Session 7 The Intertestamental Period

The 7^th tutorial takes us into that no-man’s land of 3-400 yeasr between the two
Testaments. Judah/Judaea comes under the control of a succession of overlords; first the Persians on the return from exile, then the Greeks, and lastly, the Romans in the century before
Jesus. The desire to see the Promised Land free from foreign domination continues through this time. The aspiration tends to find its expression in the writings of the Apocalyptists (those revealing secret things). The content outline for this session is headed ‘Apocalyptic writings’ – Introduction to the Intertestamental period; groups in Judasim in the first century.

With the exception of Daniel, most of the apocalyptists appear in the Apocrypha. After researching the period attempt to answerthe following

Q1 What role do you think literature such as Daniel and the Apocrypha played and continues to play, in Israel’s faith and relationship withYahweh

The books that cover the intertestamental period cover an important episode of Israel’s history. During this time, they rebuilt the temple, re-established temple worship and the practices of Judaism, and occupied their own land. This all sounds good, but for most of that time they were still under foreign occupation, and it was only for the time of the Hasmonean Kingdom that they enjoyed a measure of freedom. Yet these stories continue the theme of Daniel and Esther, telling of God’s ongoing interest, love and protection of his people even in times of duress. And so for example Maccabees sees the Hasmonean revolt as something instituted by God and given success by him. The books seek to show that there is a spiritual life over and above the immediately obvious physical world, and continue the theme of God’s sovereignty over nations and rulers. The books also develop the theme of the Messiah, building expectation of his coming. This helped to set the scene for the actual coming of Christ. These stories also account for some modern Jewish practice, for example the festival of Hanukkah.
Note that during much of the period, the High Priest and the ruler (“Prince”) tended to be the same person. These positions were often appointed by the foreign powers, sometimes on the basis of cash payment rather than merit.

Referring back to Session 2, in which we discussed the canon, we noted that the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the OT, included the Apocrypha, whereas the Hebrew canon did not. One might have expected the Hebrews to include these accounts of Greek paganism and Jewish victories, and denouncing compromise with the Greeks, and for the Greek translation to conveniently drop them. Perhaps there was a greater need for the Greek speaking Jews to be reminded of their place as a distinct nation.

Q2 How much (and which) of the intertestamental literature has a bearing on the New Testament – in what ways?

1 As described below, much of the debate in the time of Christ centred inthe relationship between Pharisees and Sadducees.

2 As described above, much of the Apocryphal literature and otherliterature at the time increased messianic expectations.

3 Much of the Apocryphal literature is apocalyptic – revealing things hidden – and eschatological - dealing with end times. These themes are also taken up in the New Testament, revealing the Messiah and the Church, and in Revelation looking forward to the end.

Q3 Intertestamental literature reflects the variety of groups (religious/political) in Judaism at the time.
Of which groups can you find evidence?

What is distinctive/special about each one.

Hasmoneans (aka Maccabees = “Hammerers”)

The Hasmoneans, nicknamed Maccabees, were the family of Mattathias. He was a priest who was on one occasion was so enraged by Jews complying with instructions to offer pagan sacrifices that he killed one of them, together with the Greek officer that gave the instruction. This marked the beginning of a revolt against the Greeks. The descendants of Mattathias were the rulers and high priests for the next few centuries.

Zealots

The Zealots are most well known for their final defeat by the Romans at Masada, where they chose suicide rather than give the Romans an honourable victory. Although they can be traced back to the Maccabees, they were first organised as a party during the reign of Herod the great (37-4BC) when they resisted his pagan practices, and they were involved in sporadic revolts and acts of violence thereafter. They would even attack Jews that collaborated closely with the Romans.

Pharisees

The Pharisees were the layman followers of Judas Maccabee who reigned from 166-161BC. They were about 6000 in number. They had many doctrinal differences with the Sadducees, e.g. resurrection, angels, etc, but the difference was largely one of attitude and perspective – Pharisees were concerned about the detail of Levitical laws and doing things properly regardless of convenience, whereas the Sadducees were much more laid-back and pragmatic.

Sadducees

The Sadducees were the Priestly followers of Simon Maccabee, who reigned from 143-145 BC. See above for description. The Pharisees and Sadducees were not schismatic sects as modern Christian denominations can be; they were rather more perspectives within the the unity of the Jewish community.

Essenes

The Essenes were a monastic sect that lived in isolation from the people. Depending on who you read, they were either the true source of Christianity or diametrically opposed to it. For example, it is said that Mary the virgin was a ‘virgin’ in the sense that she followed the sect’s rules on holy living. I tend to feel closer to those who deny any link, since Jesus’ participation in wedding feasts and generally goung around interacting with all types of people would be in stark contrast to the monastic withdrawal of the Essenes. The Essenes also claimed hidden knowledge and angelic conversations, which in modern times I see as marks of a dodgy and probably demonic cult. The Pseudepigraphical writings originated from the Essenes.

Q4 Prepare a presentation
(up to 5 minutes) on: Daniel, 2 Esdras, Tobit,
Esther, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees.

See attached.

References/Researched
Materials

1 John Rogerson,
Chronicles of the Bible Lands, Angus Books Ltd, London, 2003

2 http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/1MA/1MA0.HTM

3 http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/BIBLE/2MA/2MA0.HTM

4 http://www.biblicalisraeltours.com

5 http://biblia.com/jesusbible/index.html

6 http://mb-soft/believe

7 http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org

8 NIV Study Bible, Hodder and Stoughton, 1987

9 G McConville, Exploring the Old Testament Vol 4 Prophets, SPCK, 2002

Appendix 1

Brief history based on
Rogerson¹

In exile, deported Jews settled alongside a canal between Babylon and Erech. This is probably the river Chebar in Ezekiel 1v1.

This was a time of much reflection amongst the faithful, and is possibly when much of the OT was brought into its current form.

Babylon fell in 540BC to Cyrus the great, who allowed Jews to return although few did.

There was also a colony of Jewish mercenaries in Egypt under Persian rule. They even had their own temple. [linked to the Jews that took Jeremiah to Egypt?]

A group of Jews returned to Jerusalem in 539, finding it in very poor condition. They rebuilt the temple on and off until completion in 516. Nehemiah and Ezra reordered the Jewish society and laid the foundations for its survival.

This was all under Persian rule. The next major change was conquest
by Alexander the Great following his defeat of the Persians at Issus in
333BC. He incorporated Syria, Palestine and Egypt into his empire spreading Greek culture throughout these areas. Alexander died in 323 BC, dividing his empire between his generals. Israel fell in the
jurisdiction of Ptolemy and his dynasty, based in Egypt. But between 200 and 198BC the Syrian Greeks (Seleucids) won control over the area.

There was a culture clash between the Greek and Jewish systems. The Seleucid’s sold the position of High Priest to the highest bidder, and later in the reign of Antiochus IV Judaism was suppressed and the temple was defiled by being used for the pagan cult of Zeus Olympios.

This act fanned into flame the already smouldering Maccabean revolt led by the priest Mattathias of Modein. His sons, the Hasmonean dynasty, carried through the rebellion with mixed fortunes.

