Storytelling in the Bible
O
ur brains seem uniquely adapted to making sense of experience
through stories. We tell stories and listen to them not just in our daily
conversation but on the news, in the movies, and in novels. Even a
sacred text such as the Bible seeks to make sense of the world through stories.
Thomas Hardy, the great English novelist, greatly admired biblical stories. “They
are written with a watchful attention (though disguised) as to their effect on
their reader,” Hardy remarked in his diary on Easter Sunday, 1885. “Their so-
called simplicity is, in fact, the simplicity of the highest cunning” (
The Mayor of
Casterbridge
). Hardy is quite right. Biblical stories aim to have an effect on the
reader, and we know they have succeeded when they stick with us. Eve chooses
wisdom over Paradise and is expelled fr
om the Gar
den of Eden. Cain kills Abel,
whose blood cries out fr
om the ground to accuse him. Abraham prepar
es to
sacrifice his son at God’s request. The Egyptian-raised Moses becomes the
greatest prophet of ancient Israel.
As childr
en, we’r
e entertained by such biblical stories; returning to them
as adults, we discover their power anew
. They offer us a mirror into both a
distant time and our own time. Perhaps even more than the stories we tell in our
daily lives, a biblical stor
y invites us to r
eflect on our deepest experiences,
whether of God, of our families, of our community, or of the ter
rors and
pleasur
es of life. In other words, these stories aim to make us think about
important, even ur
gent matters. But rather than telling us how or what to think,
they for
ce us to find out what we think and how to respond. If we’re lucky, we
are rewarded with insight and perspective we would otherwise miss, engrossed
as we usually are in more commonplace matters. Such stories, when studied
together or chanted aloud, help join us to others and shape our identity as a
community.
Of course some biblical stories might be based on events that “really happened.”
Many refer to historical events on a grand scale—the appointment of kings,
victories and losses in battle, the destruction of the First Temple. But rather than
give us an eyewitness account of a historical event, a biblical story reflects on an
event and what it might mean for the People of Israel. Biblical stories are less
concerned with facts and details than in the “truth” of experience, whether of a
moral, spiritual, or psychological nature. They teach us about the human
condition and the many ways in which human beings have encountered God.
They teach us how we might best respond to God in our own lives.
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Major Narratives in the Bible
The following are some of the most well-known stories in the Hebrew Bible, stories
that have helped shape Jewish and Christian consciousness and ideas about God.
(Note: when a single verse in cited, it is the start of the narrative.)
The Beginning of the World
The creation of the world and Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:1)
The first murder (Gen. 4:1)
The great Flood (Gen. 6:9)
The tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1)
The First Jewish Family
Abraham and Sarah leave their native land (Gen. 11:27)
The birth of Ishmael (Gen. 16:1)
Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:16)
The birth of Isaac (Gen. 21:1)
The binding of Isaac (Gen. 22:1)
Jacob’s dream of the ladder (Gen. 28:10)
Jacob marries Leah and Rachel (Gen. 29:1)
Jacob wrestles with the angel (Gen. 32:4)
Joseph and his brothers (Gen. 37:1)
Joseph in Egypt (Gen. 39:1)
Slaves in the Land of Egypt
The birth of Moses (Exod. 2:1)
The Burning Bush (Exod. 3:1)
The Ten Plagues and the first Passover (Exod. 7:14)
The splitting of the Sea of Reeds (Exod. 13:17)
Forty Years in the Wilderness
The giving of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 19–20)
The Golden Calf (Exod. 32:1)
Miriam and Aaron challenge Moses (Num. 12:1)
The scouting of the Land and the punishment of wandering (Num. 13–14)
Moses bids farewell (Deut. 31–32)
In the Promised Land
Joshua and the battle of Jericho (Josh. 1–4)
Deborah (Judg. 4–5)
Samson (Judg. 13–17)
Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 1–4)
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The Bible contains many kinds of writing besides stories. Biblical writing includes
poetry, laws, family trees, wise sayings, and prophetic messages; and different
kinds of writing interact with one another. For instance, a story might lead to a
victory poem. A law might be made more concrete by a story in which an Israelite
violates that law and is punished. Not only is there a variety of writing in the Bible
with different purposes, but even within the category of “story” we find different
stories that serve different purposes.
