THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM

Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."


The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.


"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it."

"Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later...


Some people come into our lives and quickly go…

Some people
become friends and
stay awhile...
leaving beautiful
footprints on our
hearts...


and we are never quite the same because we have made a good friend!!



Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow a mystery.
Today is a gift.
That's why it's called the present!

(VIII) Styles & Techniques of Biblical Stories

Ancient writers do not use paragraph, heading and sub-heading. They just write from the beginning to the end. Nowadays, we can use italics, bolded and coloured print for emphasis which were not used long ago.

So, to aid in bringing out the message and also make hearing easier to follow, certain techniques like repetitions and structures are used.

1. Repetitions
· Keywords: words relating to the theme that are repeated. Example: “It is good.”

· Motif: words or items not significant by themselves or related to the theme.
When they are repeated brings out certain significance. Example: The word “tall” and “handsome” appear in numerous places in 1Samuel

· Theme: idea, principle or theological statement being emphasized. Example: In the book of Judges, “The land had rest” keep appearing after each cycle of judges. There is a significant idea of the Sabbath rest after God’s creation.

· Sequence of Actions – a repeat of a sequence of 3 or more actions. This is very clear seen in the book of Judges with repeated cycles of: (1) did evil; (2) Suppression; (3) Cry to God, (4) Raise Deliverance, (5) Land rested.

· Type scene – e.g. woman at the well; removing shoes at holy ground; first born is looser

For example: In Exodus chapter 1, the words & phrase “multiplied, numerous” keep appearing (verses 7; 9; 12; 20).

2. Determine relationship
In reading Bible Stories, one should also see the relationship between characters and sequence of action. Often times, it has the following effects:
(1) Similarity / repetition
(2) Contrasting
(3) Progress – regress
(4) Cause – effect


3. Structure
- inclusion,
- chiasm,
- parallelism,
- linear progression/regression
- spiral (seldom used)


4. How to identify the structure of a passage?

My approach:

1. Read through the passages a few times. For the first time, try to understand what the story is about and what the narrator is speaking to his readers. (Narrator’s point of view)

2. Read through the second time to study each character in the story and their dialogue.

3. Read through the third time to see repetitions, similarity and contrast. At this point, once you have seen a few repetitions, the structure usually can be detected at this stage.

4. Read through a few more times, to ensure that the structure is really there and not your own imagination.


5. Example of a Chiastic Structure (Genesis Chapter 6-9)

Transitional Introduction (6:9-10)

A Violence in Creation (6:11-12)
B ......First divine speech: resolve to destroy (6:13-22)
C ...........Second divine speech: “enter ark” (7:1-10)
D ...............Beginning of flood (7:11-16)
E ....................The rising flood (7:17-24)
X ........................God remembers Noah
E’ ..................The receding flood (8:1-5)
D’ ..............Drying of the flood (8:6-14)
C’ ..........Third divine speech: “Leave ark” (8:15-19)
B’ .....God’s resolve to preserve order (8:20-22)
A’ Fourth divine speech: Covenant (9:1-17)

Transitional Conclusion (9:18-19)

By B.W. Anderson (Word Biblical Commentary, Genesis 1-15 page 156)


Here end my sharing on the approach to study Bible Stories. I have written a 34 pages on this topic on Understanding Bible Narratives. If you want a copy, please email me. Include in this write-out are some examples on structures, charts and also applications aid to Bible Narratives.

Charis Kai Irene (Grace and Peace) to you all

Mark Lim

(VI) The Plot of Bible Stories

In every stories or movies, there is a plot. The plot is the body. It consists of an organized and orderly system of events, arranged in temporal sequence.

The plot of a Bible story is constructed as a meaningful chain of interconnected events. This is achieved by careful selection. Any incident which does not fit in logically with the planned development of the plot is omitted.


Look at sequence of events, similar pattern/actions

Example. Gen 22:1-14 describes the test of Abraham.

The story begins with the narrative telling us that God wanted to test Abraham. If the narrative did not give us his point of view, we might be wondering why God wanted to kill Isaac after having Abraham to waiting for 25 years for the birth of Isaac.

