Tell Me a Story...

One of the most universal human impulses can be summed up in four words – tell me a story. According to Professor Leland Ryken, “the Bible satisfies that human demand for a story.” (Words of Delight: A Literary Introduction to the Bible – Second Edition, by Leland Ryken). Narrative is the dominant literary form found in the Bible. It is believed that some 40% of the Old Testament is narrative.
Henry Luce, founder of Time magazine would most likely agree with Ryken. Luce once quipped, “Time did not start this emphasis on stories about people; the Bible did.”

To further reinforce the point about the dominant use of narrative in the Bible, literary critic Robert Alter said, “It is peculiar, and culturally significant, that among ancient peoples, only Israel should have chosen to cast its sacred national traditions in prose.” (The Art of Biblical Narrative).

One wonders, why did the writers of the Bible, and more specifically the Old Testament, steer away from the literary forms that were commonly used among other religions in ancient culture? Put differently, why did the biblical writers prefer to use prose narrative to tell their stories?

The impulse of the Bible writers was to give a circumstantial and factual basis to their stories. The result is what literary scholars call realism. Literary realism shares with history and biography the quality of being rooted in observable reality. In addition, we associate realism with the tendency to be concrete, vivid and specific.

Part of the realism of Bible stories is the refusal of writers to omit sordid actions in the name of niceness. For instance, the choice and role of David as king of Israel is remarkable. He earned the title of “a man after God’s own heart”. However, unlike some ancient writings, the Bible does not hesitate to point out that Dave was a murderer, an adulterer and someone who abused his royal authority. 

Another thing that links the stories of the Bible with literary realism is their focus on common experience and characters of average social standing. This is in sharp contrast to ancient stories like the epics of Homer, where only aristocratic characters count for much and people of lesser standing are a nameless, faceless group. 

In narrative, one of the goals of a writer in telling a story is to invite readers to share an experience with the characters in the story. For the writer, the plot, characters, and setting of a story are the means by which he or she communicates aspects of reality.

Jesus illustrates this point well when asked to define who is a neighbor. He could have given a simple definition to the lawyer who confronted Him. Instead, Jesus wanted to involve the man in the answer He was about to give. So, He told the man a story. 

As with any good story-teller, the story Jesus told included setting, action and character. Upon hearing the story, the lawyer concluded that the neighbor was the character who had mercy on the victim. Although that character did not have the profile of someone who would do the neighborly thing, the lawyer chose him. His choice required him to listen, to analyze and to exercise judgment. 

Following that story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus said to the lawyer, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:38). Jesus understood that the use of narrative as a literary device draws one into encounters with characters and events and make response inevitable.

The outcome was no different when Nathan the prophet confronted King David about his despicable behavior (2 Samuel 12). David was quick to pass judgment on the abusing character in the story Nathan told. At that point Nathan exposed David as the real abuser. The character in Nathan’s story drew David into an encounter that demanded a response. 

Is it possible that the frequent use of narrative as a literary device in the Bible was designed to solicit response by readers? The writer to the Book of Hebrews was convinced that biblical information had the power to provoke response. This is how he expressed his conviction: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

That ability to convict must also be seen in the context of narratives portraying God as hero or protagonist in the biblical stories. God’s role is often unmentioned, although obvious through one character. A good example is presented in the story of the Prodigal Son.

The actual title given to the story would seem to suggest that the main character in the story is the son who repented and returned home. I would encourage that you re-read the story, viewing the father of the prodigal as the main character. Something tells me that you will walk away with an appreciation for a forgiving and gracious God rather than a mere report on a worthless son who repented.