The Field's Musings

By Edmund Clowney In this lecture we will look at the structure of a sermon preached by Edmund called The Life of Joseph: From Pit to Palace the Lord’s Blessing through Testing based on Genesis 37. 1) God’s blessing on Joseph, the Lord was with Him Through the favour of the Father Through the dreams speaking of his future that God gave him God’s constant presence was with Joseph. This resulted in his success He was faithful in the service of all people. He was faithful to Potiphor’s officer. He was faithful to Pharaoh. Joseph gained favour in the eyes of Potiphor. Potiphor gave him authority over his state. God blessed Potiphor because Joseph was there. Wherever Joseph went blessing went. Potiphor’s wife took a liking to Joseph- this led to Joseph’s imprisonment. The officer in charge of the prison began to like Joseph. Joseph was given power to run the prison. Joseph interprets dreams successfully in the prison. There was constant success in everything he did. 2) Everything Joseph di...

By Edmund Clowney We must see scripture as a whole. When Christ met with His disciples leaving Jerusalem in Emmaus they were discouraged. Christ says that the disciples didn’t understand the whole of scripture. They didn’t understand that the concept of spiritual redemption came from the Jewish scriptures. Christ showed them that Old Testament is all about Him. The disciple’s hearts burned within them. In scripture we have one complete story with Christ being the completion of this story. We live in the time of climax. He said ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30). The Lord in His own redeeming act initiated redemptive history The Exodus was a move of liberation on God’s part. The Israelites were delivered by the power of God. God didn’t only bring them out of Egypt; He brought the people into covenant relationship and the promised land of Canaan on eagle’s wings (Exodus 19:4). In Leviticus 26 God promises to walk among His people and be their God. He promises His presence through the construc...

Lectured Tim Keller In order to prepare a good sermon the preacher should be asking: What does this text tell me about the person and work of Jesus? In preaching the preacher should be asking the people: How am I failing to rejoice in and live as if this text is true about who Jesus is? The preacher should be showing that people are poor due to their lack of faith in Christ. The aim of every sermon is to experience Christ through the text. You need to get people to adore and enjoy Christ through the text. We shouldn’t preach principles or example to live up to but re-assure people that living a holy life is derived from faith in Christ. In a lecture the aim is to transfer information. In a sermon the aim is to be get the listener to worship on the spot. Three types of questions to evaluate a sermon: 1) Was it a sound sermon? Was Jesus the climax of the text? 2) Was it practical? Was Jesus presented as the solution to spiritual problems? 3) Was there a sense of God? Was Jesus made visib...

Structure 27-30 The Ratification of the Covenant 31-34 The Succession from Moses to Joshua The Ratification of the Covenant (27-30) 27:1-26 deals with the future ratification to happen in Canaan 28-30 deals with the current ratification at Moab Chapter 27 tells us that Israel is to have a covenant renewal ceremony after entering the land. Certain tribes line up on one side and the other tribes on the opposite side. In the middle the levitical priest attends the ark. The building of the alter for the sacrifice The law was to be written on stones The people remind themselves of the blessings and curses. The process is fulfilled in Joshua 8. Chapter 29 starts with a prologue reminding the people of their history. Then we see an emphasis on stipulations and careful obedience. (29:15 = this ratification is a model to come) If the people continue in sin they will be exiled. 30:1 there can be restoration after exile if the people repent. 30:11-19 = An exhortation to accept the terms of the co...

Introduction and Reminder Chapter 34 indicates that the book was written for the time after the death of Moses. 1:1-4 Preamble to the book 1:5-4 The Historical Prologue – God recites the blessings He had given them to call them to obedience In this lecture we are going to be looking at chapters 4:44-26:19 Structure of 4:44-26:19 1) Introduction (4:44-49) 2) General Stipulations (5-11:32) 3) Specific Stipulations (12-26:15) Conclusion (26:16-26:19) 1) and 2) Introduction and General Stipulations (4:44-11:32) Introduction (4:44) i) The Ten Commandments (5) ii) Loyalty to God (6) iii) Lessons from the Past (7-11) iv) The Call to renewal and commitment (11:26-32) i) The Ten Commandments There are differences between the two recordings of the 10 commandments Exodus 20:10-11 Hebrew word = ‘to remember’ Deuteronomy 5: 12 Hebrew word = ‘to keep’ Motivations for keeping the Sabbath: Exodus 20:10-11- Keep the Sabbath because it is a creation ordinance Duet 5:12-15 – Keep the Sabbath because you ...

We are looking at chapters one through four. 1:5-4:43 functions like a historical prologue. This acts as an ancient near-eastern treaty working to remind the people of all a King has done to cultivate respect, loyalty and obedience to that King. 1:5 = An introduction to a prologue. Before this we see a recital of the history of Israel. God has Moses recite what happened to the Israelites in order to call Israel to respond with loyalty. On the basis of His gracious benefits God expects His people to respond in worship. The Prologue begins with the time at Sinai and ends with Joshua as a leader. The Recital of History (1-3) 1) Literary Structure 1:6-8 The call of God to leave Sinai, 1:9-46 Establishment of leaders, spies sent into the land 2:1-23 the wanderings of the first generation 2:24-3:20 the victories of Israel across the Jordan 3:21-4:43 Joshua is established as leader to replace Moses 2) Overview God assures Israel that He will give them the land 1:9-18 the establishment of lea...

