Week Eight Reading Assignment:
Deuteronomy 9 - Deuteronomy 31
"It is not enough, therefore, to read and talk of (the Bible) only, but we must also desire God, day and night, instantly, to open our eyes, and to make us understand and feel wherefore the scripture was given, that we may apply the medicine of the scripture, every man to his own sores."
(William Tyndale, preface to the translation of the Pentateuch, 1530)
(William Tyndale, preface to the translation of the Pentateuch, 1530)
This Week's Video: Introduction to Bible Geography Part 1
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Correction: At one point in this week's video, I refer to the description of the Garden of Eden being found in Exodus. That, of course, is incorrect. The description of Eden's relationship to four rivers (the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates) is found in Genesis 2:10-14. I apologize for the error.
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Memory LaneWe spend all of Week 8 in the Book of Deuteronomy. This book, you recall, is Moses' farewell address to the children of Israel. He is about to die, and they are about to cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
One of the prominent themes of the book is Moses' exhortations to the people about their memories. Thirteen times he specifically commands them to remember. And another five times he commands them not to forget. Remembering is an imperative, you see, in ancient Israel. The remembering that Moses prescribes takes three broad forms:
In order to aid their remembering, certain reminders are recommended and built into Israelite life. The annual holy day observances are meant to be reminders. Likewise, the periodic public recitations of the law. And, too, the people were encouraged to saturate their homes and their conversations with God's word, as well as to surround themselves with it physically: "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your fore-head. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates" (6:8-9 NASB). Finally, we observe that the benefits of remembering are legion. To remember clearly the three types of things listed above will result in increased faith, careful obedience, impeccable justice, holy living, and gracious compassion. And all of those virtues, in turn, help the people position themselves to receive the victory, the prosperity, and the peace that God had in store for them. |
In Defense of RepetitionDetails and repetition. These are two hallmarks of the Old Testament Law. And they are two characteristics of the Law that are often underappreciated by modern readers. We think that they make for tedious reading, when in fact they are essential elements of the text.
In Week Five, we contemplated the importance of the details that fill the Law. Now we want to ponder the significance of all the repetition that is included there. Our first insight into the significance of repetition comes from our experience as children. We recall that both our parents and our teachers repeated certain things again and again. Why? First, because those things were important, and so they bore repeating. Second, because they were things we needed to learn, and repetition is one key to effective instruction. And, third, because they were probably things that we tended to neglect or forget, and so we made the repetition necessary. I expect that, in varying degrees, all three of those principles apply to the repetition found in the Old Testament Law. Meanwhile, our other insight into the signficance of repetition comes from the world of music. In classical music, for example, a composer will introduce a motif, and then weave that motif in various forms throughout the larger work. The musical motif is a recurring theme that gives shape, beauty, and meaning to the composition. Perhaps we should listen to the Law in the same way that we listen to music. The Composer has established certain motifs, and He weaves them in and out throughout His masterpiece. And because they are recurring, they should be the tunes that keep playing over and over again in our heads after the piece is over: themes like holiness and blood, righteousness and justice, reverence and liberty, and purity in every aspect of life. |
a word from william sangster
"The Bible is not an easy book for beginners. It is best read under the direction of one who knows the inwardness of it, or by the aid of those fellowships and unions which publish notes on selected passages. There are parts that are very dull to all but experts. Yet there is no book which more repays the right kind of persistence, and in the end, to those who read it as it is meant to be read, it becomes the Book of all books and life's greatest treasure."