Engaging the ot 3a

Engaging the Old Testament

3

Introduction to the Pentateuch

• What Is the Pentateuch? • What Is the Pentateuch About? • What Are the Overarching Themes of the

Pentateuch? – Sovereignty of God – History – Corrupted Condition of Humanity – Salvation – Holiness

• Who Wrote the Pentateuch?


What Is the Pentateuch? ESV Study Bible

The Pentateuch (Gk. “five-volumed”) consists of the first five books of the Bible, i.e., Genesis through Deuteronomy. The Hebrew term for it is torah (“law” or “instruction”)

• The beginning and foundation of the Bible.


What Is the Pentateuch? ESV Study Bible

• Orientation — The world is created and controlled by One God

• Divine Purposes — Showing God’s intentions for His creation

• Theology and Ethics — Insight into God’s character and His ethical standards


What Is the Pentateuch? ESV Study Bible — Content

• It’s “Center” — Exodus 19 — Numbers 10 — Law giving at Sinai

• The Life of Moses — Exodus — Deuteronomy


What Is the Pentateuch? ESV Study Bible — Composition

• Moses (and his helpers) — • Exodus 20-23; see Exodus 24:4, 7 (cp. Exod 34:27; 17:14; Num

33:2; Deut 31:9, 19, 22, 24). • But this does not mean he wrote every single word (for

obvious reasons, i.e., recording his own death in Deut 34). • “The evidence suggests that Moses was the inspiration for

these books. He is its source, it originator, its authorizer. However, terms such as ‘author’ and ‘authorship’ are inappropriate when referring to ancient Near Easter literary products, since they carry modern implications that were absent in antiquity” (Arnold & Beyer, Encountering the Old Testament, 49, emphasis mine).

Booksof the Pentateuch

• Genesis Beginnings • Exodus Salvation • Leviticus Holiness • Numbers Wanderings • Deuteronomy Renewal

• Sovereignty of God • History • Fallen Condition of

Humanity • Salvation • Holiness

Themesof the Pentateuch

The British Library / Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=49699

Critical Approaches

• Source Criticism — Graf Wellhausen — Documentary Hypothesis

• Redaction Criticism • Form Criticism • Tradition Criticism • Canonical Criticism • Literary Criticism

Critical Approaches

Source Criticism — Graf-Wellhausen Documentary Hypothesis • J — the Jahwist source • E — the Elohist source • D — the Deuteronomist source • P — the Priestly source

When R & D gets in the way of saving lives

Key Text — Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”



Key Text — Genesis 12:1-3 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”


God promises Abraham 4 things:

1. land to live in, 2. Numerous

descendants, 3. blessing for himself,

and, 4. blessing through him

for all nations of the world

Key Text — Genesis 12:1-3 The fulfillment of these promises to Abraham constitutes the story line of the Pentateuch. It is a story of gradual and often difficult fulfillment. . . . The Pentateuch is thus a story of divine mercy to a wayward people. (ESV Study Bible)



Genesis 1–11: The Prelude to Israel

• Primeval History and Its Nature • Contents of Genesis 1–11

– Creation and Its Nature (chapters 1–2) – Sin and Its Nature (chapters 3–11)

Contents of Genesis 1–11

I. The Creation of the World (1:1–2:3) II. Adam and Eve (2:4–25) III. The Fall (3:1–24) IV. Cain and Abel (4:1–26) V. From Adam to Noah (5:1–32) VI. The Flood (6:1–8:22) VII. Noah after the Flood (9:1–29) VIII. The Table of Nations (10:1–32) IX. The Tower of Babel (11:1–9) X. The Shemites (11:10–32)

I. Creation 1:1-2:5

End Time Theories • A-millennial • Pre-millennial • Post-millennial • Dispensational

Keep the Main Thing the Main ThingBeginning Time Theories • 7 - 24 hour days • Each day is a week • Each day is 1000 years • Each day is a billion + years

— Regardless of the TIME, Christ is coming back. — Regardless of the TIME, God did it.

Young Earth Creationism

Old Earth

Creationism

Theistic MICRO-Evolution

Theistic MACRO-

Evolution

7 Day Festival Of Creation?

Atheistic Evolution

What’s a Day? (Hebrew — Yom)

Defining a Day • 24 hours — Gen 1,

Evening & Morning, before the sun was created

• Period — 7-days in Gen 2:4

• A Year — Gen 25:7, cp. Num 14:34

• 1000 years — Psa 90:4; cp. 2 Peter 3:8

• First CREATION & the 2ND COMING

• “Scientific Fundies” — Only see Genesis in terms of hours, not ethics and community

• 24-Hours — John Walton — Genesis 1 is a 7-DAY celebration of God building His earthly temple — Rev 21:3

“70 Facets” of Creation

Mythology of the Day

Marduk decides to create human beings, but needs blood and bone from which to fashion them. Ea advises that only one of the gods should die to provide the materials for creation, the one who was guilty of plotting evil against the gods. Marduk inquires of the assembly of the gods about who incited Tiamat’s rebellion, and was told that it was her husband Kingu. Ea kills Kingu and uses his blood to fashion mankind so they can perform menial tasks for the gods. To honor Marduk, the gods construct a house for him in Babylon. After its completion, Marduk gives a great feast for the gods in his new house who all praise Marduk for his greatness in subduing Tiamat.

• Genesis “de-myths” creation allowing for SCIENCE.

• Genesis elevates humanity to interact & have fellowship with God

• “Let us . . . make man, male and female” . . .

