Lesson #3 A Sacred Covenant (4: 1-43) 1 A Sacred Covenant
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Lesson#3ASacredCovenant
(4:1-43)
1ASacredCovenant
InLesson#2wenotedthatinMoses’1stDiscoursehespeakstothe
IsraelitesontheplainsofMoab—thenewgenera>onthatwasbornand
bredinthewilderness—asiftheyhadallbeenpresentinEgypt,hadexperiencedtheExodus,andhadrebelledcon>nuouslyagainstGodand
Mosesduringtheir40-yearjourneytothePromisedLand.
Onexaminingourtextclosely,welearnedthatalthoughMosesmaywell
havewriMenthe“core”ofDeuteronomyinhisday,itemergedin
augmentedformduringthereignofkingJosiah(640-609B.C.)aWeritwas
discoveredinthetemplebythehighpriestHilkiah.
ItsdiscoveryledJosiahtoleadavigorousreligiousrevival,accompaniedby
apublicreaffirma>onofthecovenantestablishedbetweenGodandthe
IsraelitesatMt.Sinai(2Kings22-23).
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Deuteronomythenunderwentaddi>onalrevisionsaWerthe
BabylonianCap>vity(605-539B.C.),emergingasthebookwe
knowtoday,abookwhichspeaksintheipsissimavox,“theveryvoice”ofMoses,aliterary/theologicalpersona.
CraWingDeuteronomyinthiswayenablesittotranscendits
historicalrootsontheplainsofMoabandbecomeauniversal
statement,thenarra>veofalllibera>onstories:theveryarchetypeforthenarra>veofredemp>on.
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InLesson#3weconcludeMoses’1stDiscourse(1:1–4:43)asMoses
emphasizesthesacrednessofGod’scovenantandthemutualobliga>ons
containedwithinit.Assovereign,GodpromisesIsraelland—realestatein
thelandofCanaan—aswellasarich,fulllifeinacovenantrela>onshipwith
him;conversely,Israelpromisesto“fear”theLordandtoobeyhis
commands,commandsthatgoverneveryaspectofhumanlife,fromthe
foodtheIsraeliteseat,tothelandtheyfarm,totherela>onshipstheyhave
withoneanotherandwithoutsiders.
Mostimportantly,theIsraelitesaretoworshipYHWHexclusively.
Iftheydoso,Godwillblessthemabundantlyandtheywilllivelonginthe
land;iftheydonot,Godwillcursethemandtheywilllosetheland—and
theirlives.
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TheconclusionofMoses’1st
Discourseemphasizesthe
enormity,thestaggering,
transcendentnatureofthe
sovereignGodwithwhomtheyare
sharingacovenantrela>onship.
RecalltheIsraelites’firstencounter
withhimatMt.Sinai.AWerthree
daysofprepara>on,threedaysof
washingtheirgarmentsand
sanc>fyingthemselves,God
descendsuponMt.Sinaiinthe
sightofallthepeople:
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“On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud blast of the shofar, so that all the people in the camp trembled. But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the Lord had come down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently. The blast of the shofar grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking and God was answering him with thunder.”
(Exodus 19: 16-19)
Thisisanawesome,terrifying
moment,amplifiedbythestrict
warningthathadprecededit.
GodhadcommandedMosesto...
“setlimitsforthepeopleallaround,saying:Takecarenottogoupthemountain,oreventotouchitsedge.Allwhotouchthemountainmustbeputtodeath.Nohandshalltouchthem,buttheymustbestonedtodeathorkilledwitharrows.Whetherhumanbeingorbeast,theymustnotbeallowedtolive.”
(Exodus19:12-13a)
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Aieeeeee!
InDeuteronomyMosesposesa
rhetoricalques>ontothe
Israelites:
“Asknowofthedaysofold,beforeyour>me,eversinceGodcreatedhumankindupontheearth;askfromoneendoftheskytotheother:Didanythingsogreateverhappenbefore?Wasiteverheardof?DidapeopleeverhearthevoiceofGodspeakingfromthemidstoffire,asyoudid,andlive?”
(Deuteronomy4:32-33)
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Theanswer,ofcourse,is“no.”
Moses’world,aswellastheworldof
Josiahandofthepost-Babylonian
Israelites,wasprofoundlypolytheis>c:
everyonebelievedinmanygods.
TheIsraeliteshadspentthepast400years
inEgypt,andaswenotedearlier,ifthe
IsraelitesknewanythingoftheGodof
Abraham,IsaacandJacob,itwasbutthe
faintechoofafolktalefromalong>me
ago.
Andeventhen,theGodofAbraham,Isaac
andJacobwasnottheonlygod;hewastheirGod.
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AWer400yearsinEgypt,the
IsraelitesknewtheEgyp>angods,godswithstunning
templesandarmiesofpriests,
godsassociatedwiththe
forcesofnature,godswhose
existenceexplainedthe
flawedhumancondi>on,the
baMlebetweengoodandevil,
virtueandsin.
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Luxor,Egypt
Cairo
400miles
ThestunningTempleofKarnakinLuxor,Egyptisthe2nd-largestancientreligioussiteintheworld,covering
200acres.St.Peter’s,MilanandNotreDameCathedralscouldfitinsideitswalls,allatthesame>me!
PhotographybyAnaMariaVargas
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Karnak’shypostylehallcovers50,000sq.W.Itsroof(nowgone)wassupportedby134massivecolumns
toweringupto80feetinheightand33feetincircumference.Thehallisthecenterpiece
ofthePrecinctofAmunRe,chiefEgyp>andeityoftheThebanTriad:Amun,MutandKhonsu.
PhotographybyAnaMariaVargas
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PhotographybyAnaMariaVargas
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Notme.
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Especiallycomparedto
theGodofIsrael,
whomMosesmeton
thebacksideofthe
desertinabush!
Thatisanimpressive
templecomplex!No
wondertheEgyp>angods
wereheldinsuchhigh
esteem.
16
That’scorrect!
ButGodintroduceshimselfto
theIsraelitesdrama>cally
throughthe10plagueshe
bringsonEgypt,tenplagues
hebringsforthreereasons:
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1. ToshowtheIsraeliteswhoGodis.
“YoumayrecounttoyoursonandgrandsonhowImadeafooloftheEgyp>ansandwhatsignsIdidamongthem,sothatyoumayknowthatIamtheLord”(Exodus10:1-2).
2. ToshowtheEgyp>answhoGodis.
“AllEgyp>answillknowthatIamtheLord,whenIstretchoutmyhandagainstEgyptandbringtheIsraelitesoutoftheirmidst”(Exodus7:5).
3. TobringjudgmentonthegodsofEgypt.
“IwillgothroughEgypt,strikingdowneveryfirstbornintheland,humanbeingandbeastalike,andexecu>ngjudgmentonallthegodsofEgypt—I,theLord!”(Exodus12:12).
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Godisgoingtokick
theirbuMs!
Andthat’spreciselywhatGoddoes:
Plague Egyp>angod
1stPlague,WaterTurnedtoBlood (Osiris)
2ndPlague,Frogs (Heqet)
3rdPlague,Gnats (Geb)
4thPlague,Flies (Khepri)
5thPlague,Pes>lence (Apis)
6thPlague,Boils (ALLthegodsdeprivedoftheirpriests)
7thPlague,Hail&Fire (Nut)
8thPlague,Locusts (coupdegrâce,thedeathblowtoEgypt)
9thPlague,Darkness (Ra)
10thPlague,DeathoftheFirstborn (ALLthegodsplunderedofwhatis
righqullytheirs)
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Asweobserved,theconclusionofMoses’
1stDiscourseemphasizestheenormity,
thenuminous,transcendentnatureofthe
Godofthecovenant.
Allothergodsaredwarfedbycomparison.
ThisisthesovereignLordwhohaschosentoenterintoacovenantrela>onshipwith
theIsraelites;thisistheGodwhowilldefendthem,blessthem,prosperthem
andwatchoverthem;thisistheGodwhoinvitestheIsraelitesintoanin>mate,
spousalrela>onshipwithhim.
Andinreturn,Godexpectsfromthe
Israelitesfidelity,loveandobedience.
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“Now therefore, Israel, hear the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. In your observance of the commandments of the Lord, your God which I am commanding you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. You have seen with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal-peor; the Lord, your God, destroyed from your midst everyone who followed the Baal of Peor; but you, who held fast to the Lord, your God, are all alive today.
(Deuteronomy 4: 1-4)
“Now, therefore, Israel, hear the statutes . . .” TheHebrewtextreadssimply“Andnow,”theusualwayoftransi>oningfromtheelementsofan
argumenttoitsconclusion,asourtransla>on
indicatesbysupplying“therefore.”Atthesame>me,
however,star>ngthesentencewith“Now”suddenlyshiWsouraMen>onfromrecallingpasteventsatMt.
Sinaitotheimmediatepresent,stressingurgency.
AsRobertAlterobserves,theverb“tohear”(shema’)isasignatureterminDeuteronomy.Throughout,it
carriesthesenseoflistening,absorbing,
understanding,andobeying.Afundamentallydidac>c
work,DeuteronomyurgestheIsraelitestopaycareful
aMen>ontotheexhorta>onsandlawsthatMoses
deliverstothem.1
1RobertAlternotesbothobserva>onsinTheFiveBooksofMoses,aTransla>onwithCommentary(NewYork:W.W.Norton&Company,2004),p.897.Asusual,heisrightontarget.
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“. . . that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.”
Theland—realestate—isanessen>al
componentofthecovenantthatGodmakeswith
Israel.AswelearnedinourstudyofLevi>cus,
thelandbelongstoGod,andtheIsraeliteswill
bemerelystewardsofGod’sland.
IntheNewTestamentJesusunderstandsthis
quitewell,whenintheparableofthetenant
farmershesays:“Amanplantedavineyard,leasedittotenantfarmers,andthenwentonajourney...”(Luke20:9-18).Likethetenantfarmers,iftheIsraelitesfailtobefaithfultothe
landownerandresponsiblestewards,Godwill
evictthemfromthelandandhanditoverto
someoneelse.
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Br.Nicholas.“ParableoftheTenantFarmers,”
SpeculumHumanaeSalva>onis(illumina>ononparchment),c.1450.
Na>onalLibraryoftheNetherlands.
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Notme.
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AndGodevictstheIsraelitesfor
athird>mewhentheRomans
takethelandinA.D.70,and
theIsraelitesdon’treturnun>l
May14,1948!
AndhedoesjustthattotheIsraelites
inthenorthernkingdomwhenthe
Assyrianstakethelandin722B.C.and
withthesouthernkingdomwhenthe
Babylonianstaketheland
in586B.C.TheIsraelitesdon’treturn
un>l539B.C.
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Hummm!
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“See, I am teaching you the statutes and ordinances as the Lord, my God, has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to possess. Observe them carefully, for this is your wisdom and discernment in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, ‘This nation is truly a wise and discerning people.’ For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and ordinances that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?”
(Deuteronomy 4: 5-8)
Godrequiresfaithfulnesstothe
covenantiftheIsraelitesareto
enjoythelandandlivelifeinit
abundantly,blessedbyGod.
Butthecovenantcarrieswithit
fargreaterimplica>ons.
InExodus,whenGodreaffirms
withthepeoplethecovenanthe
madewithAbraham,Isaacand
Jacob,hesaystothem:“Youwillbetomeakingdomofpriests,aholyna>on”(Exodus19:6).
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TheIsraelitesaretobeashining
light,anexampleforallof
humanity.AsIsaiahsays:“Iwillmakeyoualighttothena>ons,thatmysalva>onmayreachtheendsoftheearth”(49:6).
AndMalachiensuresthe
Israelites:“Yourowneyeswillseeit,andyouwillsay,‘GreatistheLord,evenbeyondtheterritoryofIsrael’”(1:6).
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Honoringthecovenantandbeing
faithfultoGodhasprofound
implica>ons,notjustforIsrael,but
forallofhumanity.
WesawinLesson#2how
Deuteronomytranscendsits
historicalrootsontheplainsof
Moab,becomingauniversal
statement,thenarra>veof
redemp>onforallofhumanity.
Here,Deuteronomy4:5-8illustrates
thisexplicitly.
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“However, be on your guard and be very careful not to forget the things your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart as long as you live, but make them known to your children and to your children’s children, that day you stood before the Lord your God, at Horeb, when the Lord said to me: Assemble the people for me, that I may let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me as long as they live in the land and may so teach their children.”
(Deuteronomy 4: 9-10)
“However, be on your guard and be very careful not to forget the things your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart as long as you live . . .”
TheIsraeliteswhostoodatMt.Sinaiandheardthe
voiceofGodasthemountainquaked,belching
smokeandfire,hadanextraordinary,transforma>ve
experience.Nonetheless,inshortordertheyforgot
theintensity—andperhapsthereality—ofthe
experienceastheirfeetached,theirstomachs
growledandtheirfrustra>ons,discouragementsand
angersimmeredanderuptedduringtheir40-year
journeythroughthewilderness.
