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We're learning how to read different types of literature in the Bible and we're gonna start by talking about biblical narrative.

The narratives in their most basic form have characters in a setting going through a series of events and how those events are selected and then arranged by an author, that's called the plot.

A Basic plotline begins with a character in her setting, but then something new or unexpected happens causing problems that lead up to some ultimate conflict, which is then resolved and the character finds herself changed living in a new normal.

Now in reading narratives, it's important to understand every scene in the context of its larger plot line. You can make the same story have a totally different message if you ignore where it occurs in the plot.

This happens all the time when people read the Bible
Take for example the story about Gideon.
There's this well-known scene where Gideon's trying to discern whether God will help him win a battle, and he requests a sign from God.

Gideon lays a wool fleece on the ground and asks that in the morning the fleece be wet would do but the ground totally dry and God does it.

Now if you look at the scene just by itself, what is the conflict?
How can Gideon know if he'll succeed?
and the resolution?
Put God to the test? ask for a sign and find out?
And that's how many people will actually read this story. And it totally misses the point because it's ignoring the larger plotline.

So let's start from the beginning You'll get the Context

The story begins with Gideon and the Israelites living in fear, because they're oppressed by an invading people, the Midianites.

Then there's the call to action God Commission's Gideon to defeat the Midianites and save Israel.

This is shaping up to be a good story

but then Gideon is super hesitant, so he asks God to make this sign
"so that I can know that it's really you who is talking to me" and God stoops to his level.
He gives him a sign by lighting the fire on an altar
so Gideon's already asked for a sign, and that's not all.

In the next scene, God tells Gideon to tear down an altar to another god, but Gideon so afraid, he does it at night.

So, Gideon skeptical and also a bit of a coward.

Then we come to the moment when Gideon is about to face the Midianites
and he's still uncertain, so he asked for another sign: the fleece
He says: "I want to know if you will save Israel by my hand"
and God gives him that sign.

And he's still uncertain, so he asked for even one more sign, which is just a variation of the previous sign.
Gideon's asking for way too many signs.

In the larger context
it's clear the plot conflict is not how can Gideon discern the mysterious will of God?
The real conflict is when will this guy get his act together and start trusting God?

So then what's the resolution?

We have to keep reading.
So Gideon gathers this huge army of 30,000 soldiers to fight the Midianites.
And God says: "No, too many men" reduce the army to 300.

And why would God do that?

Gideon's been testing God, so now God returns the favor.
He tells Gedeon to arm these 300 soldiers with trumpets and torches.
And then surround the Midianites at night and make all this noise in the hills.
which sounds ridiculous but Gideon does it.
And the noise scares the midianites into this frenzy. They start destroying each other in the dark while Gedeon looks on safely from the hills.

The Resolution...

So this story isn't offering the reader tips for discerning God's will.

IT'S ABOUT GOD'S COMMITMENT TO USE WEAK PEOPLE WITH DEEP FLAWS TO DO MORE THAN THEY COULD HAVE IMAGINED.

So short scenes like Gideon in the fleece are combined with other scenes making up a larger plot line and tracing the conflict and resolution through the plot helps you see the message that the author's trying to get across.

Now Gideon's story has been set alongside many others stories that are also about these flawed often questionable leaders called Judges and each of these has its own internal plotline, but then all together they make up a full movememt of the biblical story the period of the judges and that has its own unified plotline.

There are many movements within the story of the Bible
And all the smaller stories hundreds of them they fit within the context of their own movements
and then these movements together make up the building blocks of the grand plotline of the whole story of the Bible.

So no matter where I'm reading in the Bible. I need to pay attention to these different layers of law so I can read each story in context.

The Bible is such a sophisticated piece of literature and so all these smaller plot lines keep overlapping building up the tension and when you back up you can see how they've all been woven together into the unified story that leads to Jesus.

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Previous Posts:

What is THE BIBLE PROJECT?
What is THE BIBLE?
The STORY of the BIBLE
LITERARY STYLES in the BIBLE
The BIBLE as JEWISH MEDITATION LITERATURE

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