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The covenant is the central motif in Jewish identity and consciousness, representing the unique relationship between the Jews and God. Although there are several instances during which the Jewish people engage in covenant with God, the most significant and momentous is the covenant God forms with Moses, who in turn communicates God's will to the Jewish people. As Boadt (1984) points out, the covenant is also significant from literary and historical perspectives because "all of biblical history may be called a theology of the covenant," (p. 174). The covenant represents a bilateral relationship and form of communication, a sort of mutually beneficial agreement in which both God and the Jewish people agree to specific behaviors that are expressions of mutual trust, love, and loyalty. Essentially, the covenant is a binding contract between God and the Jews, which outlines the parameters of the relationship and what is expected of both parties.The central covenant in Exodus is by no means the first one God makes with a group of people but this covenant is nevertheless unique because of the way it solidifies the Jewish community and continues to do so thousands of years after it was forged. Coming on the heels of tremendous turmoil,...
Unlike previous covenants extant in the ancient Near East, the Exodus covenant is apodictic and indisputable, far more binding and serious in nature than any other of its kind. The covenant is not only religious or spiritual in nature, but it is also political with direct social and economic impact on the people. With the covenant, the people are empowered and united under a common rubric. The Sinai covenant also differs from Hittite and other ancient Near Eastern covenants in its ability to permeate common law and not simply remain within the province of priests. The Pentateuch becomes law under the new covenant, solidifying Jewish cultural and political identity.
Preaching to Christians about the covenant outlined in Exodus can be tricky, but essentially entails contextualization. Far from being negative, the original Sinai covenant singularly expresses God's commitment to upholding His end of the bargain. Moreover, the covenant in Exodus shows how human beings can come to accept boundaries and rules as being beneficial for spiritual, social, and political development. The covenant is not simply about an economic exchange, for there is a…
The Jews, of course, were as antagonistic to hearing Stephen preach the life of Christ as they were to Christ Himself -- Who is the way of salvation, and Whom they have rejected. Stephen's speech is fiery and full of love and fury -- love for Christ, fury for the Jews who rejected Him: "You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised." (Here Stephen as much as
..." The hymn also follows the general creation myth of Genesis, a staple in the Judeo mythology. Like the Genesis story, in the Hymn of Aton, the myth states that God is the one who gave speech, races, land and people. In essence, according to the hymn, the sun is the giver of all life, which makes sense as it is the sun's light that gives the means to sustaining
Introduction The God of the Old Testament has been viewed by scholars as something different from that of the New Testament. This mischaracterization is often produced by placing emphasis in the Old Testament on the God’s insistence that infidels be dealt with in a bloody manner (Deuteronomy 9:4-5), whereas God in the New Testament appears to preach mercy and charity and turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-40). Yet what the scholars
Jesus to Luther A Review of the Course "From Jesus to Luther" Key Ideas of the Course The key ideas of the course were those which were emphasized by each of the ten sessions. Each session helped break the history of Christianity into sections, beginning with Christ Himself and how He was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. I found Fulton Sheen to be a complementary source when it came to
Furthermore, when groups began people naturally turned to the group leader for direction and advice. It would be accurate to state that most of the relating was to the group leader at that point. However, by exercising linking behavior, I was able to get the group members to look to each other for understanding and help. Initially, I had to point out when people were saying things that would indicate
Many Judeo-Christina ethics are found most explicitly in the proverbs. Among them are purity, chastity, humility, and hard work. Ecclesiastes: Possibly written by Solomon, this book is a philosophical reflection; another work of poetics/wisdom (Fee & Douglas, 1993). The author reflects near the end of his life that much of his life has been meaningless. The exact reason for this despair is unclear, though it could be because it was