Biblical Stories for Psychotherapy and Counseling PDF

Chapter 3 ========= ##### *INTRODUCTION* *63* ### *Biblical Narrative* #### ily. ### *Clinical Implications* ##### *FOCUSING ON ONE\'S MAIN AIM:* SARAH AND HAGAR ##### *Clinical Implications* ##### *DISTINGUISHING MOT/VATIONS:* MICHAL, DAVID, AND SAUL ##### *Clinical Implications* ##### *T...

Chapter 3 ========= ##### *INTRODUCTION* *63* ### *Biblical Narrative* #### ily. ### *Clinical Implications* ##### *FOCUSING ON ONE\'S MAIN AIM:* SARAH AND HAGAR ##### *Clinical Implications* ##### *DISTINGUISHING MOT/VATIONS:* MICHAL, DAVID, AND SAUL ##### *Clinical Implications* ##### *TWO VIEWS OF WISDOM:* SOLOMON AND TIIE TWO MOTHERS ### *Clinical Implications* ### *TWO TYPES OF GIVING: CAIN AND ABEL* ### *Clinical Implications* Chapter 4 ========= 77 I. One who trusts God accepts God\'s judgment in all matters and thanks him for what seems good and also for what seems evil. One who does not trust God boasts of his good fortune and is ex­ asperated at his bad fortune. and he is more subject to the vacil­ lations of life. 2. One who trusts God knows that God will always do only what is good. and his own mind can therefore be at rest. The other is al­ ways troubled and anxious even when he is prosperous. because he constantly drives himself to increase his possessions. He handles adversity poorly because it is so much against his de­ sires and his nature. 3. The man who trusts relies on God and not on his own work. It is man·s duty to work, but any success or accomplishment comes only from God. One who does not trust God occupies himself with means that he d?es trust (though wrongly) and grows angry and despondent if his means do not succeed. 4. One who loves God gives freely of the goodness of his heart. One who does not trust God regards the world as insufficient for his needs. He is more careful in earning and saving money than in fulfilling his duties to God and man. 5. One who trusts God occupies himself with his daily affairs as part of his spiritual life and his preparation for the world to come. One who does not trust God puts his trust in his own live­ lihood and may not refrain from using even dubious means to attain it. 6. One who trusts God will earn the trust of aJI sorts of people be­ cause they are sure he means them no harm and that he demands no benefits from them. One who does not trust God can have no true friend because he always covets what his neighbor has. He blames others when his desires are not fulfilled or when evils come on him, and he grows to hate other people. 7. One who trusts in God neither rejoices nor grieves about the fu­ ture. He is concerned only with fulfilling his duties to God. He accepts the Mishnah\'s precept, \"Repent one day before your death,\" and tries to improve himself steadily through his life. One who does not trust God wornes about the future. He stores wealth as if it could give him security. He feels that his life will never end, yet he puts off his spiritual obligations and needs, thinking that it is more important to assure security for himself and his family by storing up wealth just in case death should strike him unexpectedly. ##### *DEALING WITH COMMANDMENTS:* ABRAHAM AND ISAAC ### *Biblical Narrative* #### Jewish thought does not encourage the making of vows. Often one makes a vow that is unrealistic or punishing to one\'s self or to others. It expresses a momentary intensity of emotion that may be rooted in flighty motivation and foolish goals. Vows of abstinence too are sin­ ful, for a person must enjoy God\'s world. Jephthah was a leader who made an impetuous and ill-considered vow and brought tragedy on himself and others. ##### *Clinical Implications* ##### *COMMUNICATING TIIROUGII PARABLES:* NATHAN AND DAVID ### *Clinical Implications* *DEAUNG WITH TEMPTATIONS: ADAM AND EVE* --------------------------------------- ### *Biblical Narrative* #### for an illusory freedom. Woman and freedom are not at odds, but there is the danger that woman and man will be tempted by false free­ doms, which lead to an overwhelming awareness of their own vulner­ ability. *Clil;zical lmplicatwns* ------------------------ *REJECTING