Old Testament Studies I Lecture 02

to the Torah and we want to begin obviously by introducing ourselves to this first foundational scripture it is basic and foundational to everything the follows if you were to devote yourself to any portion of the Word of God devote yourself to the Torah it will make the rest of the scripture a lot more understandable again if you short circuits and do not spend time within the Torah you will pay the price later because the scripture is based upon this foundation same thing with in the New Testament when we get there if you're going to concentrate on anything concentrate upon the Gospels that that reveal to us the the life of our incarnate Savior Jesus Christ but but to really know the Gospels is to know the Torah because Jesus himself said in John chapter 5 if you believed Moses you believed me he understood what Moses said you'd have no problem with Who I am and what I am communicating to you so the Jews who prided themselves on knowing Moses and following Moses Jesus Christ says in the end you don't know Moses and you do not know what Moses said may that never be said of graduates from TMS they are may we hear the Lord say not only well done thou good and faithful servant but also you knew the Torah you knew Moses and so you knew word the scripture that I gave to you well think about the designations within Judaism as we'll see reflected from the biblical statements themselves the the first five books the first literary unit of the Old Testament was referred to as the Torah now we think of that term as being law in the sense of law code and certainly as you go through the Torah there is a lot of statues and ordinances and commandments that were given by the Lord to to Israel but law in and of itself is a broader term than just commandments and ordinances and statutes and judgments that were to be followed for the term basically means direction or instruction it has the idea of that which gives guidance now obviously law in the very particular sense of Commandments does give direction as you think in terms of the devic Decalogue I am Yahweh your God who delivered you from Egypt from the house of Pharaoh the house of bondage you shall have no other gods in preference to me you shall have no other gods take my place well that is certainly direction for life that is certainly divine guidance instruction but all of the Torah all of it together was viewed by the scripture itself the latest scripture and then became very much so within within the Jewish understanding that Torah is where we find our basic instruction it's there where we learn who our God is what our God has done in creation and in establishing the nation's and in giving promised by covenant oath to Abraham Isaac Jacob how we as the physical seed of the patriarchs twelve sons of Israel are now God's nation and how he has redeemed us delivered us brought him to himself wants us to be his special treasure a kingdom of priests a holy nation and he has given us instruction and guidance and exactly how that might be the experience within our life all right that's the Torah so the Torah is God's guidance God's Direction God's instruction that that was given to Israel on the plains of Moab initially and then written down to be read continually to Israel that they might know who their God is and who they were and why their God had called them and what direction and instruction he had given to them on what it meant to be his people so that's a Torah and as we'll see Torah is used for these five books as we refer to them as a whole as a literary units the Greek all right as the translators of the Septuagint had to give a title to these five books they refer to them as the Pentateuch so the by the time the Torah is translated into Greek approximately 250 BC buy them within the Jewish tradition already this literary unit have been divided in to these 5 sections and yet even the Greek term reminds us of the fact that we are dealing with a 5 volume book that's what Pentateuch means 5 volume a 5 volume work and it is a very interesting that that Exodus Leviticus numbers Deuteronomy as you read through them literally you see that they are all verbally linked with what went before that there is a a thread that links these these five books together and so the Greek translators gave us the term I wish these books have been known within the Christian tradition and that is the the Pentateuch now because we are and within this class there's times when I will refer to this as the Pentateuch and timezone will refer to this as the Torah understand that for our Jewish compatriot Pentateuch as a term early does not exist within the vocabulary for them this is the Torah but they are very gracious to me because I'm a Gentile and so at times I'll refer to it as the Pentateuch and in the end the Pentateuch is also a good title it's a it's a good title this is a five volume book so it's a literary unit that has come to us within the five books that we have now within our biblical tradition but it's interesting that biblically Torah is used obviously we we see that there's no Pentateuch I guess it's a Greek term and interestingly you can go from Joshua to revelation and you will never see Genesis Exodus Leviticus numbers or deuteronomy ever used in citations from these first five books the torah the biblical designations rather emphasize the the unity of the whole and the one who gave it both divine and human so we said the the the basic term throughout the rest of scripture by which the torah is known is taurah the law very early in