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This is the second of a 2-part overview of the protagonists and principal plot that carry forward the Old Testament story, including its history, poetic, and prophetic books.
Mapping the OT
We opened this session looking at a map of the Ancient Near East. Using this, we undertook a brief historical/geographical tour of the entire OT narrative. [This review is not included in these notes.] If you'd like a little more detail in your summary of the OT story, check out this e-booklet, downloadable as a pdf for £ 3.50: Ian Paul and Philip Jenson, What's the Bible All About? Understanding the Story of the Bible (Cambridge: Grove Books, 2006).
The Plot that Drives the Story
Then we reviewed from last session the driving plot of Christian Scripture:
The Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, climaxes with the book of Deuteronomy, which is Moses' rehearsal of the nation's grand deliverance from bondage in Egypt, their awesome encounter with God himself at Mt. Sinai, and their privileged position at the edge of the Promised Land, eager to enjoy the bounty that awaits them. In light of such generous provisions of God, Moses argues, the people should respond by loving him with all they are and all they have (Deut 6:4-6). God's loyal devotion to them should be answered in kind with their loyal devotion to him. When a kind and generous Father adopts an abused son and embraces him as part of the beloved family, how should the adopted son respond?
Deuteronomy serves as a hinge book in the OT, being the last book of the Pentateuch and the first book of the liberated nation's history. Its location as a bridge is matched by its role. The relational dynamic (or covenant) between God and his people that was illustrated in the first four books of the Pentateuch is finally articulated explicitly in Deuteronomy. This dynamic then provides the lens through which the rest of the history is to be seen. The relational dynamic provides the interpretive framework for understanding the historical books that follow, particularly Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, the books that describe Israel's entry into and exit out of the Promised Land. Because Deuteronomy shapes how we are to interpret the following history, the books Joshua through Kings are referred to among scholars as the deuteronomistic history. Also, the relational dynamic, which we'll clarify below, fuels the words of the prophets, as recorded in 17 books, from Isaiah to Malachi.
This relational dynamic is critical to our understanding of the OT narrative. It's illustrated in the Tetrateuch, articulated in Deuteronomy, shapes the history of Israel that follows, and provides the basis for both the comfort and the warnings of the prophets. So what is it?
The Relational Dynamic of Scripture
The blue triangle (in the figure below) represents the triune God of the Bible. He initiates and sustains the relationship with humanity, as represented by the two black stick figures. There are two stick figures, and not one, because God's people work and live in community--we are family. God's movements of grace are denoted in green and are described as GIFT. We, in turn, offer a fitting RESPONSE, as indicated by the two red arrows. The one directed toward God refers to our trust in him, our faith in his goodness and wisdom. The other red arrow, directed outwardly, refers to our glad participation with God as he works in the world. This is our faithfulness to him and his desires for us. His work in the world is denoted by the larger, outwardly directed, green arrow. The red and green arrow in unison denote our mutual collaboration, working together, God and his people, to bring goodness, justice and shalom to the world at large. When we properly respond to God we more clearly reflect his image into the world (along the lines of the role of Adam and Eve) and share his blessings with others (as was Abraham's commission, which we discussed last session). When we are faithful image-bearers and blessing-sharers we shine God's light into the world, as denoted in the figure by the "glow," the blue star, emanating from the people of God. This has a favorable effect on the nations, which are the ultimate objects of God's gracious restoration. This is a global mission. The purpose of "election" is always others-directed.
 God's Ways Blessings Purposes
walk receive advance
forsake forfeit frustrate
We, the privileged, grace-endowed people of God, are called to walk in God's ways, to follow his counsel on how best to live. God's gift elicits our glad response. When we follow his instructions for living we are apt to receive further blessings, the benefits attached to God-honoring conduct. This course of behavior among the people of God advances his good purposes in the world, his plan of setting things right again. However, this course if optional. We are under no compulsion to trust that his counsel is wise.
Two ways lie before us. We all have two options. Should we prefer, we can forsake God's ways (as denoted above by the squiggly black area pointing down, directed away from God, his people, and his purposes). This wayward direction runs the risk of forfeiting his blessings and frustrating (for a time) God's local and world-wide plans of restoration. Fortunately, God is amazingly resourceful, flexible, and adaptive, and can adjust creatively to our sinfully-imposed temporary set-backs to his larger plans. In the end, he will accomplish his objectives, however convoluted and circuitous the means he must employ to get there. (See the essay by Greenslade on God's vulnerability and flexibility in OT: Starting Points).