Key historical features are:

• 164 The temple recaptured and rededicated
  (remembered in the Jewish festival of Hanukkah)


• 152 Jonathan becomes High Priest


• 142 Autonomy recognised by Demetrius II


• 128 Some peace established.


• à 103 – Idumea to the south, Galilee to the north,
  and Perea to the west brought into the Jewish kingdom and religion.



• 63 Hasmonean dynasty implodes allowing Romans (Pompey) to take over.


• Internal conflict in Rome. Hasmoneans attempt to regain power.


• 37 Peace and civic construction under Herod


• 4 Kingdom divided between Herod’s sons


• 39AD Herod Antipas deposed – Roman Procurators
  including Pontius Pilate rule Judea, Idumea and Samaria. Their rule interrupted briefly by Herod Agrippa 41-44AD



• 66 Roman corruption and tyranny lead to first
  Jewish revolt


• 70 Jerusalem and temple destroyed by Romans


• 73 Final resistance at Masada commits suicide.

Key leaders are:

• Judas 167-160


• Jonathan 160-143


• Simon 142-135/4



• John Hyrcanus 135/4-104


• Aristobulus I 104-103


• Alexander Jannaeus 103-76


• Salome Alexandra 76-67 (wife of Alexander Jannaeus)



• Pompey 63


• Herod (of Idumea) 37-4


• Herod’s sons/Roman Procurators.>

Session 6 Major Prophets

Q1 Place Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel in the
context of Israel’s story.

Isaiah

Isaiah ministered in Judah from 740 to 681 BC. During this time he experienced the reigns of Kings Uzziah (783-742), Jotham (750-735), Ahaz (735-715), Hezekiah (715-686), and Manasseh(697-642). In Jewish tradition he was sawn in half by Manasseh².

Isaiah lived at a time of Assyrian ascendancy. He became involved in advising kings on international affairs, for example he warned Ahaz against making a treaty with the Assyrians, which resulted in the fall of Israel and the Assyrians coming to the border of Judah. Conversely, when Hezekiah attends to the prophet’s words, Jerusalem is saved. Yet Isaiah predicts the ultimate conquest of Jerusalem by Babylon, and then the conquest in turn of Babylon and the return from exile.

The above paragraph cannot stand alone – it needs a discussion of the various theories that he book records the words of two or three separate individuals: Isaiah of Jerusalem described above, “Deutero-Isaiah” living in Babylon during the exile, and possibly a third person after the exile^1,2,3. These theories are based on the normal custom of prophecy in which the prophet becomes passionate about the things he/she sees in the immediate circumstances and speaks about those things, and that the predictive aspect is in some cases a later interpretation of those words. A classic example of this process is the famous “Immanuel” prophecy, in which Isaiah was speaking about a woman of his time known to his audience, possibly even his own wife, and her child, but this is now traditionally taken as a prophecy of the coming messiah³. So this traditional approach to prophecy works well for the first half of Isaiah, but runs into difficulties after chapter 40 where the events being described relate to events 100 years later in the time of Babylon and then after the exile.

For Isaiah to have written these parts, he would have had to change his style and move away from the normal means of prophecy based on a response to current events and into an exclusively predictive prophecy which would have had little practical use for the audience. And yet, the book holds an essential unity of language and thought, and only one author is identified. There is no manuscript evidence for dividing it¹. Parts of the book seek to confirm God’s knowledge of the future (e.g. 41v21-27¹), so it would not be unreasonable for these comments to be supported by purely predictive sections in the book. New Testament figures make no distinction between the parts.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah was a priest from Anathoth. He seems to have been a court prophet in the time of righteous Josiah and may have been a key player in Josiah’s reforms. King Josiah was killed while trying to resist an Egyptian army that was heading north to fight the Babylonians. The Egyptian army itself was then heavily defeated by the Babylonians, who then had a free hand throughout western Asia. They imposed a series of puppet kings on Judah, most of which were antagonistic to Jeremiah and actively or passively allowed him to be persecuted. When one of these – the governor Gedaliah with whom Jeremiah lives – is murdered, the remaining citizens panic, expecting Babylonian reprisals, and they flee to Egypt dragging Jeremiah with them against his will.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel was one of the exiles. He was probably amongst those deported from Judah in one of the first deportations, and in his youth may have known Jeremiah. He was a priest, and was also a prophet, confounding people who would see these as separate and conflicting roles

He spoke to his fellow exiles, by the River Chebar. (This location has not been identified.) And yet, although he is speaking to his fellow exiles, represented by their elders, the prophecies at the start of the book refer to Jerusalem and its fate. He predicts that Jerusalem will still fall.

Later in the book the character of the prophecies changes to indicate that Jerusalem has known fallen. He then speaks to guide the exiles as to how to maintain their faith without a temple during the exile. However, he looks on towards the rebuilding of the temple, a return from exile, and the re-establishment of the Davidic rulers alongside a re-instated priesthood. He can be seen as a new Moses, leading people to a renewed promised land, distributed again to the people. But some of the prophecies look even beyond the return, on to a messianic age and even beyond that to the final end times. Some of these more abstract matters should be seen as being addressed to the readers of the book, rather than the exiles who first heard the words.

Q2 Consider the role of these prophets in
reforming Israel’s relationship to Yahweh.

I’m not sure if the question refers to reforming in the sense of restoring that which was previously but had decayed, or if it refers to re-forming, ie finding a new form for the relationship.

Isaiah sought to reform in the first sense. He was calling Israel back to God, warning of how judgement would come unless there was repentance. He was fighting against the decay, while at the same time seeing that the decay would not be reversed and seeing beyond the conclusion of that decay to God’s subsequent restoration and the Messianic hope. Thus while trying to reform in the first sense, he saw beyond it to reform in the sense of a new relationship through a messianic figure in the future.

Jeremiah continues with this vein, trying to bring Israel back to God. And yet the path to restoration is now harder, as some of the judgements have come into effect. Yet the judgement is stayed during the reign of righteous Josiah, who did respond and did bring the nation back to God in some measure, and there is reform of the temple and of worship. But this is a temporary respite, as subsequent kings turn back to idolatry. Eventually the full force of God’s judgement comes in, and reformation of the old relationship is no longer possible. A new beginning is required.

Ezekiel brings in the new beginning, even while the old is barely over. Ezekiel starts to see the new temple, and starts to see the new relationship, a new covenant written in men’s hearts rather than on a dusty scroll. He does not neglect the written covenant, butsees it as something to be followed with the heart rather than ritualistically.

Q3 Consider how these prophets helped Israel
to cope with the collapse of the state and the prospect of exile.

It is strange to think of the prophets helping Israel to cope with the collapse of the state, given that the collapse was a judgement from God. It is supposed to be a painful, demoralising, dehumanising experience. It is after all a punishment. But herein lies the mercy of God, that he does indeed care for us even while he disciplines us.