The Many Functions of a Story
A story may entertain or delight us. The lad David, equipped only with a slingshot,
defeats the giant Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, in spite of the Philistine’s threatening
size, mighty armor, and weaponry. While entertaining us, this story also serves
59
Storytelling in the Bible
The Founding of the Kingdom of Israel
Hannah and the birth of Samuel (1 Sam. 1:1)
S
amuel appoints Saul king (1 Sam. 8)
Saul loses his kingdom (1 Sam. 15)
David and Goliath (1 Sam. 17)
The struggle between Saul and David (1 Sam. 24)
David conquers Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6)
David and Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:1)
The judgment of Solomon (1 Kings 3)
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1)
Israel Splits in to Two Kingdoms
The kingdom divides (1 Kings 11)
Elijah and the priests of Baal (1 Kings 18)
Elijah ascends to heaven in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2)
Exilic Period
The fall of Jerusalem and the First Temple (2 Kings 24)
Ezekiel and the valley of dry bones (Ezek. 37)
Post-Exilic
Jonah and the great fish (book of Jonah)
Esther saves her people (book of Esther)
Return from exile (Ezra 3)
Daniel in the lion’s den (Dan. 6)
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another, more political purpose, introducing us to David, the future king of
Israel, in the best possible light. We have legends of mighty figures such as
Samson, who in Judges 16 pulls the pillars of a whole temple down upon
Philistine idolaters, killing himself at the same time.
We have stories that retell and transform the stories of other cultures. For
instance, in the book of Genesis, Noah builds an ark and saves a remnant of the
human race. The biblical story of the Flood draws on a Mesopotamian myth of
a great flood, and while the two stories have many details in common, the
biblical story has its own unique ending. Noah enters into a covenant with God,
who introduces a law prohibiting murder, God’s solution to the violent and
troublesome behavior of human beings.
A biblical story may provide an explanation for pain or joy, such as the tale of
Adam and Eve in Genesis 2. When things begin to go wrong after the couple eat
the forbidden fr
uit, God infor
ms Eve that she will experience suffering when
giving bir
th. This punishment provides an explanation for the pains of labor.
Adam will work the gr
ound with great difficulty, providing the origin for a
different kind of har
d labor. Other stories explain why a place is named the way
it is or why we avoid eating certain foods. Many tales teach us right fr
om wrong,
providing moral lessons or war
ning us against certain behavior. Adultery is
punished, obedience r
ewar
ded.
Some stories demand to be remembered. The most important story that the
ancient Israelites must remember is described in the book of Exodus, in which
God fr
ees the People of Israel from oppression in Egypt. This collective memory
provides Israel with an explanation for its beginnings in slavery, how they
managed to escape with God’s help, and the motive for continued loyalty to
God. It helps shape the community and strengthen it over time. In fact, the
entir
e community of Israel participates in retelling the story of the Exodus year
after year, and God even commands parents to tell the story to their children.
Once they leave Egypt, the People of Israel accept God’s offer of a covenant (a
binding contract). The covenant obligates them to serve God, who in turn will
care for them by giving them laws that will help them create a good and just
community. A story told about the past demands actions in the present in order
to build a better future.
The Bible also contains many stories about individuals who face the difficulties
of life, leaving home to travel long distances alone to meet uncertain futures.
Some flee to escape the murderous rage of brothers or the abuse of mistresses.
Others are abandoned by lovers. These individuals are recognizably flawed, and
we are meant to identify with them. How these characters handle the events of
their lives and God’s role in supporting them through such trials are among the
key lessons of the story for the reader.
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Finally, and perhaps most important, biblical stories describe encounters with
God that are personal and private or public and communal. An entire people,
Israel, witnesses God’s presence on top of Mount Sinai, in thunder and smoke.
An individual, Jacob, alone and frightened, is suddenly attacked by a mysterious
wrestler; he manages to beat that wrestler, only to exclaim that he has seen none
other than God, face to face. Such stories allow us to glimpse and be moved by
the remarkable religious imaginations of the biblical storytellers.