The reader will ask: “How is God going to test Abraham?”

The conflicts begin when God calls Abraham to sacrifice Isaac at a place called Moriah. This is like a pagan worship where worshippers pledge allegiance to their God through child sacrifice. We need to remember that there is no Law yet at this point in time.

We are not told what Abraham is thinking all this while.

The conflict gets most intense when Isaac asked his father where the offering is. Confidently, Abraham answered that God will provide. What was Abraham thinking when he gave this answer? We will never know but the impact of the whole story is ended with a strong memorial statement in verse 14: “Abraham called the place – THE LORD WILL PROVIDE”

It indicates that the experience is forever etched in Abraham’s life that he can trust the LORD to provide.

Do you have this Mount Moriah experience?

It is the place for the test of obedience to God.

(V) Dialogues In Bible Stories

Generally, you really get to know someone when he starts to talk. Whether he is talking about fact, opinions, feelings, or even gossiping, he is actually revealing himself to you. Sometimes a person may lie. We need discernment when listening to others talk.

Likewise, Bible characters also make speeches, just like movies.

(Except Mr. Bean, which is silent.)

What the characters talk reveal their traits and inner self. It also reveal relationship (when they address one another as brothers and sisters; Gen 33:9; 2Sam 13:11), social standing (as in addressing king as “my lord”)

Some important point about Dialogues

1. Dialogue happen usually between two people or at most three.
By using dialogue, the narrator sometimes makes it as part of the plot and structure.

Example #1: Gen 27 – Jacob deceives Isaac for the blessing
In this example, each conversation involved only 2 people at any time. And it is always one parent with one child:

A Isaac and Esau (vv. 1-5) ...........A’ Isaac and Esau (vv. 31-40)
B Rebekah and Jacob (vv. 6-17) ....B’ Rebekah and Jacob (vv. 42-45)
C Isaac and Jacob (vv. 18-30) .......C’ Isaac and Jacob (v 46; 28:1-5)

(taken from JP Fokkelman, Reading Biblical Narrative)

This is also a parallel structure.

Example #2: 2Sam 13 – Amnon and Tamar
In this example, we see that the plot and structure are very well played out using dialogues. Again, the conversation is only 2 people at any time

..................................(4) Tamar – Amnon
.......................(3) David – Tamar (5) Amnon - Servant
............(2) Amnon-David ........................(6) Servant-Tamar
(1) Jonadab-Amnon ............................................(7) Tamar-Absalom

There is a link and pattern in this structure. All the links are connected to one another by the fact that the second character in each of them is the first in the succeeding one.

The structure is also symmetrical in the fact that Jonadab, who is close to and supports Amnon, appears in the first link whereas Absalom, who is close to and supports Tamar, appear in the last one.

(taken from Shimon Bar-Efrat; Narrative Art in the Bible)

2. Most important speeches come from God – the final authority, then angel, prophets and individual.

Example: Judges 6 (about Gideon) – When the angel of the LORD first appeared to Gideon:

When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." (verse 12)

14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"

15 "But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

In these 2 speeches, the LORD called Gideon a mighty warrior, but Gideon portrays himself as someone weak and insignificant. Who is right? And why did Gideon do that?

3. Sometimes, the speeches are repeated verbatim
For example: Marriage arrangement of Isaac & Rebekah (Gen 24)

The command of Abraham to the servant to get a bride from his kindred in Gen 24:3,4 is repeated in verses 37 & 38.

The servant’s prayer (Gen 24:14) is repeated in verses 43 & 44.

The focus on this marriage arrangement is therefore God ordained.

4. Other times, the speeches sequences are changed or certain part omitted or added.

Example: in Gen 2:16,17 God told Adam (before Eve was created):

2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

But when the woman answers the serpent about what God told them, she said:

3:3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "

Eve added to the speech of what God has said. We do not know how she knows about what God said. Probably Adam told her and add “you must not touch it” into the conversation.

In Summary, always pay attention what is spoken by the characters. They help in interpretation and understanding of the Bible stories.

(IV) Characters in Bible Stories

How does Moses look like? Is he tall or short?

(don’t know, leh)

How about Saul?

