Biblical Models of Manhood

What I wish I'd been taught about masculinity

After reading my children the story of Noah recently and watching the film adaptation with Russell Crowe, I’ve been thinking about Biblical models of masculinity. I often get asked what books to read to learn about being a better man. Where is the confused modern man supposed to look? Achilles? Odysseus? No. In fact, Dante rightly places both of these in Hell in his great poem. The more righteous Hector — the true hero of the Iliad — makes it into Limbo, but our best guides are in the Bible.

This, then, will be a four-part series of articles covering everything I wish I’d been taught in my early twenties:

1. Noah, Abram/Abraham, Joseph

2. Job, Moses, Gideon, Joshua, Samson

3. David, Solomon, Elias, Tobias

4. Christ

Because I wasn’t taught it, however, I was a confused Nietzschean until I figured things out the hard way. And now I can make sure that doesn’t happen to you.

Noah: Riding the Storm

The story of Noah and the Flood (Genesis 6:11–9:19) is a model of fortitude, faith and fear. ’Fortitude,’ said the Rev. Charles Callan, ‘is like a strong tower or like an army that protects the other virtues.’ Without fortitude, for example, a judge will be too scared to give the just verdict. What if he gets cancelled? But in a corrupt world, Noah had the courage to do only what was pleasing to God.

He was too manly to be distracted by pleasure or deterred by pain. While people mocked him, he stood strong. As St. Augustine said, ‘We detect weakness in a mind which cannot bear physical oppression of the stupid opinion of the mob.’ The true fight is staying true to what’s right, and cancel culture is a symptom of an effeminate culture: it only works on men too weak to bear the stupid opinion of the mob.

Noah also had real love of his neighbour. He knew his fellow men were on the road to ruin. But he didn’t tell them to “enjoy the decline.” You can’t do that without being the decline. No, for 120 years he built like a man with all his muscle and might because he had a mission. His love of his neighbour was real and practical: ‘Let us show our love by the true test of action, not by taking phrases on our lips’ (1 John 3:18).

And Noah’s fear of God meant he was prepared to lose the whole world rather than the friendship of God. Holy fear was the key to his fortitude. The man who fears men more than he fears God is weak. Why? Because if people can make him ashamed to make the sign of the cross, they can make him break it.

Noah also had great confidence in God. How would all the animals survive? Would the mountainous waves sink the ark? Instead of allowing himself to be paralysed by his own anxiety, Noah submitted completely to the will of God. He knew that this was the surest foundation for this future because God always keeps His promises. ‘Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in Him, and He will do it.’ (Psalm 36:5) When a man realises this, he becomes formidable because it’s the foundation of courage.

‘Noah’s Flood’ by James E McConnell

But Noah teaches us about gratitude, too. The first thing Noah did when leaving the ark was give thanks. He was prompt to acknowledge God’s great gift, express his gratitude in words and make a sacrifice in return. A man’s first act when waking in the morning should be one of thanksgiving. As Chesterton said, ‘When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.’

Finally, the way Noah rode the storm is also a powerful message to modern men. Noah knew the ark was not only designed according to God’s directions but also protected and guided by Him. So even though the storm raged, smashing the ark with waves and shaking everyone inside, Noah knew it couldn’t sink. And the seas outside offered nothing but death anyway, so what would be the point of jumping ship? Similarly, ‘the gates of Hell shall not prevail’ against the Church as the Ark of Salvation, and all Catholics must ride the storm today. As the Blessed Virgin says to King Alfred before the Danish invasion in Chesterton’s The Ballad of the White Horse,

I tell you naught for your comfort,

Yea, naught for your desire,

Save that the sky grows darker yet

And the sea rises higher.

Noah’s manliness is ultimately a type of Christ’s perfect manliness. Both stood alone against a sinful world. Noah preached penance and foretold the Deluge; Christ preached penance and foretold the Last Judgement. Noah’s sacrifice obtained a covenant with God; Christ’s perfect sacrifice obtained pardon, grace and peace. Noah saved men from the flood with his ark; Christ saves men from Hell with His Church. As Aquinas said, ‘There is no entering into salvation outside the Church, just as in the time of the deluge there was none outside the ark, which denotes the Church.’