So Isaiah brings the message that the coming judgement is from God. It is not an accident or a freak of nature and politics. It is the plan of the one who is in complete control of all the nations. They are pawns in his hand. So when foreign armies come and trample the temple, it is not that God has been unable to defeat them or to protect Israel from them. It is that he has invited them, and in his permissive will allows them to desecrate the temple. But their power is limited. It is just for a time, and then they will be judged in turn. This is a lesson for us too – that if we gain the upper hand in a dispute or some other situation, God has not necessarily given the moment to us for our gratification at the expense of the others. We must remember that he is our judge too, and that if we allow ourselves excesses at these times we too will be judged. This is why he has not allowed the prisoner abuse scandals in Iraq to go unnoticed. So God is in charge even at times when all else seems to have fallen apart.

But throughout these prophecies is the promise of a remnant - a part of Israel that will never be blotted out. There will always be a people of God, even if they have been separated from their covenant land and the covenant temple has been destroyed.

So how are the covenant promises retained?

• There will always be a people, and he will always be their God.



• They will be brought back to the land


• A new temple will be built


• A new leadership from the house of David will arise.


• Ultimately, in the messianic context, there will be a greater people
  of God, including believing gentiles.
  


• There will be a messianic king figure, of the house of David, to
  rule for ever.

Q4 What
vision of hope did these prophets bring, and who was it for?

The prophets brought as their primary message the Hope that God would always be with them, even if they were forced out of the land. This message was addressed primarily to their fellow Jews.

But they also brought a much larger vision to a much wider audience which extends even to us today. This was the vision of a coming Messiah, who would rule over the whole household of faith of every nation.

Q5 Select
one of the following (1^st Isaiah, 2^nd Isaiah, Jeremiah, and

Ezekiel.
In the light of these questions and considerations above, present (in
5/6 minutes, an outline of the prophet’s challenge and vision to Israel, and
then consider its continuing relevance to us today. (Be prepared to lead discussion on your prophet.)

First I’d like to introduce Ezekiel as a person.

He was a prophet – a touchy feely type. In the modern church he would have been a charismatic – all into the Spiritual gifts and visions and things.

But he was also a priest – into ritual, into law, into doing things by the book, pedantic and slow. In the modern church he would be the typical High Anglican!

Some people see a conflict between these two aspects of his personality, but they were both there.

A man of learning, who knew how things should be done, by the book.

But also a man of passion, who wanted things to be done out of emotion, not just going through the motions.

Ezekiel was just a young man when the Babylonians came and carried him off to Babylon along with many others. But at this stage they did not destroy Jerusalem and the temple – they left puppet kings in charge. He may have known Jeremiah, who was one of those left behind to counsel the remaining kings.

Ezekiel’s prophecy can be broken down into fairly distinct sections. But there is no significant
doubt that he was the primary source of the vast bulk of the book.

Ezekiel’s prophecy is addressed to his fellow exiles. The first part concentrates on Jerusalem. The exiles were thinking that those left in Jerusalem must be those favoured by God, but Ezekiel says no. Jerusalem will fall. The temple will be destroyed. The remainder of the people will be brought into captivity too. The focus of God’s work is now with the exiles. The exiles, without king, without priesthood, without temple – are still the true Israel. But to know God’s blessing they must repent, and live according to his ways, and not the ways that have brought his judgment on them.

But God’s vision is not just for Israel – he is the God of all nations. And so there is a section of Oracles against Nations, where God declares his supremacy over all the nations. And it is in this context that Jerusalem, like all nations, comes under God’s judgment and falls.

Once this has been achieved, God’s purpose has been fulfilled, and he is able to move on to new topics. The theme moves from judgment to salvation.

What now?

The exile will be long.

The people should settle down, and concentrate on holy living.

But the exile is not forever.

They will return to the land.

They will rebuild the temple.

There will be a Davidic ruler, although he referred to as Prince – subordinate to the divine Kingship.

The land is redistributed.

They will live in covenant with their God.

McConville likes to portray Ezekiel as a Moses-like figure, giving laws and building a new united Israelite society, with the heart and the law working together.

But perfection does not come yet – that is still in the future, as Kirsty was telling us in the last session, where prophecy is like a silhouette of a range of hills – in the future God will come and bring all nations together for a final judgment and a final salvation.

Ezekiel is important in Israel’s relationship with God. He shows them that each generation is responsible for its own sin. The exile was not an inevitable consequence of the sins of their forefathers. If they had repented, as the people in the time of Josiah had done, they would not have been carried into exile.

But even this punishment shows Gods love. Even while they are sinners, sinning, he is using them as the core of a new Israel.

Moulding them until they are ready for a return to the promised land. Teaching them that they don’t need a temple with all its trappings – these things are nice, but what God really wants is
for them to love him from the heart. And even when the temple and its rituals are re-established, that emotional relationship should continue.

So Ezekiel’s vision of hope is in the first instance for the exiles.

Their vision of hope is of a restoration of the physical covenant blessings – the temple, the priesthood, the kingship, and the land. But its also a restoration of the spiritual blessing of the covenant – being God’s chosen people, and having him as their God, in a more close and familiar relationship than they had had before.

But Ezekiel also gives a vision of hope for other readers of the book. He gives us the certainty that in due course; all the evil nations in the world will be called to account for their deeds. There will come a time when God destroys them all, and establishes his own righteous rule in communion with his people. God is after all the only real God, and is God of all people, not just of the Jews.

So in conclusion them, I have enjoyed reading McConville on Ezekiel. I don’t think much of his ideas of Isaiah, but I have found his perspective on Ezekiel to be very full and refreshing. He has put Ezekiel into context for me, so that he is no longer just another in the long line of major whinging prophets. I particularly like the comparison with Moses, as he sets out how the people should live when they go back to the promised land, with all the echoes of Moses writing in the Pentateuch. Ezekiel is no longer just the prophet of dry bones, hearts of flesh, and weird living creatures. He is now a solid and three dimensional character.

In fact, for me, he’s the main man!

References

1 Balchin et al,
The Bible in Outline, Scripture Union, London, 1985

2 NIV Study Bible,
Hodder and Stoughton, 1987

3 G McConville,
Exploring the Old Testament Vol 4 Prophets, SPCK, 2002

The Minor Prophets

Q1 What is prophecy?

I tried to find definitions of prophecy on the internet, but was overwhelmed by extreme Calvinist websites each trying to prove their own eschatological interpretations.

McConville³ does not seem to contain a definition as such. His book covers those canonical books generally referred to as ‘prophecy’, but points out that some might fit more comfortably in ‘the writings’. A valid point that he makes is to distinguish between the life, work and words of the prophet himself, and the book recorded in his name. He may have written it, or it may have been recorded subsequently by others, particularly where there are elements of biographical narrative.

General usage of the word ‘prophecy’ in common English implies that it is the foretelling of the future, but this is only part of its dictionary definition: -

Prophecy n. faculty of a prophet (the gift of prophecy); prophetic utterance; foretelling of future events. [ME, f. OF profecie f. LL f. Gk propheteia (as PROPHET; see –CY)]⁴

So it also includes ‘prophetic utterance’, which following through the definitions in the same dictionary leads one to:

Prophet n 1. inspired teacher, revealer or interpreter of God’s will….etc.

Thus prophecy is not just about foretelling future events, although that can be and is often included. In Scripture it is more often in its first sense, a matter of revealing God’s will in the present tense, through inspiration by the Holy Spirit. It proclaims God’s word.^{2 (note on Luke 1:67)}

Q2 Who were/are the prophets?

