• Book of Leviticus. Named for the tribe of Levi, which were to be the priests. Leviticus contains instruction about proper sacrifice and the role and duties of the priests.

Principle of "substitutionary atonement" (Lev. 17:11)   DIAGRAM   The holiness of God and the cost of rebellion (Gen. 2:17)   Contrast: ANE religious sacrifice v. ceremonial law   Principle of substitution: Isaac; Passover; sacrificial system   Five kinds of sacrifice (Lev. 1-6)

• Tabernacle. Center of the tabernacle: Ark of the Covenant

• Aaron's rod (Num. 17:10)

• Manna (Ex. 16:33,34)

• Broken tablet of the Law (Deut. 10:4,5)

• Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Lev. 16:1-3, 29-34

• Civil law is "case law," putting into practice the moral commands of the decalogue. It is not exhaustive, but addresses common situations. It provides guidance for the judges.

• Concern for "due process." E.g.: Ex. 22:2,3; Levitical. cities of refuge.

• Concern to prevent clan violence. The reason for the "eye for eye" expression (Ex. 21:23-25; Deut. 19:21). The legal principle is lex talionis. The punishment should fit, not exceed the crime.

• Concern for social justice. Sabbath year legislation (Ex. 21:2-6; Deut. 15:1-18). The concern is for preventing economic class distinctions from generation to generation. Violation of this law plays a significant role later in Israel's history.

• Blessings of obedience (26:1—13)

• Prosperity in the land

• Presence of God with the nation

• Peace from enemies

• Curse of disobedience (26:14—39)

• Death

• Disgrace in destruction

• Disease

• Deportation

• Promise of repentance (26:40—46)

• Confession

 

• Remembering the covenant

 

• Restoration

• "Far off nations." Proclaim terms of peace. If they wish to enter into a pact, then leave them alone.

• "Cities in Canaan." These cities are subject to the "ban." Ban is complete annihilation. The entire Canaanite population is to be utterly destroyed.

• Why the ban? The ban raises significant questions in the mind of most readers. Could the God of grace and mercy really demand such extraordinary measures? It conjures up images of Cambodia under the Khamir Rouge, and solidifies the impression that the God of the Old Testament is a wrathful God, in sharp contrast to the God of the New Testament. Let's take a closer look at the legislation and the Canaanite culture.

• Canaanite culture, like all of the cultures of the ANE, centered around its religion. By all standards of comparison, the Canaanite religion was enormously dehumanizing.

• El was the primary god of the Canaanite pantheon. He is a creator god. Creation occurs by sexual procreation with female deities. Thus, worship of El takes on sexual form. Priestesses were essentially sex slaves of the cult.

• Ba'al or Hadad. Son of El. He was the head of the Canaanite pantheon. He was younger and more virile than El. He is the god of rain, and therefore, like El, tied to fertility.
• Annat, wife of Astarti. Very similar to Kali of India. She was the goddess of sex, war and fertility. She is both sensuous and dangerous. She is a sacred prostitute for the gods, terms, "holy one." Shown riding naked on a lion with a flower in one hand and a serpent in the other. She delights in blood. A very violent and fickle goddess. Human heads form a necklace in depictions of her. There was both the practice of ritual prostitution and human sacrifice to Annat and El.

Read: John Bright, A History of Israel, pp. 118,119

• Revelation of God to the Canaanites. The annihilation of Canaanite cities occurred after many years of rejecting the revelation God gave them.

• Gen. 15:16. God would not give the land to Abraham, because the "iniquity of the Amorite was not yet complete." That is, they had not, as a culture, gone beyond the point at which they could respond to God.
• The Canaanites had witnessed the willingness of God to judge those who resisted him personally on several occasions. E.g.: Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19). Also, Josh. 2:10-14 makes it clear that 40 years prior to it's destruction, Jericho know of God's deliverance from Egypt.

• Conquest was judgment on the culture. The intent of the ban was that, "they might not teach detestable things" (Deut. 20:18). It must be recognized that the failure to complete the conquest set the stage in later generations, under the era of the judges, for a resurgence of Canaanite religion, with its devastating consequences for Israel. (see Judges 2:1-3, 10-15, 19-23).

