Biblical Bluebonnets; Dysfunctional Families of the Bible

Bluebonnet Children have been around since the dawn of time. Ever since families have been putting down roots, some of them have been planted in poor soil. We are a broken people. While we see Bluebonnet Children within the programs of our church, they can also be found in our Bibles. Their stories, we must remember, are descriptive as opposed to prescriptive.

Certain scriptural scenes, though recorded, were not fabricated (nor blessed) by God; they are simply describing the sinful choices of others. The most bizarre descriptive texts usually speak to the cross-cultural, time-traveling adventure that is reading one’s Bible. Other portions of scripture are divinely recommended for us to “go and do likewise”.  God must hate the darkness of the first as much as we do; but we must remember that in all things, God is at work for good.  The stories below are heavy, but in Christ there is hope.

When did you last prepare a lesson over Jephthah from the book of Judges?  This is not a very common lesson in the Children’s Ministry realm, for the only “take-home point” it delivers is ‘how to be a bad father.’ Jephthah’s  mother was a harlot and his father was well-to-do.  Jephthah was sent to live with his father, where he was then despised and mistreated by his half-siblings.  Jephthah’s father was silent through all this mistreatment.  Fueled by his rage, Jephthah grew into a mighty warrior that led the Israelites into battle against Ammon.  He then took a vow and sacrificed his daughter after defeating the Ammonites.

There was also King Saul’s daughter, Michal, who we meet in 1 Samuel. She fell hard for the future king of Israel, David. In a sense, he already felt like family to her due to his friendship with her brother and professional relationship with her Father. Unlike the customs of the day, she proclaimed her love to David first. Sadly, it is not recorded if this love was reciprocated. What we do know is that this initiated her use as a pawn in a slew of governmental games between the two men and her brother. Her assertive love for David, in time morphed into an assertive distaste. While David’s fame & fortune grew, so too did her bitterness. In time, her poor soil of the house of Judah disintegrated.

As it goes for most Bluebonnet Children, “bitterness breeds bitterness” and the abusive cycle continues. Those roots just dig deeper and deeper into poor soil with each passing generation. At least this was the case for King David’s righteous daughter, Tamar. Not only does the church detest this scriptural scene, but I am certain God does as well.  Her brother, Amnon and his cousin, Jonadab, created a sick scheme so that Amnon could act on his lustful feelings towards her. Amnon raped Tamar.

Out of pure hate, Amnon tried to send Tamar away after, but she fought him on this. Despite the fact that this was unlawful (in many ways), David, did nothing because of his love for Amnon.  Thankfully her other brother, Absolom, took her to live with him where she lived out the rest of her days in despair and depression. Absolom shared these feelings with her until the grudge erupted into him having Amnon murdered.

Oh, if only we weren’t a fallen people. If only all parents strived for the example of Elizabeth and Zechariah in the book of Luke. As proud parents of John the Baptist, they were “righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.” If only all parents in our programs viewed their role in this way. But, like the above families, some have roots grounded in very poor soil. We don’t deny this. We face it “heart on”. We choose to focus our energy on the potential that is the Bluebonnet Child. Despite the poor soil, her bonnets develop beautifully once showered with God’s grace.

Questions to Ponder

1. How do prescriptive (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Matthew 28:16-20, Philippians 4:13) Biblical texts compare to descriptive (1 Kings 11:3, 1 Corinthians 14:34, Colossians 4:1) texts? Can you think of any other examples of either? 
2. What evidence exists that God was still at work despite the darkness of Tamar’s story? Where is the grace? Where is the healing? 
3. We know what not all manuscripts were canonized into our Holy Scriptures. If any details are shared about a person’s life in a Biblical scene, we know we should pay extra close attention because these moments are rare. What is the significance of Elizabeth and Zechariah’s story (Luke 1) as loving, faithful and intentional parenting “making the cut?” Why did the author feel the need to describe their faithful dynamics? Is there any relationship to this and the grand arrival in the following chapter (Luke 2)?