There are various groups of people that one might term ‘the prophets’

The company of the prophets. This appears to have been a known group of prophets who would ‘perform’ in public together. Their behaviour may have been eccentric – see 1 Samuel 11 and 19 when Saul was overcome by the Spirit of God and joined the company temporarily, causing comment. It is likely that Samuel was their leader.

During the monarchy, there would be prophets included amongst the King’s advisors. This practice may have followed on from the role of Samuel with Saul and David, or may have been a copy if practices in adjacent kingdoms, or both. Some of these were clearly true believers, some were clearly pagans, and some may have been part of the religious establishment, nominally prophets of Yahweh but actually speaking their own mind (perhaps unwittingly, perhaps from secret paganism) eg Zedekiah in 1 Kings 22 v 19 to 25

Other prophets mentioned in narrative books, eg Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah (in 1 Kings 22 v 19 to 25), Nathan, etc. They may have been part of the groups above or may have been independent.

The prophets who have books named after them. Some may have been part of the above groups. Note that some are post exilic, which would imply that the company of prophets continued to this time.

Prophets in the New Testament - these would be anointed with the Holy Spirit, perhaps to a greater and more constant level than their predecessors. Eg Agabus and the seven sons of Sceva. John could also be included here for writing Revelation.

Modern times. I was brought up to understand that the verse in 1 Cor 13 v 9,10 meant that on completion of the Bible there was no further need for prophecy, as the will of God is fully proclaimed in the Bible. I agree with that in the context of developing Scripture – I don’t expect more prophecies to be recorded and taken to be of equal authority as the scripture. But I believe there is also a role for modern day prophets to speak the will of God into particular situations, though this must always be subject to the Bible and tested against it. I am sceptical of people who start off with “Thus saith the Lord…”, but if someone humbly and sincerely feels that God has put an idea in their heart, I will listen with interest.. It is important also to recognise different forms of prophetic speech. It may be a ‘thus saith the Lord’ thing, an inspired message that comes apparently from nowhere. It may equally come from someone who has studied the scriptures over a period of time and come to see truths therein which he/she then proclaims to the congregation. It can come unwittingly, words spoken as part of a normal conversation which have a deep impact on the hearer. Once I was washing dishes at the age of 18 when my elder brother bounded into the kitchen. “Hail, mighty man of God!” he said, and bounded out again. It changed my life; years of self-doubt and self-deprecation fell away as I realised that Christ didn’t save me to be a miserable worm but a man in his own image.

Q3 What is the purpose (i.e. role and significance) of the Bible’s prophetic writings?

The Word of the Lord came originally to speak to his people about the current situation in which they found themselves.

This has been taken down in writing, in some cases at a slightly or significantly later date, sometimes by a different person, and in some cases re-interprets the original message to speak to a new situation.

The prophetic writings also predict the future at several different levels

a. The first coming of the messiah

b. The church age

c. The second coming of the messiah, eschatology, and the end of the world.

Some prophecies have multiple fulfilments.

The reason that predictive prophecies arise is not that someone has found out how to discover what the future is, as if it is ordained by fate. Predictive prophecies are inspired by the God who not only sees the future in his timelessness, but actually writes the future and determines what it will be. He wants us now to know what he says about it so that we will recognise it when it comes. He doesn’t want us to be surprised by it, but more importantly he wants us to recognise that it is his doing, that it is not chance, it is in fact the fulfilment of the purposes he commenced in Genesis chapter 1. So when we read “there will be earthquakes in many places, but do not fear, the end is not yet” (OK yes, that is New Testament, not the subject of this session, but the same principle applies) we are not surprised by the boxing day tsunami. God is saying he is in control – nature has not run amok. And by the way, bigger disasters will come. If you listen to me I will keep you safe through them. And in the end the world will be completely destroyed but my remnant will be kept safe.

Q4 What relevance does prophecy have to twenty-first century Christianity? Where might we find it today?

It tells us about God’s relationship with his people in Biblical times.

We can assume that he continues to be the same God and therefore relates to his people today in a similar manner

The predictive element if the prophetic writings works on several levels: -

a. It told the people of the time about events in their immediate future

b. It told the people of the time about the coming of the Messiah

c. It told the people of the time about the end of the world.

d. For the people in the time of the New Testament, point ‘a’ above confirmed the reliability of the prophecies, giving the people confidence in the Messianic prophecies being fulfilled in their time, and also confirming those prophecies yet to be fulfilled.

e. Similar to point ‘d’, the fulfilments of points ‘a’ and ‘b’ confirm to us the veracity of these messages, and give us confidence in the reliability of those prophecies yet to be fulfilled.

Sadly, knowing that a prophecy in the Bible is true and reliable is very different from knowing what it actually means. As I indicated in my first paragraph under Q1, people are very inclined to make interpretations of the prophecies based on intimate studies of the detail, and having made their conclusions hold on to them vigorously, using strong language to defend their own view and vilify anyone who thinks differently. This is true both in terms of events surrounding the second coming of Christ and in terms of the role of the modern nation and ethnic group of Israel. I am reminded of John 7v 52 – “Look into it and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee”. They were knowledgeable students of the law, but got it wrong. (Jonah was from Galilee², God can raise a prophet wherever he feels like it, and where the prophecies predicted the coming of ‘the branch’, this apparently shares a common root with the name ‘Nazareth’ which is of course in Galilee). So in interpreting prophecy it is important to avoid getting too dogmatic about the details.

Q5 Sketch a timeline to show how the prophets/prophetic writings may have fitted with events of Old Testament history.

See Appendix 1

Note the difficulty in dating the prophets. It is natural for different scholars to lean towards dates that fit their own interpretations. My table attempts to date the life of the prophet rather than the book, which may have been recorded later.

Q6 Consider a pair of Minor Prophets and prepare brief introductions to each

Couplings are: -

Hosea/Malachi

Joel/Zechariah

Amos/Haggai

Obadiah/Zephaniah

Jonah/Habakkuk

Micah/Nahum

	Joel	Zechariah
Who they were	Unknown.	Well Known. Grandson of Iddo, the priest that worked alongside Zerubabel. i.e a priest as well as a prophet, and possibly the head of Iddo’s priestly family (Neh 12:163)
In which Kingdom they lived	Judah, pre exile	Judah, post exile
To whom were their messages addressed	Presumably the local people under threat from the problems mentioned below.	Returning Exiles rebuilding the temple.
When they lived	Dating of Joel is very uncertain owing to the lack of specific external references. NIV study Bible2 prefers an early date in the 9th century BC, at a time of natural threats from locusts and political threats from emerging superpowers, but acknowledges the possibility of it being post-exilic. McConville3 prefers a late date of 587 BC. Balchin at al1 suggest he was one of the earliest of all OT prophets and might have known Elisha and Elijah.	Post Exile. McConville’s dates3 lie between those in my other sources at 522-515BC. However, the second half may have been written later.
What were their messages	The day of the Lord is coming, like a locust swarm. The Day of the Lord will bring judgement on the hearer/reader, not just his enemies. God is at work in international evnts. The only hope is to repent, and receive God’s mercy. A call for Religious revival, and proclaiming the source of true hope in a time of crisis.	Go on believing that God is at work. There is an unseen spiritual battle going on. There will be judgement and salvation, and a hope of the ultimate triumph for God over the powers of darkness.
Suggest what (for you) is the key verse or verses in each book	I will pour put my Spirit on all people. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy … and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.	Ch3 v 4 See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.

