Here’s an interesting lens through which to view the story in the bible. Ever heard of Black Swans? Well, God sends Black Swans flying throughout the story.
That is to say, the Christian God is into turn and surprise.
In case you’re not familiar, here is an explanation of a Black Swan from Nassim Taleb, the famous originator of the Black Swan concept…
A Black Swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan
I have begun creating an index to the Black Swans which fly into the story in the Bible. Of course, it’s an incomplete work, but gives you a taste for this unique perspective.
In this index I also weaved in the structure of the story in the Bible fits with Shawn Coyne’s concept of the Beginning Hook, Middle Build, Ending Payoff.
The
Beginning Hook
Movement
One
From
the Balance in the Creation to the Inciting Incident, the Fall of Man in the
Garden
The
Inciting Incident in the Story in the Bible is a Black Swan Turn in the Story
Movement
Two
From
the Expulsion from the Garden to the Flood
The First Murder Was a Black Swan
The Flood Was a Black Swan Event
The Christian God’s Response to Mankind’s Descent Into Horrifying Violence Was a Black Swan Turn
And notice what Jesus had to
say about the Black Swan nature of the flood in Genesis…
“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
Matthew 24:36-41
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
Luke 17:26-30
Movement
Three
From
the Flood to the Dispersion of the Nations at the Tower of Babel
The Dispersion at the Tower of Babel Was a Black Swan
Turn in the Story in the Bible
The
Middle Build
Movement
One
From
Abraham to David
Abraham
Was a Black Swan
Genesis
11:27-32; Genesis
12:1-7; Acts
7:2-5; Romans
4:18-24; Hebrews
11:12; Ezekiel
16:1-5
A Black Swan For Pharaoh
Abraham’s Black Swan Battle
A Black Swan For Hagar
A Black Swan For Sodom and Gomorrah
Genesis
19; Lamentations
4:6; Luke
17:28-30
A Black Swan For Abimelech
Abraham’s Black Swan Child
Genesis
15:1-6; Genesis
17:15-19; Genesis
18:10-15; Genesis
21:1-7
The Black Swan Setup for the Sacrifice of the One and
Only Son
Job’s Black Swans
A Black Swan for Rebekah
The
Black Swan Story of Joseph
The Christian God is into setup and payoff, so I am wondering if there are aspects of this story which are setup for the Christ.
The Improbable Dream
Genesis
37:5-11
A Chance Encounter?
Genesis
37:15-17;
A Black Swan Betrayal Trip to Egypt
Genesis
37:18-28
From Potiphar to Prison
Genesis
39
The Prison Dreams
Genesis
40
From Prison to Pharaoh’s Right Hand
Genesis
41
A Black Swan For Joseph’s Betraying Brothers
Genesis
42; Genesis
43; Genesis
44; Genesis
45:1-24
A Black Swan For Jacob
Genesis
45:25-28; Genesis
46; Genesis
47
Jacob’s Blessing on Joseph
Genesis
49:22-26
A Glimpse at the Active Protagonist’s Black Swan
Purpose
Genesis
50:15-21
Moses
Was a Black Swan and So Was the Exodus
The Black Swan Multiplication of Israel
Exodus
1
The Black Swan Upbringing of Baby Moses
Exodus
2:1-10
From Elite to Exile
Exodus
2:11-22
The Black Swan Burning Bush
Exodus
3
The Reluctant Return to Egypt
Exodus
4
The Frustrating Encounter With Pharaoh
Exodus
5
The Continuing Doubts of Israel and Moses
Exodus
6
The Black Swan Plagues
Exodus
7; Exodus
8;Exodus
9; Exodus
10; Exodus
11; Exodus
12
The Black Swan at the Red Sea
Exodus
14
The
Black Swan Crossing Into the Promised Land
The
Black Swan Fall of Jericho
Joshua’s
Black Swan Day
Eglon’s
Black Swan Day
Gideon
Was a Black Swan
A
Black Swan For Dagon
Saul
Was a Black Swan
Movement
Two
From
David to the Deportation to Babylon
David
Was a Black Swan
Goliath’s Black Swan Day
Black
Swan Elements in the Psalms
Black
Swan Elements in Proverbs
The
Breakup of Israel Was a Black Swan
Asa’s
Black Swan
Jonah’s
Black Swan Fish Trip
The
Black Swan Repentance of the Ninevites
Sennacherib’s
Black Swan Night
2
Chronicles 32:1-23; 2
Kings 18-19; Isaiah
36-37
Black
Swan Elements in the Fall of the Assyrian Empire
Zephaniah
2:13-15; Nahum
1:9-14; Nahum
2:1-13; Nahum
3:8-11
The
Black Swan Rise of Babylon
The
Black Swan Fall of Jerusalem
Lamentations
1:8-9; Lamentations
4:1-12; Jeremiah
15:1-8 Jeremiah
18:18-22
Movement
Three
From
the Deportation to Babylon to the Christ
Black
Swans in the Book of Daniel
A Black Swan Veggie Tale
A Black Swan in a Furnace
Nebuchadnezzar’s Black Swan
The Black Swan Writing on the Wall
A Black Swan in a Lion’s Den
Esther
Was a Black Swan
Esther
2; Esther
5; Esther
6; Esther
7
Nehemiah’s
Black Swan Mission
The
Ending Payoff
Movement
One
The
King Comes
Jesus
is the Great Black Swan in the Story in the Bible
The Improbable King
Black Swans in the Life and Work of Jesus
The Black Swan Climax: The Crucifixion and
Resurrection
Movement
Two
The
Gospel Spreads to the Ends of the Earth
The Black Swan of Pentecost
A Black Swan For a Crippled Man
A Black Swan Warning to the Early Church
The Black Swan Conversion of Saul
The Black Swan Worming of Herod
God’s Black Swan Work
Movement
Three
The
Return of the King
Black Swan Elements of the Time of the Tribulation
The Black Swan Return of the King
The Black Swan Reign of the King of Kings on the Earth
The Black Swan Future of Israel
A Black Swan For the Betrayers at the End of the
Thousand Year Reign
The Black Swan Resolution in the Story in the Bible
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