The Extrinsic Agents 1) Critical Viewpoints: Some say that there are old legal traditions that form the book of Deuteronomy (proto-Deuteronomy). It was composed by defecting Levites moving to Judah. These Levites brought with them laws. The proto-Deuteronomy was composed for Josiah’s reforms. The book is apparently found in 2 Kings 22. They claim that the people composed it in the days of Josiah. The conservative view argues for Mosaic Authorship. 2) Mosaic Authorship The book contains sermons and events that Moses witnessed. (1:1) Did Moses pen every word in the book? Chapter 34:1-12 features the death of Moses. From a plain reading of the text with have a portion written after the death of Moses. The sermons of the book are authentic Mosaic sermons. The sermons were taken and published after his death. 3) Date of Final Composition The book was composed after the time in Moab and before the death of Moses. The book has a focus on Joshua as a leader of God’s people. The Redemptive Hist...

Structure of Numbers 1-10 The constituting of the 1st generation army 10-25 The failures of the 1st generation when marching towards the land 26-36 The constitution of the 2nd generation army The Basic Content of 26-36 The new army is constituted 26-32 A call to conquest 33-36 The New Army 26-32 God is forming the second generation into an army as he did with the first generation 1) Literary Structure The count A military census A new leader In 28-31 we see the centrality of the tabernacle 2) Similarities and Differences in comparison with the first generation army The first generation consisted of 603,550 people. The second generation were counted to be 601,730. Why did God have Moses put these numbers in this book? The similarities in these numbers show us that the second generation were to replace the first. In sections 1 and 3 of Numbers (see structure above) the movement of the narrative is the same. First we read about the census secondly we read about the centrality of the taber...

The book of Numbers was written for the 2nd generation to help them to re-commit themselves to taking the land of conquest. Structure 1-10 The constituting of the 1st generation army 10-25 The failures of the 1st generation when marching towards the land 26-36 The constitution of the 2nd generation army We are going to look at chapters 1-25 in this lecture. The Constitution of the Army 1:1-10:10 Israel at Sinai is constituted into an army The army is then counted and arranged in a theocentric process The tabernacle personal and services A description is given of God’s presence with Israel. i) Literary Structure 1-2 The counting and arrangement of the army 3-9 The centrality of the tabernacle 9:15-10 The presence and future of the tabernacle ii) The counting and arrangement of the army The 1st generation census in chapter 1 parallels with the 2nd generation census in chapter 26. The censuses were designed to give a picture of the army that was formed for the conquest. iii) The total num...

The Extrinsic Agents 1) Critical Views Critics claim that ‘J’ (see JEDP theory) the 10th century writer wrote numbers to support David’s Kingdom. The final edition was the work of P the priestly writer from the 6th century. He was concerned about returning to the land. 2) Mosaic Authorship We believe that Moses wrote the book. Moses would have experienced direct revelations from God (1:1). 22-24 Could have been a separate story reported to Moses by human agents 33:2 At the Lords command Moses recorded the stages of the journey. 21:14 = direct reference to another source. This book is likely to be a book of poetry and adoration to God. It was named ‘the Book of the Wars of the Lord.’ The Hebrew of Numbers has been updated from the Hebrew that Moses wrote in. Numbers 12:3 says that Moses was a humble man. How can he be humble if he wrote it? It could be that Moses wrote what God told him to write. It could also be an addition under the Spirit of God. 3) The date of final composition ‘Acr...

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 look at chapters 26 and 27. Through this book God was calling Israel to recommit themselves to the right way to worship. The Basic Content 1-25 Sacrifices, cleanliness and holy living 26 Blessings and Curses-the conditions of the covenant 27 Vows- recommitment to the covenant The concluding chapters (26 and 27) provide motivation to the laws. Blessing and curses appear at the end of other lists of stipulations. See Exodus 23:20-24 and Deuteronomy 29. Blessings and Curses (26) 1) Literary Structure 26:1,2 Introduction to the material with a re-iteration of previous material v3-13 Blessings for obedience v14-45 Curses for disobedience 26:46 parallels with the beginning of the chapter i) Blessings 26:12- I will be your God 26:46- God brought them out of Israel ii) ...

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 Basic Content 1) 11-16 Rules for Cleanliness 2) 17-25 Holiness Regulations 1) Rules for Cleanliness i) The Contents relationship to the Context 1-10 Sacrifice and the Priests. These chapters deal with specifics of holiness. 11-25 deals with how living become acceptable as worship. We are looking at holy living and cleanliness. Our concerns have broadened as Leviticus progresses. ii) Cleanliness 10:10 we get 4 words: holy, unholy, common, and unclean. 3 things are holy 1) God, 2) clean persons devoted to God, 3) clean things devoted to God Common things are not holy. These things can be clean or unclean. If clean they can be used in worship even though they are not holy. An unclean thing cannot be brought before the Lord. Through purification something unclean can become clean. It then ...

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...