The Bible begins with the Book of Genesis, which tells the stories of individual women and men of faith. It reminds us of what we noted last week: The Bible is made up primarily of stories. Sarah, Rachel, Isaac, Abraham and Joseph occupy the vast majority of the Bible’s first book. Indeed Joseph’s story takes 13 chapters to tell.
These stories come at the beginning of the Old Testament. Genesis to Kings is one part of the biblical narrative that tells the history of Israel from creation to exile. Traditionally, within Judaism, these books are subdivided into two sections: Torah (Genesis to Deuteronomy) and the Former Prophets (Joshua to Kings). These two sections make up about one-third of the entire biblical corpus, forming a continuous narrative that describes events from creation to the sixth century B.C. The narrative links together the theme of the covenant promises of God to Abraham and the deliverance of one aspect of that promise: the gift of the land for God’s people and the coming of the Messiah.
In Genesis, God promises Abraham that he will be the father of a great nation in the land of Canaan. This promise is renewed to Isaac and Jacob. The Book of Exodus deals with the way the family becomes a nation and is brought out of Egypt to the borders of Canaan; Leviticus deals with the regulations given to Israel with regard to its identity as the people of God, a holy nation. Numbers recounts many incidents of Israel’s history when God’s judgment was experienced.
Deuteronomy, a book that stands by itself, describes the renewing of the covenant, this time “in the desert east of the Jordan” (Deut. 1:1). Here Israel stands, at a new stage in its history, on the threshold of the promises being fulfilled. Obligations are given in Deuteronomy, set out in several speeches by Moses. Joshua shows the partial conquest of the land, whereas Judges gives a vivid contrast, indicating the way in which Israel’s sins hinder the smooth occupation of the land as it loses ground to its enemies.
This pattern of events continues in Samuel, a failure that climaxes with the Ark of the Covenant, the special symbol of God’s presence with His people, being captured by Israel’s enemies, the Philistines. However, when the Ark is brought into the presence of the Philistine god Dagon, the statue to him collapses. This appears to be a sign to Israel that God is still more powerful.
First Samuel focuses on kingship — Saul’s and David’s. In 2 Samuel, David establishes his capital in Jerusalem. In Kings, attention shifts to Solomon, who builds the Temple and extends the kingdom’s boundaries. It appears that the ancient promises are now fulfilled. Yet the end of Solomon’s reign is one of further slippage. Solomon’s many wives lead him to idolatry; following his death, the kingdom divides into “Judah,” around Jerusalem, and “Israel,” which becomes known as the Northern Kingdom.
The fortunes of these two kingdoms take up the rest of 1 and 2 Kings. Eventually Israel’s sin leads to its downfall in 721 B.C. at the hands of the Assyrians, and then a similar fate befalls Judah with the invasion of the Babylonians in 586 B.C. With that event, the Temple is destroyed and the city is laid bare. The promises appear to have been forgotten. Although the books of Genesis to Kings reflect on past events, they are written from the perspective of the future — they remind the people of their history and give a sense, not of despair but, of hope for the future.
Deuteronomy is a key book in the Old Testament. It was formed, in all likelihood, as part of a process from the eighth to the sixth century — from the time of the divided monarchy to the exile. The many connections between the book and the reform movement under King Josiah (640–609 B.C.) in 2 Kings suggest that the times of Josiah and the theology of Deuteronomy are similar. Deeply moved by the disparity between the book’s contents and Israel’s religious practices, Josiah intensifies his reform efforts (2 Kings 22–24).
Deuteronomy came together at a crucial time of new beginnings for Israel. Just as the times depicted in the book related to Israel, standing at the threshold of Canaan, so the exile was a time of hope for new beginnings. Although it appears that the book was written for Israel at the time of Moses, it is more likely that the book was edited during a later era. The people were back in the wilderness, on the other side of Canaan, and had to learn, once again, lessons of grace, gratitude and responsibility. The book is full of applied theology. It was meant to stir the hearts and actions of God’s people. Its theological emphasis sets the tone for how Israel must live in the land it will inherit from the God who has chosen it.
One aspect of its contribution to biblical theology as a whole is the emphasis in places on God’s generosity, His grace. Much of the book appears to indicate that despite Israel’s innate sinfulness, God loves it. Deuteronomy 7:7 is a core theological theme: “I have loved you because I have loved you.” No other explanation is deemed necessary.
Deuteronomy is also a book of words. Little action takes place in the book. Most of it consists of four major speeches by Moses. There is also a focus upon the 10 “words”: the Ten Commandments. Israel must take these words seriously to become, once again, a people under God’s blessing.
