Full Transcript for Unlocking Ancient Secrets: The Hero’s Journey Hidden in Scripture

00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:17.680 And why it is actually a really well-written book. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:21.120 It is an amazingly well-written book. 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:31.680 I think that's one thing that's really important about literary criticism is that it shows how this book was so carefully constructed. 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:35.360 It's not just this hodgepodge of pieces put together. 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:37.360 Yes, I hadn't even thought of that point. 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:37.920 No, no. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:39.680 I guess because for me, yeah, I'm not sure. 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:42.160 Yeah, you are so scholarly enough. 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:45.759 That's a really but for the layman girl over here. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:51.199 I hadn't, and just so you guys know I guess sometimes it people they can be critical of the Bible. 00:04:51.680 --> 00:04:59.839 I mean, part of it is like criticism is does this stand up to and how and how and so that's fine. 00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:05.040 You guys don't know this, but I get a sneak peek of the podcast episodes, and so I listen to them on an app. 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:15.360 And anyway, I was listening to this and I thought I love the way that Cindy explains stuff, and this is why I want to start a podcast with her, but I just think this is a way to understand the Bible, right? 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:16.959 Yes, right, that's all it is. 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:20.160 Yes, yes, it's just a way to understand the Bible, exactly. 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:33.519 And yes, and I want to make clear like you don't have to have gone to a seminary or a biblical seminary or read criticism to get meaning from the Bible. 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:36.000 Well, I mean, I didn't even go to college, so here we go. 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:40.240 The spirit can reveal so many can teach really good teachers, yes. 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:42.560 So I yeah, the best teacher out there, in fact. 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:52.399 Is so I yeah, I think it can be very helpful in understanding the text, but that's not what's going to give you a testimony of the truthfulness of the text, right? 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:54.879 No, but it is fun, it's so fun. 00:05:55.519 --> 00:05:59.759 I'm one of those really weird people that finds it incredibly fun, yeah, and can spend a lot of time. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:03.600 Yeah, no, I just want to pull the whole thing apart and put it back together and do it again the next day. 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:04.319 It's fascinating. 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:04.639 Yes. 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:06.079 Okay, so sorry, keep going. 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:17.600 Yeah, because I think that the Lord's advice to Oliver Cowdry is really good advice for all of us, where he said, You have supposed that I would give it unto you when you took no thought, save it was to ask me. 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:24.399 But behold, I say unto you that you must study it out in your mind, and then you must ask me if it be right. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:34.560 And then he also, I think that the Lord expects us to seek ye out of the best books, words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith. 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:39.680 So I think we need to use the best resources we have available to us. 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:43.199 And for some of you, that might only be the scriptures themselves. 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:44.720 And that's great. 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:52.160 But if you study as diligently as you can, then the Lord will bless you with understanding and knowledge and testimony. 00:06:52.240 --> 00:07:02.560 And I think one of the things you do really well, Susan, is that you are very conscientious about looking down at what the footnotes are and following those footnotes to gain more understanding. 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:03.040 Yeah. 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:03.920 And thank you. 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:04.240 Yeah. 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:06.319 So you don't need the books. 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:10.160 I mean, well, they're helpful, but I love context clues. 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:15.040 My husband hates watching movies with me because I can usually figure out the ending right at the beginning. 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:15.439 Yeah. 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:17.360 And he's like, How did you know that? 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:19.920 And I'm like, well, they tell you right there. 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:21.839 So I love context clues. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:26.160 I love trying to understand what this one word means. 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:30.639 And I love, love the layers of it and the beauty of it. 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:31.600 It's so beautiful. 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:32.560 It is beautiful. 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:34.639 Yeah, we just want to make sure you understand. 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:35.839 I just want to, yeah. 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:37.839 I'm gonna give you lots of stuff. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:43.040 You can mull it over in your brain, you can keep some of it, reject whatever you don't agree with. 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:47.439 Yeah, and Susan's gonna interject, but yeah, you don't maybe this will be helpful for you. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:52.240 You don't have to have any kind of a degree or special books or whatever. 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:55.120 Yes, and I don't feel less than when I don't have a degree. 00:07:55.199 --> 00:08:00.160 Yeah, I just like to say it specifically in business meetings because it makes people underestimate me. 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:02.879 This is me going off about me too much, but I love it. 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:05.680 I love being underestimated, it's my favorite thing. 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:12.160 Okay, so what we're gonna do, we're gonna conclude the Abraham story that we've been talking about. 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:18.000 You know, humans, as humans, we tell stories to explain our world. 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:21.120 It's what we do, it's what we've always done. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:27.360 But as moderns,