References

Balchin et al, The Bible in Outline, Scripture Union, London, 1985

NIV Study Bible, Hodder and Stoughton, 1987

G McConville, Exploring the Old Testament Vol 4 Prophets, SPCK, 2002

The Concise Oxford Dictionary, seventh edition ED JB Sykes, Oxford, 1981

Appendix 1 Timeline of Prophets

Session 4 Covenant in the Old Testament

Q1 What is meant by the term ‘Covenant’?

Latin - “Con” = ‘together’ plus “venire” = ‘to come’ à

“to come together”

A Covenant is an agreement, an arrangement between two parties, by which they are bound to certain responsibilities - with agreed penalties for defaulting - and are given access to certain privileges ¹.

No single English word is an adequate equivalent. ‘Agreement’ and ‘Special arrangement’ point in the right direction but fall rather short of its full meaning. ‘Contract’, ‘bond’ and ‘guarantee’ also touch some aspects of covenant but again fail to express the whole ¹.

The lexicon definition ³ illustrates this breadth of meaning.

Other definitions: -

A bond in blood sovereignly administered ⁴.

A gracious relationship of love between God and humanity, a relationship in which God takes the initiative ⁵

A covenant is properly an agreement between two parties. Where one of the parties is infinitely superior to the other, as in a covenant between God and man, there God’s covenant assumes the nature of a promise ⁶

The idea of covenant is more than just a contract - that is true but falls short of the full truth of the Gospel. Covenant involves giving life and exchanging persons ¹¹.

It is true to say that all of God’s dealings with his people, in every generation, have been on the basis of covenant ².

Origins of the word: -

Hebrew word ‘Berit’

Possible origins -

Derived from ‘barah’ - ‘to eat’ (ß
explains why covenants are often associated with a meal) ⁷

Derived from Akkadian (Middle Assyrian) ‘biritu’ - ‘to clasp, fetter, bind’ (ß
the uniting aspect) ⁸

Derived from Hebrew ‘tyrb’ - in the sense of cutting (ß
points to sacrifice, circumcision, separation from the world, etc) ³

Application ¹⁰

“Karat berit le” = ‘to make a covenant to’ and indicates that a superior is condescending to make a covenant with an inferior. This is used to describe God’s covenant with man.

“Karat berit im” = ‘ to make a covenant with’ - a covenant between equals.

The ‘karat’ bit refers to cutting (though I haven’t found a link to ‘tyrb’ above) so literally - “to cut a covenant“.

Hence sacrifice inaugurates the covenant. The parties would cut animals in two and then walk between the pieces. This was as if to say “If I fail to fulfill my part of the covenant may I be killed and cut in two like these”. Compare Jer 34 v 18 with Gen 15 below. In the case of Abraham, only God passed between the pieces because God takes on himself the obligations of both parties. In most cases the slaughtered animals would be eaten as a meal celebrating the new covenant. Thus we have a wedding reception to celebrate a marriage, and we have Passover and communion ‘meals’ to recall God’s covenant with us.

Jeremiah 34

^{18 The men who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces}

Gen 15

He also said to him, "I am the LORD , who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."

⁸ But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD , how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" ⁹ So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."

¹⁰ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. ¹¹ Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.


¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³ Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." ^{17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18} On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land,

Q2a Why is the Covenant so important?

The idea of Covenant is key to our understanding of God. It tells us:

He is the suzerain, we are the vassals

He is not a wild god given to random acts, but his requirements can be understood and followed.

Covenant relationships are found at every stage of the Bible -

Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Deuteronomy, David, New Testament

And these Covenants build on those that have gone before, increasing the intensity and extent of the blessings from them. The Bible is the unfolding story of God’s Covenant with mankind.

Q2b Do other key ideas flow from it?

Dispensationalism - the doctrine that God has dealt with people under different ‘house rules’ in different ages. This is countered by those that say that whatever the details of the prevailing covenant, faith has always been the key. I agree with both views, and think they are just different ways of looking at it.

The relationship between Israel and the Church. We know that believing gentiles are grafted into the vine of Israel, and that unfruitful branches (unbelieving Jews) are cut off from it. But does the church replace Israel? Do the eschatological promises concerning Israel refer to the spiritual sons of Abraham ie the church, or do they still apply exclusively to the political nation/ethnic group of modern Israel? Are these two ideas mutually exclusive? Can the promises relate spiritually and allegorically to the church and also practically to the nation?

Mixed up in the above question is the following one - does the modern nation of Israel have a God-given right to the land of Palestine, or have those rights been forfeited by Judah’s covenant unfaithfulness in former millennia and by the modern nation’s covenant failure to care for the ‘alien’ Palestinians within her?

Are the 144,000 in Revelation literal Jews? How do the above questions influence and or stem from the various eschatological interpretations?

Salt as a binding sign of covenant both in the Bible and in other eastern cultures. To eat salt with someone bound you in covenant with them. It is thought that the words salt and blood (sal and sangre in Spanish) have a common root, so salt in the context of covenant is a symbol of blood, the blood of the covenant. Some heretical sects have even used salt in the place of wine at Eucharist.¹²

Q3c How did the Covenant affect daily life in Isarel

See Appendix 2 “Major Social Concerns of the Covenant“ ⁹.

Refer also to the recent TV documentary about modern Jews living according to a strict interpretation of the Pentateuch. Unfortunately I didn’t see this but my boss did and described how every detail of their lives, including things we would determine to be private and intimate, were governed by reference to the Torah and its interpretation by the local Rabbi.

The other major aspect is discipline. To be in the covenant is a high privilege, with responsibilities to match. The individual that breaks covenant injures the whole community. Consider Exodus 32v26 - the Levites that rallied around Moses were ordered to go through the camp killing their fellow Israelites who had sinned. And when Achan steals some devoted things and hides hem in his tent, the first consequence is that Israel are humiliatingly defeated in their next battle, the second consequence is that Achan is identified and stoned to death, along with his family and flocks (Joshua 6 and 7). After the Exile, when some men intermarry with pagans, Ezra intervenes to insist that they be ‘put away‘ before God‘s judgement falls. In the New Covenant Paul says “Expel the immoral brother from among you” (not “make him a Bishop”). We are very quick to claim Covenant promises, but very reluctant to fulfil Covenant responsibilities.

Q3 Give 1 or 2 examples from different periods of OT history, of the Covenant‘s role in Israel‘s existence.

Joshua - the invasion and conquest of the promised land.

2 Chron 13 - Abijah quotes the Davidic covenant as justification for his war against Jeroboam, and God gives him the victory.

The exile - brought about by neglect of Israel’s covenant duties incurring the covenant curses of Deuteronomy.

