PART 6 – KEEPING IT TOGETHER
​
Chapter 29 - EPISODIC MEMORIES
One consequence of being left-brain dominant is the tendency to remember facts and events according to one’s systematic, analytic view of the world, rather than storing experiences along a personal chronological time-line. People who have experienced some form of right-brain damage, when asked to recall, say, their experience of a weekend break in Paris, might well be able to recall the events and retell them in some kind of thematic schema, but be unable to relate them in a coherent chronological framework.
Although I would say that my own brain function is within normal healthy limits (though some might think otherwise – my daughter once remarked to her mother, “If you didn’t know Dad, you’d think he was quite eccentric, wouldn’t you?”) I do show signs of being rather extreme left-brain dominant. I find it fairly easy to absorb facts and abstract principles, but very difficult to recall where I learned them and from whom. I actually failed my Bible knowledge test when we applied to join Wycliffe, even after a year in Bible training college, because, even though I knew the Biblical principles concerned, I could never quote the chapter and verse (apart from the very obvious ones like John 3:16!).
In general my episodic memory – the ability to recall autobiographical events to form a coherent account of one’s past experiences – is very poor, especially with regard to my pre-teen years growing up in the small sea-side town of Brightlingsea. I have scattered, brief memories of events that were emotive enough to leave a lasting impression
-
climbing a tree on the way home from school one day and falling off into a bed of stinging nettles
-
standing with Mum and Dad late at night, watching the scary sight of a local hotel going up in flames
-
being ferried across the Colne Estuary to the beautiful sandy beach at St. Osyth for a picnic lunch
-
standing around a massive bonfire on the Green at Guy Forks, watching the firework display and roasting marshmallows on the end of a stick
But if you asked me to put these events into chronological order and set them against an overall narrative of growing up in a small sea-side town, I would be utterly lost. That’s something I very much regret, especially as my mother’s family have historical connections with the town. My grandfather was a very skilled sail-maker, and his sail-making loft is now the headquarters of the local Yacht Club.
I have to admit that I used to recall the stories of the Bible in much the same way. I learned most of the well-known stories from being very young – Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, David and Goliath, Jonah and the whale – but each was a separate isolated event. I had no concept of a connected, joined up narrative that bound the individual stories together into a coherent whole.
And for much of my adult Christian life I continued to group Biblical stories and events together according to their thematic, theological content. Stories about heroes of faith; stories that showed the consequences of sin; stories that proved the love and the goodness of God; stories of forgiveness; stories of effective prayer… It wasn’t until I started working with colleagues and students who learned through story, and appreciated the importance of the overall “grand narrative” of scripture, that I started to realise what I had been missing.
66 BOOKS – ONE COHERENT NARRATIVE
The Bible is a collection of 66 books written by about 40 different authors, in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek), over approximately 1600 years. But, amazingly, they do link together to form a consistent historical and theological progression. There are some individual books, such as Job and Jonah, that are self-contained, and make no attempt to integrate their own content into the larger historical context, though there are some internal clues that would place the story of Job during the time of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), and the story of Jonah must take place sometime during the period when Israel’s northern kingdom came under threat from the kingdom of Assyria, of which Nineveh was the capital. The Assyrian oppression against the Israelites can be seen in the prophecies of Nahum.
However these are exceptions. In general the individual books that make up the canon of scripture, even though they may be fairly self-contained, intentionally link into the larger context. For example, the book of Ruth begins by setting the story very firmly in the days of the Judges, and ends by linking into the genealogy of King David.
There are several different types of literature making up these 66 books, but the non-historical books – law, wisdom, poetry, epistles – need to be understood against the historical context in which they are written.
We can set the overall narrative of scripture against several different historical/cultural contexts.
