Puzzling Portraits

How are we to see the Old Testament''s characters--typically a tangle of both virtue and vice--as models for our own ethical living? It is clear that Scripture intends for us to embody some qualities while eschewing others, and at times these are immediately obvious: David''s wholehearted pursuit of God is admirable, while his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah are deplorable. But more of...