Q4 What place has the Covenant in the rise of the monarchy in Israel - why was Saul rejected, David affirmed and Solomon judged?

When Jacob {Israel} blessed his sons and their descendants, he said “The sceptre will not depart from Judah.” Whilst not strictly in the normally designated Covenants, these blessings formed the basis for God’s allocation of the land by lot. And similarly, God brought about his intention to have Judah as the royal household. But first he had to teach Israel what to look for in a king - not the one who was strong in their eyes, but the one selected by God.

In civil terms, Saul was quiet a good monarch for the times. But he had serious character flaws

Lacking confidence, he hid amongst the baggage on his coronation day (1 Sam 10v22)

He disobeyed God and made excuses. (1 Sam 13)

He disobeyed God, and when denounced by the prophet, made lying excuses, even after the previous experience. Compare this to David’s repentance when his sin was exposed. Saul’s apparent repentance was distress at the punishment and loss of face, rather than genuine repentance. (1 Sam 15, 2 Sam 13)

After this his personality changed and he became prone to violent mood swings. These became part of the path by which God brought David into the court.

Not so much a character flaw - he was a Benjaminite, not part of the tribe of Judah

David was a man after God’s own heart. (1 Sam 13v14). This does not mean he was sinless, or that he was shining example of righteousness. In fact the story often suggests otherwise. But in the midst of is weakness there was a reliance on God, and a willingness to repent when the sin was exposed. God similarly knows our weaknesses. He is not looking for us to defend our actions or make excuses, but simply to rely on him for everything. In this way, his covenant is established with us to, in repentance and faith.

Solomon started off as a man of God, building the temple etc. But he broke covenant by marrying foreign women and accepting, even adopting, their pagan worship. As well as building God’s temple, he built pagan high places. I Kings 11 v 9 - God became angry with him because he turned away from the Lord, who had appeared to him twice. And so God tears the kingdom from his hand. But because of his covenant with David, he does not do it in the lifetime of Solomon, and he leaves a remnant of the house of David on the throne of Judah.

References

1 MTP - Modular Training Programme -”Covenant”, Covenant College 1991, PO Box 90, Coventry CV7 9QT (Editor David Matthew BA)

2 MTP referring to TE McComiskey, The Covenants of Promise, Baker, 1985, p176

3 Studylight Lexicon Definition - (Apologies - internet URL lost)

4 MTP referring to O Palmer Robertson, Covenants: God’s way with his People, Great Commission Publications, 1987, p11

5 MTP referring to Adrio Konig, The Eclipse of Christ in Eschatology: Toward a Christ Centred Approach, Marshall Morgan &Scott, 1989, p55

6 American Tract Society - (Apologies - internet URL lost)

7 MTP referring to un-named source

8 Ditto

9 Plagiarised shamelessly from David Gait, Major Social Concerns of the Covenant, Diocesan Reader Training Website

10 MTP referring to Jerusalem Weinfeld, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Eerdmans, 1983, vol 2, p 259

11 Scott and Kimberley Hahn, Rome Sweet Home - Our Journey to Catholicism, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1993, quoting John Keppley, Birth Control and the Marriage Covenant which has since been revised and re-titled “Sex and the Marriage Covenant"

12 Albert F Calvert FCS etc, Salt in Cheshire, E&FN Spon Limited, London, 1915. (This non-theological book is a history of the salt industry in Cheshire, but the introduction covers salt in a broader context with a surprising amount about salt as a sign of covenant in Middle Eastern societies)

Appendix 1

Lexicon Definition - (Apologies - “Studylight” internet URL lost

Original Word Word Origin

tyrb from (01262) (in the sense of cutting [like (1254)])

Transliterated Word Phonetic Spelling

B@riyth ber-eeth'

Parts of Speech TWOT

Noun Feminine 282a

Definition

1. covenant, alliance, pledge

a. between men

1. treaty, alliance, league (man to man)

2. constitution, ordinance (monarch to subjects)

3. agreement, pledge (man to man)

4. alliance (of friendship)

5. alliance (of marriage)

b. between God and man

1. alliance (of friendship)

2. covenant (divine ordinance with signs or pledges)

2. (phrases)

a. covenant making

b. covenant keeping

c. covenant violation

Translated Words

KJV (284) - confederacy, 1; confederate, 1; confederate + (01167), 1; covenant, 264; league, 17;

NAS (285) - El-berith, 1; allied, 1; allies, 1; covenant, 275; covenants, 1; league, 2; treaty, 4;

Verse Count

KJV NAS

Genesis 24 Genesis 24

Exodus 13 Exodus 13

Leviticus 8 Leviticus 8

Numbers 5 Numbers 5

Deuteronomy 26 Deuteronomy 26

Joshua 21 Joshua 21

Judges 4 Judges 5

1 Samuel 7 1 Samuel 7

2 Samuel 6 2 Samuel 6

1 Kings 12 1 Kings 12

2 Kings 10 2 Kings 10

1 Chronicles 13 1 Chronicles 13

2 Chronicles 15 2 Chronicles 15

Ezra 1 Ezra 1

Nehemiah 4 Nehemiah 4

Job 3 Job 3

Psalms 21 Psalms 21

Proverbs 1 Proverbs 1

Isaiah 12 Isaiah 12

Jeremiah 21 Jeremiah 21

Ezekiel 16 Ezekiel 16

Daniel 6 Daniel 6

Hosea 5 Hosea 5

Amos 1 Amos 1

Obadiah 1 Obadiah 1

Zechariah 2 Zechariah 2

Malachi 6 Malachi 6

Appendix 2

A collection of sixteen major social concerns in the Covenant ⁹

1.Personhood

Everyone's person is to be secure

(Ex 20:13; Dt 5:17; Ex 21:16-21; Lev 19:14; Dt 24:7; 27:18)

2. False Accusation

Everyone is to be secure against slander and false accusation

(Ex 20:16; Dt 5:20; Ex 23:1-3; Lev 19:16; Dt 19:15-21)

3. Women

No woman is to be taken advantage of within her subordinate status in society

(Ex 21:7-11, 20, 26-32; 22:16-17; Dt 21:10-14; 22:13-3-; 24:1-5)

4. Punishment

Punishment for wrongdoing shall not be so excessive that the culprit is dehumanised

(Dt 25:1-5)

5. Dignity


Every Israelite's dignity and right to be God's freedman and servant are to be honoured and safeguarded

(Ex 21:2, 5-6; Lev 25; Dt 15:12-18)

6. Inheritance

Every Israelite's inheritance in the promised land is to be secure

(Lev 25; Nu 27:5-7; 36:1-9)

7. Property

Everyone's property is to be secure

(Ex 20:15; Dt 5:19; Ex 21:33-36; 22:1-15; 23:4-5; Lev 19:35-36; Dt 22:1-4; 25:13-15)

8. Fruit of Labour

Everyone is to receive the fruit of his labours

(Lev 19:13; Dt 24:14; 25:4)

9. Fruit of the Ground

Everyone is to share the fruit of the ground

(Ex 23:10-11; Lev 19:9-10; 23:22; 25:3-55; Dt 14:28-29; 24:19-21)