ABRAM: Putting God Over All

Abram, too, teaches us important lessons — especially regarding magnanimity, charity and prudence — first in the account of his handling of Lot and his victory over the four kings (Genesis 14:1-24), then in his intercession for Sodom (Genesis 19) and also in the sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 21) and choosing a wife for him (Genesis 24).

After the herds of Abram and his brother’s son Lot grew too large, the pastures weren’t big enough for both of them, so they had to separate into different lands. Even though he was the older man and God had promised the land to him, Abram gave Lot the best part of the country. Being the bigger man, he didn’t want a petty squabble. Avoid quarrels as far as possible.

And when Lot was captured by four kings raiding the lands of the king of Sodom, Abram thought nothing of Lot’s selfish behaviour. Instead, he risked his life to rescue him and refused a reward from the king. The reward of a good conscience was all he needed. We shouldn’t do the right thing only in hope of a reward.

Then, after God promised Abram a son and said he would be the father of many nations, his name was changed to Abraham (‘father of many’), and Abraham never doubted God — despite being age 99. As St. Paul says, Abraham ‘looked for a city that hath foundations; whose builder and maker is God.’ (Hebrews 11:10)  He trusted in God’s plans for his life, not his own plans.

Abraham also showed his virtue when God told him that He was going to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their sins. Abraham didn’t rejoice.  Instead, he prayed for the Sodomites. This was a spiritual work of mercy. We should especially pray for sinners to be converted: ‘Pray for one another that you may be saved’ (James 5:16). Abraham petitioned God six times, showing perseverance and fervour, eventually getting God to grant his request for Sodom to be saved if it contained only ten just men.

‘The Sacrifice of Isaac’ by Caravaggio

But Abraham’s greatest test was when God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac. Then aged 25, Isaac — the boy God had promised Abraham — meant more to him than anything else on earth. Despite being heartbroken, Abraham was willing to do it, putting his love of God above all things. Isaac, too, willingly submitted to the sacrifice. This was a type of the Father sacrificing His Son on the Cross.

Although God didn’t need to test Abraham for Himself, He did it for Abraham’s benefit to give him the opportunity to grow in the virtues of faith and love, increasing his merits. That is why He only stayed Abraham’s hand at the very last moment. Unless we put our love of God first, our priorities aren’t in order.

The importance of this cannot be overstated. We must not only conform our minds to the truth. Our wills, too, must be squared to it. Religion is the first duty of man as a rational animal and the main purpose of life. And faith truly entails the submission of our limited minds to God’s supreme authority because He is Truth.

Abraham also showed his virtue in choosing Isaac a wife (Genesis 24). He lived among the heathen and immoral Canaanites, and many of their daughters were beautiful and rich, but Abraham didn’t want his son Isaac to marry one of them. Fearing they might lead his son astray, he selected a virtuous wife from his own country instead — the noble Rebecca — even though an alliance with a daughter of Canaan would have helped Abraham.

Abraham rightly cared more about his son’s spiritual welfare than temporal gain. This is something many fathers today neglect. You can leave your children a lot of money yet be a bad parent. Abraham’s highest priority was getting his son a wife who feared the Lord and did his holy will. Because husband and wife shall be ‘two in one flesh,’ an unholy wife would have led Isaac astray. She would also have been a poor example to their children. A woman is the heart of the home, and bad one means heart disease.

JOSEPH: The Crucible of Humiliation

Although the stories of Noah and Abraham are instructive, however, that of Joseph (Genesis 37-50) takes us deeper into the meaning of masculinity. I also enjoy watching the Dreamworks animated film Joseph: King of Dreams (2000) with my children.

The story is an elegant novella. Because he’s Jacob’s most beloved son, Joseph’s brothers envy him — especially when Jacob gives him a beautiful ‘coat of many colours.’ Seizing him, they sell him to a party of Ishmaelites, who take him to Egypt. There, however, Joseph interprets a dream and gains the favour of the pharaoh, winning a high place in his kingdom.

And he acquires grain that helps Egypt withstand the same famine that makes his desperate brothers journey from Canaan to Egypt to for food. Not recognising Joseph, they bow before him. After Joseph reconciles with them, he invites Jacob’s whole household to Egypt, providing the family and their flocks with a settlement. Providentially, Joseph’s ordeal of slavery saves his family, and their descendants are the Hebrews, who leave Egypt for Israel.