How Biblical Stories Engage Us
The reader of a biblical story cannot remain passive; biblical stories demand their
readers participate “in an unfolding conversation with the text” (Joel Rosenberg,
in
Back to the Sources, Barry W. Holtz, ed.). There are many reasons a reader gets
involved. For one, biblical stories never give us enough details; our curiosity is
constantly triggered, and we are left to supply the missing details ourselves. Not
knowing until the very end of Genesis 32 who Jacob wrestles with throughout the
night, we consider the possibilities. Is it a river demon? A messenger from God?
Jacob’s brother? His own guilty conscience confronting him in a dream? Only
when Jacob announces that he has seen God face to face do we realize the
identity of his opponent. We put aside our guesses and modify our view.
Sometimes we are certain what we think about an event or a character
, but then
we are pr
oved wrong. In the opening chapters of 1 Samuel, Eli the priest fails to
recognize r
eal piety in front of him, mistaking Hannah’s profound prayer for a
dr
unken stupor. Soon after that encounter, a messenger from God informs this
same priest that because he is too for
giving of his corrupt sons, they will be killed
and a new priesthood established. By this point we have enough infor
mation
about Eli to consider him in a strongly negative light. Yet in the midst of these
pr
oblematic events, Eli continues to lovingly instruct his young protégé, the
futur
e prophet Samuel. He does so even after realizing that God has
commanded Samuel to announce Eli’s tragic fate to him. Eli’s gentle response
to the dif
ficulties of his life for
ces us to reevaluate him, and we exchange
contempt and scor
n for pity and surprise. The pr
ocess of adjustment keeps us
involved.
Uncer
tainty also keeps us inter
ested. Are we to consider the David of 2 Samuel
11 a solicitous king or a duplicitous adulter
er as he deals with the husband of a
woman David just got pr
egnant? The Bible does not tell us what to think or what
moral we should car
r
y away with us, instead forcing us to form our own opinion
after r
eading its stories. Remarkably, we may reread a story at a different stage of
our life and discover something that we never noticed befor
e or perhaps never
understood. That sense of discover
y also invites us to reread biblical stories year
after year
.
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Repetition also occurs within the same story. For instance, in 1 Samuel 3, after
God first calls to Samuel in the middle of the night, the young prophet fails to
recognize God’s voice. Instead he mistakenly goes to his mentor, Eli the priest,
three times in a row! Each time Samuel announces, “Here I am, for you have
called me.” The repetition unifies the entire scene and communicates Samuel’s
utter obedience to his master Eli as well as his perplexity about who is calling
him and for what reason. But there are also small differences in each encounter.
The second time, instead of running, Samuel walks to his mentor, less eager to
answer the call. When Eli sends him back to bed, he adds, “my son,” acting like
a parent who wants to calm Samuel, while revealing his own fondness for the
young boy. In the third interaction, Eli finally realizes that it is God who has been
calling Samuel and, instead of merely sending Samuel back to his bed, instructs
him on how to respond to God’s call. The change in the pattern highlights both
Eli’s selfless role as mentor and the momentousness of Samuel’s new role as
prophet. (See Uriel Simon,
Reading Prophetic Narratives, on this particular scene.)
Repetition sometimes occurs in a phrase or even within a verse in a special
structure called a “chiasm.” God announces the prohibition against murder to
Noah at the end of the Flood story in the following words: “Whosoever sheds the
blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed” (Gen. 9:6). The structure is
A, B,
C and then reversed, C, B, A. Each letter represents a word: A = shed, B = blood,
and
C = man.
sheds blood man
man
blood
will be shed
The writer uses this special structur
e to communicate an important principle or
message to the r
eader.
A different kind of repetition involves repeated images. For instance, “fire”
haunts the story of Samson. The divine messenger who announces Samson’s
bir
th goes up in a flame fr
om the altar. The name “Samson” includes the
Hebr
ew wor
d for the sun, a great fire in the sky. He is born near a place that
includes “fir
e” in its name, Eshtaol. He has a fier
y temperament, expressed in
the destr
uctive bur
ning of Philistine fields (Judges 15:5), and he escapes from
the Philistines when the cor
ds that bind him melt away like fire (15:14). At the
end of his life, he is buried in Eshtaol. The many uses of “fir
e” reinforce the
destr
uctive and unpredictable side of Samson.
