Exile-Homecoming

Good interpretation of the Bible requires us to grasp the biblical meta-narrative of creation, sin, exile, and redemption (or Creation-Fall-Redemption-Consummation). This CSER paradigm provides a framework for all of us to understand any sin-salvation stories in the Story. For example, the theme of homecoming-exile runs throughout the Bible. When Tim Keller expounds the story of Luke 15, he is able to use the biblical framework to interpret the lostness of both younger and older brothers.

In The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith (New York: RiverHead Books, 2008), Tim Keller writes:

After Adam and Eve’s exile from the ultimate home, their son Cain was forced to restlessly wander the earth because he murdered his brother Abel. Later Jacob cheated his father and brother and fled into exile for years. After that, Jacob’s son Joseph and his family were taken from their homeland into Egypt because of a famine. There the Israelites were enslaved until, under Moses, they returned to their ancestral home. Centuries after this, David, before he became king, lived as a hunted fugitive. Finally the whole nation of Israel was exiled again, taken captive to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.

It is no coincidence that story after story contains the pattern of exile. The message of the Bible is that the human race is a band of exiles trying to come home. The parable of the prodigal son is about every one of us. (p. 109)

This is a very good biblical interpretation and theology. Keller places the story of Luke 15—The Story of Lost and Found—into the larger Story of the Bible. Due to the overall Story, it gives us more insights to look into this sin-salvation story. The theme of homecoming-exile enriches our understanding of the story and helps us apply into our contexts creatively.