What lessons does Joseph teach us? Above all, don’t complain. Joseph, through no fault of his own — indeed, because of his excellence in virtue — was separated from his father and home. But he didn’t despond. Instead, he prayed and trusted in God’s will. Sometimes what we think is bad for us is actually good for us, and Joseph’s trials helped him grow in virtue. Fortitude means facing adversity manfully.

Joseph also did everything for the glory of God. After Putiphar bought him as a slave, Joseph accepted his state in life and performed his duties to the best of his ability. Because of this, Putiphar not only praised but loved him, making him the steward of the whole house. But despite this, Joseph stayed humble. Even when praised for his interpretation of the dream, Joseph said that it wasn’t his but God’s.

When tempted by Putiphar’s evil wife, Joseph showed exemplary masculinity in his commitment to chastity. She flattered him and promised him riches. As the mistress of the house, she could also threaten him if he refused to fornicate with her. Nobody would ever have to find out. And how could a mere slave resist her?

Yet Joseph stayed strong. He avoided her as much as possible. He also prayed to God for strength before encountering her. And whenever she tempted him, he thought of God’s hatred of unchastity. He was willing to die rather than dishonour himself and God. Everything had been taken from him, but they could not take his good conscience.

Joseph and Potiphar’s wife by Baldi

And because Joseph stayed true to God, he was rewarded. After his brothers tore his coat from him, he was clad in a silk robe. They sold him into slavery; he rose to dignity. He exchanged the iron chains of slavery for chains of gold. All Joseph’s trials helped in grow in prayer, faith, humility, and love of his neighbour. ‘Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.’ (Ps. 127:4)

The way Joseph treated his brothers is also a model of masculinity. Not out of revenge but love, he warned them to repent because he wanted them to amend their lives. As St. James says (5:20), ‘He who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.’ Joseph didn’t return evil for evil. He was the bigger man.

He also forgave them. With his new power, he could have crushed them. He could even have enslaved them. Instead, he loaded them with gifts. Because he had been frugal during a time of plenty, he could help others in a time of poverty. ‘Remember poverty in the time of abundance, and the necessities of poverty in the day of riches.’ (Ecclesiastes 18: 25)

It was also a great display of Joseph’s virtue that he immediately asked after his father when his brothers arrived. As a little boy, he had always honoured his father; now, a rich and powerful ruler, he still did so. He upheld the Fourth Commandment as he did all the others.

And because of this, God was able to bring great goodness out of the evil done to Joseph. Not only was Joseph’s virtue strengthened by adversity, but he saved his relatives and all of Egypt from starvation in addition to converting his brothers. A strong man allows God to work through him to lift up everyone around him.

The challenge Christianity poses to every man strikes at the core of masculinity: ‘Can you drink the chalice that I shall drink?’ (Matt 20:22) And Joseph’s story shows us what this means. He is a type of Christ. As Christ forgave his enemies on the Cross, Joseph forgave his brothers. He, too, was a beloved son sold to his enemies. He was tempted but did not sin. He suffered patiently. And as Jesus rose from the tomb, Joseph rose from prison, and every knee bowed.

The vital lesson Joseph offers to men today is that ‘gold and silver are tested in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation’ (Sirach 2:5).

TLDR

• Noah teaches us to ride the storm. St John Chrysostom emphasises that,

  ‘in praise of Noah, Scripture not merely called him “blameless” but added “among the men of his day” to make it clear that he was so at that time when the obstacles to virtue were many. Besides, other men were illustrious after him, yet he will have no less praise than they. For he was blameless in his own time.’

  Like Noah, you live in a degenerate time. Be grateful you will be tested.

• Abraham teaches us to put God above all things. George Leo Haydock comments that God doesn’t tempt us to evil,

  ‘but by trial and experiment, maketh known to the world and to ourselves, what we are; as here by this trial the singular faith and obedience of Abraham was made manifest.’

  God tests you not so that He can find out who you are (He already knows) but so that you can.

• Joseph teaches us that hardship forges us. And St John Chrysostom draws our attention to Joseph’s chastity especially:

  ‘For us to learn the surpassing virtue of the good man and the fact that not once or twice but many times he endured this pressure and resisted the invitation by ceaselessly counseling her, Scripture says, “Although she kept inviting him day after day, he did not yield to her.”’

  If you can’t walk away from the open legs of the wrong woman, you’re effeminate.

Whose story did you learn the most from? Let me know in the comments, and let me know any questions you’ve got as well.