we don't think that we tell stories to explain our origins, but we do. 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:30.079 We just couch it in different language. 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:35.759 And it is so much a part of the air that we breathe that we don't recognize it for what it is, which is a story. 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:38.799 For example, how did our universe originate? 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:44.639 Well, we have the Big Bang Theory, or another way to phrase it is the Big Bang story. 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:55.759 We took what we could observe about the universe and we made a story to fit those facts, which worked fine until we got a new telescope, the James Webb telescope, which can see more and more. 00:08:55.919 --> 00:09:01.919 And the findings have now challenged the existing models or stories of galaxy formation. 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:18.159 And so here's the important thing to recognize we don't like to use the word story when it comes to certain fields like science, because when we use the word story, as moderns, we will often equate this with not real or fiction. 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:20.320 But that assumption is just not true. 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:23.519 Stories are very real and they carry truth. 00:09:23.840 --> 00:09:28.159 Of course, there are also narratives or stories that are not true. 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:33.120 And so the question is, and it always has been, who will be your prophet? 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:36.720 Who will be the voice that frames your story? 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:39.840 What story will you believe? 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:43.279 So Jesus uses stories to tell truths. 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:49.440 What we don't often recognize is that he was using his cultural language to tell these stories. 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:58.879 Biblical scholars have noticed that there are clear parallels between his parables and known Jewish, Near Eastern, and Greco-Roman story types. 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:01.120 Jesus didn't repeat the stories. 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:05.600 Instead, he repurposed familiar narrative patterns and motifs. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:17.279 For example, in the parable of the workers in the vineyard, in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 20, Jesus uses a known social situation in ancient Palestine. 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:24.080 Day laborers would wait for work in the marketplace, and landowners would hire these workers during the harvest. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:34.480 There are known stories involving unexpected wage distribution or generous masters, which appear in later rabbinic teaching stories. 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:44.879 Case in point, there is a parable connected with Rabbi Judah Hanasi in the second century AD, preserved in the Christian Talmud. 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:48.639 In that story, a king hires many workers. 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:56.720 One worker completes a large amount of work very quickly, and the king pays him a full wage despite working fewer hours. 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:04.879 When other workers

complain, the king explains that the worker accomplished more in a short time than others did all day. 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:17.120 So Jesus transforms that familiar story or that scenario into a theological lesson about the radical generosity of God and the unexpected nature of his kingdom. 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:21.600 In Jesus' parable, a landowner hires workers throughout the day. 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:25.600 Some workers work all day and others only about one hour. 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:28.879 But everyone receives the same wage. 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:32.720 Those who worked longer complain about the equal pay. 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:38.000 And Jesus gives the famous line: the last will be first, and the first will be last. 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:47.200 Scholars find this comparison really interesting because it shows that Jesus was teaching within Jewish storytelling traditions. 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:51.200 His audiences would have recognized the story structure. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:58.399 But the unexpected twist is what would have made the audience sit up and take note. 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:10.000 And just as a little side note on that, one time when my husband and I were driving from Yellowstone to Glacier, we stopped in Helena, Montana, and they have in a beautiful cathedral there. 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:12.960 We happened to be there over a Sunday, and so we went to Mass. 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:17.120 And the priest gave a homily about this exact same parable. 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:27.679 And he talked about how we are all at one point or another the worker who just works at the end of the day, or the workers who work all day. 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:29.600 And God gives us the same pay. 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:30.799 And I loved that. 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:33.200 It just depends upon our stage in life. 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:40.799 He talked about how maybe you had come to Mass last week and then you hadn't thought about it all week, and then you come to Mass the next week. 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:44.159 He said, and yet God will still bless you for coming to Mass. 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:51.519 But there might be somebody else who went to Mass and they thought about things all week and then came to Mass, and God still blesses them the same. 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:56.480 I just thought he said, we're all the first and the last workers at different times. 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:57.519 And I really liked that. 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:03.600 Well, and I think sometimes when you're the first, you have the experience, you can understand the other point of view. 00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:09.440 And that's so beautiful because sometimes when you're you're the first and you're like, what are these people coming in at the last minute? 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:10.159 Blah, blah. 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:14.480 And then when you're the last, it gives you, you're like, is this good enough? 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:17.519 And so then when you're the

first again, you're like, oh, come in. 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:17.919 Yes. 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:20.000 You that are coming in at the last minute. 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:20.799 This is great. 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:24.639 And then when you're the last again, you're so grateful for the first. 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:26.240 And so there's all these things. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:30.399 I was thinking about how you were saying we tell stories in entrepreneurship. 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:32.799 You're not keyed into any entrepreneurship stories. 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:33.120 No. 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:34.559 However, I'm wondering if you'll get this. 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:40.879 If someone says it started in a garage, is that person going to be successful or not successful? 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:41.600 Successful. 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:42.159 Exactly. 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:46.399 And so there's just this like that's always, they always want it to have started. 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:49.360 In fact, when I started my business, people will say, Did you start this in your garage? 00:13:49.440 --> 00:13:51.360 And I said, No, at my kitchen table. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:53.440 But, you know, it's the same kind of thing. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:56.960 And I think that is what is happening here. 00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:00.000 The stories, each part of it is giving you a clue. 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:01.039 Yeah, I love that. 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:02.799 Yes, that's exactly right. 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:13.679 Okay, so everything that I was just saying is a lot of background to introduce one of the ways that scholars study the Bible, which is biblical literary criticism. 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:30.799 And this is an approach to studying the Bible that analyzes the texts as works of literature, focusing on elements such as narrative structure, plot, characterization, imagery, motifs, and style in order to understand how the text communicates meaning. 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:46.240 Rather than primarily asking about historical sources or who was the author of a text, literary criticism examines how the final form of the biblical text functions as a story or as a piece of writing. 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:57.919 And this is important because just like Jesus' audience would have recognized familiar story structures and motifs when he subverted the expected ending, and that really caught their attention. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:06.480 Well, the authors of the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible, they also would have recognized familiar literary patterns and motifs. 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:10.159 And they would have intuitively understood the message, right? 00:15:10.240 --> 00:15:13.919 Just like I knew what you were talking about with it started in a garage. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:16.960 I'm thinking, oh, Apple Computer started in a garage, right? 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:18.480 The same with them. 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:26.080 So in one of the previous episodes, I talked

about the doctrine of the two ways, which is ubiquitous in ancient Near Eastern legend. 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:27.039 I mean literature. 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:27.840 Like it's all over. 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:30.000 We will talk about it all the time. 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:30.399 Yeah. 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:32.240 Yes, it'll be all the major themes. 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:34.000 It is a big deal in the Bible. 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:35.759 And it's in every scripture, actually. 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:38.639 Yes, you see it in the first book of the Book of Mormon with Nephi and Lehi. 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:40.639 Or Nephi and Laman and Lemuel. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:41.120 Yeah. 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:42.799 It's all over. 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:49.200 So it means that there are two opposing moral paths that a person can take. 00:15:49.440 --> 00:16:00.720 And the Didicy, which is a very ancient, a really early Christian document, it opens with this sentence there are two ways, one of life and one of death. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:04.559 And great is the difference between the two ways. 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:07.440 You'll see this in the book of Proverbs all the time. 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:10.960 It'll illustrate the two ways, and there's this big difference. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:20.399 Well, in ancient Near Eastern literature, you can also find examples, which will juxtapose contrasting stories to illustrate these two possible moral paths. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:23.279 The two ways, it's all over. 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:31.600 They will often place a positive example beside a negative or a cautionary example to highlight the consequences of different choices. 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:53.840 For instance, in ancient Egyptian wisdom texts, the idea of two moral paths appears quite clearly in texts like the introduction of Pita, Hotep, and the instruction of Amenemop, the wise person follows order, humility, and restraint. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:58.639 But the foolish person is greedy, arrogant, and destructive. 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:07.200 And these texts will frequently contrast the quiet, disciplined man with the hot-tempered or greedy man. 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:09.200 That should sound familiar. 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:10.799 Well, I was going to say Jacob and Esau. 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:12.720 Exactly. 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:13.200 Yes. 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:17.599 So the structure often teaches by paired contrasts. 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:20.480 So again, yeah, Jacob and Esau's story. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:26.960 Or the parable of the king and the servant, when he forgave his servant, but the servant wouldn't forgive the fellow servant. 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:27.279 Right. 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:27.680 Yes. 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:29.920 You've got this paired story, right? 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:30.319 Yes. 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:30.799 Okay. 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:36.880 So another feature of Egyptian storytelling tales is called tale pairs. 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:47.119 So T-A-L-E-P-A-I-R-S, where some narrative collections place stories of success beside stories of failure. 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:53.039 For example, there is the tale of the eloquent peasant and the tale of the shipwrecked sailor. 00:17:53.359 --> 00:17:55.039 And these are Egyptian tales. 00:17:55.119 --> 00:18:07.039 And these works will contrast injustice versus righteous justice and arrogance versus humility before divine order or ma'at. 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:16.480 And these contrasts will reinforce the Egyptian cultural ethic of living according to Ma'at or the cosmic order. 00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:20.480 Well, the same juxtaposition of stories occurs in the Bible. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:25.759 We can see a great example of this in the stories of Lot and Abraham. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:33.599 Now, I want to be very clear that I believe that Lot and Abraham were real people who actually lived. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:37.119 And so I do believe that these stories are historical. 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:49.920 But in any instance where someone is writing a history or a biography, they will choose which details of a life to add in or to leave out, to emphasize or to play down. 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:55.920 And so they will write using the structure and literary conventions of their time. 00:18:56.079 --> 00:19:12.720 Now, if we as readers are aware of these story forms, you will be able to see the editors of the Bible repurposing and reshaping these forms and using them to structure the Abraham and Lot stories and other biblical narratives. 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:19.680 So there are really, really old, old story forms that have existed for forever. 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:28.720 In his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell argues that stories from different cultures follow a common structure. 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:31.839 And he called this the monomyth. 