Here is my attempt at an overview of the "Grand Narrative" using the kind of plot structure analysis that we discussed in section III:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN OUTLINE of the “GRAND NARRATIVE” of the BIBLE
* INTRODUCTION *
SCENE: Garden of Eden
God creates a perfect world
Creates mankind “in his image” to care for his creation
* MAJOR CRISIS POINT *
Adam & Eve disobey God – the relationship is broken
Adam & Eve are banished from Eden…
but God promises the “seed of the woman”
who will defeat Satan and reconcile man and God
* PLOT DEVELOPMENT *
SCENE: Spreading into a corrupted world
Cain kills Abel – God provides Seth to replace Abel as a righteous line of descent
Descendants of Cain and Seth spread through the (corrupted) earth
​
* LOCAL CRISIS POINT *
God maintains a righteous line of descent from Seth
but sin and corruption multiply throughout the world
* LOCAL RESOLUTION *
God destroys mankind by the Flood
but Noah and his family are saved
* PLOT DEVELOPMENT *
SCENE: re-populating the world after the flood
God sends Noah’s sons out to re-populate the world
People intend to settle (contrary to God’s command) and build the tower of Babel
but God scatters them by confusing their languages
​
* LOCAL CRISIS POINT *
Sin once again predominates in the world… growth of idolatry and immorality
* LOCAL RESOLUTION *
God calls Abraham to be the father of a chosen nation (c. 2090 BC)
* PLOT DEVELOPMENT *
SCENE: wandering through the land of Canaan
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob live by faith as pilgrims in the land God has promised
God promises that through Abraham’s seed, “all the nations of the world will be blessed”
God renews his covenant with Isaac and Jacob
Joseph is sold into slavery in Egypt, and (according to God’s design) Jacob’s entire family
settle in Egypt, in the land of Goshen (c. 1875 BC)
* PLOT DEVELOPMENT *
SCENE: in the land of Egypt
Jacob’s descendants in Egypt grow from a family into a nation
​
* LOCAL CRISIS POINT *
Pharaoh becomes fearful of their great numbers, and they are enslaved and oppressed
* LOCAL RESOLUTION *
God prepares Moses to be their deliverer
Moses leads the Israelites from their oppression
and leads them through the wilderness towards the Promised Land (c. 1445 BC)
God gives them:
The LAW, as a standard to live by, and a measure of their obedience
Instructions for the TABERNACLE as their focus of worship
The PRIESTHOOD and SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM to foreshadow and exemplify
the high priestly office of the promised Messiah
* PLOT DEVELOPMENT *
SCENE: in the land of Canaan
God appoints Joshua to lead the people into the Promised Land
After Joshua, God provides Judges to rule Israel and deliver them from their enemies
The people demand a king – God hears their demands and chooses Saul as first King
Because of Saul’s disobedience, appoints David the shepherd boy to succeed him
After years of persecution and war between Saul’s supporters and David’s supporters,
David is crowned King in Jerusalem (c. 1000 BC)
David takes Israel to the high point of its power and nationhood
​
* LOCAL CRISIS POINT *
Solomon is led astray by his foreign wives, who introduce Canaanite religion and idolatry
His sons quarrel between themselves and make unwise political decisions
Israel splits into two opposing kingdoms (930 BC)
* LOCAL RESOLUTION *
God sends prophets to confront the people with their sins and call them back to a life of faith
In general they are rejected and despised, but as well as prophesying coming judgement on Israel
and Judah, they also foretell the coming of the “servant king”, and establishment of a
new covenant “written on the heart”, not on tablets of stone
​
Northern Kingdom of Israel is ruled by corrupt kings –
typified by Ahab, and his ruthless wife Jezebel
Prophets: Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Hosea
Judged by God and conquered by the kingdom of Assyria (722 BC)
Remnant who are left in the land intermarry with Canaanite tribes in the region of Samaria
and become known as the Samaritans
Southern Kingdom of Judah has some righteous kings, some corrupt
Good kings include Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, Josiah
Most evil king was Manasseh, but in his last days he repented and returned to God
Prophets: Obadiah, Joel, Micah, Isaiah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk
Jerusalem conquered by Babylonians and population taken exile to Babylon in 3 stages
