Final Essay
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Abilene Christian University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
211
Subject
Religion
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
6
Uploaded by MegaOxide8743
Final Essay: What is the message of the Old Testament?
BIBL 211. W01
Professor: Beth Ann Fisher- Rodney Ashlock
05/28/2021
Final Essay
2
FINAL ESSAY: What is the message of the Old Testament?
During the time in this class, there were lot of things that were discussed that brought up lot of conversations outside of text. This class raised a question for me about my faith in God and
some part raised a concern about why certain things are the way they are. As I read the textbook and the Old Testament, the three message that were very profound throughout the whole Old Testament were God’s revelation of his creation, his power and love, and his promises. One message from the Old Testament that ties all those major themes into one is “righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:22-26). Every chapter from the textbook brought a
major focus on one of the many themes from the Old Testament which did not just explain the relevance of God but also created a pathway for how this are relatable and relevant to this day. Given that we started the school year learning all about New Testament, there was always a disconnect because we did not really get to experience why things were the way they were or you can call it “behind the scenes” that are covered in Old Testament. The textbook covers everything from its beginning phase to this end in the context of Old
Testament which helps us wrap around the whole lesson that is being portrayed. Starting at Chapter 1, it discusses the creation in Bible and Genesis 1 and 2. Other texts in the Old Testament emphasize a variety of message about creation and the Creators. To continue with Psalm 104, this poem discusses the grandeur of creation and the Lord’s ongoing support for the nature “The LORD makes springs gush out in the Valleys” (Ps. 104:10), The LORD waters the mountains” (Ps 104:13), “makes the grass grow” (Ps. 104:14), “makes the darkness come” (Ps.104:20), and “provide food for all living things” (Ps. 104:27-28). In other words, the LORD
3
FINAL ESSAY: What is the message of the Old Testament?
is responsible for the ongoing welfare of creation; if the LORD were to pull away, creation would collapse. These verses not only shows us God as a creator but he is also showing his relationship to everything mention. Often times, we fail to realize that there are other relationships too besides human to human and that is clearly convey in the first chapter of the textbook. “It is crucial for us to remember that in the ancient Near East, everyone believed in creation and a Creator God or Gods; the question of their day was not between creation and evolution or creation and science.” (Pemberton 13). The relationship that god really focuses heavily on is marriage as stated in the text, “This story explains why a man leaves his parents to “cling” to his wife and they become one flesh- reuniting the missing rib in their common life. And their relationship is such that they have no shame in their nakedness. This original marriage was the ideal: no shame, no hierarchy, or patriarchy. But a couple who are in every way one flesh” (Pemberton 20). To be sure, committing sin is a prevalent and dangerous issue through the Old Testament and even today for that matter. From that point of view, it is much more difficult to cast judgement on ancient Israel for their failures while we don’t even care to worry about our practices that hurt others. In Chapter 3, the promises define the purpose of us as followers of Christ and also God as a superior authority. The promises are not always in one’s favor or willingness but are often in the God’s plan as LORD said to Abram: “Leave your land, you family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. Those who curse you I will curse: all the families of the earth will be blessed because of you.” (Genesis 12:1-3). Old Testament also serves as the reassurance from
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
4
FINAL ESSAY: What is the message of the Old Testament?
