The Field's Musings

Structure of Leviticus 1-7 Sacrifices 8-10 Regulations for Priests 11-16 Regulations of uncleanness and cleanness 17-25 General regulations for holy leaving 26 Blessing and cursing 27 Regulations of Vows In this lecture we will be looking at chapters 1-10 The Holiness of Sacrifice 1-7 a) Literary Structure 1-6:7 the role of lay people in the sacrifices 6:8-7:38 the role of Priest in the sacrifices Order of the sacrifices featured: 1-6:7 (lay people) = burnt, grain, fellowship, sin and guilt 6:8-7:38 (priests) = burnt, grain, sin, guilt, fellowship b) Types of sacrifices i) Burnt. The sacrifice went up in smoke. These sacrifices happened every morning and every evening. Extra offerings happened on other holy days. Exodus 29:39-42 tells us that burnt offerings were to happen every day Burnt offerings used cattle, sheep or goats, dove or pigeon. Rituals of the burnt offering: Lay people brings the animal into the courtyard, worshipper lays hands, the priest accepts the offering, the worsh...

The Extrinsic Agents 1) Critical Viewpoint Some critic’s claim that Leviticus was written by P (a priestly writer). P apparently lived during the exile and after the exile. He reflected the mood of the day’s worship-ritualistic and legalistic. He claims that Leviticus wasn’t written in the time of Moses. Moses had liberation and freedom. 2) Mosaic Authorship We believe in the inerrancy of scripture so we believe that Moses was the author. 3) The sources 1:1 Moses received revelations. Some of the book was written form Moses’ memory. 4) The date of final composition The book was written anytime after Sinai but before the death of Moses. 5) Redemptive historical observations The book doesn’t deal with history. It deals with rituals and laws. The divine King gave Moses rules to instruct Israel and form them into a national theocracy. The book gives the standards of holiness for the people. Suggested Literary Structure 1-7 Sacrifices 8-10 Regulations for Priests 11-16 Regulations of unclea...

The Basic Content of 25-40:38 Tabernacle Instructions 25-31 Rebellion and Renewal 32-34 The tabernacle construction 34-40 Tabernacle Instructions The tabernacle was patterned after something. Where did Moses get the idea to build a tabernacle in this way? God told him to. How did this happen? God gave him a vision of the heavenly tabernacle. As Israelites worshipped on earth they reflected the heavenly worship. The tabernacle was similar to some aspects of the cultural in the day. 1) The tabernacle layout Larger court had bronze alter, basin. Inner structure had a holy place and the most holy place or the holy of holies. The inner sanctum is where the King would sit. Courtyard where the Priests would work Outer court. It was a portable, movable place for the King of Israel. 2) The content legitimates Moses The material in 25-31 was to show the Israelites that Moses was in legitimate authority 27:21, 28:43- lasting ordinances for generations to come. These things were not oly for the ti...

The Challenge The OT laws were gifts from God for Israel. How can we apply these laws today? 1) The Problems The law is a complicated issue because OT laws are complicated. We need to exercise humility when applying the OT law to modern life. 2) The Controversy The diversity in opinion over the law has always existed. You can find a dominant tendency but not an anonymous voice in history. Major Trends among Evangelicals regarding the Law 1) Dispensationalism 2) Reconstructionism 3) Traditional Calvinism 1) Dispensationalism i) The variations among dispensationalists There are many different threads of Dis. Among the more extreme include Schofield and Darby. The Old Schofield Bible represents a strong view of Dis. The New Schofield Bible moves away from the extreme viewpoints represented by the previous Schofield Bible. ii) Segmentation of Redemptive History according to C.I. Schofield These ages are separate divine economies: Eden- the age of innocence Fall to the flood- the age of con...

Suggested structure of Exodus 1-18 Deliverance of Israel under Moses 19-24 The Covenant law under Moses 25-43 Covenant worship under Moses Unity and Variety within the OT Law 1) The traditional 3-fold division of the law i) Moral 10 commandments ii) Judicial Law (social/political structures) iii) Ceremonial Law (worship regulations) The OT gives a special status to the 10 commandments. See Exodus 1:18 it is written with the finger of God. Duet 10:5 = The 10 commandments we’re exclusively put in the Ark of the Covenant. 2) Problems with the 3-fold division The 10 commandments have judicial and ceremonial elements. 20:16 refers to the court. Exodus 20:4 refers to a ceremonial law. 31:14-17 = the tabernacle law includes moral aspects. 3) A more integrated approach There are implications that connect all three types of the law. The background to the ceremonial and judicial law is the moral law. The judicial and ceremonial laws are applications of the moral law. All the laws are cross defin...

