The second in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God.
I suppose the first two facets of storytelling which come to everyone's mind are plot and people. Yet, we may let them slip when we read Scripture.
God has designed us to think that something is moving toward a conclusion and that it has something to do with the characters we meet. Our problem in bringing the hermeneutic of story into our study of Scripture is summarized in the lyrics, “I’ve read the back of the book, and we win.” This means we must consciously refresh our interest in the action even though we already know where it is going.
That
is not an unreasonable requirement. We do it when we re-read our favorite novel or re-visit our favorite movie. Even though we “know how it comes out” we
experience the thrill of adventure as we look more carefully into things we passed over quickly when we were not in-the-know.
It is the failure to do this which reduces the biblical narrative to an
encyclopedic collection of “subjects.” To systematize topics is also a
characteristic of our creaturehood, but to anesthetize the story line is the
devil’s tool.
Consider
the people. A good story has a protagonist. Epics have minor protagonists with
their own story who contribute to the overarching story.
Consider
the plot. It emerges as we meet and follow a protagonist and watch him confront an antagonist and make his way through conflicts which change his character. If the change is growth we call it a “comedy,” not because
it is funny but because it makes us happy. If, however, the change results in
failure, we come away saddened by the “tragedy.”
Here is an idea. Select a protagonist. I would suggest Joash. Identify his antagonists and follow him through his conflicts. What change do you find? Is his story a comedy or a tragedy? What role might his story play in the Bible's mega-story?
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