Another way in which the biblical writer conveys meaning to the r
eader is
thr
ough the use of dialogue. Often when characters speak to each other, or
about each other to a thir
d party, they repeat each other’s words. Yet a second
character might make a slight change in the words of the first speaker that often
surprises the careful reader. Those changes may distort the original meaning or
may add a twist that conveys something new. Sometimes the altered repetition
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lets us know that the second character is “on to” the first. In another use of
dialogue, two characters may be defined by a contrast in tone, style, or substance.
The panicked Saul can’t think of what to bring the seer in the town up ahead as
an offering and anxiously quizzes his servant. The servant calmly informs him
that the situation is well in hand. Such a contrast in temperament highlights the
emotional roller coaster that is Saul’s personality, an instability that makes him
less than suited to be king of a struggling new nation.
Naming speeches can also characterize a biblical figure. When a woman gives birth
in the Bible, she often names the child and supplies a special meaning that usually
involves a pun on the name. Not only are we introduced to a new character but we
gain some insight into the experience of the mother in question.
Often the Bible will give us a seemingly extraneous detail that turns out to
anticipate what will come. For instance, we learn in the very first chapter of 1
Samuel, in verse 3, that Eli has two sons, Hofni and Pinehas. They do not
reappear in the story until 2:11. At that point they become very important to the
stor
y, as their corrupt behaviors lead to their deaths and to the death of their
father, Eli. Repeatedly in the books of Samuel, sons gravely disappoint their
fathers or lead them into catastrophe. In addition to the sons of Eli, we need
only think of Jonathan’s loyalty to David rather than to his father
, Saul, or of
Amnon, son of David who rapes his half-sister T
amar
, David’s daughter. In
consequence, a second son of David, Absalom, r
ebels against his father in a civil
war. Even the prophet Samuel, whose birth occurs in the very chapter that
introduces us to the corrupt sons of Eli, must eventually face the fact that his
own two sons ar
e equally as corrupt.
Putting Biblical Stories Together
In the Bible, not only does a story have a writer, but also an editor. The editor
places different stories together and does so in a careful and creative way (Joel
64
Techniques That Convey Special Meaning
Repetition of key words
Words that connect one scene or story to another
Repetition of events and encounters
Repetition of images
Careful use of dialogue
The meaning of a name
A detail that for
eshadows, or anticipates, something to come
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Rosenberg suggests that we consider the editor an artist in his own right in Back to
the Sources
). On the surface, two stories may seem to contradict one another, but
if the reader pays attention, one discovers that these stories have different points
of view that complement each other. For instance, in chapter 1 of Genesis, God
appears from the heavens to create the creatures of the world, including the
human. In chapters 2 and 3 (considered to be written by a different author), God
appears to have a much closer relationship with the human being, even sharing
the Garden of Eden with the first woman and man. Thus we can appreciate God
both as a transcendent being and as a figure who is quite close to the human. Later
in the Bible, David is introduced to us in 1 Samuel 16 as a simple shepherd boy,
chosen by God, and in the very next story David wins popular praise, thanks to his
daring and skill with a slingshot. These stories also complement each other. David
is chosen by God, who loves him, but at the same time he earns a reputation due
to his exceptional gifts. (See Robert Alter,
The David Story, for a translation and
commentary on the relevant chapters.)
Sometimes dif
ferent stories disagree. In Genesis 1, all that God creates is good.
But in Genesis 2, God cr
eates a tree of knowledge of good and bad. Is God the
source only of good or of both good and bad? (See Israel Knohl,
The Divine
Symphony
, for a fuller discussion of the differ
ences between these stories.) In the
book of Numbers, memory is seen as both positive and pr
oblematic. Chapter 10
repor
ts that the priests designed specially hammered trumpets to be used first in
the wilder
ness and later in the Temple. If blown in the Land, the trumpets will
remind the people of that long-ago journey through the wilderness when God
accompanied the people until they successfully arrived in the Promised Land.
That memor
y unifies the people and reinforces their loyalty to God and to the
priests. Yet in chapter 11, memory proves to be very destructive. The people are
overcome with memories of Egyptian delicacies and want to abandon God and
their leaders and immediately return to Egypt. In consequence, an entire
generation will not enter the Land.