I know, tall and handsome.

Why does the narrator describe to us about Saul’s features but not Moses’?

Ya, lah! Not fair one.


The second characteristic that makes a Bible genre as a narrative is that it must have a character. It’s like in a movie, there must be actors, real or cartoons. But unlike movies, Bible stories do not tell us how the characters look like if they are not related to the plot of the story. So we are not told how Moses look like because his appearance has no relation to the story. As for Saul, his appearance is important because the narrator want us to know how God chooses leaders in contrast to how human choose leaders (1Sam 16:7).

Description of Characters
1. Physical description of character: by narrator or other characters
For example, in 2Sam 11:2, the narrator told us that the woman David saw is very beautiful. This is part of the plot of the story and we understand why a good man like David can fall into sin.

2. Inner qualities described by narrator or other characters
For example: In Job 1:8, God tell Satan the characters of Job – blameless, upright, fear God, turn away from evil. Right at the beginning of the Book of Job, the reader is informed of the character of Job so that he knows that the suffering of Job is not due his own doings.

3. Speech of characters – can be evasive, lying, politeness, remorseful…
For example: In Judges 8:22, the Israelites asked Gideon to be their ruler.

But Gideon told them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you."

This speech sound very honorable. But is it really so? The narrator later told us in verse 31 that Gideon named one of his sons Abimelech, which means “my father is king”. You could imagine each time some one calling your son, “my father is king”.

4. Actions and motives (especially repeated actions)
Reading through 1Sam 16 onwards and see the many repeated actions of Saul trying to kill David. Contrast this with the many action of David not wanting to take his hand on the Lord’s anointed. These repeated actions and motives show how the narrator ties his plot of leadership transition of God rejecting Saul and choosing David.

Important points about Characters
- Main characters are usually round/not flat, i.e. complex
Their behaviors can change. Example: Sarah may seem demure and submissive to Abram (Gen 12), but later her character is revealed more (Gen 16 – suggesting to Abram to get a concubine), and more (Gen 21:10 – drive away Hagar)

- God is an important Character in the Bible.
(Pay special attention what is said of God)

- Comparison to archetypes can be made without explicit mention.
E.g. first born son – Cain, Ishmael, Esau, … all have the same characteristics of first born.

Types of characters
Just like a movie where actors play different roles, each character in the story also has different role.

1. Main focus of narrative:
2. Agent to carry the theme: e.g. Cornelius in Acts (theme is salvation for Gentiles)
3. Foil: shed light on another character by contrast and comparison e.g. Abraham versus Lot; Isaac versus Ishmael; Jacob versus Esau; Abel versus Cain, etc
4. Plot carriers: carry the plot forward. E.g. Uriah 2Sam 11 on David’s adultery & murder
5. Setting Providers: People as part of the story to provide the setting of the story.

Example: In the Book of Jonah
- Main focus = Jonah
- Agent to carry the theme = Ninevah king (theme of the book is redemption)
- Foil = the sailors (they fear God) as contrast to Jonah
- Plot carrier = God, fish, Gourd
- Setting Providers = Ninevites


In Summary, when reading about individual characters, pay attention to what is being said. All information given to us is important, otherwise it will not be told.

Related to characters are dialogues, where characters speak to one another … (to be continued)

(IV) Scene and Setting of a Bible Stories

“Teacher, teacher; why can David kill Goliath?”

Your Sunday school student asks you this question after you relate the story to the class.

“God said, ‘You shall not kill’. So can disobeying God be a good person?”

As a Bible teacher, how would you answer her? If you say that Goliath is the enemy of Israel and need to be killed, does that mean that you can kill any evil person? Or did David killed Goliath because God tell him to do it (1Sam 17:45)? Would not that amount to say that God is the mastermind of taking away life?

We now look at the first characteristic of a Bible story, the scene and setting. Stories are usually depicted with certain scenes like times of war, destruction, famine, in a garden, agricultural background or even a normal lifestyle (including birth and death). As these stories are way beyond our time, cultural and historical background may influence our way of understanding the passage.

As such it may be good to read widely of these cultures from a Bible handbook.