TEMPTATIONS:* JOSEPH AND POTIPHAR \'S WIFE ----------------------------------------------------- *93* ##### *CONFRONTING IMMORALITY: Pll/NEIIAS* *TAKING REVENGE: SIMEON AND LEVI* --------------------------------- ### *Biblical Narrative* ##### *Clinical Implications* ##### *MISPLACED MERCY, MISPLACED VIOLENCE:* KING SAUL ##### *Clinical Implications* ##### *PROTECTING THE INNOCENT: MOSES* 1. Moses descended 1ount Sinai after forty days of study with God. He was bringing to the Israelite people the Ten Command­ ments inscribed by God on two tablet& of stone. Moses walked down the mountain and saw people worshiping the golden calf. \"And he saw the calf and the dancing, and Moses reacted angrily and cast the tablets from his hand, breaking them at the base of the mountain\" (Exodus 32:19). Moses\' anger was in this case very suitable. The people had behaved badly, and they did not deserve the divinely made tablets. God later signaled approval of Moses\' act by spending a second forty days with him on the mountain and by giving him a second set of tablets. 2. Exodus 2:11-15. Moses was raised as a prince in Pharaoh\'s pal­ ace, but the princess, his stepmother, had informed him of his Hebrew origin. When he grew old enough, Moses went forth to see the Hebrews oppressed in their slavery, and his heart went out to them. A certain Egyptian overseer was beating a slave. Looking around and seeing no other Egyptians, Moses killed the man and hid his body in the sand. Moses had been careless. He could accomplish nothing for the slaves by killing one task­ master. Perhaps the taskmaster did not even deserve to be killed for beating the slave. More dangerous for Moses was that he had been careless of his own safety. Someone, perhaps one of the slaves, reported Moses\' deed to Pharaoh, who sought to arrest Moses and to execute him. Moses was forced to flee Egypt. He returned many years later when God sent him to lead the He­ brew exodus from Egypt. Again, Moses\' killing of the Egyptian was noble, fed by his compassion for the slaves. However, it was ill-considered in that it was too violent and, in fact, accom­ pfo,hed little, putting Moses in danger. 3. Many years passed. By now. Moses had long been the leader of the Israelites in the wilderness. The people came with a legiti­ mate request for water. God told Moses to speak to a certain rock and it would bring forth water. However, feeling that the people\'s request was out of line and rebellious, Moses overre­ acted, addressing them harshly, \"Hear ye rebels\" (Numbers 20:10). In his anger, Moses then smote the rock with his staff in­ stead of speaking to it as he was commanded. God punished him by decreeing that he would not be permitted to enter the land of Israel. 4. Moses had endured many months of dealing with Pharaoh\'s cruelties toward the Hebrews and with his constant reneging on promises to let them depart from Egypt. After the ninth plague­ darkness-Pharaoh finally told Moses that \"you will never see my face again for on the day you will see my face you shall surely die\" (Exodus 10:28). Moses could deal with the frustra­ tions and disappointments of his labors and even with the hard­ ships and sufferings of his people, but until now there had al­ ways seemed some small hope that Pharaoh could still be dealt with peaceably and successfully. ;\\;ow Pharaoh himself seemed to be rejecting with finality all of Moses\' goodwill as well as his own human duty to the Hebrews. It seems to have pained Moses deeply to see a human being so persistent in his foolish wrong­ doing and purposefully hurtling to his own self-destruction. Moses became angry-\"And Moses departed in anger from be­ fore Pharaoh\" (Exodus 11:8). The Scripture give no indication that Moses\' anger was in any way wrong or unjust. ##### *Clinical Implications* ##### *ESCAPING CYNICISM:* HEZEKIAH VERSUS RABSHAKEH *Clinical lmplicatiom* ---------------------- #### It is often tempting to project a worldly cynicism to protect oneself from hurt or disappointment. \"I didn\'t really expect anything,\" one might say. \"and you are naive to have hope.\" This can extend to pro­ tecting oneself from rejection in love and failure in work.