The books and letters in the Bible were not written to us, but they were written for us… so that we can learn from them and so we can discover the truth about God and his plans for us. The Bible allows us to look backward so we can see the way forwards. It’s a bit like the rear view mirror in your car: You look backwards to check for approaching dangers, you look backwards to check your progress and make sure it is safe to proceed, you look backwards to move forwards, or, occasionally, to reverse so that you can move forwards again but in a new direction. The Bible allows us to look backwards and learn so that we are empowered and encouraged to move forwards again in the right direction.