Miracle or not?

Growing up as a child and teenager in a church environment created certain pictures in my mind. In those days I would never question what appeared to be miracles recorded in the Bible. I had done no study of the subject and therefore took the whole idea at face value.

Later on in life I was challenged to take another look at all this and see what I thought then. I met a man who was very keen to describe Jesus as a political figure and this threw me in my thinking. But eventually I began examining the miracle stories and started to wonder if they were true. I came across a story about a group of soldiers who were in the Sinai Camel Corps and had halted at a dry wadi. At the foot of a rock face they could see water trickling out of the limestone rock. They were slowly trying to expose the foot of the rock face to see if more water could be persuaded to come out. The sergeant became exasperated at the slow pace of their activities and grabbed a spade from one man, exclaiming, "Here, give it to me!" He started to swing the spade in huge powerful strokes to get down into the rough sand. One swing was off target and he hit the rock with some force. The outer crust of hard rock broke away, exposing the softer stone beneath and out from an aperture gushed a great fountain of water.

Moses found water in this way on at least two occasions. No doubt he had discovered the technique whilst exiled among the Midianites. So we appear to have discovered a local feature that, to anyone who had not been in this place previously, would have appeared miraculous. So now we have the problem of how to view the so-called miracle of Exodus Chapter 17. It seems that we will understand the story better by treating it, not as a miracle, but an episode of wonder expressed by people who had not seen this happen before.

Earlier in Exodus we have the story of the burning bush. An American expert in botany has two possible suggestions as to how this miracle might have been seen as such. Firstly, there is a variety of Fraxinella, the Dietamnus Albus L which is a plant of strong growth about three feet high. It is covered with tiny oil glands and the oil is so volatile that it is forever escaping and if approached with a naked light burst sudenly into flames. Secondly, and more likely as a suspect, is the plant, Loranthus Accaciae. There are crimson blossoms of mistletoe twigs that grow on prickly acacia bushes throughout the Holy Land and Sinai. In full bloom the bush becomes a mass of flaming colour and appears to be on fire. Whilst this does not explode the idea of the burning bush as a miracle it goes some way to explain how the original story might have come about.

Of course there is the old chestnut about the flood story in which Noah, his family, and two of every animal species survived a flood that covered the entire world. It might be disappointing to learn that the story of Noah's Ark is older and borrowed from an earlier civilisation. Back in the middle of the 19th century archaeologists discovered clay tablets which formed a huge library at Nineveh. Among these were twelve tablets that referred to a story known today as the Epic of Gilgamesh. The tablets were, as I have said, clay, and were inscribed with what were originally thought to be patterns. But later these were found to be specimens of writing that preceded the hieroglyphics of Ancient Egypt. This became known as cuneiform writing (wedge shaped). The language was Akkadian and it told a tale that was truly amazing. The eleventh tablet told how Prince Utnapishtim was instructed by his gods "O man of Shuruppak, son of Ubar-Tutu, tear down thy house, build a ship: abandon wealth, seek after life; scorn possessions, save thy life. Bring up the seed of all kinds of living things into the ship: the ship which thou shalt build. Let its dimensions be well measured."

Later in the story we hear, "All that I had I loaded, of the seed of all living things. I brought into the ship my whole family and kinsfolk. The cattle of the field, the beasts of the field, all craftsmen - I made them go up into it. I went into the ship and closed my door. As soon as a gleam of dawn shone in the sky, came a black cloud from the foundation of heaven. Inside it Adad thundered. Adad's rage reached to the heavens: turning all light to darkness."

Later the tale continued: "Six days and nights raged the wind, the flood, the cyclone devastated the land. When the seventh day came, the cyclone, the flood, the battle was over, which had battled like an army. the sea became calm, the cyclone died away, the flood ceased. All mankind had turned to clay. The ground was flat like a roof. I opened the window and the light fell upon my face. The ship lay on Mount Nisir.

It is difficult to imagine such a storm that can range so far, or is it? The great Tsunami in south east Asia tells us that nature can be amazingly destructive. But what matters in this context is that the story of Noah's Ark is borrowed from the Epic of Gilgamesh and is therefore not an original story. It is true to say that many population groups have their own flood stories that speak of ancient inundations. There could be many interpretations but we can assume that we ought to accept the story of Noah's Ark as a tale with a moral. It tells us that ultimately God saves his people and we have learned this all through the stories of the Bible.

The most important thing to remember is that, even though we might find some stories unbelievable - and they probably are - nevertheless we should try to work out not what happened in that day but what is the message that the story carries?

My favourite Old Testament story is the Book of Job. Consider firstly how it begins. Chapter 1, verse 6 goes like this "the day came when the members of the court of heaven took their places in the presence of the Lord, and the Adversary, Satan, was there among them." So the story is written as if by an eye witness of a heavenly board meeting. The tale proceeds with a discussion about Job, God's favourite. The meeting ends with Satan being given power to do what he will, provided he touches not a hair of Job's head. How can anyone accept this as a true happening? Yet many do.

We continue with Job's so-called comforters insisting time and again that he must have done wrong to become as afflicted as he was. Eventually we reach Chapter 38 and an epic poem begins. As literature, it stands head and shoulders above a great deal of the books of the Bible. Listen how this section begins:

"Then the Lord answered Job out of the tempest:

Who is this who darkens counsel with words devoid of knowledge? Brace yourself and stand up like a man; I shall put questions to you, and you must answer." What follows is pure and beautiful literature, and I love it greatly. This amazing piece of literature is so lengthy that no one could do it justice if a mere part of it were read in a church service.

I could continue with many instances that show us not to take what is written literally but to see the truth in it. This is what the Bible is to us today. It speaks the truth - God's truth. But do not take it as a record of history or actual occurrences in every case. read and interpret it in terms of faith in God who can be relied upon to bring you through.