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:38.720 So the basic idea is that there is a hero's journey, and there are three main stages in the story. 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:49.200 The hero leaves their ordinary world, they undergo trials and transformation, and they return changed, often bringing benefit to others. 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:52.559 And each of these stages follows a similar pattern. 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:56.559 There is the departure where the hero leaves their ordinary or known world. 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:00.480 And the key element is a call to adventure. 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.759 Now, sometimes there will be a refusal of the call. 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:04.960 Jonah. 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:05.920 Right. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:07.039 Exactly. 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:08.240 Exactly. 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:08.640 Yes. 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:13.599 Also, they will usually meet a mentor who can be human or supernatural. 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:18.000 And finally, the hero will cross the threshold into the unknown. 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:21.039 The

second stage in the story is called the initiation. 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:25.200 And in this stage, the hero faces challenges and is changed. 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:33.599 The hero will travel in a strange world where he or she will meet with tests, allies or helpers, both mortal and divine and enemies. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:37.200 And there will be some sort of a major ordeal or crisis. 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:40.000 And finally, reward or insight is gained. 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:43.759 And this is the stage where the hero undergoes deep transformation. 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:49.440 And finally, in the third stage, Campbell identifies that this as the return. 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:58.960 The hero returns home with something valuable, which might be tangible like an elixir, a magic potion, or intangible like wisdom. 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:03.279 And in this stage, the hero will journey on the road back. 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:06.720 There will be some sort of resurrection or profound change. 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:13.680 And the hero will return with quote, this is what Campbell says a boon that he brings restores the world. 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:15.759 So in other words, something that will benefit others. 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:17.839 Are you guys all thinking of Joseph? 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:19.839 And are you also thinking of us? 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:20.240 Yes. 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:29.039 Premortal life, first stage, mortal journey, second stage, resurrection, and return to the presence of God, right? 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:29.759 Third stage. 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:32.720 We are all the heroes on the hero's journey. 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:36.880 And we're either going to have it end well, which is remember the fairy tale. 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:40.960 I'm going to talk about this more in this podcast, but I'll say it here and then I'll say it again. 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:45.839 But fairy tale just means it has a supernatural being that's helping. 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:46.319 Yeah. 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:48.319 Cautionary tale, it ends badly. 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:48.640 Yeah. 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:50.319 So that's what we're talking about here. 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:50.799 Yes. 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:53.119 And the story of Joseph, you can see that. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:55.359 I mean, that one is very clear. 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:56.079 Very clear. 00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:56.880 Very clear. 00:21:57.119 --> 00:21:58.400 You see the hero's journey. 00:21:58.559 --> 00:21:58.799 Yes. 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:02.160 If you're like even Well, you're thinking other things, Harry Potter. 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:04.240 The story of the ring. 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:06.240 Yeah, whatever the Tolkien trilogy. 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:06.559 Yeah. 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:07.519 Lord of the Rings trilogy. 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:09.599 Ooh, the children in the wardrobe. 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:09.920 What is that? 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:10.559

Line which is a big thing. 00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:12.160 Oh, Lionel, the Narningham. 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:13.680 All of those exactly. 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:14.319 Yes. 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:14.640 Yes. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:16.480 So really good fairy tales follow this. 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:17.039 They do. 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:18.319 And the Bible follows this. 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:18.559 Yeah. 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:20.319 Yes, exactly. 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:21.359 Exactly. 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:27.839 And Joseph Campbell, he would say the reason is because all these stories reflect the universal human experience. 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:28.400 Okay. 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:28.799 Yes. 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:29.119 Yeah. 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:29.519 Yeah. 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:31.279 Which is to your point, it is us. 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:32.720 We are on the journey right now. 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:34.480 We are all on the journey, right? 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:35.359 We have a guide. 00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:37.359 We have choices to make. 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:37.839 Yep. 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:38.319 Yeah. 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:38.799 Yep. 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:40.480 So you will see this. 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:46.640 If you're aware of this pattern, watch for it because you're going to see it all throughout the Bible. 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:51.279 So we talked in the last podcast about lot, and we talked about that as a cautionary tale. 00:22:51.359 --> 00:23:01.359 And so I'll just remind you that cautionary tales are a story form that show the consequences of poor choices, moral compromise, or lack of faith. 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:08.720 So Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, when the knight says he chose poorly because he chose the wrong cup. 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:09.599 And there you go. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:11.359 That's the cautionary tale. 00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:18.880 So some examples of a cautionary tale in ancient Near Eastern literature are the tale of the shipwrecked sailor. 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:20.480 Which I'm not familiar with. 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:27.200 No, it's where a sailor boasts or he acts selfishly and he learns humility after the disaster. 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:32.480 And there's also a recognition of divine power and of human limitations. 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:40.160 In the tale of two brothers, which is also from Egypt, one brother's immoral acts, temptation and betrayal, lead to misfortune. 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:45.759 And this narrative contrasts the wrong path with the virtuous path, other brother. 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:54.559 In the epic of Gilgamesh, before becoming wise, he abuses his power, which leads to Inky Dew's death and personal suffering. 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:57.920 So there's a moral lesson about arrogance. 00:23:58.160 --> 00:24:08.240 And the function of these cautionary tales is to serve as a warning about pride, immorality, or ignoring the divine order. 00:24:08.480