Joshua chapter 8 and as you can see with a number of the passages that I've given to you could choose from many even into the New Testaments what does the law say right the law says and then you'll have a quote from the Torah which which shows us that the predominant term that is used is law but very important is to realize that the law is viewed throughout the scripture as being a written document someone says you believe in the documentary hypothesis I believe in the biblical documentary hypothesis that from the generation that goes into the land all the way through the rest of the Bible the Torah is viewed as a documents it is viewed as a writing yes it was read so predominant way in which Israel responded the Torah was through hearing but it could be read because it was written and every time it was read it said the same thing the same words were distributed to Israel because it was a written documents notice just a month after the death of Moses when the Lord comes and speaks to Joshua in Joshua chapter 1 verse 8 this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success this book of the law and you to be careful to do all that is written in it now Joshua doesn't say but Lord I have some Mosaic traditions but they have not yet been codified and written down don't you realize that the Jay document is still at least three centuries before it's going to be collected and written down and he is going to come a little after I mean I gotta wait a thousand years before I can read what is written well we believe in the authority of Scripture that's what I said this is the scriptural documentary hypothesis not a father's documentary fact that is Joshua there is the book of the law and you are to be careful to give heed to what is written in it Nehemiah and evening galatians you have the same terminology the book of the law and so i would say this to lay the prophets to lay the biblical writers to the apostles even as you come to the new testament the idea that there was a slowly developing tradition from moses that was passed on orally that was finally written down centuries later can I put it this way is not supported by what you have within the Bible in other words we accept how the Bible accepts what is given to us in this foundational scripture it is the book of the law it is also referred to as the book of the law of Moses just in case you say well does the Bible identify what was written with the fact that Moses is the one humanly wrote it yes it does I'm giving you the verses there in Joshua and Kings that you can look up it is simply referred to at times as the book of Moses so there we see book the book of the law of Moses the book of Moses and by the way you you realize not that's really what is said in read in the New Testament is any more authoritative any more inherent than the rest of Scripture but sometimes people just appreciate the fact that what we are impressing is exactly what Jesus said Jesus says a man recorded in mark 12 26 but regarding the fact that the dead rise again have you not read in the book of Moses so Jesus Christ at that point validates what we see within the Old Testament that this written book this written law is associated with Moses have you never read in the book of Moses that is the book that came from Moses hand and of course then he speaks and quotes from the Torah but we see that predominant term is law and so the Old Testament New Testament will refer to this written document as the law of Moses or the law of the Lord the Lord of the law of Yahweh the law of God Elohim the one revealed by that name was the powerful God the Creator God Yahweh being the self-sufficient covenant keeping God the God personally involved in the life of of Israel and this his his direction his guidance his instruction and then being brought together the book of the law of God the book of the law of the Lord now in putting this all together yeah what do we understand well very definitely as I've said and I'll use this as the way I will I will I'm no artist so this is this is simply my my little way of saying we have a text we have something that is written all right I realize it looks like the two stones of Moses but all right this is the written text right where did the text come from well the human hand is Moses Moses is the one who's responsible for what we read and yet Moses was directed and what he wrote because it can also be referred to as the law of the Lord of the law of God or the book of the law of God the book of the law of the Lord it is creator God revealed to Israel as their God Yahweh same God obviously just two different names that are used it is he who directed it is he who gave to Moses as the human author the human mediator of what is written in the book of the law and certainly we see both historically as we look at in just a second that this is Torah that was given to Israel so that Israel by means of the Torah might respond to the God who had called them their God Yahweh the God of Israel and this shows how important this written text is that throughout the rest of Israel's history and to this day as we spoke about on Wednesday to this day Moses is read in the synagogue every sabbath you go right down the street to the synagogue tonight tomorrow you will hear Moses read and in fact they they even have Hebrew classes not that down here you have to go a couple others of the synagogue temples and round because they want Jews today to not only hear Moses but to hear Moses in the original language so so Moses is still read every week every Sabbath the text that Israel mites might hear now a veil says Paul is over their eyes today they can hear but they can't comprehend they hear the words but they do not know the meaning the text still in earth and is still recognized as that which God gave to Moses that was written down that Israel was to hear and in the Providence of God that hearing continues today well that helps us to appreciate something of its continuing importance and importance that is seen reflected in the scripture itself turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 31 Deuteronomy chapter 31 by the way again Joshua could could read what was written in the the book of the law because it was already written down 31 9 of Deuteronomy so Moses wrote this law he wrote this Torah and gave it to the priests the sons of Levi who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and to all the elders of Israel then Moses commanded them saying at the end of every seven years the sabbatical year at the time of the year of the remission of debts at the feast Vu's so the feast of tabernacle Tabernacles a feast of booths in the seventh month of the sabbatical year every seven years when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place which he will choose you shall read this law in the front of all Israel in their hearing then you get the idea of what a sabbatical year is all about the culmination sabbatical year is Israel coming together at one place one time place a god shall choose fees of tabernacles and they are to hear the Torah read obviously portions of the Torah would be read as they distributed throughout the land but at this one time every seven years read the Torah assemble the people the men the women the children the alien who is in your town in order they may hear and learn and fear the Lord your God and be careful to observe all the words of this law read it in the hearing assemble all of the people including aliens that they may hear it just doesn't mean physically here but harken hearing with obedience their words they that they hear with a propensity to Lord speak and we will do what you say and as they hear they will learn it will be imprinted upon their minds and notice the interesting thing is is they have this attitude to hearken and have the facts imprinted upon their minds the response that will come will be one of fear one of awesome respect of the God who is revealed within this book within this law ok say this gentleman might not happen in the scam but it should certainly should happen as we go through the books more slowly individually that tradition now divides it as we go through the Torah but we should we should read with an attitude that we want to hear and obey so that's the text will be imprinted upon her mind and could I say what the response will be the response will be one of a fear a reverential awe of the God who speaks and the God who is revealed within this document it's almost like what is the first impression that you will get as you scan the Torah how great and matchless is the God who speaks the God who is revealed by means of this text says aku is going to take place with Israel and then notice with that kind of hearing and learning and fearing the result will be be careful to observe all the words there will be and obedience that flows out of that hearing and learning and fearing directed toward the Lord by way later on when we get into israel's history and then we brought up that the Israel will go into captivity for 70 years because they did not keep and did not allow the land to have its Sabbath's 490 sabbatical years that were not followed as I would assume that a long with not letting the land rest they probably also didn't come to the feast of booths a sabbatical year and do what read here learn fear that says that anyone the why as we're going to get into the Old Testament Israel has problem doing what obeying because they didn't follow what Moses says his butt but notice how important it is we've already talked about Joshua 1 how the Torah is going to be the basis of of his spiritual success that's how the former prophets begin the former prophets begin Joshua pay careful attention to what is written in the Torah but even the writings begin that way the first song talks about the blessed man the godly man the men who is a man who follows the Lord and notice in verse one he doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked right his instruction that guides his life does not come from wicked men his lifestyle is not determined by the world but rather inverse to his delight is in the law of the Lord in his law he meditates day and night he doesn't get his direction from the counsel of the wicked men the wicked men in the end we going to perish you won't stand in the judgment rather his delights the light has the idea he's captivated by the law so much so that in that law in their torah that yahweh has given to israel he meditates he thinks about it continually with a mayer ism day and nights it's kind of like you know when you're driving down the freeway and you forget about your driving what do you think about well hopefully after the next few weeks Torah will drift into your mind now don't let it drift in your mind too much else you forget but y'all we've all driven you know ten miles and said I haven't thought about a thing about what's been going on I'm deep in thought my wife will say that many many times your your deep in thought what are you thinking about torah' he's captivated says the psalm is captivated by the Torah and he continually thinks about it because you can only I mean this times when you come together to hear it you know you're not going to be reading it 24 hours a day but here said so captivates that you're continually thinking about it and of course a follow to this is to see the delights that a psalmist take says he meditates upon the law the great psalm 119 how a psalmist is captivated and just can't get enough of Torah I love your Lord hole I love your law Oh Lord that that that is the the statement of the righteous man within the Old Testament and so within the Old Testament the Torah was viewed by the righteous in Israel as the foundational spiritual insight and so it should be and if you want to be a Joshua if you want to be a true righteous man and of course what we find is that pre-eminently when we get to the New Testament Jesus was a man who does what fulfills the law does everything that the Torah says he is a true righteous man he is the greater Joshua the greater the Lord is salvation who is a man who was captivated by and meditated continually upon the Torah he is a true representative of what the Old Testament was pointing to and so the Torah along with the rest of the Old Testaments is pointing to Christ now this point we'll just observe it we will we'll talk we'll bit more about the house as we go through the the tour itself but I I would have enjoyed rather than having to take bi 501 and 502 even teaching 501 and 502 to have been on the road to a mass with those two disciples the two disciples who were very very discouraged because they thought the Lord was the Messiah but now he's and crucified it's been three days since that took place oh we got some silly women who've actually brought some rumors about the fact that the grave isn't you know isn't this body's not there anymore but implicit with him what they're saying isn't you know you can't trust women can't even give testimony in a court of law I mean they're just women and they amazed this but they didn't find the body they said they saw angels that he was alive and some men got their verified if we went on was taking place with right our way home I mean after all these things taking place in Jerusalem we're pretty discouraged and Jesus says in verse 25 I love this I talk to my way accountant what's happened to Jesus and Jesus just happen to be walking along with them o foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all the prophets have spoken by way that may that never be said to us then we never be men who pick and choose what we like within the Bible when I was in seminary one of my professors dr. Howard Henry says you want a spiritual blessing read the parts of the Bible you haven't underlined slow of heart to believe in all the prophets of spoken I had the good parts about the restoration coming Messiah kingdom righteousness means why he concentrate on those what about those prophets that speak about how the Messiah is going to suffer be the guilt offering for the people of Israel how he's going to be rejected die when you give equal weights to those scriptures slow of heart to believe in all the prophets have spoken wasn't it easy and to enter his glory and then in verse 27 am beginning with Moses and with all the prophets he explained to them the king the things concerning himself in all the scriptures by the way scripture means that which is written all that was written beginning with Moses and the prophets the things concerning himself a little later on in chapter 24 44 he said to them now it is the eleven possibly if it's within the context of the that evening as the two men from Emmaus ran back and met with the eleven when Jesus appears to them or it could be something later for those in verse 44 he Jesus said to them these are my words which I spoke to you I was still with you that all things which are written about me in the law of Moses the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled and notice here that he fused the Old Testament in a three-fold fashion the law of Moses the law which came from the hand of Moses that which was written by Moses the prophets and the Psalms sounds beings we said on Wednesday the first book of the writings and many times was used within Judaism as a shorthand for that third division of the Old Testament and notice he said that every part of the Old Testament pointed to him had to be fulfilled and so by the very revelation we see in the New Testament the Old Testament including the tour in fact first and foremost the Torah pointed to Christ so as I've already made reference certainly Jesus could say in John chapter 5 verse 46 if you believed Moses you would believe me for he wrote of me by the time you notice Christ had no problem talking about Moses writing things he wrote of me but if you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words Moses pointed and spoke about the Messiah he spoke about Jesus he was a prophet and what he wrote was the foundation of spiritual insight God's guidance it is the fan datian for everything that is found within the Old Testament my brother's is also the foundation of what is in the Gospels appoints to Christ that the rest of the New Testament points back to the the importance and relevance of what God has done through Jesus to the life of Christian believers in this age and so even though the Torah was not written first to us Paul certainly was right when it is for us because we really can't understand Paul we can't understand the New Testaments without understanding the Torah and the depth of our understanding of Jesus will be enhanced through the Torah and so I just you know again I realize an academic exercise but scanning and reading and studying the Torah is profitable to your spiritual understanding of the scripture to truly understand Christ begins with understanding the Torah and so gentlemen it is extremely extremely important and one of I think in the Providence of God one of the great movements of biblical scholarship both liberal and conservative I'll even say an amen to some of the things a certain liberals are doing because there has been a renewed interest in the last 25 years in studying the Torah as a literary units it began by a man who would not be in our camp theologically David Klein's the theme of the Pentateuch 1978-79 approximately 25 years ago first came out in 1978 and said you know it's time that we academic liberals got back to looking at the torah as one literary whole I'm not sure how biblical Klein's understood his statement to be because as I said he's not within our frame of reference but he set the scholarly community on let's look at the Torah as a whole so there has been much writing in the 80s and 90s and into the year of 2004 both from liberal and conservative circles now saying let's go back and talk about the tour when I first taught this class 12 years ago I thought I'd come up with something revolutionary we're gonna we're gonna start by looking the tour as a whole every angelical textbook that came out of the nine he starts off let's get in the Bible by doing what looking at the Torah as a whole so I'm not that revolutionary anymore but hopefully there's other seminaries now that men are also scanning the Pentateuch even as we speak just as you are but certainly the Bible gives us warrants to hear Moses as a whole and so we want to think through the themes we want to think through the purpose the structure of the whole that will then make the five individual parts be much more understandable so that is how we begin because the Torah is important it's important as the foundation of spiritual insights important as the foundational document that reveals to us the coming it's foundational to our understanding of the totality of Scripture and we're men who understand the Bible that means we need to hear and learn what is in the Torah that we too might come to fear the God who is revealed and though we are not called and we'll get into the Christian the law later on within the course in a few weeks well we are not called as a new Israel to obey the commandments that are given we are called as God's people chosen by him to live holy and godly lives reflect the God who through Jesus Christ had called us and how will we learn to obey by coming to grips with the guy who is revealed of the Torah and so this is important to our spiritual life our spiritual health as well okay so you want to hear my version of the health and wealth gospel if you really want spiritual health and wealth learn the Torah now it's not gonna be physical that comes in the Millennium but certainly spiritually like the Old Testament saying we will come to know our God and even because we live this side of the Cross understand what Moses was speaking about much more clearly than they could do so because we know to whom he was speaking to whom he was pointing but how this this work how this Torah will certainly prepare us for our Christian life and response to God through Jesus by the Holy Spirit it's important for us as well so here's the Torah the designations the importance all right so we'll move in and take a look at the major themes all right we come to think about the the major themes of the Torah and obviously these are my impressions over the years of scanning and then spending you know more time looking in depth at what is in the the Torah significantly those of you who'd like to look at readings from the ancient Near East the first 60 percent of the book is dealing with background documents on at the Torah the Pentateuch and so this is the point I've gone ahead and and giving you where these these readings would be reflected some of the some of the readings are very interesting and kind of a quick read some of them look somewhat of a slower read so I'll just leave it at that but if you'd like to read at least an uma alishan the Gilgamesh epic the babylonian creation story and the flood story are very interesting reading but in the in the Pentateuch in the Torah itself and as we talk in terms of major themes it's again to go back to what we talked about on Wednesday all right you're going through the tour and saying all right what what are the what are the terms the phrases the ideas along with the people and places and events that are referred to on numerous occasions within the Torah as a whole and obviously I didn't don't expect you on a first scan necessarily to pick up every last theme that we're going to be talking about but this is this is as you're scanning what you're leaving what keeps what keeps coming up what keeps being repeated and this observation is is you know very very simple and that is what keeps coming up is God the very first subject in the first sentence of the Torah is God in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth he is the first subject and the very first action the very first verb is what God does and of course actually the rest of chapter 1 and he said and it was so he said and it was so and so God continues throughout Genesis chapter 1 - to be the subject the initiator that he is the subject and the verbs of what takes place relate back to to God even when you you come to the end of the Torah it is it is very very interesting that the the last events that is mentioned in the Torah is the the death of Moses and more than that the burial of Moses and in verse 6 of Deuteronomy 34 and he buried him the closest antecedent is Yahweh Yahweh buried him in the vet in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth peor but no man knows his burial place of this day man didn't bury him Yahweh did no man knows so we we take a look at the events recorded beginning with creation and ending with the burial of Moses and of course y'all he goes on to talk about Moses and the fact that no prophet like him has yet arisen within Israel and of course the Torah is anticipating greater Moses who will be vindicated and validated by either great assigns and wonders than what Moses are performed against Egypt and this Pharaoh is servants and the site of Israel but but to realize that as you go through the Torah men come and go beginning with Adam and concluding with Moses but God continues within the text from beginning to end I like to put it this way and I'm not the first one to coin this phrase but I have to realize God is the hero of the Torah fact got is the hero of the Bible then come and go God remains forever and certainly we can't play this way gentlemen I I will certainly put a big question mark if you scan the Torah and there's not a word about God because how can you get in to the other human individuals and all the events that are there without missing the fact that okay God is the great initiator and from beginning to end if I might put this way now using a literary this in a literary sense that God is the one character who is in the Torah from beginning to end and that of course will be true with all Scripture individual men come and go God remains well how is God revealed all right certainly as you begin God is revealed as creator again I've listed the the chapters and then with some of the terms that are used God is the one who creates bara God is the one who makes brings forth Cana God is the one who makes asahi is the one who forms yes are itself then let me get all this uh-oh that through these through these different terms and and significantly at points throughout the Torah God is is we are reminded as we hear that God is the one who creates now obviously chapters 1 and 2 are the places where these terms are most used because that is where Moses is recording the actual creation but then God's creation is echoed and and is remembered as you go through the through the the Torah the very first genealogy as Adam is spoken as a reminder in verse 2 these are the generations of Adam actually verse 1 in the day when God created man he made him in the likeness of God he created them male and female in other words we wouldn't be going through this genealogy from Adam all the way to Noah if it wasn't for the fact that Adam had been created by by God so even though now those is getting into our right hands estrogen and the human history he wants us to remember that all right history is anchor in the creation accounts later on even as as as Abram defeats the kings of the East and M pays ties gives tributes through Melchizedek it is it is stated that Melchizedek in chapter 14 was priest of God Most High and blessed in verse 19 saying blessed be Abram of God Most High possessor or creator of heaven and earth I saw Melchizedek is coming representing creator God and Abraham is paying tithes and honoring creator God through the mediation of Melchizedek you come to Exodus chapter 20 you're right in the middle of the Decalogue and the fourth the commandments chapter 20 of exodus verse 8 remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy six days you shall labor do all your work but the seventh day is a Sabbath why verse 11 for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth the sea and all that is in them and rested on the seventh day therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy and in the mill the Decalogue is a reminder to to Israel there to keep the Sabbath because their God is the creator who himself rested on the seventh day going back to Genesis chapter 2 verses 1 to 3 but your God is the god of creation the God that you are to worship the God whose name you're not to take in vain the the God that you are not to make an idol of the the God who has called you is the God who created the heavens and the earth and then later on in Deuteronomy chapter 32 that the god of creation is again the God who has a brought forth Israel and verse 6 is he nuts your father who has brought you he has made you and established you the same verb is used as Genesis chapter 1 the God who made the heavens and the earth is the God who made you so you go through the Torah and you see the echoes after well the clear revelations you have to one and two and then the continual echoing of the fact that God is creator but this creator God is not some kind of a distant God who creates and then leaves creation to itself he is a God whose power is displayed in creation but is continually displayed through the history of the earth and the history of Israel I just give you a number of chapters he is the God we'll go back over this of the flood he is the God who destroys the earth in recreates is the God who is able and controls the deep and controls the the clouds of the sky he is the one that can unleash the waters from above and unleash the waters from beneath he is the powerful one and any is the one who can restrain and have the waters go back to their ordered place tomorrow we're going to have our seminary