In the last chapter, I discussed how to look for themes in sections of the Bible that are bigger than chapters. I showed readers how to ignore subtitles using the Gospel of Mark. Today, I want to talk about how some stories in the Bible are placed right next to each other to make a bigger point, and how understanding that can clear up theological misunderstandings. Let's talk about Genesis 18 - 19. (Feel free to read along).
In the beginning of Genesis 18, Abraham meets three men. The Lord is there also. When Abraham sees them, he runs out to offer them hospitality. To him, it's urgent that he treat these strangers well. It appears at first that he doesn't realize that this is the Lord. After this, Abraham is told that the Lord intends to destroy Sodom because of its unrighteousness. Abraham begs that the city be spared if a small number of righteous can be spared. God agrees that if he can find 10 good people there, it will be spared.
In chapter 19, the men enter the city to meet Lot, Abraham's Nephew. Lot too goes out of his way to show hospitality to the visitors. However, citizens of the Sodom don't take kindly to the visitors and intend to rape them.
In Sunday school, I was told that this story was about homosexuality. There may or may not be an element of that in the story (The Bible does not look kindly on homosexuality). Nevertheless, that isn't the main point of the story. Obviously rape and consensual sex aren't the same thing, rape is at least partly about power. More importantly though is the context in which their attempt to harm occurs. We just read a story about how Abraham treats visitors. We are then shown Lot, a man whom God thinks is worth sparing. Lot treats strangers same way that Abraham does. Then we're shown exactly why the city of Sodom needs to be destroyed - visitors who are still in their town after dark will be raped, probably to death.
Verse 9 makes all of this very clear. When Lot refuses to turn the men over to the crowd, they respond by saying, "This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he' acting like our judge! We'll treat you far worse than those other men!" (NLT) These people clearly mean to harm the visitors. They also clearly think of Lot as an outsider, even though he lives in the city. The issue here is their view of outsiders, their view of strangers.
The message, when we look at the stories side-by-side, is clear. So why do we miss it? Well, usually we aren't comparing stories side-by-side expecting to find meaning. We look at the stories as history rather than theology. We're not asking, "What does this story tell us about God, about morality?" But, they aren't just history. Moreover, we often come to the scriptures with questions we want to ask and points we want to prove. The questions are fine, but points might not be. The points are especially bad when they distract us from what the scriptures mean to say to us, in this case "don't hate foreigners."
Next time you read the Bible or another similar text, notice stories that are placed beside one another. Ask, "are these stories related somehow? Why does the author place them side-by-side this way? Am I supposed to understand some greater point?"
In the beginning of Genesis 18, Abraham meets three men. The Lord is there also. When Abraham sees them, he runs out to offer them hospitality. To him, it's urgent that he treat these strangers well. It appears at first that he doesn't realize that this is the Lord. After this, Abraham is told that the Lord intends to destroy Sodom because of its unrighteousness. Abraham begs that the city be spared if a small number of righteous can be spared. God agrees that if he can find 10 good people there, it will be spared.
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| Abraham and the Three Visitors |
In chapter 19, the men enter the city to meet Lot, Abraham's Nephew. Lot too goes out of his way to show hospitality to the visitors. However, citizens of the Sodom don't take kindly to the visitors and intend to rape them.
In Sunday school, I was told that this story was about homosexuality. There may or may not be an element of that in the story (The Bible does not look kindly on homosexuality). Nevertheless, that isn't the main point of the story. Obviously rape and consensual sex aren't the same thing, rape is at least partly about power. More importantly though is the context in which their attempt to harm occurs. We just read a story about how Abraham treats visitors. We are then shown Lot, a man whom God thinks is worth sparing. Lot treats strangers same way that Abraham does. Then we're shown exactly why the city of Sodom needs to be destroyed - visitors who are still in their town after dark will be raped, probably to death.
Verse 9 makes all of this very clear. When Lot refuses to turn the men over to the crowd, they respond by saying, "This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he' acting like our judge! We'll treat you far worse than those other men!" (NLT) These people clearly mean to harm the visitors. They also clearly think of Lot as an outsider, even though he lives in the city. The issue here is their view of outsiders, their view of strangers.
The message, when we look at the stories side-by-side, is clear. So why do we miss it? Well, usually we aren't comparing stories side-by-side expecting to find meaning. We look at the stories as history rather than theology. We're not asking, "What does this story tell us about God, about morality?" But, they aren't just history. Moreover, we often come to the scriptures with questions we want to ask and points we want to prove. The questions are fine, but points might not be. The points are especially bad when they distract us from what the scriptures mean to say to us, in this case "don't hate foreigners."
Next time you read the Bible or another similar text, notice stories that are placed beside one another. Ask, "are these stories related somehow? Why does the author place them side-by-side this way? Am I supposed to understand some greater point?"
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