Adam and Eve, as one example, went on to distrust God, and to discard his advice. In so doing, they forfeited the blessings of Eden, and frustrated (for a time) God's creational purposes for the world. Though they strayed, God pursued them still and drew them back to his side and put them back on track (as represented above by the upward-directed squiggly line, back toward God and his people). Restoration is possible. God makes all the provisions for our recovery. The Father always welcomes the humble prodigal son back into the family fold and back into the family business.
Tracing the Two Paths through the OT
Here we will show how Deuteronomy makes explicit this foundational relational dynamic of Scripture that then provides of framework for understanding Israel's move into and out of the Promised Land. In fact, it is fundamental not just to the OT, but to the NT, as well. More on that in a moment. Listen to Moses as he prepares the people of God for their life in the land of promise. Remember the pattern: God's gift incites our response of faith and faithfulness, which is linked to further blessing, in this case, the bounty of family, herds, and crops, akin to the richness of the original Garden of Eden. The blessings that fall on the people of God spill out into the world, as they are generous with their resources, here lending to the nations.
Deuteronomy 28
But such a course is not guaranteed. Verse one opens with a word of uncertainty: IF. "If you fully obey the Lord your God." God takes a risk with his restoration project by entrusting it into the hands of fickle, fallible people. The possibility exists that this people will do no better than their forbears in the Garden. The success of God's plans could be in jeopardy, at least temporarily. Below are excerpts from the remainder of the chapter in Deuteronomy.
Notice how Moses describes the link between GRACIOUS GIFT and GLAD RESPONSE in verse 47. It is only fitting that we "serve the Lord our God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits we have received." This is exactly the relational dynamic that exisits between God and his people, as we illustrated above. Shouldn't that be our motto? When we live as we were designed to live, walking with God and working alongside him, then the earth yields its fruit and the nations benefit. When we refuse God's ways, the opposite happens. The earth withholds its fruit and we eventually return to captivity, not unlike the oppression we experienced in Egypt. Two paths, two destinies. The choice is ours. God couldn't have made it more explicit. In fact, he makes it quite explicit (and graphic), in hopes of dissuading us from choosing the wrong path. This dynamic spelled out in Deuteronomy explains the OT history of ancient Israel. When she obeys, she thrives, as during the reign of King David (in 2 Samuel). When she foolishly disobeys, she withers up, and eventually is conquered by a foreign nation and carried away into captivity, back "to Egypt" (so to speak). This relational dynamic also provides the fuel that ingites the oracles of the prophets, be they words of comfort ("Return and God will set you back on course") or warning ("Watch out, you're about to pull disaster down on your own heads"). Joshua 24 Joshua seeks here to encourage the nation of Israel to follow in the footsteps of Abraham (remember last week's discussion?). But he doesn't just jump right into words of strong exhortation and warning. He's not a rough drill sergeant, belting out harsh commands. No, he wants to move the people to "serve the Lord your God with joy and enthusiasm." So how does he do it? He rehearses their story, the story of God's grace, his deliverance, his provision, so they will be moved to respond fittingly to "the abundant benefits we have received" (Deut 28:47). Faith must give life to faithfulness. Love must inspire loyalty. Trust needs to lay the groundwork for obedience.
Now, with that said and with its impact registered, it is appropriate to call for a response of heart and hand. Joshua summons them to make an agreement, a pledge, a covenant of faithfulness, to walk in God's ways, to be the kind of people we are called to be.
Repeatedly throughout the OT narrative, the dynamic is reiterated, the GIFT rehearsed, and the obligation to obey is pressed home. The two ways are laid before the people and its leaders and they are called to make the wise choice and warned against making the wrong choice. But if and when they abandon their God and draw disaster down on their own heads, the reason for the tragedy is not hard to find. They have only themselves to blame.
1 Kings 9:3-9
The Prophets
The prophets come on the scene from the days of Samuel onwards. They are God's representatives to the people. They stand in the company of God's council chamber, hear his words, feel his emotions, share his passions, and then convey these to the people. As God's appointed spokesmen, they also bear the brunt of the people's rebellion, suffering heartache, public rejection, shame, and even death, bearing in their own bodies the nation's antipathy to God. No wonder then that Jesus designated himself a prophet of God, and, on the basis of this role alone, could predict his coming rejection and death. No special revelation of God was needed to see how the rebellious nation of his day would respond to his summons to take an about face and recommit themselves to God and his agenda.
Isaiah
Isaiah, like the other prophets before and after him, employs Deuteronomy's relational dynamic to both console and criticize the people. The first half of the book, chapters 1-39, speaks to the people in the days of their rebellion, before the foreign armies invade the land, destroy their towns, and deport the people. It reminds the people of God's gifts of grace and pleads with them to give up their disobedience, to repent, and to get back in sync with God. God is willing to forgive and will change his mind about the coming calamity, Isaiah reminds them, if they would only return to him. This is characteristic of the message of the pre-exilic prophets.
Here is 1:2-4, and 18-20, as a sampler.
Unfortunately, the children of God fail to heed the warning or accept the invitation. Judgment then must fall.
The middle part of the book, chapters 40-55, are spoken to a captive people, held in exile in Babylon. Because the situation has changed, so has the message. Now the words are of comfort, inviting the people to place once again their trust in God's goodness and wisdom, and to return to the land when God paves the way.
Here is 40:1-2 and 9-11. What now is promised is a deliverance akin to the original exodus, what is called a "new exodus," liberating (afresh) the captive people and leading them back home.
These are God's words to us!
This is what I love about the prophetic books. If we come to Scripture with a humble disposition and a willing spirit, we will hear within these books words directed by God and his Spirit right to us. These ancient texts will come alive, speaking insightful and penetrating words of God, perfectly tailored to whatever situation in which we find ourselves.
Four Questions
This "relational dynamic" depicted in the figure above is also described as God's covenant with his people, an agreement of how he and we are to relate to each other, how we are to walk side by side and to team up to bless the world. Since the "new" covenant is simply a renewal of the Old covenant the God made with his people, what we learn about the one applies just as well to the other. God hasn't changed and neither has the way he works with his people in the world. Understanding these things will help us grasp how God interacts with us today. To clarify this vital topic, let's ask and answer (briefly!) four fundamental questions.
1. Is this "relational dynamic" that frames the OT history equivalent to earning God's favor?
It could be seen as such IF one ignores the critical element of God's grace, that is, his unmerited favor and generous work on our behalf that initiates and sustains our relationship with him. This is a true in the OT as it is in the New. The priority and pre-eminence of grace is made evident in the Figure above, which starts with God's GIFT. Our subsequent faith in God and faithfulness to his ways is but a RESPONSE to God's antecedant grace. The relationship of God and humanity is never one of our earning God's favor. God's mercy and favor always comes to the undeserving. He bestows kindness, forgiveness, and blessing. We in gratitude and love reciprocate his devotion and gladly join up with his people and his purposes. As Moses himself affirms in Deut 28, it is only fitting that we "serve the Lord our God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits we have received" (vs. 47).
God's love for us elicits our love for him.
"We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).This is the heart of "the obligation" set before God's beloved people in Deuteronomy. Moses makes this clear in what came to be known as the Shema, the daily prayer of Jews for thousands of years, taken from Deut 6:4-6. Given that God has adopted us as his people, he has become "our God."
Note how God describes himself: He is Our God, YHWH, the LORD.
Wow! And the one who is "our God" is none other than "the Lord." This is God's own name for himself, which in the original Hebrew language is translitered YHWH.This name means "I am and will always be with you and for you." With us? That's the name adopted by Matthew for Jesus, "Immanuel: God with us." And for us? Paul spells it out: "What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?" (Rom 8:31-32). So in the following verses, when we read that YHWH is OUR God, we should stop and marvel. The Creator God wants to identify himself as our God, the one who is always with us, the God who is always for us. It's amazing. No wonder the fitting response is love, loyal love, exclusive love, obedient love.
That God aligns himself with us and commits himself to our welfare is what generates our trust and devotion. And trusting God means trusting that he is good--he wants what is best for us--and that he is wise--he knows what is best for us. So when he lays out a path for us to follow, we would be foolish ingrates not to heed his counsel. He is trustworthy, more than anyone else, far more than we are. We must follow him. His love liberates us and directs our paths. Our love respects (fears) him and follows his direction. Listen to Moses who beautifully integrates these themes. In no way can "love begetting love" be equated with earning God's favor. Rather it is God's favor that drives the entire equation.
Joshua, as noted above in chapter 24, first rehearses God's "labors of love" on behalf of the people of God (24:1-13) before calling on the people to offer a commensurate response of devotion and service (24:14-25). Grace elicits faith. Gift incites response. There is nothing merited here.
Even the 10 commandments, known as the decalogue, begin listing their "requirements" only after God reminds the people of what he has done on their behalf. Note again that the one who speaks these words is not just God, but our God, YHWH, the Lord, who is with us and for us, realities which were unmistakably evident in the exodus. It boils down to this: "I am your God. Therefore, respond as my people." Let me quote Deuteronomy 5, verses 6 and 7.
We don't work to achieve God's favor. We work alongside him because we already stand in his favor.
2. I thought the essense of our response to God was one of "faith," yet the stress here seems to be on obedience. Which is it? Faith or obedience?
Is is not "faith or obedience;" it is "faith and obedience." To trust God (faith) is to trust that he is good and wise and that his prescribed ways of living are the best ways. Thus, faith generates faithfulness. Faith in God means obedience to God. Love to God breeds loyalty to God. These are two sides of one coin and are represented in the Figure above by the two red arrows. One arrow points to God (faith), the other points along God's ways (faithfulness). These cannot be separated. When they are, as in "I believe in God but don't walk in his ways," it's called hypocrisy.
Abraham as Prototype
Abraham gives us the prototypical example of the man of faith who is ultimately faithful. Both count. And they are incomplete without each other.
The New Testament Continues this Relational Dynamic
The integration of love and obedience, of faith and faithfulness, is not restricted to the OT. The relational dynamic depicted above carries forward unaltered into the NT era. This is exactly how God relates to humanity--then...and now. Last session we followed Abraham throughout the Bible as the paradigm of how to respond to God's grace. And as we've just seen, this involve faith and faithfulness.
Even the Greek NT word for faith, pistis, means both "faith" and "faithfulness." Jesus, our model, the one in whose image we are being crafted, had faith in his Father. And was Jesus not the epitome of faithfulness? These two aspects of trust are not to be divided.
Below are samples from the NT that demonstrate the our roots of faith can be seen in our fruits of faithfulness. We then can be recognized (or judged) as God's children by virtue of our faith and by virtue of our faithfulness, that is, our works and deeds. These are not contradictory, but complementary.
3. What about the many disconnects in the "Two Ways" model between act and consequence?
Long-term for the Nation
In the two ways model, obedience leads to blessing and disobedience leads to adversity. Overall, these connections hold true with the nation of ancient Israel as a whole, when viewed over the long haul. Under David's leadership, the nation in general walked in God's ways and thus experience his blessings. But David's son Solomon and grandson Rehoboam turned their back on God and his council. Ill consequences soon followed. Over the ensuing centuries the majority of kings in both the northern and southern kingdoms rebelled against God, defied his commands, and led the people into inevitable destruction. The exile of both kingdoms was the expected consequence of years of disregard for God and a flagrant dismissal of his commands. The two ways model accurately describes the history of ancient Israel from the book of Judges onwards.
What about the Short-term Outcomes associated with Individual Behavior?
Many a Psalm and Proverb suggest that righteous living results in blessing. And often it does. As Paul declares, you will sow what you reap. There often is a direct connection between "act" and "consequence," either for good or for ill. Listen to Galatians 6:7-10.
But what if you were among the faithful portion of Judah in 586 BC who were carted off to captivity in Babylon? Through no fault of their own, the righteous were caught up in the curses that fell on the unfaithful nation as a whole. Biblical examples abound: Joseph suffered from the evil designs of his unrighteous brothers (first near-death, then slavery) and from the evil designs of his master's wife (years of imprisonment). David, as another example, despite being anointed King of Israel, and being a man who sought the Lord's pleasure, was the innocent victim of Saul's violent jealousy and had to remain on the run for 10 years until Saul died. Or look at the prophets, who were faithful to God's special commission to speak his words, feel his passions, and experience the people's God-directed response. Most of the time this sacrificial loyalty to God was met with social rejection, undeserved imprisonment, and even death. Job is the Bible's quintessential exemplar of the righteous sufferer. He experienced unbearable catastrophes, despite his long-standing upright conduct.
Psalm 73
Not only do the righteous suffer, but sometimes the wicked flourish. Another big disconnect. Where is the justice in that? Listen to the all-too-valid complaint of the Psalmist in 73. He starts with an affirmation that God is good to Israel. But is God really good? Circumstances seem to contradict such an assertion.
Look Ahead
How did the lamenting Psalmist come to terms with this gross injustice? He looked ahead, beyond the disconnect, to the certain destiny that awaited the wicked. Listen to vv. 16-17: "So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is! Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked." Paul too looked ahead in order to make his assertion sound: "So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up." Not yet, but at the right time. Because of this delay, Paul needs to encourage us not to give up! It took a while, but Joseph was finally exalted to second-in-command. Similarly, David was finally crowned King. After a long season of injustice, Job's abundance was finally restored. Even the prophets will one day finally be vindicated.
The need to wait, to wait for the day of justice and vindication, is stressed repeatedly in the Psalms. One of the secret ingredients of faithful faith is the ability to trust that God is good (he wants what is best for us), God is wise (he knows what is best), and God is mighty (he will one day make everything right). These solid realities are frequently called into question by adverse circumstances and gross injustice. When all of life seems to contradict these convictions, we need to cling to God's goodness, wisdom, and might. One day...one day he will set the world to rights. It is this kind of faith that enables this writer to praise God while waiting on him in the midst of personal and national tragedy.
A Loose Causal Weave
Until that day, we need to recognize that the moral fabric of the world is not woven tightly, but is rather a "loose causal weave," as Professor Fretheim aptly describes it. The connections between "act" and "consequence" are not tight. The two ways model cannot be interpreted in a formulaic fashion. Life is way too complex and complicated. We each are interconnected with others in the "web of life" and will experience the benefits and downsides of their reverberating actions, irrespective of our own deserts. You needn't look far for examples of this. How many pre-school aged children unjustly suffer because of their alcoholic father's intoxicated outbursts? And what of the victims of crime and war?
In addition to bad people, there is also "bad luck." Jesus gives examples of both in Luke 13, verse 1-5. One group died unjustly from the swords of murderous men, another group perished when a tower collapsed upon them. Jesus was quick to exonerate both groups. Their suffering had no relation to their degree of faithfulness to God. Same with Job. His friends used the two ways model to incriminate Job. "You're suffering badly. Therefore, following the 'formula' of the two-ways model, it must be the case that you have sinned badly." But that's not how life works. You can't work backwards from the presence of suffering to the necessary presence of deservedness. The Bible (and the world) is full of too many counter-examples.
I love that our Scriptures deal head on with these unjust disconnects. One third of the Psalms are devoted to the cries of the innocent sufferer. The book of Job also grapples directly with injustice in the world. God wants us to bring our objections and complaints to him. He can handle it. And we need to work it through with him, even when explanations of particular trajedies are not forthcoming.
4. Did God fail?
As the OT ends, Israel as a whole remains unfaithful, the lavish promises of blessing are largely unrealized, and God's gracious plans to extend blessing to the Gentiles appears to have been all but frustrated. The highly anticipated "return from exile" was far more geographic than authentic. The few who stragled back from Babylon were soon subjucated to foreign powers. Yes, they were back in the land, but it was no longer their land. Israel's repeated and prolonged rejection of God had forfeited independence in the land of promise. Living under oppression in Palestine was little different than bondage in Egypt or in Babylon. No wonder they thought of themselves as "still in exile."
Did God fail? He had committed himself to mediate his blessing to the nations around the world through Abraham and his children. Will God keep his promise? Can he? Or will he scrap that idea and devise another strategy? Paul raised the same question in Romans 3, verse 3.
God's overall strategy will remain intact. But he will need to change his tactics. We'll see how this unfolds in the next section when Jesus comes on the scene...Jesus, a faithful Israelite, who functioned, in a sense, as Israel incarnate, enduring the consequences for her sin and assuming the role that she has abdicated. The explains both the cross (enduring the consequences) and the resurrection (a vindication of his faithfulness to the ancient task). But more of this next week.
Further Reading
If you'd like to investigate further the missional ethos and theology that permeates the Old Testament and shapes the New, I suggest these two books.
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