Temple burned and Jerusalem destroyed (586 BC)
* PLOT DEVELOPMENT *
SCENE: in exile in Babylon
Jews settle in Babylon for 70 years of exile
Daniel and his 3 friends hold fast to the worship of the one true God
​
* LOCAL CRISIS POINT *
Daniel and his friends are persecuted for their faith in the one true God
* LOCAL RESOLUTION *
But God miraculously delivers them from all their trials
They are subsequently given high positions in administration of the Babylonian Empire
Nebuchadnezzar finally believes in and witnesses to the one true God
Lack of Temple facilities leads to synagogue worship among Jewish people in the diaspora
After 70 years King Cyrus gives permission for exiles to return to Jerusalem
and rebuild the walls, and the Temple
* PLOT DEVELOPMENT *
SCENE: return to Jerusalem
Exiles return to Jerusalem, led by Ezra (in 458 BC) and Nehemiah (in 445 BC)
Spiritual re-awakening, demonstrated by communal reading of the Law,
repentance and commitment to obeying God’s word
​
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTER-TESTAMENT PERIOD
​
The period from about 400 BC to the birth of Christ is absent from the Biblical plot-line (unless you include the books of the Apocrypha). There was considerable political and cultural change and upheaval during this period, powered especially by the spread of Greek culture and Roman rule.
​
Some of the main landmarks in the inter-testamental period include:
​
333 BC Palestine becomes a Greek province under Alexander the Great
Hellenization progresses under Ptolemaic rule
223 BC Antiochus III establishes rule of Seleucid dynasty
Palestine becomes part of the Greek province of Syria
168 BC Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) desecrates the Temple in Jerusalem
leading to the Jewish rebellion under the leadership of Judas Maccabees
165 BC The Temple is repaired and cleansed, and Jewish worship is restored
63 BC Judea becomes a Roman province
37 BC Herod the Great takes over the throne after overthrowing Antigonus,
and rules as a vassal of the Roman authorities
So the stories of Jesus’ birth, life and ministry begin under the rule of Herod the Great, and the power of the Roman Empire. And although Jewish culture is more-or-less intact, and the Temple in Jerusalem is fully functioning, the people are looking for and anticipating the coming of a Saviour who will free them from Roman oppression (and the rule of the tyrant Herod) and return the nation of Israel to the glory years of King David.
There is a great deal more we could say at this point, but we need to focus on the overall flow of the narrative, so we will return to the major elements of the Biblical plot line.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* OVERALL RESOLUTION TO THE BIBLICAL NARRATIVE *
SCENE: New Testament Palestine
God fulfills his promises through the OT prophets
– Jesus is born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judea
​
* LOCAL CRISIS POINT *
Herod seeks to kill the “new-born king” whom he sees as a threat to his authority
* LOCAL RESOLUTION *
Jesus’ family are warned by God and flee Herod to stay in the land of Egypt
After hearing of Herod’s death, they return to settle in Nazareth in Galilee
At age of 30, Jesus is baptised and anointed by the Spirit to reveal God’s glory to mankind
Jesus calls his 12 disciples, teaches, heals the sick, and demonstrates his power as the Son of God
His ministry is characterised by increasing confrontation with the religious authorities
​
* LOCAL CRISIS POINT *
Jesus is arrested, tried by the Sanhedrin, delivered to the Roman authorities for death by crucifixion
* LOCAL RESOLUTION *
Jesus voluntarily gives his own life for the sins of the world
His body is sealed in the tomb, but on the third day he is raised again to life
Jesus appears to his disciples, and to some 500 of his followers
He charges his disciples to preach the Gospel and make disciples
in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
He ascends to heaven, and is exalted to the right hand of God the Father,
victorious over sin and death
* UNRAVELLING OF THE PLOT *
SCENE: Jerusalem
The Holy Spirit falls on the disciples, and anoints them with power
3,000 are added to the church on the first day – continues to grow
Peter and John witness and perform miracles
​
* LOCAL CRISIS POINT *
Persecution develops and becomes increasingly severe
Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr
* LOCAL RESOLUTION *
