1)I have posted several more ideas for ADVENTURE projects on the tab at top. One has to do with Exodus as
- "seminal story"(Van Der Lann)
- "foundational narrative" (Brian McLaren, chapter 6 here)
- "fulcrum event" (Elmer Martens)
Often this is specifically focused on the Exodus 15 "dance party on the beach,"
but it is also helpful to view the whole story as a prototype and microcosm of the entire message, especially of the New Testament. So I was glad to see that the leading New Testament scholar has made a case for the 7 themes of Exodus as "at the heart of the entire mission of Jesus":
The major themes of the Exodus are at the heart of Tom Wright’s new book Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters. But there’s more to say than that: Exodus is at the heart of the entire mission of Jesus. Because this Exodus theme is both cut up into its seven segments (more below) and because Exodus becomes more central, it is fair to say that Simply Jesus takes us beyond Tom’s well-known Jesus and the Victory of God. He puts it all together in this book….
First the seven Exodus themes are tyrant, leader, divine victory, sacrifice, vocation, divine presence, and promised inheritance. This is at the heart of this book.
,,,: Jesus’ mission is shaped by those same themes, and so I want to quote from what I think is perhaps the crucial paragraph in this whole book. Remember: it’s Exodus, Exodus from Moses through Isaiah, through Daniel, through Zechariah, and now reshaped and reconfigured for a new day in a new way by Jesus — the three-fold storm converging: Rome, Jewish leaders, and the new message about God becoming king in and through Jesus:I am going to break the prose into sections so it’s easier to display and read (p. 175):
The tyrant would be not the Jerusalem leaders …, not even Rome …, but all the powers of the Accuser, up to and including death itself.
The leader would be, of course, Jesus himself.
The sacrifice, likewise, would be Jesus himself; that, we must assume, is why he chose to make his decisive move at Passover-time, knowing that it would lead to the death of the firstborn, the beloved son, a hint that he dropped in one of his last parables (Mark 12:6-8).
The vocation would be the vocation he had marked out for Israel in the Sermon on the Mount: going the second mile, turning the other cheek, loving enemies, and praying for them even as they nailed him to the cross.
The inheritance would not, now, be a restored holy land, but the whole world, the uttermost parts of the earth, which had been promised to the Messiah as his inheritance and then promised again to the servant as the realm to which he, through his suffering, would bring God’s justice.
And the presence of Israel’s God would be the presence of Jesus himself, coming to Jerusalem as the embodiment of Israel’s returning God, the fulfillment of Isaiah 40 and 52.
[ -Scot McKinight, full article
Elmer Martens m in "God's Design"
My claim is that the overarching theme of the Old Testament is God's design, a design that incorporates four components: deliverance, community, knowledge of God, and the abundant life (p. 3)..It is the thesis of this book that the fourfold design of Exodus 5:22-6:8 is an appropriate and also adequate grid according to which to present the whole of the Old Testament material.. link to whole book , read 19-24
Walter Bruggemann
THE EXODUS AND THE LOGIC OF LIBERATION
Walter Brueggemann has a special way of capturing the essence of major biblical themes and movements. His little book, Hope within History, summarizes the essence of the Exodus experience for the people of Israel. He puts forward three important dimensions of the Exodus experience as foundational for the formation and renewal of Israel's faith throughout its history:
+ critique of the dominant ideology,+ public processing of pain,+ release of new social imagination. -link, full article
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3) Enns, 31-32 on Code of Hammurabi
4) Treaties in the Ancient Near East:
Be familiar with the idea of treaties in the Ancient Near East (especially Suzerain-Vassal realationship).
More info:
Video here , or below :
part 2:
4) Treaties in the Ancient Near East:
Be familiar with the idea of treaties in the Ancient Near East (especially Suzerain-Vassal realationship).
See pp. 216-217 (and chart on bottom of p. 220 of your Bible Background Commentary textbook, here/
More info:
Video here , or below :
part 2:
"Suzerain Treaties & The Covenant Documents the Bible"
On The Origin of the Suzerain-Vassal Covenant
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We watched "The Final Test" study notes here.
This dealt with temptations Israel would face when they finally lest the desert/liminal space.
