An Unfolding Drama
Unfolding Drama
Genesis 14:1 In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim...
There’s a quality of the biblical narrative that compels me as much as it confounds me, and it’s the fact that the inspired authors often thrust us right into the middle of the action—in media res as the Latins called it—rather than providing helpful contextual information from at the beginning. For example, when God calls Abram in Genesis 12, Abram’s already seventy-five years old, and we know nothing about him except that he’s the son of Terah and that he’s wealthy. And when we read here in chapter 14, “in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, etc…”, we know nothing about what sort of men these kings are, and what connection they have to God’s wider drama, so the whole scene is shrouded in that engrossing, signature ambiguity that distinguishes all of God’s revelation: the mystery we call providence.
Friend, maybe the reason your walk of faith today, like the Bible in your lap, has a million blanks you can’t fill in is because the Author wants you to trust His wisdom rather than your own.