3 Triangles in the Bible - Love, Drama and the Empowerment Triangles

Triangles come in all shapes and sizes and so do complex relationships in the Bible.

Never one to steer clear of a controversial subject let's discuss Biblical triangles.

Love triangles

When I think of the ancient practice of polygamy - I automatically think of love triangles and of the phenomena of how one triangle can give birth to another and so one.

Abraham, Sarai and Hagar - equal one such love triangle. Abraham married Sarai, and after years of trying for a child, she offered her maidservant Hagar to Abraham. After Ishmael, Abraham and Hagar's son was born, Sarai began to mistreat them both. 

Hagar was sent away with her son after things became too heated and wept in the wilderness, thinking that she would die in the wilderness. God heard her tears from heaven and dispatched an angel to her side. The angel asked them both to return to Abraham's abode and that they would be blessed by Yahweh, their God - GENESIS 16.

In the love triangle there is always a protagonist - the persecutor - in this case Sarai, the victim - Hagar and Ishmael, and the rescuer - Abraham, who was trying to keep the peace within his home. 

The ultimate rescuer of all three players in the triangle is God Yahweh, who encourages all to follow the principles in his love letter from heaven - the Bible.

The Drama Triangle

Jacob had 12 sons, one of whom he loved more than the others, Joseph. He was despised by his jealous siblings, so much so that they sold him into slavery, he was then trafficked again by traders and found himself an employee in the house of Potiphar. 

Joseph's parents loved him dearly, but his mother was herself involved in a love triangle as Jacob had married her, Rachel, and her older sister - Leah - GENESIS 29. There was an animosity between the two sisters and their husband, with whom they had to share conjugal relations. 

Joseph then became the subject in a drama triangle when he was propositioned by Potiphar's wife and declined her offer due to his moral standards - GENESIS 39. Joseph was the victim, Potiphar's wife the persecutor and the rescuer - God Yahweh. It may seem as if God waited a long time to rescue Joseph from the dire situation of being falsely accused, imprisoned for 13 years before God released him into the employment of Pharoah - GENESIS 41. 

The Empowerment Triangle (David Emerald)

The 3 players in the empowerment triangle are Creator, Coach and Challenger, unlike the Drama Triangle, (Karpman), in this triangle the players also face challenges, the differences are they harness power from within and or with therapeutic, spiritual support from others the foremost being God, in order to surmount their challenges. In surmounting their challenges a paradigm shift occurs and spiritual growth is enhanced.

In the New Testament, a leper, deemed by society to a social outcast, was empowered by sheer desperation, to reach out to Yeshua/Jesus the teacher and healer - despite protestations of others, and the leper was healed physically, emotionally and spiritually - MATTHEW 8:1-4. The mindset of the leper changed when he saw Yeshua/Jesus and humbly mentioned to him that the healer could heal him if it was his desire. The leper did not doubt Yeshua/Jesus' ability to heal him, the leper wanted reassurance that Yeshua/Jesus desired to heal him.