In each example, the editor has placed two stories next to one another to
challenge us to think about such important matters as the nature of God, the
origins of evil, the complex personality of King David, and the unreliability of
memory. These stories represent different viewpoints, written by different
authors in different times, and then placed together by yet another figure, the
editor. The Bible does nothing less than preserve the collective wisdom and
religious experiences not just of one writer but of generations of writers.
Moses and the Story of Israel
I conclude this chapter by looking at one story in some detail—the early life of
Moses, found in Exodus 1:3. It is an example that illustrates many of the points
made earlier. Though about an individual, Moses, the narrative anticipates and
introduces the story about the community Israel. We can also glimpse the
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religious imagination of the writer in the depiction of the Burning Bush. (See
Moshe Greenberg,
Understanding Exodus, for more discussion about this.)
Every good story has a context that provides the reader with the needed
background. Our context begins with the very beginning of Exodus, chapter 1,
even before Moses is born. We are told: “But the Israelites were fertile and
prolific; they multiplied and increased very greatly, so that the land was filled
with them” (Exod. 1:7). Right away we have several allusions to chapter 1 of
Genesis. The word “prolific” (often translated as “swarming”) appears three
times in two verses (Gen. 1:20–21). In 1:22, God creates the creatures of the
planet and blesses them: “Be fertile and increase.” In 1:28, God blesses the
humans the same way, “Be fertile and increase,” but then adds, “fill the earth.”
The first three terms come together in 9:7 (as they do in Exodus). At the end of
the Flood story God announces to Noah, “And you, be fertile and increase and
swarm [be prolific] all over the earth ...” (translation mine). Why does Exodus
open with such clear allusions to the cr
eation of the world and to the Flood’
s
after
math? Both of the earlier stories in Genesis are about beginnings, the very
first beginning and then, after the Flood, a new beginning. At that time God
offers humanity a second chance after the near destruction of the world. By
using allusion, our writer in Exodus is proclaiming another beginning: the
creation of the People of Israel. The bir
th of Moses and the birth of Israel as a
people ar
e connected to one another
.
In fact, there are repeated references to birth in the opening chapters of
Exodus. The Egyptian Pharaoh seeks to kill off newborn males, but heroic
midwives thwar
t his plan. Then Moses is born, and part of the plot involves
finding a nurse to suckle him. Eventually, the image of a birth canal is
symbolically re-created in the narrow path that the Children of Israel must take
through the waters of the Sea of Reeds. The opening chapters of Exodus also
emphasize the cr
ucial role of women in caring for the infant Moses. In addition
to midwives, we read about Moses’s mother and sister and even the daughter of
the Pharaoh, who saves him from the Nile River. Moses is repeatedly saved by the
actions of women.
Let us turn to the brief story of Moses’s early years. We are told very specific
details about Moses. After he is born, his mother sees that he is “good” (Exod.
2:1)—-a clear echo of God’s creation of heaven and earth in Genesis 1. When
Moses is too old to be hidden from the Pharaoh, his mother places him in a little
basket (
teivah). This is the same term used for the ark of Noah, the only other
time the term is used. The allusion suggests that just as the world’s survival
depended on Noah, now the survival of the Israelites depends on this one
vulnerable infant, Moses. After the baby is saved by the Pharaoh’s daughter, she
names him in a speech that explains why she chose “Moses”: “I drew him out of
the water,” in which the Hebrew verb for, “I drew him out” is a play on words (a
homonym) on the name “Moses” in Hebrew (Exod. 2:10). In so doing, she has
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reversed her father’s intention that all Israelite males be drowned in the river.
Unknowingly, the Pharaoh’s daughter also anticipates God’s future saving of the
people by means of water as they leave Egypt.
Time passes. The narrator zooms in on a particular event in Moses’s early life in
Exodus 2:11–15. As readers, we need to consider why the narrator focuses on
this one event and no other. What does the event teach us about Moses? Moses
leaves the Pharaoh’s setting and discovers the suffering of his “brothers” the
Israelites. It is not clear that Moses knows he is an Israelite, but he recognizes
oppression when he sees it and stops an Egyptian from beating a Hebrew. He
then has to run for his life. The story suggests that Moses has to leave the
confines of the Egyptian royal court before he can confront injustice and cruelty
in the world. It also suggests that Moses still identifies with the People of Israel,
despite having been raised in the palace. Before long he leaves his Egyptian
loyalties behind him.
