God's Design, 4th Edition

A Focus on Old Testament Theology

Martens

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781498218597
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

How does one summarize the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament? How might one determine the message of the Old Testament with others? This book attempts an answer to these questions. The answer is taken from a single Scripture passage, Exodus 5:22-6:8, which is here considered a theological "Table of Contents" for the Old Testament. In addition to such topics as Deliverance, Community, and Experiencing God, the book has an extended discussion on "Land," a subject which deals with a wide range of interests but which only rarely receives attention in books on biblical theology. The current edition features reflections and a set of discussion questions following each of the seventeen chapters--a boon for university and seminary teachers and students, and of large help for church study groups.

part 1

God’s Design Articulated

1

A Pivotal Text about YHWH and His Purpose

The task of adequately stating the central message of the Old Testament is a challenging one, and that for several reasons. The diversity of the Old Testament material, quite apart from its size, offers a challenge to anyone who intends to provide a summary statement of its contents. The Old Testament includes stories, poems, laments, judgment speeches, proverbs, songs, and laws. Can one from such diversity of material written over a period of several centuries arrive at a single central theme? Is there even a single theme? Scholars have not been unanimous in their answer.

The challenge of describing the heart of the Old Testament is compounded by the variety of proposals already given by scholars, even in the last sixty years.1 For some, God’s covenant with Israel seems all-important.2 Others organize their theological statements around the concept of God’s sovereignty, or the communion of God with men, or God’s promise, or God’s presence, or God’s election.3 Asked to summarize the Old Testament message in one sentence, a group of college graduates gave these answers: “God acts in history”; “God is active in reconciling fallen men to himself”; “The central message of the Old Testament is the preparation for the first coming of the Messiah.” Some answers get closer to the heart of the Old Testament than others. The answers are not mutually exclusive, of course, though some are more capable of embracing the bulk of the Old Testament material than others. One scholar has aptly said: “When there is one landscape, many different pictures may nevertheless be painted.”4 The challenge remains, however, to paint the best possible picture.

The attempt to describe the core message of the Old Testament is challenging, for clarity about the Christian faith will depend on a grasp of the Old Testament. The Old Testament supplies the fiber for the Christian faith. But unless the message of the Old Testament is clearly articulated, its relevance to the New Testament and to Christians today will remain fuzzy.

The proposal of this book is that God’s design is the key to the content of the Old Testament. This proposal assumes that it is legitimate to examine the Old Testament in search of a single central message. The following chapters attempt to offer compelling reasons for such an assumption. The emphasis on a design of God as a unifying and organizing principle of the Old Testament material arises from an exegesis of several comparable biblical texts, the first of which is Exod 5:22–6:8.

The approach advocated in this book is distinctive in that the answer to the question about the central message is derived from a specific set of texts. It is in the language of the Bible itself that God’s fourfold purpose is described, so that what we have here is a biblical theology rather than a systematic theology. It is with exegesis that we begin in order to get an outline for our picture.5

Someone might respond that selections of other texts would yield other outlines of a message. Why choose a certain text in Exodus from which to develop the central Old Testament message? The answer to this question will be clearer once the Exodus text has been understood.

A Significant Answer to a Crucial Question: Exodus 5:22–6:8

5:22 Then Moses turned again to the LORD and said, “O LORD, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? 23Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people.”

6:1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: Indeed, by a mighty hand he will let them go; by a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.

2God also spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the LORD. 3I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name ‘The LORD’ I did not make myself known to them. 4I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they resided as aliens. 5I have also heard the groaning of the Israelites whom the Egyptians are holding as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

6Say therefore to the Israelites, ‘I am the LORD, and I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians. 8I will bring you into the land that I swore to give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.”’

This text presents a dialogue between Moses and God, an observation which the usual chapter division obscures. The conversation occurs after an initial attempt by Moses to seek the Egyptian Pharaoh’s permission for the slave people of Israel to leave the country. Moses addresses God, primarily with questions. The larger part of the text is given to God’s reply. We may already note a somewhat curious fact, namely that there are two introductions to God’s speech. “Then the LORD said to Moses” (v. 1) is followed, though there is no reply by Moses, by “God also spoke to Moses and said to him . . .” (v. 2). The structure of this text, which consists of a twofold reply to a speech by Moses, which is also in two parts, is an important clue to the message of this text unit.6

Moses’ Crucial Question: Exodus 5:22–23

The situation which gives rise to the questions posed by Moses before God involves a public confrontation with the Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. Moses’ initial appeal to Pharaoh to let the Israelites, for years slaves in Egypt, go to freedom to the land of promise has been met with rebuff. Pharaoh has taunted, “Who is the LORD, that I should heed him and let Israel go?” In defiance Pharaoh has responded: “I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go” (5:2). Aggressive action has followed assertive word. The production quota imposed by Pharaoh on the Israelites has remained the same, but straw for bricks is no longer provided by the Egyptians: the Israelites must secure the straw themselves. The Israelite foremen, not able to meet the new demands satisfactorily, are beaten by their Egyptian taskmasters and complain to Pharaoh. The Pharaoh grants no reprieve. The foremen turn on Moses, claiming that he is to blame.

Moses takes his frustration before God, from whom he has received the assignment to lead a people out of bondage. His speech to God consists of two parts: he asks two questions and files a complaint.

The questions are already of an accusatory nature: “Why have you mistreated this people?” Just as the foremen blame Moses, their superior, so the leader Moses now blames God, whose call he has reluctantly followed. As often happens in accusations of this kind, Moses overstates the case, for God has not actively brought evil upon his people. True, the events which have led to harsh treatment by the Pharaoh have been set in motion by YHWH, but only indirectly. The second question registers impatience, if not accusation: “Why did you ever send me?” This is hardly a question asking for information. After all, the directives had been clear when Moses received his commission at the burning bush: he was to bring a slave population into freedom. Is there in Moses’ question a request for some further clarity, however? Is he calling for a rationale, for purpose, for objective? A hesitation, an uncertainty, underlies his question. In colloquial language one might phrase that question, “God, what are you up to?” The whole enterprise of the anticipated deliverance is called into question. Moses has just entered into his assignment. He thought he knew what was involved, but now that opposition has set in more v...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Preface to Second Edition
• Preface to Third Edition
• Preface to Fourth Edition
• Abbreviations
• Part One: God’s Design Articulated
• Part Two: God’s Design Implemented
• Part Three: God’s Design Tested
• Part Four: God’s Design Reaffirmed
• Part Five: Framing God’s Design
• Appendix
• Bibliography