Theologically Judaism was not primarily a religion of works but of grace. Deuteronomy emphasizes the grace of God’s love for Israel, although His grace demands a response. Israel is reminded that it could have taken 11 days to come from Egypt to Kadesh Barnea (1:2) but it took 40 years. However, even rebellion and rejection are met with grace, and God moves His people into the future (2:2). Chapter after chapter presents a theology of grace seeking obedience to God’s commands. This is why Torah became vital in Jewish thought, and this is portrayed in the story of Josiah finding the book of the law in the Temple during Jeremiah’s ministry.
Deuteronomy brings a retelling of the Ten Commandments at a later stage of Israel’s history from that of Exodus 20. One of the slight changes in the account in Deuteronomy is the reason given as to why Israel should keep the commands, especially the command relating to keeping the Sabbath. In Exodus, the emphasis appears to be the creation ordinance, whereas the stress in Deuteronomy is on the exodus experience. The overall reason given for the law is “so that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land” (Deut. 4:40). Fundamental to this whole section is the fact that Israel must display total allegiance to God but always in dependence on His grace.
Throughout the book, Moses stresses the truth that God’s covenant is personal, understandable and accessible (29:9–15; 30:11–14). Attaining the goals set out is not beyond Israel’s reach. The people are encouraged, as well as warned, to keep the law. This keeping of the law is not a religion of merit but is based upon grace; this is stressed again and again within Deuteronomy.
Old Testament scholar Gerhard Von Rad spoke of how “all the commandments are simply a grand explanation of the command to love Yahweh and to cling to Him alone. And this love is Israel’s return of the divine love bestowed upon her. The many imperatives in Deuteronomy are therefore appeals, sometimes implicit and sometimes explicit, for gratitude to be shown in action, and Deuteronomy regards them as easy to fulfill.” Obligations flow from God’s love. Obligations do not create God’s love toward us.
I suspect that Deuteronomy is not often read by Baptists in the 21st century. This is unfortunate because, as author and Presbyterian minister Elizabeth Achtemeier commented, “There is no book of more importance in the Old Testament and no Old Testament book more basic for understanding the New Testament than Deuteronomy.” It is, after Genesis, the Psalms and Isaiah, the most cited book in the New Testament, and Jesus refers to it on several occasions during His experience of temptation in Matthew 4. It raises issues surrounding the value of God’s law in the world. It shows how God’s grace impacts generation after generation. The prominence of ethical and moral issues manifests a concern for a just social order in God’s world.
One way in which Deuteronomy’s message was, and continues to be, misunderstood is the connection made between obedience and blessing and disobedience and judgment. The Israelites discovered that disobedience can sometimes go unpunished and obedience is not always rewarded with blessing. Psalm 69 tells the story of the person who says, “It is zeal for your house that has consumed me; the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. When I humbled my soul with fasting, they insulted me for doing so. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me” (9–11).
The Book of Job is the classic text that reminds us that someone who “fears the Lord and turns away from evil” can still encounter pain and suffering in his or her life.
This leads God’s people, as in Psalm 74, to pray, “O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? … Why do you hold back your hand?” (1, 11).
Author and theologian Frederick Buechner counsels us to “Listen to your life. … See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and the pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness, touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis, all moments are key moments and life itself is a grace.”
The New Testament also lives with this tension of faith and fear, certainty and discouragement. The juxtaposition of Good Friday and Easter must never be separated. Good Friday includes the darkness of Golgotha, despair and even doubt as Jesus cries, “Why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). The joy of Easter does not mean that we cannot also experience Good Friday and Holy Saturday.
The stories of these early Old Testament books make it clear that God alone is the One who delivers and leads His people. Yet the role of human agency in the stories is also very real. Abraham, Joseph and Moses are central to what occurs within the story of God’s actions in their lives. It is their faith that Hebrews 11 encourages us to emulate. God does not act alone in the events of the Bible. God enters into a partnership with certain individuals to deliver His people. This is why we read, “I have come to deliver them … so come and I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt” (Ex. 3:8, 10). The roles of Moses and others in this story alert us to the fact that passively waiting for God’s action alone to oppose oppression and injustice in society is not right. The Egyptian midwives, Moses’ family and Pharaoh’s daughter work with God to act on Moses’ behalf, and Moses does the same thing for the people in Egypt. Participation in God’s process of working is vital for His purposes to be fulfilled. God works with and through humankind’s frailty to thwart human oppression.
The Old Testament’s stories are not just relics of the past. They remain relevant in the 21st century. They are stories that we retell, remember and live out for ourselves in our own particular context. In these stories, we rejoice in God’s grace and goodness, and we seek to be obedient to Him here and now, no matter what the cost may be.
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