Tribute to Structure

Sheena, our beloved debating mentor, has drilled into our heads the accepted speech structure, namely:

1) Tell them what you're gonna tell them
2) Tell them what you're telling them
3) Tell them what you've just told them

Repetition, repetition, repetition! Get your point across by bombarding them with it.

The Hebrews used to do that too. Say it twice if it's important, and thrice to really get the point across. eg. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty. But they had another way of making their point, especially if it was extremely important: don't repeat it.

Their style of speech is called the chiasm, which is akin to the menorah.

It goes like this:

Point A

Point B

Point C

Point D

Point E

Point D'

Point C'

Point B'

Point A'

So what's the most important point? Point E is.

The whole book of Deuteronomy (one of the Law books in the Bible) is riddled with this structure, all interspersed within one another, chiasma within chiasma, chiasma linked with chiasma etc. Even some parts of Songs of Solomon (or Song of Songs) are written this way (eg. chapter 4:1-7), as with Ecclesiastes (11:3-12:2) Apparently this structure was the norm for speeches anywhere and everywhere, eg. in the courts. The words they use for each point are important as well - they use the same words in points A and A', B and B', etc. All these points lead up to the middle and main point and help support it, and the middle point stands out because its words are not repeated anywhere in the speech.

Imagine using this structure for a speech! Instead of repeating your main point, don't repeat it. Get your point across by a one-time-only pronouncement.

Hmm... you know what? I don't think so. Sheena, I'm sticking to your 3-part speech structure. Easier to construct. Though I did sort of use the chiasmic structure for this post... *grin* Check if it's right!

Debaters, I dare you present a speech with the chiasmic structure! *grin*

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But I didn't just learn about Deuteronomy's structure. I learnt about the Law (the Torah) that God gave through Moses. You'd think that the law would be a dry thing to read, but coming from Uncle Low Chai Hock's mouth it was transformed from a desert to a fresh river of information.

The law is a wonderful thing - a reflection of God's merciful and just character, and through our understanding and practising these laws we can come to better appreciate the expansiveness of His nature. The law itself was not a chain that bound the Israelites, but a white picket fence given of grace, suggestive of where they can safely roam with God's favour. And if they did roam outside the fence, there would be consequences to pay, but God loved them anyway.

If there was one thing that really struck me that night when Uncle Chai Hock was expounding on Deuteronomy, it was that Moses' main point in the book was that Israel was a chosen but corrupt generation, and God gave them the Torah knowing that somewhere down the line they would disobey the law. The Israelites, although special in the fact that they were the chosen people of God, still forgot and backslid to the ways of the world, and human-ness. And God still was with them.

And so it is the same with us. We live by the law of God, which we never fail to break, but we also live by His grace, giving us a chance to go back to Him and gain His forgiveness, like the father who lets his child return to his arms even though the child erred. We are the corrupt generation, but blessed because He has chosen us. And I will be forever grateful.

Written 30 August 2004

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Okay, so Uncle Low Chai Hock's session covering Deuteronomy was ages ago, but somehow my write-up got lost in the draft section of Blogger. Thus the much delayed posting. Yesterday night on a whim and fancy I took up my copy of CS Lewis' Mere Christianity to read. I recommend it to all you readers out there, Christian or non-Christian. As for you non-readers, sorry, you're missing out. Will probably be writing about it when I finish reading (and perhaps re-reading) it later.

I like free weekends because it means I can read in peace. :)