10. Rest on the Sabbath

Everyone, down to the humblest servant and the resident alien, is to share in the weekly rest of God's Sabbath

(Ex 20:8-11; Dt 5:12-15; Ex 23:12)

11. Marriage

The marriage relationship is to be kept inviolate

(Ex 20:14; Dt 5:18; see also Lev 18:6-23; 20:10-21; Dt 22:13-30)

12. Exploitation

No one, however disabled, impoverished or powerless, is to be oppressed or exploited

(Ex 22:21-27; Lev 19:14, 33-34; 25:35-36; Dt 23:19; 24:6, 12-15, 17; 27:18)

13. Fair Trial

Everyone is to have free access to the courts and is to be afforded a fair trial

(Ex 23:6, 8; Lev 19:15; Dt 1:17; 10:17-18; 16:18-20; 17:8-13; 19:15-21)

14. Social Order

Every person's God-given place in the social order is to be honoured

(Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16; Ex 21:15, 17; 22:28; Lev 19:3, 32; 20:9; Dt 17:8-13; 21:15-21; 27:16)

15. Law

No one shall be above the law, not even the king

(Dt 17:18-20)

16. Animals

Concern for the welfare of other creatures is to be extended to the animal world

(Ex 23:5, 11; Lev 25:7; Dt 22:4, 6-7; 25:4)

Appendix 3

Extract from Rome Sweet Home ¹¹

P 27, discussing the author’s introduction to Catholic views on contraception

“Marriage is not a contract involving merely an exchange of goods and services. Rather, marriage is a covenant, involving an exchange of persons.

Kippley’s argument was that every covenant is enacted and renewed; and that the marital act is a covenant act. When the marriage covenant is renewed, God uses it to give new life. To renew the marital covenant and use birth control to destroy the potential for new life is tantamount to receiving the Eucharist and spitting it on the ground.

Kippley showed that the marital act demonstrates the powerful life-giving love of the covenant in a unique way. All other covenants show God’s love and transmit God’s love, but it is only in the marital covenant that the love is so real and powerful that it communicates life.

In the Protestant tradition, covenants and contracts were understood as two words describing the same thing. But studying the OT lead me to see that, for the ancient Hebrews, covenants and contracts were very different. In Scripture, contracts simply involved the exchange of property, whereas covenants involved the exchange of persons, so as to form sacred family bonds. Kinship was thus formed by Covenant. (Understood from an OT background, the concept of covenant wasn’t theoretical or abstract.) In fact, covenant kinship was stronger than biological kinship; the deeper meaning of divine covenants in the OT was God’s fathering of Israel as his own family.

When Christ formed the New Covenant with us, then, it was much more than a simple contract or legal exchange, where he took our sin and gave us his righteousness, as Luther and Calvin explained it. Although true, this fell short of the full truth of the gospel.

What I discovered was that the New Covenant established a worldwide family in which Christ shared his divine sonship, making us as children of God. As a covenant act, justified meant sharing in the grace [NB RC concept of ‘grace’ is different from Protestant use of the word - Simon] of Christ as God’s own sons and daughters; being sanctified meant sharing in the life and power of the Holy Spirit. In this light, God’s grace became something much more than divine favour, it was the actual gift of God’s life in divine sonship.

Luther and Calvin explained this simply in terms of courtroom language. But I was beginning to see that, far more than simply being a judge, God was our father. Far more than simply being criminals, we were runaways. Far more than the New Covenant being made in a courtroom, it was fashioned by God in a family room”

Session 3 - The Exodus

Q1 What was the importance of the Exodus at the time?

What is its importance now?

(See Appendix)

To the common people, the events must have been bewildering. Any information would have come through the grapevine, not the BBC website. But to the elders who were aware of Moses’ mission, the events would have been a mixture of exhilaration and intense frustration. It is easy for us to look back and judge them, knowing the whole story, but for them it was unfolding, and they had no certainty of a positive outcome.

Theologically, what it meant at the time was

in the first instance, God’s answer to prayer for deliverance, and his compassion and care for his people.

The next layer of meaning is that the God of Abraham is the best god. He is stronger than all of the might of Egypt and all of its sophisticated pantheon.

Thirdly, and most importantly, Exodus is about covenant - affirming and keeping the covenant with Abraham and developing its detail in the Sinai covenant.

These meanings are still in place today - God delivers us from life’s troubles (albeit not immediately), God is better than the alternative religions and irreligion around us, and God continued to affirm and keep his covenants and develop the detail. But this last point is the most important for us, because in Christ we have the Spiritual realisation of the Covenants, and we can now see that all of the stuff in the ’old covenant’ is a shadow of the real thing. The old shows us the new. The old is a silhouette of the three dimensional new covenant.

Q2 What are the dominant themes in the story?

The deliverance that comes from God - deliverance from slavery and adversity in life, and deliverance on a spiritual level from slavery to sin.

The supremacy of God above all other powers, and his lordship over the creation and the political scene.

The development of Covenant, and the fulfilment of Covenant promises.

Abraham to be the father of a great nation

Abraham’s seed to receive the promised land

(Blessings and Curses on those who Bless and Curse ‘Abraham’ respectively

Q3 Who are the story’s main characters?

The Story’s main characters are:

Moses - the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Multi-racial adoptions are always risky! Moses seems to have identified more with his biological family than his legal family, despite common sense suggesting that on a personal level he would have been better off in the palace NOT identifying himself with slaves. Moses knows his remarkable life places him well to be the deliverer, but he tries to take things into his own hands, murdering the Egyptian. But this is not God’s way or God’s time. Yet God uses the incident to drive Moses into the desert for the second phase of his training.

Once that is complete, God calls him. Yet even while faced with the miracle of the burning bush, Moses doubts his God and doubts himself, and so loses the chance to be even greater than he was. Eventually he sets out to do his task. But his disobedience in not circumcising his sons - scorning the covenant - nearly ends his life. His wife Zipporah, also a descendant of Abraham, knows what to do (why didn’t she do this before?) and circumcises the sons.

Strengthened, Moses reaches Egypt and enlists the support of the elders and Aaron. After more bouts of doubt he loses even more responsibility. He then starts the ’negotiations’ with Pharaoh. He knows that Pharaoh’s heart will be hardened, but continues in God’s plan and brings the people out of Egypt. Gaining competence through his experiences in the court, in the desert, and in the Exodus itself, he becomes the powerful leader that God intends.

Pharaoh - Possibly two pharaohs; one Moses’ adoptive father, one his uncle. Pharaoh is the top of the tree in Egypt - he is divine. He is an incarnation of a god. (This is an anti-type, a counterfeit, of the true incarnation of the real god in Jesus.) But seen as divine, no one will challenge him, and he is accustomed to getting his way. He has no conscience about the Israelite slaves, and has no compassion on their babies. He has lived in Egypt for his whole life, and is accustomed to natural disasters and plagues, natural swarms of frogs, natural swarms of frogs, locusts and gnats - natural discolouration of the water. So when Moses comes along with more of the same - if rather extreme and ‘coincidentally’ well-timed - he does not feel afraid. But we need to realise that for Moses to come suggesting that this divine lord of mighty Egypt should bow to the wishes of the ragged slaves’ desert god would have seemed highly impertinent. Theologians will always debate about what it means when it says ‘God hardened Pharaoh’s heart’.

