Textual Analyses and Theological Implications
All five of the books of the Torah have an identifiable story line, purpose, and are connected by elements of the redemptive story of the Israelites. Each book contributes to the story, and these contributions make the story complete. These elements are specific to each book and yet often overlap with each other. They are large theological ideas that unite the books as part of the covenant that God made with Abraham and his descendants. Specifically, they include the following: history, election, promise, deliverance, law, and land.
The God of Israel is active and participates in their history. They are ancient tales and narratives, which are often mixed with religious themes and practices (that may or may not have a specific historical identity). Some scholars consider the early accounts in Genesis 1–11 to be myths, while others consider them as actual historical events. As Dillard and Longman conclude, “While ignorance of the historical context of the Bible threatens a correct understanding of the Bible, a second major danger confronts the reader. This danger is the imposition of contemporary, Western values on the historical writings of the Old Testament.”[1] And yet, still others describe them as theological truths about historical events, and real people, living in an ancient time, but written in largely symbolic language.
That does not mean these early stories are not historical; something can be symbolic and historical at the same time. However, many pastors, theologians, and scholars value them more as stories of long ago, whose value affirms fundamental truths about God’s active involvement in creation, special divine involvement in the creation of the first man and woman, the incredible beauty and goodness of all creation, his desire to be in a relationship with humanity. It further tells of God giving free will to humans, which leads to sin and separation. God’s justice and mercy is then displayed in the punishment of sin and the beginning of the redemptive story.
The value is in the details, which describe the original intent of God, to be in relationship with man and woman. However, the choice of Adam and Eve to disobey God, and thus are removed from Paradise. This separation from God brings into their experience the horror of sin, calling out for God’s justice and punishment for disobedience. Yet, after several events such as the flood, the creation of nations, and the tower of Babel, biblical readers can see the shift from God’s justice to the balance of his justice and mercy.
Starting in Genesis 12, the justice of God is found in the call of Abraham to a relationship with him. “The focus of God’s plan of blessing and redemption for the human race now shifts to one man from the line of Shem—Abram.”[2]This starts the redemptive activity of God, where he reaches out to humanity, calls them into a relationship with him, and promises to be with them, and leads them into the promised land, where peace will ultimately prevail. This leads to the second religious theme of commissioning, which unites the Pentateuch.
The religion of the Israelites is based on God’s election or appointment. Starting with Abraham (and following with the other Patriarchs), God calls people to a relationship with Him. They are to leave their old religious ways and follow him (vs. 12:1–3). This process of election is for both salvation and deliverance and governing of the people. We read about these election stories in Judges, Kings, and Prophets. God elects people to faith in him, he calls them lead, teach, protect, guide and bring back to the practical responsibilities as people of the covenant who are experience peace and worship God. Election is when God finds, chooses, and calls a person from among his people. This election is initiated by God, (v. 12:1), but it also requires individuals or groups to respond in accepting God’s offer, and obeying the details of the call.
Israel’s healthy relationship depends on a binding Covenant. In the account of Noah (Genesis 9), Abraham (Genesis 15 and 17), and others, there is a formal agreement. First, God elects a specific individual for a specific task. In the agreement are legal and binding details. These agreements are contracts between two people. They can be between two equals, between a ruler and subject, or a god and a person.
The agreement has the following outline. It names the person offering the contract, the history between the two parties, the person being offered the contract, the details of the contract, the blessings of obeying the contract, and the consequences of disobeying the contract. For example, in the covenant between God and Noah in Genesis 6–9, the two parties are God and Noah. God establishes himself as the creator, and sad about the sinful conditions of the world. He then describes the details of the covenant, which include details of the building of the Ark, and the people and animals which must go in to be saved from the flood. The blessing is found in the obedience of Noah, and thus the survival of Noah and his family. The consequences would have been the drowning of Noah (and his family) if he chose not to build the ark. This pattern is found in all of covenants.
God vows to always be with them. God promised Abraham that He will bring his descendants to the land. Along the way, they suffered, they were enslaved, and were attacked by their enemies, but they were never destroyed. In Exodus, we see this play out in the protection of the Israelites in the journey through the desert. In Deuteronomy, the Israelites are encamped outside of the land. The change of leadership from Moses to Joshua takes place and plans are to go and take the land. The fulfillment of the promise is not always as people want or desire it, but God always delivered on His promises.
The ethical and moral code for Israel is based on the law. The relationship between God and his people had ethical responsibilities. These include how to maintain and protect the proper relationship between God and people. Among people there are details of how to honor, love, and behave with others in ways that honor and please God. An example of these details is to respect and honor other peoples’ ideas, bodies, and possessions (something that would have made even more since considering their former life as slaves in Egypt). It also describes relationships between people and those above them.
The law code was given to Moses for the people of Israel in the desert of Sinai. The details and explanations are found in Exodus 19–21. The book of Numbers and Deuteronomy clarify and describe these ethical and moral standards in specific categories of family codes, business codes, government and people codes, proper worship codes, being a good neighbor and others. As Birch et al state, “The law does not stand alone. Rather, the law is integrated with the ongoing story of Israel’s journey from slavery in Egypt to new life in the promised land.”[3]
Later in Israel’s history, the prophet Amos[4] is credited by some scholars as being the first biblical leader to have “introduced ethical monotheism—the concept that there was only one God, who demanded ethical behavior.”[5] Of course, others suggest that this concept can also be found in other books and stories in the Old Testament, such as in Genesis 18:19, when God states, “For I have chosen him [Abraham], so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” Still, now such righteousness is official and comprehensive.
God shows his love for Israel by keeping his word regarding their deliverance to the promise land. In Genesis 12, God asked Abraham to leave his home his parents and his land and follow God. He also promised that he and his descendants will go to the land that has for them and he will protect them along the way. As Geisler points out, “In the midst of their suffering, God wrought a great deliverance for their chosen nation through Moses. The theme of Exodus is the story of their redemption from bondage.”[6] The enslavement of the Israelites by Egypt, the subsequent deliverance from slavery, to the forty years of wondering in the desert, to the plains of Moab, is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and his people.
These themes of history, election, promise law, deliverance, and the gift of the land are the very heart of the religion and theology of the Pentateuch.[7]Upon these themes is the enduring hope of Israel. Moreover, upon these themes is the hope of the Christian faith. The specific details may differ, but the biblical foundation of election, promise, law, deliverance, and eternal life are at the core of God’s redemptive plan for all humanity.
[1] Dillard and Longman, 21.
[2] Geisler, 45.
[3] Birch, et al., 131.
[4] See “Minor Prophetical Literature,” chapter seven, for more information.
[5] William Lansor, et al., Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1982), 323.
[6] Geisler, 53.
[7] Lansor, et al., 57.
Dr. Tim Tsohantaridis, George Fox University