--> 00:24:12.240 And they reinforce cultural norms and ethical expectation. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:15.200 So cautionary tales end badly. 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:22.880 Joseph Campbell said, What I think is that a good life is one hero journey after another. 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:27.119 Over and over again, you are called to the realm of adventure. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:29.519 You are called to new horizons. 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:32.559 Each time there is the same problem. 00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:34.000 Do I dare? 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:35.279 Do I dare embark? 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:38.799 And then if you do dare, the dangers are there. 00:24:39.119 --> 00:24:43.680 And the help also, and the fulfillment or the fiasco. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.799 There's always the possibility of fiasco. 00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:47.599 So the cautionary. 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:49.359 In fact, you can count on it. 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:50.319 You can count on it. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:54.079 He said, but there's also the possibility of bliss. 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:56.000 Which again, you can count on. 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:59.440 If you're not filling the bliss, the story's not over yet. 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:00.240 It's not over. 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:00.720 Yeah. 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:03.279 Especially if you're doing the things that you're supposed to. 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:13.839 I think sometimes because of this literary and because of the contrasting in the Bible, sometimes when bad things have happened, I've thought, oh no, am I a cautionary tale? 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:14.799 It's not true. 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:16.400 None of us are finished yet. 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:16.880 No. 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:19.599 And we are all in the middle of our hero's journey. 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:24.400 When you are being tried or when things are happening, that just means you have an opportunity to turn to God. 00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:25.359 Yeah. 00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:29.440 The cautionary tales will often function as warnings. 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:30.160 Yeah. 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:32.000 Warnings about how to act. 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:37.519 And so you'll see in the book of Proverbs in the first nine chapters, it'll talk about two ways. 00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:40.799 They talk about lady wisdom and lady folly. 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:43.039 So it's contrasting these two ways. 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:48.160 And it's a father talking to his son, and he's saying, don't follow after Lady Folly. 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:49.839 You want to follow Lady Wisdom. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:51.119 That's how they would do it. 00:25:51.200 --> 00:25:52.799 They would pair these things. 00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:57.200 And it was not as didactic as some of our ways of telling stories. 00:25:57.279 --> 00:26:01.279 It was much more of a pairing and showing two paths. 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:09.200 And you can take these paths, but what we want to, yeah, we always want to emphasize you can turn around on the path and go back the other way. 00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:10.640 So that's an important thing to learn. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:18.640 Like I heard once that knowledge is when you learn through your own experience something. 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:22.880 Wisdom is when you're willing to learn from someone else's experience. 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:26.319 And both of those have their gift. 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:28.240 And learning is the outcome, right? 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:29.119 Wisdom and knowledge. 00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:30.240 Both of those are beautiful. 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:33.119 And so I've taken many folly paths in my life. 00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:33.599 Yes. 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:38.319 But I love the atonement and how God is so there just to teach me and show me. 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:38.720 Yeah. 00:26:38.880 --> 00:26:42.160 Yes, God will always extend the maximum amount of mercy. 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:43.519 Yeah, He really is so good. 00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:48.720 So, what kind of story form is the opposite of the cautionary tale? 00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:52.480 What kind of story form has the possibility of bliss? 00:26:52.559 --> 00:26:56.480 And that would be the hero tale, which is another name for the fairy tale. 00:26:56.559 --> 00:27:02.880 And fairy tale is actually a really terrible name because there are a lot of fairy tales that do not have fairies in them. 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:12.720 But all fairy tales have a rescue by a supernatural being, or they have an enchanted world, and they all end well. 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:15.200 So happily ever after. 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:15.920 Exactly. 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:25.200 So when I use the term fairy tale or folk tale or hero tale, there is no connotation here of true or false. 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:27.759 It is simply a story form. 00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:31.200 Like a detective story is a story form. 00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:38.799 But what's interesting about the fairy tale form is that you will notice that the main character is an everyman sort of character. 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:42.079 It's not a mythological hero or a demigod. 00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:44.480 It's just a flawed human being. 00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:55.200 What usually happens is that there are this everyman character will encounter inevitable obstacles, which are typically impossible tasks. 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:58.000 And they're always supernatural helpers. 00:27:58.240 --> 00:27:59.839 And look at what that points to. 00:27:59.920 --> 00:28:06.319 Like each of us are on this journey, and we're going to have these impossible obstacles to overcome. 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:09.680 But because of supernatural help, we can overcome them. 00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:21.519 The Grimm brothers had a theory that fairy tales are the ruins of what had been once a consistent and coherent Christian mythology. 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:26.480 And that is why they say we see fragments of