• Community creates community

“70 Facets” of Creation

Mythology of the Day

Marduk decides to create human beings, but needs blood and bone from which to fashion them. Ea advises that only one of the gods should die to provide the materials for creation, the one who was guilty of plotting evil against the gods. Marduk inquires of the assembly of the gods about who incited Tiamat’s rebellion, and was told that it was her husband Kingu. Ea kills Kingu and uses his blood to fashion mankind so they can perform menial tasks for the gods. To honor Marduk, the gods construct a house for him in Babylon. After its completion, Marduk gives a great feast for the gods in his new house who all praise Marduk for his greatness in subduing Tiamat.

• Genesis establishes our worth — for ALL of humanity

• Humanity was not created to be a slave force, but to serve in a sacred play as priests.

• Every Sabbath was to remember creation

Atheistic Evolution vs. Creation

Atheistic Evolution • Humanity is no different than any other creature.

• Man’s origin is random, accidental

• DNA is common to all living things — therefore there is no god

• Our origins derive from the simple, single-celled organism

• Animals and people are of the same value.

Creation • Humanity is the highest — of

the lowest • Man was pre-planned (Eph 1:4) • DNA is common because we

have a common Creator. • Our origins go UP to a Creator

in whose image we are made. • Animals are important, But,

not as important as those in God’s image. (see Deut 22:6-7)

Choose Your Worldview Carefully

Non-Biblical • Made in the image

of an evil god • You are a lowly

slave — get over it and get busy.

• You are an afterthought.

Biblical • Made in the image

of a Good God who does good.

• You are a Royal Priesthood serving in the King’s paradise.

• You planned and purposed.

Genesis 2 — Another Creation Story? . . . Um, No.

The Human Story of Creation • God plants a garden for “Adam.” • God hand-forms us — Psalm 139 • God brings us into His garden. • He walks with us daily. • Seeks seeks a help mate

(community). • Animals to name. • Divine surgery • Brings WoMan to Man • Makes clothes and clothes our

shame

Genesis 2 — EVE — Helper

• Hebrew — EZER — 2:20 • Not an “elf” — little

helper, servant • Eli-EZER (Lazarus of the

NT) • See Hebrews 13:6! • Marriage — Hermeneutic

of Jesus — Matt 19:4 — “. . . the way it was in the beginning . . .”

Genesis 3 — And so it begins . . .

Myth-busters of Genesis 3 True or False

• The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil had apples.

• Eve was ALONE when first tempted. • If Adam was doing his job as leader of the home,

this would not have happened. • Eve added to the Word of God (see 2:17 & 3:3).

Two Trees, Two Choices, and You?

• Genesis — Account of good and choice • Babylonian — Determinism from an evil

source

“There were extenuating circumstances when you consider that the apple was covered in dark chocolate and rolled in

macadamia nuts.”

Freedom and Its Consequences — Genesis 3

For Satan — 3:14-15 • Cursed, • Crawler, • Crushed

Woman — 3:16 • Pain • Who’s in charge?


Man — 3:17 • Ground is Cursed, • Death abounds

AdamA = Earth — 3:18-24 • Clothed — 1st

sacrifice • Kicked out . . . Why?


• Adam alienated from Eve

• Alienated from God • Alienated from

creation • Alienated from self • Alienated from

community

• Cain and Abel • Lamech the murderer • Noah getting drunk • Abe “pimp’s” his wife —

TWICE! • Etc., Etc., and so on,

and so forth . . . • The rest of the Bible is

about rescuing/saving us (often from ourselves!)

Mirror Images — Genesis and Revelation

• 1:1-ff — Creation of heaven and earth

• 2:22 — Eve given to Adam

• 3:8 — God walked daily — God’s sanctuary

• 3:19 — Curse with death

• 2:10 — A river runs through it

• 2:9 — Tree of Life

• 21:1 — New heaven and new earth

• 21:2 — Bride given to Husband

• 21:3 — God walks again among us — God’s sanctuary

• 21:4 — Curse removed — including death

• 22:1 — the River of the Water of Life

• Tree of Life

The First Family — Genesis 4

• 4:1 — “Now Adam yada with his wife” — This term is never used of animals.

• 4:1 — “I have gotten a man wth the help of the LORD.” First person to use God’s name in Scripture was Eve.

• 4:2 — “Abel” — “Nothing” — What a name! • Abel — flocks; Cain — gardener (like his parents). • First Murder was within family! • East . . . East . . . East = BAD (3:24; 4:16). • WORSHIP — 4:26!!!

Long Live the Sons of God! — Genesis 5

The Generations of Adam

Where did Cain get his wife? . . .

What does the Bible say? . . . Genesis 5:4


The Generations of Adam Literary structure — When A had lived X years, he fathered B. A lived Y years after he fathered B and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of A were Z (= X + Y) years, after which he died.


The Generations of Adam Compressed genealogies? • “Fathered” also means “ancestor of” • cp. to Moses’ genealogy — Exodus 6:16-20

and Joshua 1 Chronicles 7:23-27 . . .


The Generations of Adam How old were these guys? . . . • Literal — did something in the cosmology change to shorten

lifespans? • Figure of speech — Sumerian King List (recorded before a

“great flood”) lists kinds living 28,800; 36,000, & 43,200 years. • Symbolic — related to astronomical figures • Encoded — with some unknown honorary significance • Calculated — by a different numeric method One thing is clear: These people actually lived (regardless of how long), and they actually died.

Contemplative Question

How would you view yourself if, 1) You were the product of blind chance/Atheistic Evolution. How would you view yourself if, 2) You know you are created in the image of a loving and good God? Due Monday (Jan 18).

Spiritual

Engaging the ot 3a