John Gill, commenting on Psalm 44:1, notes that the church, when in distress, recalls "the past favours of God to his people" to encourage faith and hope [6]. These historical accounts were not only passed down through oral tradition but were also recorded in the writings of Moses and the prophets, ensuring their accessibility and impact across generations [6].
Psalm 78 is explicitly described as "historical" by Matthew Henry, narrating "the great mercies God had bestowed upon Israel, the great sins wherewith they had provoked him, and the many tokens of his displeasure they had been under for their sins" [4]. This psalm resumes a subject from a previous psalm, expanding upon it for the "edification of the church" [4]. It aims to show "how good God had been to them," serving as an "earnest of further finishing mercy" [4]. This demonstrates that historical narratives are used not only to recount past events but also to build anticipation and hope for future divine action [4]. The Tyndale House commentary on Matthew 13:34-35 connects Jesus' teaching method to Psalm 78:2-3, noting that Psalm 78 speaks of "passing down the history of God’s revelation to children of the next generation" [7]. This suggests that Jesus' parables, while seemingly new, were part of a long-standing tradition of conveying divine truth through historical and narrative forms [7].
Psalm 105 also serves as a long psalm of praise, with its subject matter being particular historical events [5]. While its general scope is to set forth the glory of God, it does so by recounting specific acts of God in history [5]. This illustrates that historical accounts are integral to worship and the expression of God's glory, providing concrete examples of His character and power [5].
The New Testament also reflects this pattern. Jesus' use of parables, as noted in Matthew 13:34-35, fulfilled Old Testament predictions about conveying God's revelation [7]. Matthew Henry observes that Christ used parables because "the time was not yet come for the more clear and plain discoveries of the mysteries of the kingdom" [3]. This indicates that even in the New Testament era, historical and narrative forms of teaching were employed to prepare audiences for deeper truths, demonstrating Christ's willingness to use "all ways and methods to do good to the souls of men" [3].
The apostle Paul, in Galatians 4:1, uses a comparison rooted in historical and legal understanding to explain the transition from the Old Covenant to the New [8]. He addresses those who were tempted to return to the "bondage" of the Mosaic Law, using the analogy of a child under age to illustrate the advantages of the gospel over the law [8]. This shows how historical and cultural contexts (like the legal status of a minor) are used to explain theological truths and persuade audiences [8].
The consistent thread through these examples is the understanding that God's actions in history provide a reliable foundation for understanding His character and His will for His people [1, 2, 4, 6]. By recounting these historical examples, biblical authors and figures aimed to confirm faith, encourage obedience, provide comfort in distress, and build hope for the future [1, 2, 4, 6]. This method of connecting past divine acts to present-day audiences ensures that the lessons of history remain relevant and impactful, fostering a continuous relationship between God and His people across generations [1, 4].
Sources
- Deuteronomy (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 4:1: This most lively and excellent discourse is so entire, and the particulars of it are so often repeated, that we must take it altogether in the exposition of it, and endeavour to digest it into proper heads, for we cannot divide it into paragraphs. I. In general, it is the use and application of the foregoing history; it comes in by way of inference from it: Now therefore harken, O Israel, Deu 4:1. This use we should make of the review of God's providences concerning us, we should by them be quickened and engaged to duty and obedience. The histories of the year”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 48:8: We have here the good use and improvement which the people of God are taught to make of his late glorious and gracious appearances for them against their enemies, that they might work for their good. I. Let our faith in the word of God be hereby confirmed. If we compare what God has done with what he has spoken, we shall find that, as we have heard, so have we seen (Psa 48:8), and what we have seen obliges us to believe what we have heard. 1. "As we have heard done in former providences, in the days of old, so have we seen done in our own days." Note, God's latter”
- Matthew (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Matthew 13:24: In these verses, we have, I. Another reason given why Christ preached by parables, Mat 13:34, Mat 13:35. All these things he spoke in parables, because the time was not yet come for the more clear and plain discoveries of the mysteries of the kingdom. Christ, to keep the people attending and expecting, preached in parables, and without a parable spake he not unto them; namely, at this time and in this sermon. Note, Christ tries all ways and methods to do good to the souls of men, and to make impressions upon them; if men will not be instructed and influenced by ”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 78 (introduction): This psalm is historical; it is a narrative of the great mercies God had bestowed upon Israel, the great sins wherewith they had provoked him, and the many tokens of his displeasure they had been under for their sins. The psalmist began, in the foregoing psalm, to relate God's wonders of old, for his own encouragement in a difficult time; there he broke off abruptly, but here resumes the subject, for the edification of the church, and enlarges much upon it, showing not only how good God had been to them, which was an earnest of further finishing mercy”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 105 (introduction): Some of the psalms of praise are very short, others very long, to teach us that, in our devotions, we should be more observant how our hearts work than how the time passes and neither overstretch ourselves by coveting to be long nor over-stint ourselves by coveting to be short, but either the one or the other as we find in our hearts to pray. This is a long psalm; the general scope is the same with most of the psalms, to set forth the glory of God, but the subject-matter is particular. Every time we come to the throne of grace we may, if we please, f”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 44:1: We have heard with our ears, O God,.... The church being in distress calls to mind the past favours of God to his people, in order to encourage her faith and hope; and this expression, delivered in such a form, shows the clearness, evidence, and certainty of what was heard; and which was heard not only as a tradition from father to son; but being recorded in the writings of Moses and the prophets, and these things read both in private and in public, were heard with the ear; our fathers have told us what works thou didst in their days, in the times of old: such as th”
- Matthew (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Matthew 13:34: 13:34-35 Even Jesus’ manner of teaching fulfilled Old Testament predictions. Psalm 78:2-3 speaks of passing down the history of God’s revelation to children of the next generation. Jesus’ revelation is the climax of that history (Matt 13:10-17; 1 Cor 2:7).”
- Galatians (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Galatians 4:1: In this chapter the apostle deals plainly with those who hearkened to the judaizing teachers, who cried up the law of Moses in competition with the gospel of Christ, and endeavored to bring them under the bondage of it. To convince them of their folly, and to rectify their mistake herein, in these verses he prosecutes the comparison of a child under age, which he had touched upon in the foregoing chapter, and thence shows what great advantages we have now, under the gospel, above what they had under the law. And here. I. He acquaints us with the state of the Old”