1. Scene

Let’s look at some of the more common scene in Bible Stories.

War


Many passages like 1Sam 4, 15 & 17 are in the context of war. So David killing Goliath does not violate the 10 commandment, “You shall not kill”.

But killing your enemies in peace time is murder. Thus, Joab killing of Abner in Hebron (a city of refuge) during peace time is murder (2Sam 3). He does this in revenges of Abner killing of Joab’s brother, Asahel during the battle of Gibeon (2Sam 2)

In war time, warriors consult their gods through prophets, Urim & Thummim (1Sam 28:6), offer sacrifices and even bring there “gods” with them to war. We may read into them as superstitious, but that is not the point of view of the narrator.

Destruction

Passages like Gen 19 – destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah; Gen 7 – the Great Flood; 1Sam 15 - call for total destruction of Alamekites.

Such passages depict final judgment of that era for that situation and must be seen as God’s justice, exercising His Judgment.

Lifestyle

Many passages talk about the normal life of the people – Gen 18: Abraham welcoming strangers; Ruth gleening;

We can greatly appreciate the Bible stories when we know their cultures – e.g. role of women, birth-rights, marriages, etc.

2. Timing
There are two timing involved in a story (1) Narration Time & (2) Narrated Time
Narration Time is the time the narrator takes to tell the story
Narrated Time is the time depicted in the narrative

When the author stops at a point in time to tell a detail situation, the focus is there. Pay attention to what is narrated. The opposite is also true. When the narrator suddenly skip past narrated time, ask why he is doing that.

Example: Gen 1-2:4:

Narrated Time = 7days of creation
Narration Time = 34 verse, 3min to read

Gen 16:16 (last verse of Gen 16) and Gen 17:1
Narrated Time = 13 years
Narration Time = 2 verses, 10 sec to read

Implication:

In Genesis 1, the creation story is very important and all the detail of creation is captured in the passage. In Abraham case, after he married Hagar and have a son, Ishmael, nothing is deem important to narrate (for 13 years, nothing significant was told)

Another example: Gen 26:34,35 (last verses of Gen 26) and Gen 27:1
Gen 26:34 – Isaac is 100 years old
Gen 27:1 – Isaac is 137 years old (try to calculate this! Can be done)

What is the implication?
The author is telling the reader that life is bitter for Isaac & Rebekah (Gen 26:35, the verse in between this two timing) for 37 years, a very long time indeed.

3. Space
This is the Character’s movement in space (geographically)

Generally, when the narrator slow down and elaborate the story at that point, pay attention to that narration as the emphasis and important is in that passage. (Example: Gen 32 – a lot of movement at action, until v 24-32 when at night, Jacob is alone. Then, Gen 33 continues the movement).

By being aware of the scene and timing in the story, one can follow what the intention of the narrator is saying.

Heard of a Bible Reading Parrot?

Hi to all who care to read this blog!

I have been a bit tired this week to continue on the Bible Narrative, which may have bored you.

If you are still following this blog, just to share a light hearted moment:

Four brothers left home for college, and they became successful doctors and lawyers and prospered. Some years later, they chatted after having dinner together. They discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly mother who lived far away in another city.

The first said, "I had a big house built for Mama."

The second said, "I had a hundred thousand dollar theater built in the house."

The third said, "I had my Mercedes dealer deliver an SL600 to her."

The fourth said, "You know how Mamma loved reading the Bible and you know she can't read anymore because she can't see very well. I met this preacher who told me about a parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took twenty preachers and 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for twenty years to the church, but it was worth it. Mamma just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it."

The other brothers were impressed.

After the holidays Mom sent out her Thank You notes. She wrote:

"Milton , the house you built is so huge I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house. Thanks anyway."

Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay home, I have my groceries delivered, so I never use the Mercedes. The thought was good. Thanks."

Michael, you gave me an expensive theater with Dolby sound, it could hold 50 people but all of my friends are dead, I've lost my hearing and I'm nearly blind. I'll never use it. Thank you for the gesture just the same."

Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to give a little thought to your gift. The chicken was delicious. Thank you."

-Luv Ya, Mama