Suggested structure of Exodus 1-18 Deliverance of Israel under Moses 19-24 The Covenant law under Moses 25-43 Covenant worship under Moses The Basic Content Looking at 19-24:11 19: Covenant ceremony 20: Ten Commandments and book of the covenant 24: Another covenant ceremony The Mosaic Covenant 1) The Basic Idea God gave an agreement to Israel through Moses (19-24). Initial covenant agreement 19:1-8 Moses is exalted by God as mediator Giving of the 10 commandments Moses is exalted by the people as mediator-giving of the book of the covenant Ratification of covenant 24 2) The 2 Covenant Ceremony’s (i) 1st ceremony (19:1-8) God calls Moses to come to the mount by addressing him first God wanted the Israelites to remember His grace (v3-4) Stipulations (v5) Israel must obey the covenant for reward This is a covenant of grace. It has been initiated by God’s grace. God’s grace precedes the giving of the law. V8 The Israelites promise to obey Moses returns to the Lord (ii) The second Covenant ...

Purpose of the book: To depict Moses as someone authorised by God to establish the law and worship regulations Suggested structure of Exodus 1-18 Deliverance of Israel under Moses 19-24 The Covenant law under Moses 25-43 Covenant worship under Moses The Basic Content of Exodus 5-18:27 2 sections: · The deliverance from Egypt · The travelling to mount Sinai Deliverance from Egypt 5-15 1) Literary Structure First encounter with Pharaoh Deliverance under Moses Last encounter with Pharaoh 2) Analysis of the deliverance 5-6 Moses is honest about his attitudes and the attitudes of the Israelites Egyptians take away straw making the work harder. 5:2 = Pharaoh’s attitude to the Lord 6:9 Moses reports what God says to the Israelites but the Israelites disbelief the word of God 6:10-11 God re-commissions Moses to speak to Pharaoh 6:12 Moses loses vision 13:17-22 Israel begins travel God guides with smoke and fire 14:29-31- God kills the Egyptians in the red sea 15- Celebration of t...

We want to understand how the first 4 chapters of the book contribute to the rest of the book. Moses writes this book to defend his authority and programme. Remember the structure previously mentioned: 1-18 Deliverance of Israel under Moses 19-24 The Covenant law under Moses 25-43 Covenant worship under Moses Basic Content 1:1-2:10 Moses Birth 2:11-4:31 Call of Moses Moses Birth 1:1-2:10 Why did Moses write about his birth the way he did? 1) 3 failed oppressions 1-1:14 Israel multiplies under oppressive suffering 1:15-1:21 Pharaoh orders the midwives to kill the children -the midwives disobey 1:22-2:10 Pharaoh orders his men to throw the children in the Nile-story of Moses birth 2:10 = Moses is named 2) Ironic Reversal of Oppression 1-1:14 Pharaoh tries to stop the multiplication. He decides that working them hard would stop them increasing. The Israelites multiply all the more. 1:15-1:21 Pharaoh wants to oppress the Israelites by the midwives. The midwives makes...

The Extrinsic Agents 1) Authorship Remember the JEDP authors. We reject this on the basis of previous reasons. Moses was the author. He used aural sources for the events not in his memory. Exodus includes 2 separate documents: Then 10 commandments, Exodus 20 The book of the Covenant, Exodus 21-24 2) Date of writing Exodus 16:35 tells us that the Israelites ate manna for 40 years. Meaning this book was a second-generation book. See also Joshua 5:10-12. This book was written when the Israelites were at the border of Canaan. Scriptures in exodus tend to indicate that the book was written for the second generation who were faced with the task of going into Canaan. Approaches to the text We will be using an approach of literary analysis. This approach asks these questions: Why does Moses write down these events? What was Moses teaching the 2nd generation? Different approaches to the Structure of the Book. Geographical approach: Israel in Egypt Israel in the wilderness Israel at Sinai Themat...