picnic by the ocean I'm glad that the ABF offices are doing that again this year cuz it can be a great illustration tomorrow go and see how much power you have tell the ocean come in and flood California I think this place is ready for judgement come on in roll on in water I'll be there I guess I know you can't do it this sea will come so far and then it will go back because who controls the sea God does he's the powerful one and if he wants it to spread over all the earth he can do it and then he can because he's the powerful one heaven go back to the boundaries that he has established aren't you glad you know the god of the boundaries it would be a pretty bad picnic tomorrow if our God didn't control the sea all right so he's the powerful one we'll get into the to the way in which his finger his hand was seen and how he plagued the Egyptians and then from the third plague on he made a distinction between Israel and Egypt he's a powerful one in fact that's the very reason why he plagued Egypt Farrell says and five - to Moses well who's y'all way that I should obey Him question never should have been asked Pharaoh you're gonna find out exactly who Yahweh is and by Chapter 12 get out I don't know who Yahweh is ever watch after 14 III what have I done sends the army and the God who controls the sea does what divides the waters Israel walks through well there there will follow it uses the waters to destroy the Egyptian army by the way the Egyptian army was the most feared strongest army on the face of the earth the ancient Near East at that time it's like like in one night's the American arm and the American forces being completely wiped out he's the powerful one he's the powerful one in chapter 16 who's six days a week and provide food for Israel for 40 years food the clothing isn't gonna wear out powerful one chapter 17 he's the one who can bring water from a rock he is the one who can give Israel had victory over the Amalekites their enemies he's the powerful when he can't go through the door without realizing God's in control he's the ones got the power and that power continues to be unleashed on behalf of the righteous against the wicked via Noah against the sinful evil men of his day - God's power directed against Egypt because they keep Israel his people in bondage he's the faithful one I've just used the places where Moses and here's a repeated statement where God remembers that God never forgets God knows all things remembering has the idea that now he acts upon a promise that he has made Genesis a 1 God remembered Noah here in the middle of the flood he remembered the promise that he had given to Noah and all the beasts and the cattle that were with him he he promised that my covenant will be with you he remembers and the waters will abate and God will enter in the covenant with Noah chapter 19 in the mists of the destruction of sodom and gomorrah uh he remembers Abraham if there's ten righteous men we deliver the city well there's only one righteous man he's delivered before the city is destroyed Exodus chapter 2 under the bondage Israel cried out in Egypt and God remembered Abraham Isaac Jacob you remember the promise that he had given concerning them and he has remembered his covenant chapter six verse five and we'll look at that with in context by the way the Torah is not just about the past he get to Leviticus chapter 26 and Moses talks about the future the God who remembered in the past as the God who's going to remember in the future and so you go through the curses that are going to come upon Israel because of the disobedience you come to verse 42 when okay they're scattered among the nations and they finally confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers verse 42 then I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham as well and I will remember the land and again in verse 45 but I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the side of the nations that I might be their God I am Yahweh you might fail under the Sinai attic covenant but I remember and will remember my covenant with Abraham in the future and on the basis of that covenants I'll remember that I brought them out that I might be their God I am Yahweh this will lay the foundation we'll see in the latter prophets of how God is going to have a greater Exodus under a greater Moses in the future because of the Covenant promise that he has made with Abraham he remembers what he has promised he remembers what he has said he is the faithful one now you go through the Torah every man fails every man fails now the righteous don't fail continually Yahweh is always faithful to the word that he has given he speaks and it is so he is the speaking creator god he spoken it was so and as you go through he continues to speak in it is so and will be so because God is faithful to what he has said he's also the sovereign one well we'll see that as we take a look at the loire code God has Authority he is in control he is the one to whom his people are to be submissive and render their obedience he is the authoritative one and the heart of the Torah is an exercising authority over the people of me has chosen Israel

Channel: The Master's Seminary

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Rating: 4.7288136 out of 5

Keywords: Dr., Keith, Essex, BI, 501, The, Master's, Seminary, Old, Testament, Studies, Lecture, 02, Bible, Truth, Masters, of, Divinity, Grace, Community, Church, Sun, Valley, CA, California

Id: ZZpe5UzBByA

Length: 65min 17sec (3917 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 09 2011