• Judgment on a culture is not the same as god's eternal judgment on all of the individuals within the society. Those who were unable to make moral choices or comprehend what the culture stood for would not be held accountable before God (see 2 Sam. 12:22).
• While God used the Hebrews as his instrument in judging the Canaanites, it does not follow that the Hebrews are characterized as meriting the land (Deut. 7:7-11). The land was given simply because God is faithful to his promises.
• God does not delight in the destruction of any person or culture. He executes temporal judgment only when his greater redemptive plan requires it. See, for example Jonah 3:4-10.

• Historicity of the conquest. According to biblical chronology, the conquest began in about 1400 BC. According to archaeological excavation of Tell el-Sultan (Jericho), level 4, Egyptian pottery from the 15th century BC has been found. Further, of the 150,000 pieces of pottery recovered from this level, none dates to later than 1400 BC. There is no evidence of Mycenaean pottery at this level either. This is significant, because other finds have shown that after 1400 BC, there are extensive caches of Mycenaean pottery in the area.

"Judges" is the history of this era. The thesis for this 300 year era of Israel's history is summarized in Judges 2:11-22. The main theme can be viewed as a cycle described in this passage:

• v.11-13. Israel serves the Baals. This is referred to as "playing the harlot." The "people of God's own possession" rejected their relationship to God, and turned to serve Canaanite gods.
• v.14,15. God withdraws his protection from Israel in response to their apostasy. He gives them into the hands of "plunderers who plunder them." The land is occupied; the people are scattered and often slaughtered.
• v.16-18. God raised up judges to rule over Israel. During the rule of the judge, the enemy would be repelled and the people restored to their land.
• v 19. After the death of the judge, the people would return to their apostate ways.

Who were these judges? Judges were God's primary instrument to rule the people during this era who were no longer obedient to the Law.

• Judges brought about conformity to the Law and destroyed alters of worship to Canaanite gods.
• Judges were political leaders. They led primarily as a military leader.
• Judges were called by God. They were not appointed by the people. The people of Israel rewarded them and their families with large shares of land and often cash gifts. Most importantly, they were given the Spirit of God to enable them to be God's instrument (3:10). It was God who raised up the judges, because the nation was a "theocracy." There was no central government. Unlike a king, the judge led solely by charisma. They had no legal power. They could not enforce taxes or raise an army by draft. They had no political power to act autonomously. They had only moral and spiritual leadership. The Spirit would come upon them and they would be able to accomplish God's will.

Postscript: The end of the era of the judges.

• Concluding comment from Judges. Things are not well for Israel. There is substantial tribal suspicion that has weakened Israel spiritually and militarily. The nation was verging on moral anarchy. Note the refrain at the end of Judges, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Jud. 21:25).

• Footnote on Ruth. The story is an analogy of God as go’el. The narrative takes place during the judges era. Ruth establishes David's genealogy. In this way, Ruth introduces us to David (Ruth 4:18-22). It shows God's faithfulness to a woman who was not a Hebrew, but who migrated to Israel to become an example compassion and love. It stands as a bridge between the turbulent time of the judges and the Golden Age of Israel under the united monarchy.

From bad to worse. 1 Samuel 4: Israel's worst defeat. Read 4:1-18.

• Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas are dead.

• 30,000 Israeli soldiers dead

• The ark of the covenant is taken

• Jer. 7:12 says that Shiloh was invaded and the tabernacle destroyed

• Eli, the judge and high priest is dead, leaving no successors

What went wrong?

• Immediate cause. The Philistine invasion. They emerged in 1190 from the northern coastline to invade Israel. We know much of them from Egyptian records. The "Harris Papyrus" found in Egypt, shows Phililstine battles against Ramses III. These invasions brought to an end Egypt's hegemony of the region. The Philistines were among the first to use iron (1 Sam. 13). They were enormously powerful. Israel was no match for their military hardware or skill.

• Spiritual cause. Psalm 78:54-64. For the past 300 years, Israel had indulged in spiritual harlotry. Because of her unfaithfulness, God withdrew his protection from her. As a result, the military powers in the region had their way with Israel. The scripture makes it clear that the central problem was a spiritual one, not military.

Samuel and the transition to monarchy (1—8)

• The pivotal person in God's plan is Samuel. It is through this priest/prophet/judge that God will change the course of Israel's history.

• v. 9, "the procedure of the king" (see Deut. 17:14-20).

