The story we find ourselves in

Conversation:
Abraham's descendents go through cycle after cycle of following God's calling, and then drifting or rebelling, eventually playing for the wrong side, and then repenting and returning to God's agenda, God's dream, and then they lose their way again, and so on. Through it all, God is their faithful guide and companion. And through it all, the conversation with and about God and humanity intensifies.

God led Abraham out of Iraq to a land in the south called Palestine. After he settled in Palestine, Abraham had a son called Isaac, whose name means 'laughter' and Isaac had a son called Jacob, who had twelve sons one of whom was called Joseph.

Joseph ended up in Egypt where his descendents were enslaved by the Egyptians. Moses persuaded Pharaoh to let the people go and the people left Egypt, but wandered as nomads for forty years before they were ready to reconquer their homeland.

Back in Israel, their leaders who were called judges, were eventually replaced by kings, some of whom, like the great King David, were good kings, but many more were bad. Finally, God judged his people by sending Assyrian marauders from the north, from modern day Iraq.

They didn't kill everyone though, but brought many of them to their cities, and there they lived in exile as slaves or servants. Finally, some of them gained permission to return to their homeland and rebuild their capital city of Jerusalem, along with their temple. And that is the story line of the Hebrew Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament.

Throughout all of this the people are gaining a deeply held identity as a special people with a special relationship with God. Sometimes they forget that identity, but God always reignites the flame that flickers or burns low.

God is not a control-freak. He is much more a companion, a conversation partner with people, guiding them, but not manipulating them, not robbing them of their gift of freedom.

This is the story we find ourselves in.

Christ >>