The disciples are scattered from Jerusalem
The Gospel spreads from Jerusalem to Samaria and Judea
* UNRAVELLING OF THE PLOT *
SCENE: Judea and Samaria
Philip takes the Gospel message to the Samaritans, and many accept the message
Peter and John are sent from Jerusalem to confirm the success of Philip’s ministry
Peter is led by a vision from God to Caesarea, to the home of Cornelius the Roman centurion
Cornelius and his family are saved
In both these situations, God’s gift of the Holy Spirit falls on the new believers, confirming God’s purpose to include the Samaritans and the Gentiles as members of the community of faith
​
* UNRAVELLING OF THE PLOT *
SCENE: Asia Minor, Rome
The first truly Gentile church is founded in Antioch
The church in Antioch becomes the jumping off point for Paul’s first missionary journey
Paul’s strategy always involves offering the message first to the Jewish community, wherever it exists
Many of the Jews prove hostile to Paul,
but the Jewish diaspora provides a key element in the spread of the Gospel message
Churches established throughout Asia Minor – encouraged by further visits and letters from Paul
​
* LOCAL CRISIS POINT *
Paul narrowly escapes being assassinated by Jewish extremists on his return to Jerusalem
Kept under armed guard at the Roman garrison in Caesarea
Festus intends to send Paul back to Jerusalem for trial by the Jewish authorities
So Paul uses his status as a Roman citizen and appeals to Caesar
* LOCAL RESOLUTION *
Paul fulfills his ambition to take the Gospel to Rome
Shipwrecked in Malta on his way, but arrives safely, greeted by the Christian community
Kept under house arrest, but allowed to preach and teach
Paul continues to exhort and encourage the churches throughout Asia Minor through messengers
and by writing letters to church communities and individuals
The story of the continued spread of the Gospel is, in a sense, left hanging. We have no internal evidence of what happened to Paul, though there is a very early tradition that he was martyred in Rome. But Paul’s mission continued. The Gospel spread westwards to Spain, and from there to northern Europe, eastwards to India, south to Egypt (where Alexandria became an important centre of Christian learning) and on to Nubia (present day Sudan) and Ethiopia. And the church of God is still growing and advancing today.
​
We are very much part of the continuing story.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
As members of the community of saints, and therefore spiritual children of Abraham, this story should be part of our communal ancestral memory.
​
Maybe one of the reasons why my own memories of my childhood are so sparse, is because my parents never discussed their ancestral memories. My father, especially, had unpleasant experiences within his family, and even when my wife was trying to sketch in the details of our family tree, he was very reluctant to talk about family history. But we have a very proud and dramatic spiritual history, and there are many reminders in Scripture that we should be diligent to pass on this history from one generation to the next:
​
In the future, your children will ask you, 'What does all this mean?' Then you will tell them, “This is all to remind us that the LORD brought us out of slavery in Egypt with his mighty power” (Exodus 13:14)
​
I will tell about our hidden treasures – stories from our past which we have heard and memorized, stories that our ancestors handed down to us from generation to generation. We must not hide these stories from our children; we in our turn must tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders. (Psalms 78:2-4)
Hear this, you leaders of the people. Listen to me, everyone who lives in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days?... or in the days of your ancestors? In the future, you must tell your children about everything that has happened, and your children must tell their children. The story must be passed down from each generation to the next. (Joel 1:2-3)
But the individual stories of Scripture lose much of their power and significance unless we can place them within the larger narrative of Biblical history. We will look at our final episode of the Joseph story, to see how the story itself secures its place within the overall “Grand Narrative”, and then follow up with other passages that show how their meaning and significance depends on their being anchored in the correct historical, chronological context.
​
