The Value of Stories #5

The seer’s goal is transformation, and while we can see these things throughout all of Elisha’s ministry they are especially evident in 2Kings 6.

As a prophet, Elisha’s knowledge comes from the Lord. The Arameans suspect that there is a mole, but the reader of 2Kings 6 knows that it is God who divulges their military secrets to Elisha. As advisor, Elisha is able to brief the king. As king, Jehoram is able to effectively organise his troops to safeguard Israel’s national security. But there is more than the question of national security on view in 2Kings 6.

Amid ongoing hostilities between Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and Aram, the king of Israel is inclined to see Aram as ‘the enemy’ and its soldiers as ‘hostiles’. When the Aramean army descends on Dothan, Elisha’s servant is terrified. But Elisha has access to the bigger picture. He has a perspective that allows him to keep his cool. He shares this with his servant so that they can get on with the task in hand.

If Israel and the angelic armies engage these soldiers in battle, they will win. We can call this a win-lose situation. Alternatively they will win the battle only to trigger a retaliatory strike against them at a later date when the Arameans reassert themselves, lose-win. If Israel loses the battle the outcome is clearly lose-win, and this will be worse still if it results in punitive measures inflicted against them.

Elisha executes a plan which will change the situation altogether. He reminds us of the human-ness of the Aramean soldiers and then shows them mercy. More than that, he has the king of Israel show great generosity towards them. This completely diffuses the situation and leads to a period of peace, win-win.

Whenever we find ourselves in the midst of long-running issues there are options open to us which compound the problem and prolong the tensions or there is the option of creatively looking for an approach that will build understanding, build trust, build friendship and work towards real and lasting peace.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.”

The Value of Stories # 4

In a beautiful episode in 2 Samuel 23:13-17, we see David at his best as sovereign, but we also get a chance to see what is meant by the masochist, one of the shadow forms for the warrior.

Courage, self-discipline, self-sacrifice, protecting the weak and living honourably are central for the warrior hero. The warrior lives to serve the sovereign in the cause of justice and honour. Arthurian tales of chivalry resonate deep within us as they excite the warrior inside us all. But when the cause takes over the warrior then the ends begin to justify the means. There is dispassionate talk of “collateral damage” and the fine line between courageous and foolhardy is obscured.

The masochist is so taken up by the cause that they do not consider personal risk and danger. Boundaries are set aside as they respond to commands, or what they perceive to be commands, without regard to their own needs and personal circumstances. Their whole life is taken over by the cause, the quest or the mission. It is to the detriment of personal health, friendships and family.

On a hot day at the end of summer David found himself camped outside Bethlehem, the town where he was born and where he grew up. His mind must have wondered back to similar occasions during his childhood or his youth. He remembered how he would go to a particular well, the one near the city gate. He would draw out some of its water, drink and be satisfied. He would immediately feel refreshed and revitalised. Good times. But for now, despite his proximity to Bethlehem it would have to stay as a memory. There was a Philistine garrison in town and it meant that he would have to stay thirsty, sweaty and dusty from his manoeuvres. He wistfully spoke out his desire, “Oh that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem.”

Three of David’s mighty men heard him say this. As a token of their love and respect for him as their leader and friend, they broke through enemy lines, stole into Bethlehem, went to the well, drew out some water and took it back to David. They offered it to him. As a person, there is nothing that could have been more welcome. As a sovereign, to accept this generous gift would be to encourage others to take the same sort of personal risk just to attend to his personal comfort. Not every exploit would end the same way. He cannot accept it. As sovereign his first thought is not for himself but for those he serves. But he cannot refuse it. He cannot give it back. He cannot ignore this wonderful gesture of generosity and loyalty.

David pours the water on the ground. On one level it looks like a complete waste and a disregard for the risk his friends have taken. But David is not just a thirsty man, he is sovereign. Furthermore he doesn’t just pour it on the ground. David finds a way both to honour their intentions while at the same time sending a clear message that this is not to become a precedent. He poured the water out before the Lord and explained what he was doing (2 Samuel 23:16-17).

It will be a long time in this story before we see a sovereign act like this again (Mark 10:45). Meanwhile it is important for those who find themselves in the service of that king to remember that the sort of ministry which leads to exhaustion, burn-out and extinction is likely to be associated more with the masochist than the warrior.

The Value of Stories # 2

The stories of the Old and New Testaments help us to engage with others by offering us examples or ‘archetypes’ to follow (see entry#1 on 3rd Sept).

Everyone wants to live a significant life. We all want to be mourned when we die and to be remembered for having achieved something. We will look to achieve in one of four areas or in a combination of two or more of: warrior, sovereign, seer and lover.

In Saul we see an example of what happens when a warrior is made sovereign. Saul cannot handle the responsibility. He fought well and bravely to rescue the people of Jabesh when they were under threat, but he is unable to function well as a sovereign.

As king his job is to empower and inspire others. But Saul is never confident enough of his position to allow himself to be generous towards others and to trust them and release them for service. He mistrusts his own son Jonathan even though it would be hard to find a more loyal individual. And the second half of 1 Samuel is dominated by his mistrust of David, even though David proves his loyalty on several occasions.

Saul is insecure as sovereign and is fearful that his power will be handed over to someone better suited for leadership and so he acts not so much as sovereign but out of a ‘shadow’ form of the archetype. He acts as tyrant. There is no room in his administration for warriors like David, though he needs them to fight the Philistines. He fears that warriors may attract support and threaten his position as king. Nor is there room for seers so he does not follow through on Samuel’s advice to him and eventually Samuel is forced into a sort of retirement. He perhaps fears that a seer will expose his lack of ability and his unsuitability as king.

Saul teaches us that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Just because Saul made a good warrior does not automatically mean that he will make a good sovereign. We may, from time to time, be asked to work outside our preferences but we should expect that our best contribution to be according to the way that God has made us. This is likely to be in a way that builds on the experiences that he has brought us through and the personality and preferences that he’s uniquely gifted us with.

The Value of Stories

Some scholars work with the assumption that what counts in the narrative sections of the Bible are the propositions that are to be found there. They want to analyse and dissect a story so that it can be reduced to a series of theological statements. But if this were all that God intended us to do with the long sections of narrative in the Bible, then it is a wonder that he didn’t give us an encyclopaedia or Bible dictionary rather than a long and involved story of salvation.

Sociologists and psychologists will say that beyond supplying propositions, narratives have another important function. Not only do they convey information but they also confer and confirm identity. The stories that we listen to and the stories that we tell play an important part in making us who we are as a community. Furthermore it is in and through those stories that we, as individuals, learn to make sense of the world and of our experiences in it. There is something about a story, they suggest, that is internalised and becomes part of who we are and how we engage with the world outside us. There is something about a shared story that joins us and contributes to a sense of community.

Writers in this area suggest that stories help us to engage with others by offering us examples or ‘archetypes’ to follow. Everyone, they say, wants to live a significant life. They want to be mourned when they die and they want to be remembered for having achieved something. We will look to achieve in one of four areas or in a combination of two or more of: warrior, sovereign, seer and lover.

The narratives in the Bible help us to know how the people of God are to fight, to lead, to offer advice and to help others to appreciate all that God has made. These same narratives also warn us about what happens when these archetypes are expressed inappropriately and the sovereign becomes a tyrant or the seer a fool. They warn us how easily this change can occur and help us always to rely on God and on those he has set around us to keep us balanced and focused.

Samuel is an example of a seer. He is still learning and growing throughout his ministry, and there’s a lesson here for us. One of the things he learns is to see potential and what might be. So he trusts God and anoints a young David in preference to an older and more impressive Eliab or Abinadab. He also learns that his responsibility is to advise Israel and Saul and later David but that he is not responsible if that advice, well presented, is ignored. So he advised Israel against taking a king, but learnt to trust God and to stand by Saul when Israel persisted with their request. Samuel might have been disappointed with their decision, but he did not allow himself to turn that disappointment to bitterness. He served Saul speaking warmly and encouragingly over him at his anointing and continuing to advise him throughout his lifetime. In Samuel we see how to use the wisdom that God gives for the benefit of others and in service of his kingdom.

To be continued ...