We have already seen: 1) Primeval History: 1-11:9 2) Patriarchal Times including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob: 11:10-36:43 Now we look at the Life and times of Joseph (37-50) The Basic Overview 1) Literary Structure Joseph and his brother struggle about the future (dream, Joseph being sold) Joseph’s rise in Egypt Joseph and his brother are at peace about the future Jacob’s death Joseph’s death 2) Intra-tribal relations The Joseph stories teach the tribes of Israel how to relate to each other. 3) Disunity and Egypt Joseph and his brother’s struggle, Joseph gets sold to Egypt. These brothers are the heads of the tribes of Israel. Joseph is a proud guy. When in Egypt the dreams of Joseph become true. The brothers start to understand why bad things happen to them. They repent and have humility. 44:16-34 shows us that the brothers had guilt. V16- God uncovered the guilt. The brothers have violated the law-they need reconciliation. 45:4 ‘Come near to me’ says Joseph to his brothers. In chapter 50 J...

We are going to continue in the Patriarchal History (Genesis 11:10-36:43). Overview Abraham’s Life 11:10-25:18 Jacob’s Life 25:19-36:43 Isaac’s life does not have a separate section. His life is combined in these sections as Abraham’s Son and Jacob’s Dad. Typical Concerns Jacob’s ladder Jacob’s deceit Jacob’s personality- he doesn’t seem to be a good by Jacob’s wrestling with God Literary Structure Jacob and Esau Jacob with Laben Jacob with Esau Jacob and Esau: The Names and the Nations (Genesis 25 and 35:16-36:43) Pre-natal struggle-25:21 Rebekah has twins who are fighting inside. 25:23- two nations are in Rebekah’s womb- the older shall serve the younger. Descendants of: Jacob =Israel Esau = the Edomites Jacob means trickster or deceiver. Esau means hairy or red. 25:27-34 The selling of the birthright Esau was the expected air as the first-born son. 25:33 Esau swears an oath selling his birthright. The Israelites have a right to the inheritance because he gave it over by oath. The ...

The Structure of Abram’s Life 11:10-12 Abram’s election and blessing (i) 13-14 Abram and surrounding people (ii) 15-17 Abram’s covenant relationship with God (iii) 18-21 Abram and surrounding people (iv) 22-25 The future of Abraham’s blessing (v) We’re going to be looking at (iii) and (v) (iii) The Literary Structure of Genesis 15-17 15: The promises that God makes to Abraham 16: Abraham fails by going in with Hagar 17: God comes back to Abram and renews the covenant 1) The Covenant Promises It was important for the Israelites to have children. God assures Abraham of the promise. 15:7-21 God confirms the promise to Abram that he will receive the Promised Land. Abram prepares a ceremony cutting up animals. Abram falls asleep and has a trance. God assures Abram of His promises in the dream. God promises that He will be cursed if He doesn’t keep up to His promises. God promises on the basis of grace and not works. . 16- Abraham’s failure Galatians 4 tells us that Abram turned away from th...

The Life of Abraham: Starting at Genesis 11:10 An Overview 1) The Exodus Readers We want to know what Moses was teaching the Israelites through this section. 2) Literary Structure There is not an easy to discern pattern. But we can say an overarching structure. 11:10-12 Abram’s election and blessing (i) 13-14 Abram and surrounding people (ii) 15-17 Abram’s covenant relationship with God (iii) 18-21 Abram and surrounding people (iv) 22-25 The future of Abraham’s blessing (v) Gen 12:1-3 = the call of Abram by God V1: God’s command (12:1 = should be ‘the Lord had said’) V2a-c: God’s blessing on Abram V2d-3: Abram’s relation to others. Others will be blessed or cursed through him. (i) 11:10-12:20 Abram’s election to blessing 11:10-11:32 the background to Abram’s life 1) Genesis 12:1-9 Abram is called to the land of Canaan. This is not an abstract land. 12:7 God says that Abram’s offspring would gain the land. Moses is saying to the Israelites ‘this is your land’. 12:6 The Canaanites were i...

In this lecture we’re going to be looking at the last portions of the primeval history. Life in Egypt was opposite to life in Eden. The fallen world is paralleled to Egypt. The Garden of Eden is parallel with Canaan. The Overview 1) The Basic Content 6-9:17 The Flood as judgement 9:18-11:9 2) Competing Viewpoints Moses is dealing with different viewpoints The Israelites saw their deliverance as trouble not restoration. The judgement and deliverance of the flood 6:9-9:17 1) Typical concerns: Where is the ark? What about the stability of seasons (end of chapter 8)? Was the flood global or local? We will answer the last question. 2) Reasons to believe in a universal flood: i) 2 Peter 3:5-15 Peter divides time into 3 separate ages Creation of the earth (pre-flood) v5-6 Present heavens and earth (post-flood) v7 New Heaven and Earth at the 2nd coming v13 Peter saw the food as parallel to the 2nd coming of Christ. Is the 2nd coming of Christ local or global? It is a global judgement therefore...

Recap: 2 Cor 5:17- becoming a Christian is being remade back into the original cosmic order Hebrews 4:9- there is a Sabbath rest for the people of God Therefore Genesis 1 is not just about the creation then. It’s about our new nature now and what we have to look forward to in the new creation! Genesis 1 teaches us about salvation. The passage wasn’t only intended to instruct about history, it is meant to teach about today and the future! Overview: 2nd part of the Primeval Period Expulsion from paradise 2-3 Corruption of paradise 4-6:8 Moses looks at Egypt as a place of curse. He saw the movement toward Canaan as a place of blessing and rest. 1) Expulsion from Paradise: Chapters 2-3 Answers questions about marriage, death, hardness of life, the root of evil. These questions are not going to be answered by using the Literary analysis. (A) Literary Structure 2:4-3:24 Beginning: Man is commissioned to cultivate the garden End: Expulsion from the garden V18-25 Conditions get better with the...

The Primeval period is Genesis 1:1-11:9 Content of the Primeval Period 1) Overview of the Primeval History 1-2:3 Ideal cosmic order (creation story) 2:4-3:24 Corruption of the cosmic order (the fall) 4-6:8 Corruption of humanity and genealogies of Cain and Seth 6:9-9:17 Judgement of the flood 9:18-11:9 Stories after Noah (future/new order) 2) Ancient near-Eastern Background to the Primeval History The book does not stand alone-other texts sound similar to Genesis. Moses wrote things in Genesis which resembled other stories in the ancient eastern background Other texts: Anooma-elish: Babylonian creation myth Gilgamish epic: flood legend Anti-levian Kings: Primeval Kings roaming the earth before the flood Optra-Housis text: One big story featuring information from the other texts. (Don’t copy these spellings! I tried to write down the sounds I heard) 3) The Original Meaning of the Primeval History People used the texts to guide current national policies. The texts establish the authority...

The Extrinsic Agents Who is the writer of the book? 1) The Critical Documentary Hypothesis of the OT Pentateuch Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918) a German Scholar used a set of criteria to find the supposed four main traditions behind the Pentateuch. These criteria are as follows: · Divine Names used in a particular passage · Doublets used. These are sections of scripture that say the same thing. · The Theological emphases in a passage. The four sources are known as J, E, D, and P. Jawist · Refers to God as YHWH (Jehovah) · The writer of the Davidic period (1000BC) · Supposedly wrote the stories of creation and the fall · Wrote to support David’s monarchy Elohimist · Used Elohim to refer to God. · Northern Writer · Writing 800-700BC · Emphases the background of the northern tribes Deuteronomist · Wrote the book of Deuteronomy · Wrote to support Josiah’s reforms in 622BC Priestly · Authored by ...

Can we understand the original meaning of a text in a way that is effective for the church? Original Meaning and Interpretive Summaries The text has one coherent meaning. Our interpretations of the text can be true but not comprehensive- we have partial summaries. How many Atlantic oceans? There’s one objective, coherent ocean. How many ways are there to describe this ocean? Multiple. You can describe the ocean in terms of location, types of water, colour, etc. We can describe the ocean in multiple ways. Partial and true interpretations of Genesis 1v1: God created the heavens and the earth There was a beginning in time You can divide the creation into the heavens and the earth There’s only one God There are different ways of summarising the same reality. Many disagreements happen over emphasis not heresy. Angles on the Original Meaning What are the main ways to make interpretative summaries on a passage? Three types of analysis used when looking at OT passages: Thematic: things that ar...

There tend to be two extremes among Christians- Popular Concerns: Laypeople want to know what God is saying to them through a passage. They need to see the relevance and message of text to the people Academic Concerns: The opposite of popular concerns: They want to know about the meaning in the context of the time to the origin readers. We need to know what the text is saying within the context and what the text says to our context. The Text’s Full Value Three stages are used to obtain the text’s full value: 1) Original Meaning We have to be concerned with the original meaning of a text; that which is closet to the text itself. We need to uncover and discover the original meaning. What was the human writers intention as he gave a passage to the original audience? What did Moses want the readers of Exodus to understand? Our first priority is not the meaning of us today but the audience back then. Example: Genesis 1 We search for contemporary meaning addressing the tension between Evolut...