Aaron - Moses’ older brother. I have always overlooked the fact that he went out of Egypt to meet Moses, so he must have had substantial faith of his own. How did he get out of Egypt? He ends up doing all of the hard work so that his younger brother can get all the glory!

Jethro - Moses’ father in law, priest of God in Midian. As a descendant of Abraham himself, it is likely that he had a great spiritual input into the life of Moses, a counterbalance to the paganism thrust on him in the court of Pharaoh I his childhood. It is significant that he reappears at Sinai, possibly so that the law and covenant blessings would apply to him as well.

God - God appears in his Shekinah glory at the burning bush and again in the pillar of cloud/fire. He converses constantly with Moses, and allows Moses to see him. These are unprecedented divine revelations, and show that these events are of critical importance to him, and we can surmise from this that these events are of critical importance to the unfolding plan of salvation. God is at the core of what happens, and it is really his story, rather than that of Moses his servant. It is God that allows the slavery to develop, because it will bring about the fulfilment of the covenant promises. It is God that hardens Pharaoh’s heart, so that he can bring on the plagues and punish Egypt for its abuse of his people. And this is also to establish his own position as being higher than all the other alleged gods. It is God who brings the people of Israel out of the slavery of Egypt - into the blazing heat of the desert. Again it all has its purpose. We should take note of this, because so often in hard times we convince ourselves that God has abandoned us and treated us unfairly, not realising that this is part of his plan to bring about blessings for us in the future, and that the hard times are times of training that will equip us for the tasks necessary to gain those blessings.

Q4 For whom was the account written?

This question is wrapped up the question of who wrote it, and when. The Documentary Hypothesis⁴ and its successors have taken the view that these stories were finally collated after the exile, and that they were written for the returning exiles to regain their sense of identity, nationhood and communal faith. You will have guessed from my contributions to the tutor group that I find these ideas of date and collation unconvincing, unnecessary, and unhelpful. The Hypothesis assumes that this bunch of escaped slaves would have been largely illiterate and would have relied on oral tradition. Yet we know that the Hebrews emerged originally from Sumeria, which had well developed writing, and that Moses had been brought up in the Egyptian court where writing would have been commonplace. The literary styles of the Pentateuch can be compared to other literature of the times. So I find no reason to start thinking that the books were not written by Moses himself (albeit through dictation or recording by scribes accompanying him). This is supported by the words of Jesus - “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me, but since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” John 5 v46-47. So it is clear here and throughout the use of the old testament by Jesus that he himself believed that the words were written by Moses.

So if written by Moses himself, let us return to the question - who was it written for? At the time of putting pen to paper it would likely have been simply a diary or record of events, but as the content became increasingly legal, it would have formed the basic law code, presumably the basis of the courts established in chapter 18. (NIV text notes¹ indicate that this chapter may be chronologically after the next few, but placed here to keep a topical arrangement.) So it was written for the people of Israel at the time, to guide their lives and to show them how to live during their travels, the invasion, and once settled in the land. But behind that level of address, we find that God has inspired the writing so that it has had a much deeper meaning, speaking to all generations right down to ours about the path of salvation.

Q5 Five minute Presentation on The Exodus as a Witness to Christ, with background notes max 400 words

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.¹

2 Peter 1:20-21 You must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origins in the will for man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (cf Carried along by wind in Shipwreck Acts 27)¹

Talk based on Christ in all the Scriptures²

I AM

Passover Lamb - 1 Cor 5 v 7,8

Living Bread and Living Water - John 6 48-51

Moses

Delivers from slavery

Delivers new law and covenant

The Tabernacle

The Great high Priest

References

1 NIV Study Bible, Hodder and Stoughton, 1987

2 A M Hodgkin, Christ in All the Scriptures, Pickering, Basingstoke, UK, 1985

3 J Rogerson, Chronicles of the Bible Lands

4 G Wenham, Exploring the Old Testament vol 1 The Pentateuch, SPCK, London, 2003

Appendix

To understand what the Exodus meant at the time, one can put oneself in the shoes of a Hebrew Slave. You are in a condition of forced labour, as your parents and grandparents have been. This is the only life you know, and it has little pleasure. You have some belief in the god of your fathers, and legends that he will one day come and deliver you. Meanwhile, some upstart who has got into favour with the slave masters starts throwing his weight around and acting like a judge, as if he would be the deliverer! You soon see the back of him! But then 40 years later things start to change. You hear that he is back and causing trouble! The first sign of it is new demand to obtain straw and maintain quotas is even worse. Next all sorts of weird things happen - the water is polluted, there’s frogs everywhere, boils break out - the only good thing is that some of the disasters seem to miss your area. But then you start getting really strange instructions about a special sacrifice, and painting blood on your doorframe! Everyone is doing it so you follow along. And then you have to start walking, walking, walking, in the heat of the sun, with children crying, dust everywhere, no meal breaks. Everyone is frightened because there’s an army chasing you, with chariots and spears. You start to think that the slavery was better! There is a huge cloud-thing, that glows in the dark, up ahead - it fills you with dread but you get carried along towards it by the crowd and the fear of the pursuing army. Then you find yourself trapped - the biggest lake you have ever seen is ahead, and the army behind. There is some commotion - the cloud-thing moves round behind you and you run forwards. A powerful wind whips up the dust as you fight against it. The ground becomes unusually damp, and you realise that you are walking on the lake bed, with waves towering each side. The crowd rushes on until the ground becomes desert like again. A pause for breath, as the wind eases off, but there is still the sound of rushing water, and then cheering! You look back and see bodies floating in the water, and people are dancing and singing! At last you start to feel free. But already people are moving on, and over the next few days you move on into the desert. The rations run out, and you get more and more hungry and thirsty. At least in Egypt you has onions to eat! Finally an oasis. You can’t get to the water at first and everyone is complaining. But when you finally get there it is good sweet water. A story circulates that it had been bitter until the leaders chucked some stick into it. Next you are told to eat the fluffy white stuff on the ground - even though you don’t know what it is. It tastes good - but there are all sorts of silly rules about when to collect it. Some days you start to catch a few birds as well, which make you feel a bit better. But still people won’t settle - they say they are going to some “promised land“, but they just seem to be wondering aimlessly in the desert. Then you come to a huge mountain with some scary clouds on it. That trouble-causer climbs up, but disappears for days. Everyone is hankering after their old homes in Egypt, rather than his dusty desert, and they ask Aaron to make a golden calf to remind them of home and make things better. Just when the mood is starting to lift a bit - that trouble causer comes down, right in the middle of it all, and throws a right wobbly and smashes the tablets he is carrying. There is a big row and he storms off back up the mountain. Next time you see him there are loads more rules, some of them really stupid and impractical, but everyone is really strict about them. You chafe against the rules, but can‘t help noticing that things are starting to get more organised. While you are sitting thinking about this, you notice that the sandals you have been wearing since you left Egypt are still in good nick, despite all that scuffing on bare rocks. Perhaps there is someone looking after you all after all!