After this episode Moses ar
rives in Midian. Once married to Zipporah (the
Midianite he encounters at a well), he has a son. Moses names this son Gershom,
literally “a stranger there.” He proclaims, “I have been a stranger in a for
eign
land” (Exod. 2:22). In this way we learn that Moses has come to see himself as a
stranger in Egypt. So concludes the early years of Moses.
The nar
rator temporarily interrupts the next chapter in the life of Moses to
announce the main concern of Exodus, the story of the birth of the People of
Israel. God hears the cries of the enslaved Israelites and remembers the
covenant with the Patriar
chs and Matriarchs. At this moment, the story of the
individual, Moses, becomes completely involved in the story of the People of
Israel. It is only after God decides to act on behalf of Israel that Moses
encounters God (Exod. 3:1–6). The wilderness setting is very important, as
Moses finds himself in a place far r
emoved from his family, left to face God
alone. The very wilderness, in its stark majesty, reinforces the vulnerability of this
one single human being.
As he tends to his flock in the vast wilderness, Moses happens upon a miraculous
sight. He sees a bush burning that is not consumed by the fire, and Moses turns
aside. “Seeing” is a key word of the story of Moses. His mother sees that he is
“good” when she gives birth to him. The daughter of Pharaoh sees him and
rescues him. Moses sees the oppression of his brothers. Now Moses sees a vision
of God. Only after Moses turns aside does God speak to him.
As readers of biblical stories, we must always pay careful attention to the details.
For instance, why does God appear in a fire that does not consume the bush?
Such a fire, especially in a wilderness, overturns the natural course of things. Fire
is a substance that is both positive and negative. It can harm us, but it can also
warm us and provide us with light. God can be destructive and out of control,
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and in those moments God’s fire can burn us (Lev. 10, Num. 11). At other times,
God offers us wisdom that can enlighten us and illuminate our lives. “Fire”
identifies something profound in our experiences of God.
The name of the bush,
seneh, in Hebrew, is another important detail. At first
seneh creates a link through sound to Mount Sinai, but then God instructs Moses
to bring the people to Sinai “to this mountain,” and we realize that the two sites
are identical (Exod. 3:12). God plans to appear to the entire people at Mount
Sinai after having freed them from Egypt. It is at this moment in our story that
God sends Moses away from the
seneh back to Egypt on a mission to do just that.
In other words, Moses will lead the people out of Egypt to this very site.
The story of the People of Israel, we realize, exactly parallels the story of Moses.
They literally follow in his footsteps. Moses is rescued from death despite a royal
decree, and so are the People of Israel, who escape certain death when the
Egyptians chase them into the Sea of Reeds. Just as Moses is r
escued fr
om water,
so too ar
e the entire people as God miraculously parts the sea. Just as Moses flees
to the wilder
ness and encounters God, so too do the people flee to the
wilderness. They arrive at the ver
y spot in which God first appears to Moses, the
bush (
seneh) that is Mount Sinai.
The people also shar
e Moses’
s long journey to faith. It takes Moses quite some time
to r
ealize that he is an Israelite. He has to figure out who he is and what he is meant
to do. Even after encountering God at the Burning Bush, Moses is reluctant to
accept God’s instructions. The people hesitate in the same way. Even after God
reveals God’s self at Mount Sinai, the people take quite some time to understand
God’s greatness and to implement God’s plans for them. They complain and rebel.
So it is that the story of the individual Moses and the story of the People of Israel
are intertwined. The opening chapters of Exodus introduce us to the story of the
bir
th of the People of Israel by helping us see their story reflected in the story of
Moses in the most human and personal of terms.
Because Bible stories are timeless, they provide us with an ongoing source of
strength. They help us make sense of our lives, connecting us to one another
and to those who lived long ago. As biblical characters come to understand the
truths that give their lives meaning, so, too, do we.
Adriane Leveen.
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