Biblical Tradition of Storytelling - Festivals (Feb 22nd)

In the Bible there are traditions in storytelling.

Animators, illustrators - they're storytellers. Stories are diverting yourself away from reality - when's it ok and when's it not? There was a reason God gave us the ability to tell stories and to want to hear stories.

1 Cor 10 is Paul recounting a story of something that actually happened - when the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea.

Buddaism is an idealogy. Buddha thought of a bunch of ideas and people nowadays LIVE from these ideas, whereas we live by what scripture says.

1 Cor 10 goes on to explain that ideally we should be learning from other peoples' mistakes so that we don't have to make them . The wilderness journey in Exodus had a whole bunch of mistakes. (1 Cor 10:6 'now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did')

Now. The stories in Scripture are true --except the parables. Jesus used stories based on real things, grounded in reality for people to learn. He used things they could relate to, just as in one of the letters in the Bible the writer says something about "remember your ancestor Abraham" so that the people can relate to it more and understand better. Found it - it doesn't say "remember your ancestor Abraham", it's the note i have. its for galatians 3:28,29 'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.' Paul is talking to the Jews here so he's trying to convince them by bringing up their forefather Abraham.

Deut 4, 6, Exodus 10. In Exodus 10 it talks about the day for a year. When the children of Israel had just left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, they started grumbling because they'd left all that behind and were now wandering in the middle of nowhere, so they sent spies into the land for 40 days - and were punished that they would spend 40 years wandering. (Numbers 14:34). Also anyone over 20 would die - they would wander and wander but never get the land. If you were wandering for 40 years, you aren't going to spend the whole time moping- you'd teach your children how to better than you had.
In Hebrews 11 it tells us how Abraham was to come out of Ur of the Chaldees (which was the most civilised place of that time). Hebrews 11:10 'he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God'. Abraham left all he had and wandered, not knowing where he was going. Deut 4:9 - remember things they've experienced in their life. They were to take these experiences and make them live in the hearts of their children (also in Deut 6:7).

We talked about how much fun it was when you were a little kid, to sleep in a tent in the back garden overnight instead of staying in the house. They did something similar in Leviticus 23, they enacted the wilderness journey, they dwelt in booths for 7 days - how much fun for the children! Lev 23:42,43 'You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All natice Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.'


homework - look at Hosea 4:6 and write how it relates to what we looked at