this all over the world. 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:32.079 So like there's a Chinese Cinderella, just like there's the Grim tale Cinderella. 00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:46.480 So what you're dealing with or what you're reading in a fairy tale is they would say, Wilhelm and Jakob Grimm, they would say you are reading the ruins of what had once been a full story, but was lost over time. 00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:48.000 And I think that's really true. 00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:52.319 One of our mine and Cindy's favorite podcasts, The Ancient Traditions, she talks about that. 00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:52.720 Yes. 00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:57.599 That these are traditions that have been passed down and they're basically all the same. 00:28:57.839 --> 00:29:02.720 You'll see bits of truth in every tradition. 00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:03.279 Yeah. 00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:08.079 So let's briefly look at Campbell's structure of the hero tale and the story of Abraham. 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:08.480 Okay. 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:23.039 So the call to adventure, God's first command to Abraham in 12:1, go forth from your native land, the known place, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you, the unknown world. 00:29:23.200 --> 00:29:23.519 Okay. 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:24.079 Okay. 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:26.160 It's a place he doesn't know. 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:27.440 He doesn't recognize. 00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:31.279 He has to go out from what he knows to an unknown world, right? 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:33.039 And he has a guide because a guide will show him. 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:34.160 But he has a guide, yeah. 00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:34.400 Right? 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:37.759 He's going out into quote unquote the enchanted world, right? 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:38.160 Okay. 00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:40.400 The place that is not recognizable. 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:41.119 Yes. 00:29:41.279 --> 00:29:43.759 Then the hero encounters trials or obstacles. 00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:46.079 So I mean, think of all of Abraham's trials. 00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:48.000 He's got tons of trials. 00:29:48.319 --> 00:29:55.519 But he has help from mentors, friends, or allies, or he's got supernatural help. 00:29:55.599 --> 00:29:57.119 And we see all of those in that. 00:29:57.279 --> 00:30:03.839 So in the case of Abraham, the supernatural help obviously is Jehovah, Yahweh, and the angels. 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:08.240 And then there's a final challenge for him, the sacrifice of Isaac. 00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:11.920 And then the hero will return home transformed. 00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:17.200 And in this case, it will be to the promised land and the burial place that he purchased. 00:30:17.359 --> 00:30:20.480 But ultimately, you know, he's going to return home to God. 00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:34.240 And so a common thread in these stories is that a character demonstrates faith, obedience, or moral courage, which often will result in blessing or divine favor or successful outcomes. 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:43.920 The hero's tale provides a model of virtuous behavior, demonstrating the right way to live in relation to God and others. 00:30:44.079 --> 00:30:48.240 And again, we have examples of this type of story in ancient Near Eastern culture. 00:30:48.400 --> 00:30:56.559 In ancient Near Eastern literature, hero tales, they will typically celebrate courage, wisdom, or divine favor. 00:30:56.799 --> 00:31:00.960 They will often highlight a character's special relationship with the gods. 00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:11.039 Again, in the epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh starts as an oppressive king, but he grows through his friendship with Inkidu and his quest for immortality. 00:31:11.279 --> 00:31:22.319 And the story shows the moral growth of Gilgamesh, his acceptance of death, and his pursuit of wisdom as heroic traits. 00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:28.240 He's aligning himself with Ma'ad, is what he's doing, this cosmic divine order. 00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:36.640 Well, because the authors of the Bible lived in the ancient Near East, they were obviously influenced by this type of literature. 00:31:36.799 --> 00:31:44.880 And so they take these story forms and then they'll tweak them to create a distinctive Hebrew form of literature. 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:53.279 Biblical narratives often explicitly contrast these two paths, the two ways, in one narrative. 00:31:53.519 --> 00:31:57.359 So you've got Abraham and Loc or Joseph and his brothers. 00:31:57.599 --> 00:32:08.480 Whereas in ancient Near Eastern texts, they'll usually separate heroic and cautionary figures across episodes rather than intermixing them side by side in one narrative. 00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:25.359 So ancient Near Eastern hero tales frequently emphasize kingship, fame, or cosmic order, whereas the biblical hero and cautionary tales will emphasize faith, obedience, and ethical choices versus, and then show you the opposite of that. 00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:30.799 In the ancient Near Eastern text, the gods or cosmic forces enforce the consequences. 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:42.079 But in biblical texts, it's Yahweh or Jehovah who enforces the ethical and covenantal consequences, emphasizing human responsibility and faith. 00:32:42.319 --> 00:32:49.279 But both traditions teach using story rather than abstract rules. 00:32:49.599 --> 00:32:52.160 Heroes show what you should emulate. 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:55.680 Cautionary figures show what you should avoid. 00:32:55.920 --> 00:33:06.079 So, really, what's happening is that we have the cosmic battle of Jehovah and Lucifer being played out on earth. 00:33:06.319 --> 00:33:10.480 And you can see that in the first story after the fall, Cain and Abel, right? 00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:14.240 Abel represents faithful and obedient offering. 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:18.160 Cain represents disobedience, jealousy, and violence. 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:22.720 And their stories illustrate the two possible responses to God. 00:33:22.960 -->

00:33:37.279 Biblical scholars, they think that Genesis repeatedly uses these types of paired narratives, Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers to dramatize the two ways, the two ways. 00:33:37.359 --> 00:33:42.480 You know, there are two ways, the way of life and the way of death, and great is the difference between them. 00:33:42.559 --> 00:33:49.279 So that's what they think through story rather than through very explicit and didactic teaching. 00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:54.079 Now, in our earlier podcast, we have talked a lot about the Abraham story. 00:33:54.319 --> 00:33:59.759 We've gone through, we've talked about the tricky bits like the wife as the sister stories. 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:02.160 We've talked about the Hagar story. 00:34:02.319 --> 00:34:08.159 We've talked about the story of Lot and the downward narrative arc of this really, really sad story. 00:34:08.400 --> 00:34:22.639 This is a great example of the author of Genesis juxtaposing two stories using the narrative technique of parallel structure and contrasting outcomes to dramatize two possible ways of living. 00:34:22.960 --> 00:34:27.039 One way is trusting divine promises despite uncertainty. 00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:31.440 And the other is pursuing immediate prosperity at moral cost. 00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:39.440 And it models this ancient tradition of teaching ethical choices through paired characters and contrasting stories. 00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:45.760 And I want to say too that in both of these stories, you've got flawed human beings. 00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:52.400 And yet flawed human beings can make different choices and they have different outcomes. 00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:54.320 And so that's what the story's showing. 00:34:54.559 --> 00:34:59.599 They're not showing us perfect human beings, they're showing us flawed human beings who make different choices. 00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:03.920 And it all goes back to how are you going to react to God? 00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:16.320 So the narrative then communicates two possible trajectories or two ways: the way of Abraham, which is the way of generosity, trust in divine promise, and moral courage. 00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:25.519 And then there is the way of law, which highlights attraction to prosperity, gradual compromise, and eventual loss. 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:34.079 The teaching or the true way emerges through the story rather than explicit moral instructions. 00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:42.559 We as the reader are supposed to be able to see and learn the lessons without having them spelled out for us. 00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:49.280 The Bible puts a lot of trust and faith in us as the reader. 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:02.000 And so that's one of the reasons why I love these Old Testament stories. 00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:11.199 So I want to finish up this section of the podcast by talking about the most famous and poignant part of Abraham's story, which is the Agita or the binding of Isaac. 00:36:11.360 --> 00:36:11.599 Okay. 00:36:11.760 --> 00:36:14.960 And it isn't a sacrifice because Isaac is not sacrificed. 00:36:15.119 --> 00:36:17.920 Rather, the text tells us it is a test. 00:36:18.320 --> 00:36:23.280 It says sometime after these things, God tested Abraham. 00:36:23.840 --> 00:36:34.320 So I read an article by a Hebrew scholar named Yahair Zakovich called Through the Looking Glass, Reflections and Inversions of the Genesis Stories in the Bible. 00:36:34.480 --> 00:36:54.000 And in this article, he makes a really interesting connection, which is that God's first command to Abraham in Genesis 12:1, go forth from your native land and from your father's house to the land that I will show you, is echoed again in the story of the binding of Isaac, the Agitah. 00:36:54.320 --> 00:37:10.400 Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go forth to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights, that I will show to you, that I will say to you, is what it says. 00:37:10.639 --> 00:37:14.960 So this interrelationship was already clear to the early rabbis. 00:37:15.440 --> 00:37:23.360 The Holy One, blessed be he, said to Abraham, The first test and the last test I try you with, go forth. 00:37:23.599 --> 00:37:28.960 Go forth from your native land and go forth to the land of Moriah. 00:37:29.039 --> 00:37:30.880 And that's from the Tanhuma Buber. 00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:35.199 The resemblance between the two commands is striking. 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:50.159 Both commands are structured so that the difficulty of the test is emphasized with a test presented generally at first, but immediately qualified from your native land and from your father's house. 00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:54.800 And then in the second one, your son, your favored one. 00:37:55.280 --> 00:37:57.440 The final destination is unknown. 00:37:57.920 --> 00:38:09.679 So the first 12, the first test to the land that I will show you, the second test, one of the heights, H-E-I-G-H T S, one of the heights that I will say to you. 00:38:10.320 --> 00:38:17.920 The name land of Moriah contains a word play on God's first command, the land that I will show you. 00:38:18.320 --> 00:38:24.320 The name Moriah is derived from the root Ra-a, meaning to see. 00:38:24.800 --> 00:38:33.440 And the same root reappears several times in the story of the binding of Isaac in verses 8, 13, and 14. 00:38:33.519 --> 00:38:38.639 So you can see Morah, Moriah, and then Raa to see. 00:38:38.960 --> 00:38:42.159 Land that I will show you, land that you will see. 00:38:42.719 --> 00:38:45.119 The language of the blessings is similar. 00:38:45.280 --> 00:38:50.480 It says, and I will bless you, and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you. 00:38:50.719 --> 00:38:53.199 That's in chapter 12, verses 2 through 3. 00:38:53.360 --> 00:38:57.920 And then in chapter 22, I will bestow my blessing upon you. 00:38:58.239 --> 00:39:02.960 All the

nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants. 00:39:03.519 --> 00:39:13.280 Then Zakovich points out that despite the significant similarities, the relationship between the stories is an inverted one. 00:39:13.760 --> 00:39:17.679 In the first one, Abraham is commanded to leave his father. 00:39:18.079 --> 00:39:23.280 In the second, he is commanded to offer his beloved son. 00:39:23.920 --> 00:39:27.920 The first test does not threaten Abraham's chances of offspring. 00:39:28.559 --> 00:39:32.480 On the contrary, God promises to make of him a great nation. 00:39:33.199 --> 00:39:42.000 The meaning of the last test, the offering of his son, that represents a threat to the materialization of the blessing. 00:39:42.159 --> 00:39:47.280 And yet, Zakovich says, Abraham does not hesitate to obey his God. 00:39:47.679 --> 00:39:51.599 Quote, sometime after these things, God tested Abraham. 00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:56.800 He said to him, Abraham, here I am, Abraham replied. 00:39:57.039 --> 00:40:04.079 God said, Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. 00:40:04.400 --> 00:40:09.440 Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you. 00:40:09.760 --> 00:40:15.519 Early in the morning, Abraham got up and saddled his donkey right away. 00:40:15.840 --> 00:40:19.519 God is requiring of Abraham what is most precious to him. 00:40:19.760 --> 00:40:29.360 Isaac, this long-awaited child of God's promise, who bears all of Abraham's hope for the fulfillment of the covenant promises. 00:40:29.760 --> 00:40:37.679 But I think that what Abraham realizes is what Job articulates: the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. 00:40:37.920 --> 00:40:40.000 Blessed be the name of the Lord. 00:40:40.239 --> 00:40:46.239 Abraham knows that he only has Isaac through the gift of God in the first place. 00:40:46.400 --> 00:40:54.639 And it is only as the initial gift is freely surrendered that the Lord restores it again with renewed blessings. 00:40:54.880 --> 00:41:03.599 If we look at verses 15 through 18 of Genesis 22, you'll notice that the angel of the Lord speaks to Abraham a second time. 00:41:03.840 --> 00:41:07.599 We often focus on the initial words of the angel as he calls from heaven. 00:41:07.840 --> 00:41:10.960 Abraham, Abraham, do not harm the boy. 00:41:11.199 --> 00:41:19.519 Do not do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me. 00:41:19.679 --> 00:41:22.079 That seems to be the climax of the story. 00:41:22.320 --> 00:41:25.440 And we all breathe a collective sigh of relief. 00:41:25.679 --> 00:41:31.760 Isaac is saved, and God is not a horrifically barbaric God requiring human sacrifice. 00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:35.679 And so we pass lightly over verses 15 through 18. 00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:42.079 And yet, those verses are of great significance in the traditional Jewish interpretation. 00:41:42.320 -->

00:41:55.119 In an earlier podcast, I talked about how God revealed and bestowed covenant blessings line upon line, precept upon precept, of those texts which mention the blessings promised to Abraham and his descendants. 00:41:55.440 --> 00:42:07.760 This is the only one in the Bible where these blessings are explicitly presented as a reward because of Abraham's unquestioning, unhesitating obedience and actions. 00:42:08.159 --> 00:42:43.679 Quote, the Lord's angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, By my own self, I swear, declares the Lord, that because you have done this thing and have not held back your son, your only one, I will greatly bless you and will greatly multiply your seed as the stars in the heavens and as the sand on the shore of the sea, and your seed will take hold of its enemy's gate, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through your seed, because you have listened to my voice. 00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:52.000 Abraham has already been promised innumerable posterity, but now he has proven himself truly worthy of that promise. 00:42:52.239 --> 00:43:03.199 Yet here Sakovich writes that the blessing in chapter 22 appears only after Abraham has proved his readiness to obey the Lord's command. 00:43:03.519 --> 00:43:12.000 Abraham's devotion and trust in God is intensified with the transition from the first test to the last one. 00:43:12.239 --> 00:43:17.199 The reader's admiration grows with reading the second story. 00:43:17.440 --> 00:43:24.480 And yet, chapter 22 helps us to evaluate Abraham's behavior in chapter 12. 00:43:24.719 --> 00:43:37.920 If the first go-forth story suggests that Abraham obeys God only because of the blessings which accompany the command, it's relatively easy to be righteous when the sacrifice demanded is not enormous. 00:43:38.159 --> 00:43:42.800 The second story shows that this is not a correct judgment. 00:43:43.039 --> 00:43:50.800 Abraham is ready to obey any command from God, even if it demands the greatest sacrifices. 00:43:51.039 --> 00:43:59.599 Dzokovych notes that the combination of the two go forth test stories reminds us of the story with which. 00:44:00.079 --> 00:44:05.920 The book of Job begins, in which the covert lesson of the Abraham stories becomes overt. 00:44:06.159 --> 00:44:13.440 The Satan, the adversary, accuses Job of fearing God only because God has made him prosperous. 00:44:13.679 --> 00:44:18.079 He assumes that Job's faithfulness will not survive God's test. 00:44:18.480 --> 00:44:22.480 The adversary, Hasatan, is proved wrong. 00:44:22.800 --> 00:44:30.000 Even after his most difficult trial, the death of his children, his faithfulness is not shaken. 00:44:30.320 --> 00:44:36.000 For all that, Job did not sin, nor did he cast reproach on God. 00:44:36.400 --> 00:44:52.079 So finally, I want to point out that there is a difference in the divine promise given in chapter 22, which is that it is through Abraham's descendants and not Abraham himself, that all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 00:44:52.239 --> 00:44:57.679 And perhaps this is because the test of Abraham focused entirely on his son. 00:44:58.079 --> 00:45:02.159 And by implication, all of his descendants were at risk. 00:45:02.480 --> 00:45:06.239 And there is no sand of the sea if Isaac dies. 00:45:06.559 --> 00:45:13.679 And so it seems appropriate that the divine blessing should concentrate entirely on those descendants. 00:45:14.079 --> 00:45:24.159 Also, there is this really interesting note of military triumph in verse 17 that the seed of Abraham would take hold of its enemy's gate. 00:45:24.639 --> 00:45:37.760 I think that although this does refer to each of us, it ultimately is speaking of Jesus Christ, through whom and because of whom all the nations of the earth are blessed. 00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:44.559 The Father's hand was not stayed in his sacrifice upon that cross at Calvary. 00:45:44.719 --> 00:45:49.039 It was Jesus who took hold of and unlocked the doors of the enemy's gate. 00:45:49.360 --> 00:45:52.880 We sing a hymn, we'll sing all hail to Jesus' name. 00:45:53.039 --> 00:46:03.840 And it says, We'll sing all hail to Jesus' name and praise and honor give to him who bled on Calvary's Hill and died that we might live. 00:46:04.159 --> 00:46:06.320 He passed the portals of the grave. 00:46:06.800 --> 00:46:08.400 Salvation was his song. 00:46:08.880 --> 00:46:13.199 He called upon the sin bound soul to join the heavenly throng. 00:46:13.760 --> 00:46:20.480 He seized the gates, the keys of death and hell, and bruised the serpent's head. 00:46:21.119 --> 00:46:28.400 He bid the prison doors, those gates, unfold, the grave yield up her dead. 00:46:29.199 --> 00:46:36.320 Right now, as we're recording this, we're in the middle of Lent, we're just approaching Holy Week, we're approaching Easter. 00:46:37.039 --> 00:46:39.280 And this is what we're celebrating. 00:46:39.840 --> 00:46:42.400 He seized the keys of death and hell. 00:46:42.880 --> 00:46:47.519 He seized the gates of the enemy and he opened them up to all of us. 00:46:47.760 --> 00:46:56.719 So one day we can complete the hero's journey and we can return, having overcome the obstacles through him, to our Father in heaven. 00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:00.800 Great stuff. 00:47:01.039 --> 00:47:01.760 Good stuff. 00:47:01.920 --> 00:47:03.039 Happy Lent. 00:47:03.360 --> 00:47:04.239 Happy Lent. 00:47:04.400 --> 00:47:06.320 Happy Holy Week and Easter's coming. 00:47:06.400 --> 00:47:10.559 Um, I had a thought while you were reading about well, you're talking about this. 00:47:10.719 --> 00:47:17.760 I have a friend who lost a baby and full term and just in the last little bit. 00:47:17.920 --> 00:47:19.039 It was tragic. 00:47:19.280 --> 00:47:22.800 She says Mary knew what she was getting into from the beginning. 00:47:22.880 --> 00:47:28.480 And I've heard people often say, Oh, do you think that Abraham's wife, do you think Sarah knew what was happening? 00:47:28.559 --> 00:47:29.840 And I think she did. 00:47:30.079 --> 00:47:39.280 I think she too was part of that following God and trusting him and being probably terrified and upset and fearful and crying. 00:47:39.360 --> 00:47:41.840 And yeah, I don't think that he did this in a vacuum. 00:47:42.000 --> 00:47:43.039 I think they did it together. 00:47:43.199 --> 00:47:43.599 Yeah. 00:47:44.079 --> 00:47:47.039 Not did it, but I think that they trusted God together. 00:47:47.360 --> 00:48:00.400 Yeah, there's a a Jewish midrash that talks about the fact that the faith of Abraham was so great that he believed that even if God had called on him to sacrifice Isaac, God would have resurrected him. 00:48:01.360 --> 00:48:11.679 And I think that that idea, right, that sometimes we are called on to sacrifice the things that are very precious to us. 00:48:12.000 --> 00:48:19.039 But as it says in the Book of Mormon, the Lord will consecrate all of our losses for our good. 00:48:19.360 --> 00:48:27.199 And I think that there is ultimately consecration through him in the sacrifices that we are called to make. 00:48:27.440 --> 00:48:30.719 Yeah, and it's usually not the end of the story. 00:48:30.800 --> 00:48:31.039 Right. 00:48:31.199 --> 00:48:37.519 At that point, God, he has, he will, and he will continue to provide the ram and the thicket. 00:48:37.599 --> 00:48:37.920 Yes. 00:48:38.239 --> 00:48:39.840 Okay, so that's it for today. 00:48:40.079 --> 00:48:41.360 Okay, thank you, Cindy. 00:48:41.519 --> 00:48:44.559 Yeah, and we will see you guys here next week. 00:48:47.519 --> 00:48:51.840 Thank you for listening to the Scripture Study Podcast, your midweek Bible boost. 00:48:52.000 --> 00:48:57.840 Everything we mentioned on this podcast, if we said there would be a link to it, it is in the show notes wherever you find your podcast. 00:48:58.159 --> 00:49:02.800 Cindy Madsen currently does not believe in or participate in social media. 00:49:02.880 --> 00:49:08.960 However, if you would like to follow along with Susan Peterson, she could be found on Instagram at susan.m.peterson. 00:49:09.360 --> 00:49:18.880 Have a good weekend.