• An Israelite, chosen by God. The sign of God's selection is the anointing by the prophet. They were to be the only legitimate king-makers. Solomon, for example, was chosen by Nathan the prophet over the protests of Joab, chief of the army and Abiathar the High Priest.

• Saul. 9:2 He was handsome and tall. This fit the ideal that the Israelites were seeking. Yet, while Saul may have been a man's man, he was not God's man.

• 13:11-14. Samuel confronts Saul for assuming the priestly office. The end of Saul's dynasty is assured. God is looking for a king "after his own heart."

• 15:20-31. Samuel confronts Saul again. This time for taking the spoils of war for himself, even though it was under the ban. For this, God removes Saul from being king.

• Chapters 16-31 show the decline of Saul and the emergence of God's newly chosen king, David. David is selected in ch. 16, right after Samuel’s denunciation of Saul.

• David: Man after God’s own heart

• Selection of David. Read 1 Sam. 16:1-13. Cf. Ps. 1

• David demonstrates his fitness for being God's servant-king.

• Ch. 17. Challenge with Goliath, the Philistine champion.

• Psalm 1 (read). Window into David's heart.

• The rest of the 1 Samuel narrative is the interplay between Saul's preoccupation with killing David, and David consolidating his inner circle. 1 Samuel ends with the death of Saul.

• David's Reign (2 Samuel). From a literary perspective, the book of 2 Samuel can be divided into two sections. The first section, chapters 1-10 is David prospering under God's blessing. Chapters 11-24 record David's sin and its consequences for his family.

• Chs. 1-6. David consolidates his kingdom.

• Chs. 1-5:5. Victory of David over Saul's family. On Saul's death, the Northern tribes try to coronate a king from Saul's family. A war begins (3:1ff). But David prevails in the civil war. In chapter 5, David is made king over all of Israel and the nation is united.

• Ch. 5:6-16. David makes Jerusalem the capital city. It is between the North and the South. This is a neutral ground in between the two divisions in the land. It is an attempt to show the unity of the nation. But it is also a wise military move: Jerusalem is a city on a hill, well protected. Waltke points to the analogy between David's choice of Jerusalem and Washington's choice of DC.

• Ch. 6. David moves the ark to Jerusalem. Now, Israel is united politically and spiritually.

• Davidic Covenant

2 Samuel 7: The Davidic Covenant. This passage, along with Genesis 12/15 is foundational to the message of the Old Testament. Just as the promise of God to Abraham was the controlling theme for the first six books of the Old Testament, the promise to David provides the controlling theme for the rest of the Old Testament. The rest of the historical narrative show God's faithfulness to his promise to David, and the prophetic books expand on the meaning of the promise.

There is a special relationship of God to the kingly line of David. It is a "father/son" relationship. Indeed, the Davidic king and kingdom are so closely related to God's own rule that they are frequently described as synonymous (see 1 Chron. 28:5; 2 Chron. 13:8; 2 Chron. 9:8). Nowhere is the link between the rule of God and the throne of David more clear than in Isaiah 9:6,7.

• Eternal kingdom. The realm of the Davidic rulers would know no end.

God would honor his promise to Abraham and the promise to David is simply a reaffirmation of it. But again, we see in the message of the prophets that God will raise up Israel, his chosen nation. They will be preserved in the land as an example to the nations of God's love and mercy. Even though there will be a time of dispossession, God will restore his people in the land, because of his promise to David.

• Charter for the nations.

v. 19 has been translated in many ways. The key word (NASB) is "custom", lit. "torah." Torah is virtually always translated "law of God." What David is doing in this passage is thanking God that he has chosen David's family as an instrument in his "torah" or will (law) for man. This thesis is also developed in much detail in the message of the prophets. The kingdom of David and the kingdom of God are linked.

• David’s failure. The final era of David's reign is marked by tragedy. 2 Sam. 11 is the turning point in the "David" narrative.

• Describe the sin with Bathsheba and Uriah.

• Nathan's confrontation: 2 Samuel 12:1-7 (Ps. 51:1-17).

• David is forgiven, but there will be consequences
• The child dies (2 Sam. 12:22,23)
• Violence in David's household: Amnon, the eldest son is killed by Absalom after Amnon rapes Tamar. Kiliab has no record. He must have died young. Absalom tried to usurp David's throne. He gained some popular support, but was killed by Joab. Adonijah received the backing of Joab and Abiathar the High Priest in his bid to replace David. By there was no prophetic sanction, so the kingdom went to Solomon. Adonijah revolted against Solomon and was put to death.