Note Moses reminded them not to forget God in the New Land...where they found "gan," walled gardens/vineyards (a metaphor for Israel), and were tempted to become be-ushim. ( stinking or worthless things wild grapes
Original Word: בְּאֻשִׁים)...especially by being spoiled/not caring for each other/the needy and oppressed. (see notes above and this
Read
Isaiah 5 NIV - The Song of the Vineyard -
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Dueteronomy, introduction from Yale course: transcript, audio, or video here
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From Biblica:
Deuteronomy
Title
The Hebrew name of the book is ‘elleh haddebarim (“These are the words”) or, more simply, debarim (“words”; see 1:1). The word “Deuteronomy” (meaning “repetition of the law”) arose from a mistranslation in the Septuagint (the pre-Christian Greek translation of the OT) and the Latin Vulgate of a phrase in Dt 17:18, which in Hebrew means “copy of this law.” The error is not serious, however, since Deuteronomy is, in a certain sense, a “repetition of the law” (see Structure and Outline).
Author and Date of Writing
The book itself ascribes most of its content to Moses (see 1:1,5; 31:24 and notes). For that reason, the OT elsewhere ascribes the bulk of Deuteronomy and other Pentateuchal legislation to Moses (see, e.g., Jos 1:7–8; 23:6; 1Ki 2:3; 8:53; Mal 4:4 and notes). Similarly Jesus attributed Dt 24:1 to Moses (Mt 19:7–8; Mk 10:3–5), Peter attributed Dt 18:15,18–19 to Moses (Ac 3:22–23), as did Stephen (see Ac 7:37–38 and notes), and Paul attributed Dt 32:21 to Moses (Ro 10:19). See also Mt 22:24 and note; Mk 12:18–19; Lk 20:27–28. At the same time, it seems clear that the narrative framework within which the Mosaic material is placed (e.g., the preamble [1:1–5] and the conclusion [ch. 34]; see also 5:1; 27:1,9,11; 29:1–2; 31:1,7,9–10, 14–25,30; 32:44–46,48–52; 33:1–2) comes from another—and unknown—hand. See Introduction to Genesis: Author and Date of Writing.
Historical Setting
Deuteronomy locates Moses and the Israelites in the territory of Moab in the area where the Jordan flows into the Dead Sea (1:5). As his final act at this important time of transferring leadership to Joshua, Moses delivered his farewell addresses to prepare the people for their entrance into Canaan. In them, Moses emphasized the laws that were especially needed at such a time, and he presented them in a way appropriate to the situation. In contrast to the matter-of-fact narratives of Leviticus and Numbers, here the words of Moses come to us from his heart as this servant of the Lord presses God’s claims on his people Israel.
Special Function in the Bible
The trajectory of the story that unfolds in Genesis–Numbers seems to call for an account of the conquest of Canaan as found in Joshua to bring closure to the movement from promise to fulfillment (see Introduction to Joshua: Title and Theme). But Deuteronomy intervenes as a massive interruption. Here there is very little forward movement. At the end of Numbers, Israel is “on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho” (Nu 36:33) and at the end of Deuteronomy, the people are still there (Dt 34:8) waiting to cross the Jordan (see Jos 1:2). All that has happened is the transition from the ministry of Moses as God’s spokesman and official representative to that of Joshua in his place (Dt 34:9; see Jos 1:1–2). But Moses’ final acts as the Lord’s appointed servant for dealing with Israel are so momentous that Deuteronomy’s account of them marks the conclusion to the Pentateuch, while the book of Joshua, which narrates the initial fulfillment of the promises made to the patriarchs and the conclusion to the mission on which Moses had been sent (see Nu 17:15–23; Jos 21:43–45), serves as the introduction to the Former Prophets.
So Deuteronomy creates a long pause in the advancement of the story of redemption:
But in that long pause on the threshold of the promised land Moses, in this renewal of the Sinaitic covenant, reminded Israel at length of what the Lord required of them as his people if they were to cross the Jordan, take possession of the promised land and there enjoy the promised “rest” in fellowship with him. It was a word that Israel needed to hear over and over again. Upon reading the Pentateuch, Israel was brought ever anew to the threshold of the promised land and its promised “rest” to hear again this final word from God through his servant Moses (see also Ps 95:7b–22). For this reason, all the history of Israel in Canaan as narrated in the Former Prophets is brought under the judgment of this word.
- of deliverance from bondage to a world power (Egypt) to a place in the earth where Israel can be a free people under the rule of God;
- of deliverance from rootlessness in the post-Babel world (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) to security and “rest” (see Dt 3:20 and note; 12:10; 25:19) in the promised land;
- of deliverance from a life of banishment from God’s Garden (Ge 3) to a life in the Lord’s own land where he has pitched his tent (Jos 22:19).
Theological Teaching and Purpose
The book of Deuteronomy was cast in the form of ancient Near Eastern suzerainty-vassal treaties of the second millennium b.c. It contained the Great King’s pledge to be Israel’s Suzerain and Protector if they would be faithful to him as their covenant Lord and obedient to the covenant stipulations as the vassal people of his kingdom. There would be blessings for such obedience, but curses for disobedience (chs. 27–30). Deuteronomy’s purpose was to prepare the new generation of the Lord’s chosen people to be his kingdom representatives in the land he had unconditionally promised them in the Abrahamic covenant (see Structure and Outline below; see also notes on 3:27; 17:14,18).
The love relationship of the Lord to his people, and that of the people to the Lord as their sovereign God, pervade the whole book. Deuteronomy’s spiritual emphasis and its call to total commitment to the Lord in worship and obedience inspired references to its message throughout the rest of Scripture. In particular, the division of the Hebrew Bible called the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings) is thoroughly imbued with the style, themes and motifs of Deuteronomy. Among the Latter Prophets, Jeremiah also reflects strong influence from this book.
Structure and Outline
Deuteronomy’s literary structure supports its historical setting. By its interpretive, repetitious, reminiscent and somewhat irregular style it shows that it is a series of more or less extemporaneous addresses, sometimes describing events in nonchronological order (see, e.g., 10:3). But it also bears in its structure clear reflections of the suzerain-vassal treaties (see chart, p. 23) of the preceding and then-current Near Eastern states, a structure that lends itself to the Biblical emphasis on the covenant between the Lord and his people. In this sense Deuteronomy is a covenant renewal document, as the following outline shows:
- Preamble (1:1–5)
- Historical Prologue (1:6—4:43)
- Stipulations of the Covenant (4:44—26:19)
- The Great Commandment: The Demand for Absolute Allegiance (4:44—11:32)
- God’s covenant Lordship (4:44—5:33)
- The principle of consecration (ch. 6)
- The program for conquering Canaan (ch. 7)
- A call to commitment in the new land (ch. 8)
- The lesson of the broken tablets (9:1—10:11)
- Another call to commitment (10:12—11:32)
- Supplementary Requirements (chs. 12–26)
- Ceremonial consecration (12:1—16:17)
- Human leaders in God’s righteous kingdom (16:18—21:21)
- Sanctity of God’s kingdom (21:22—25:19)
- Confessions of God as Redeemer-King (ch. 26)
- Ratification; Curses and Blessings (chs. 27–30)
- Leadership Succession under the Covenant (chs. 31–34)
- Change of Leadership (31:1–29)
- Song of Moses (31:30—32:47)
- Moses’ Testamental Blessing on the Tribes (32:48—33:29)
- Death of Moses and Succession of Joshua (ch. 34)
© Zondervan. From the Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Used with Permission.
Wiki:
Structure
Patrick D. Miller in his commentary on Deuteronomy suggests that different views of the structure of the book will lead to different views on what it is about.[4] The structure is often described as a series of three speeches or sermons (chapters 1:1-4:43, 4:44-29:1, 29:2-30:20) followed by a number of short appendices[5] – Miller refers to this as the "literary" structure; alternatively, it is sometimes seen as a ring-structure with a central core (chapters 12-26, the Deuteronomic code) and an inner and an outer frame (chapters 4-11/27-30 and 1-3/31-34)[5] – Miller calls this the covenantal substructure;[4] and finally the theological structure revealed in the theme of the exclusive worship of Yahweh established in the first of the Ten Commandments ("Thou shalt have no other god before me") and the shema ("Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One!")[4]
The Lord’s Supper was instituted as part of a Passover meal. The Passover, of course, celebrates God’s deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage.