God that all we need to do is believe in him and he will not disappoint as we can see in episode 3
as a simple affirmation from the LORD stating, “Don’t be afraid, Abram, I am your protector, your reward will be very great” (Genesis 15:1). This part coveys the major theme of God’s promise to his people. In Chapter 4-5, there is a major claim of God committing “crime” throughout the Law of Moses as severely as the one requiring the death penalty and that covers the major theme of God’s power. Among these are relinquishing to a god other than Yahweh (Exodus 22:20), decided resistance on the part of a child (Deuteronomy 21:18–21), a child who hits or curses his or her parents (Exodus 21:15 and 17), working on the Sabbath (Exodus 35:2), premarital sexual intercourse (Deuteronomy 22:13–21), and the prerequisite for a priest to burn his girl alive in case she got to be a prostitute (Leviticus 21:9). Within the Old Testament, God’s anger over and over burns against his people for their disobedience. At times, the discipline he dispenses appears particularly brutal, ridiculous, and unequal. I’ll say one final category of scriptures related to the viciousness of God: those that portray the victory of Canaan. At the time the Israelites entered the land to overcome it, Canaan was populated with small city-states or kingdoms made up of diverse ethnic bunches talking comparative lingos. All though all this took place, God had no intentions of moving Israelites to other lands. Moving along quickly, from the purpose of ten plague to the fight with Pharaoh and we reach the ten commandments specifically in Chapter 7 but they definitely stick along for all the remainder of chapter in distinct way. Ten Commandment is a part of Old Testament that covers all the major themes of the Old Testaments whether it be God’s creation, his love, power and/or his promises. It can be said that the Ten Commandments are equivalent to housekeeping rules in the classroom, they help everyone stay disciplined and focused. We hear a lot about “rules are
5
FINAL ESSAY: What is the message of the Old Testament?
meant to be broken” and it just could not wait to not be true with Israelites. During the rebellion of Exodus 32, Israelites broke many of those commandments such as "You shall have no other god before me" (Exodus 20:3), "You shall not make idols" (Exodus 20:4-6; Deuteronomy 5:8-
10) The Israelites immediately break the law and worship an idol (Ex. 20) and proceed to break the law until they are sentenced to 40 years wandering the desert, which brings us up to date for the second giving. In Chapter 9-10, things start to go downhill, because when the matter becomes of war, women, and a lack of wisdom- it is a no-brainer to think that oh gosh, it’s a trouble. Given that there is a trouble, there was a rapid succession of dynasties in Northern Israel. Dynasties collapses one after another like a fly. The major reason for the succession was the lack of trust in God by Israelites and another reason is King’s willingness to run their “clubs” on their own and take things into their own hands and be snobbish. “The king wouldn’t listen (1 Kgs 12:16), and when northern Israel saw that the King would not listen, they have their own message for Rehoboam: (Pemberton 188). In Chapter 10, the actions of the Kings hit back and this chapter talking about the major theme of God’s power and his creation. As mentioned in the previous chapter, the Kings were actually being the “kings” before God and now, the God takes control of
it all. Israelites were on their way to Northern Israel but it was not a simple journey, their journey
means “spending time in court- the court where God is the judge, the prosecuting attorney who demands justice, and defense attorney who appeals for compassion and mercy” (Pemberton 195).
The Book of Jeremiah intended as a message to the Jews in exile in Babylon, clarifying the fiasco of exile as God's reaction to Israel's agnostic worship. The book of Ezekiel talks about
6
FINAL ESSAY: What is the message of the Old Testament?
the destruction and exile of Judah and the promise of its rebuilding by God. The God shows his promise his people of protection in Ezekiel by stating “When I put breath in you, and you come to life, you will know I am the LORD” (37:4-6). In Chapter 13, the Babylon allows the people to return to home after the exile there is no hope of how things will turn out and although Israelites show no trust in God, “the LORD will never get tired, but will provide strength for the journey home” (Pemberton 263). In Chapter 14 and 15, we talk about Psalm, majorly known for songs about wisdom. In this book, there are no political or personal agendas but its rather a way for us as a believer to show Lord our praises and worries and showing him that we trust him with our lives. Psalm help us be vulnerable with God and allow God to guide us as it states “Wisdom will rescue you from the evil path, from people who twist their words” (Prov 2:9-12). In the last Chapter of the textbook, we conclude with the ultimate title of the Textbook itself, the God who loves. “If Israel’s world was anything like ours, we could confidently say that her Psalms did more to shape her faith and her life than anything else” (Pemberton 318). Though it is God who saves, but faith-life is not so simple, never has been, never will be. Our faith-walk requires many different languages, many tones, many songs, and many singers.
After going so in depth with the Old Testament, the only I further want to explore is how do Israelites go about their relationship God and if they end up trust the God or not? I am interested in knowing that because throughout the Old Testament, Israelites were very influential
and had a huge part.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help