• Reign of Solomon (1 Kings 1-11)

• Solomon and David contrasted. Whereas David was a great military leader, Solomon was a man of great administrative ability. With the borders secure, Solomon was able to develop the industrial life of Israel. And this he did with extraordinary genius. He ushered in the zenith of Israel's Golden Age, by broadening its economic base. He mined silver and gold; he opened trade on the Red Sea; he opened caravan trade in the Arabian Peninsula. Solomon essentially industrialized much of Israel's economy.

In many ways, Solomon's spiritual life paralleled his father David's. His zeal for building the Temple and the contents of his poetry reflect a rich personal knowledge of God.

• Nasty "but" clauses. Yet there are disturbing aspects to the Solomon narrative that will have substantial implications for the rest of Israel's ancient history. With all of his greatness, we can detect a deterioration in his spiritual and moral state. Solomon developed serious heart problems. Even early in the Solomon narrative, there are "but" clauses.

• Solomon built a great Temple for the Lord. It took 7 years to construct. But, it took 13 years to build his own house.

• Solomon grew rich, but to do so, he imposed forced labor and harsh, prohibitive taxes, especially on the Northern tribes.

• Solomon was more or less personally faithful to God, but he allowed alters to be built in high places for his wives.

The issues of Solomon's exploitation of the Israeli workforce and the introduction of pagan worship in the land set the foundation for the disastrous events that followed him.

• The nation is divided in three ways:

• Religious division. With the temple in Judah, the Levites flee to the southern kingdom. This leaves the north without the temple and priests. Thus, Jeroboam sets up his own high places for worship. This was the primary sin of the northern kingdom. It was a pagan fertility cult that retained some of the forms and language of the historic Hebrew faith. In the narrative of Kings, this cult is referred to as "the sin of Jeroboam." The deterioration of the northern kingdom from a religious perspective took three turns. (i) The sin of Jeroboam, which is worshiping pagan gods in the mountains (1 Kings 12:26-33). This continued until king Ahab married an non-Hebrew Jezebel. She introduced the worship of Ba'al as the official religion of the northern kingdom. The religion that Joshua was to destroy now becomes the official religion of God's people (see 1 Kings 16:30-33). (iii) King Jehu reformed Israel by ridding the nation of Ba'al worship, but it was an incomplete reform. He merely returned the nation to the worship of the cult introduced by Jeroboam (see 2 Kings 10:29-31).

• Political division. There emerged two separate nations, with very little cooperation between them. This is of crucial importance, because of the third national division....

• Military division. There was no cooperation in battle between the two kingdoms. Indeed, on more than one occasion, Israel and Judah formed military alliances against each other. The division of the nation and the unfaithfulness to God brought about the destruction of the northern kingdom in 722 BC under the power of the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:1-18). Central to Assyria's method of conquest was to force colonization and intermarriage of the vanquished peoples. This leads to the complete destruction not only of a national entity, but a cultural identity. That is why we speak today of the "10 lost tribes of Israel." They literally vanish from significant history at this point.

• While the southern kingdom, Judah, was more faithful to God, she too fell to pagan fertility worship. But God dealt differently with Judah than with Israel. Remember that God had promised to David that his seed would rule over Israel forever. Because God is faithful to his promise, he preserved Judah even in its destruction. There were significant reform movements in Judah that delayed the ultimate conquest of the kingdom (Josiah's reform 2 Kings 22:1-13). Yet, like Israel, the unfaithfulness of Judah led to the conquest of the kingdom by Babylon in 586 BC. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, looted and raised the Temple and led the royal family and others into exile in Babylon.

• The prophet/historians who wrote Kings and Chronicles were careful to document that the Davidic line remained intact even in captivity. The hope of the Davidic kingdom never died out. Judah was appointed to a 70 year captivity (Jer. 25:11,12; 2 Chron. 36:20,21). After this period, Artaxerxes, the Persian king allows Nehemiah to lead a resettlement of the Jerusalem. The Old Testament comes to a close ~400BC with a remnant of Judah in the land, and much anticipation of the revealing of the Davidic king.

Assignment: