#264 Wait… What?

We have a few children's storybook Bibles at our house that I get to read with our kids. Every so often as I read these books, I think to myself, "Why do children's Bibles have to be wrong about stuff?" Don't get me wrong. For the most part, these Bibles for children do a good job of telling Bible stories in a way that kids understand. I am quite pleased with them overall. But every once in a while the authors and/or editors make a choice that leaves me scratching my head. "Don't they know that's wrong?"

Sometimes these errors are pretty small and not really important. One of our children's Bibles says that David had one stone when he fought Goliath. The Bible actually says that David choose five smooth stones as he prepared for battle (1 Samuel 17:40). Now, David only seems to use one of the stones, so I'm not going to write angry letters to the publisher or anything. I just wish the author and/or editor would've double-checked the Bible story or clarified their language.

But other times the children's Bibles seem dangerously wrong. Another one of our children's Bibles describes the general pattern of Samson's life by saying that Samson listened to God. And that's just wrong. Samson is not some sort of shining moral example for us. If we read the story of Samson in the book of Judges, it seems much safer to say that Samson didn't care what God said. Samson breaks God's commands by marrying a woman who isn't part of God's people and then pursuing other women outside of God's people. Samson is supposed to be dedicated to God for his entire life, and as part of that dedication, Samson is not supposed to be around dead bodies. He's around dead bodies all the time. God doesn't help Samson and empower Samson to deliver God's people because Samson is moral. It's much more accurate to say God does those things in spite of Samson's lack of concern for God's instructions. What in the world were these authors/editors thinking?

So, if you're writing or illustrating a children's Bible, or if you're editing or publishing such a book, please be extra careful. And if you're reading such a book with children, please take the time to check out the Bible passages yourself and see if the children's book matches the Bible. Words can be hard, and God's Word isn't always easy to explain to children, but teaching God's Word to children is important. Let's take care to be correct and do things well.

Grace and peace,

BMH