Bythe>metheyreachtheplainsofMoab,Mt.Sinai
hadbecomebutaparent’smemory,ataletoldlate
atnightaroundacampfire.
Andmemoryhasawayofdimmingandofbecoming
personalmythology.
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“. . . but make them known to your children and to your children’s children, that day you stood before the Lord your God, . . .”
GodhadwarnedtheIsraelites,saying:“Iamcommandingyou,youshallnotaddtowhatIcommandyounorsubtractfromit”(4:2).AlthoughpersonalmemorydimsandoWen
morphsintopersonalmythology,thewordsof
MosesontheplainsofMoab,asrecordedin
Deuteronomy,aremeantemblazonthe
covenantinvividdetailontheheartsand
mindsofeachgenera>on.
Itisimpera>vethateachgenera>onpassthosewordsonaccuratelyandfully—aswriaeninthebook—lesttheybelost,astheywereun>l
Hilkiahre-discoveredthemintheTemple.
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“Assemble the people for me, that I may let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me as long as they live in the land and may so teach their children.”
AsStephenL.Cookpointsout,“thelanguageof
4:10ispregnantwithmeaning,extending
dynamicallyoutintoIsrael’sfuture.”
WelearninDeuteronomy31:10-13thatthisis
preciselywhatistohappeneverysevenyears
onthefeastofBooths[or“Tabernacles”]atthe
singularplace[theTempleinJerusalem]which
Godwillchoose.TheHebrewword“assemble”
isqahalinboth4:10and31:12,averbalechothatisnotcoincidental.2
2ReadingDeuteronomy,aLiteraryandTheologicalCommentary(Macon,Georgia:Smyth&HelwysPublishers,Inc.,2015),p.52.
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“Moses commanded them, saying, On the feast of Booths, at the prescribed time in the year for remission which comes at the end of every seven-year period, when all Israel goes to appear before the Lord, your God, in the place which he will choose, you shall read this law aloud in the presence of all Israel. Assemble the people—men, women and children, as well as the resident aliens who live in your communities—that they may hear and so learn to fear the Lord, your God, and to observe carefully all the words of this law. Their children also, who do not know it yet, shall hear and learn to fear the Lord, your God, as long as you live on the land which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.”
(Deuteronomy 31: 10-13)
No>cethatMoses
emphasizesthatthe
commandtoassemblethe
peopleandteachthemis
firmlyrootedinthevivid,
visceralexperienceofMt.
Sinai.
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“You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain blazed to the heart of the heavens with fire and was enveloped in a dense black cloud. Then the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. He proclaimed to you his covenant, which he commanded you to keep; the ten words, which he wrote on two stone tablets. At that time the Lord charged me to teach you the statues and ordinances for you to observe in the land you are about to cross into and possess.”
(Deuteronomy 4: 11-14)
“Then the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.”
Indeed,inExodus19:21theLordtoldMosesto“godownandwarnthepeoplenottobreakthroughtotheLordinordertoseehim;otherwisemanyofthemwillbestruckdown.”
Andtheydon’t.
ExodusislessexplicitaboutthisthanDeuteronomy,
buteveninExodus“allthepeoplewitnessedthethunderandlightning,theblastoftheshofarandthemountainsmoking...”(20:18).AsRobertAlterpointsout,thegreatJewishpoetandscholar,AbrahamIbn
Ezra(A.D.1089-1164),reads“Youheardthesoundofthewords,butsawnoform”as“allthepeoplesawthesounds,”ingeniouslysynchronizingExodus20:18withDeuteronomy4:12.3
3TheFiveBooksofMoses,aTransla>onandCommentary(NewYork:W.W.Norton&Company,2004),p.899.
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Notme.
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Andmaybethat’swhyMoses
vanishesattheendof
Deuteronomy.TheIsraelites
wouldhaveendedup
worshipinghiminsteadofGod!
That’sreallyinteres>ng!Perhapsthis
providesthecontextforthe2nd
commandment:“Youshallnotmakeforyourselfanidolorlikeness[ofGod]...”(Exodus20:4).Godis
transcendent,beyondourabilityto
“see,”inallofitsvariousmeanings.
40
Ithinkyou’reontosomethinghere!
RecallthatJohnfallstohiskneesto
worshiptheangelicmessengerin
Revela>ontwice(Revela>on19:9-10a;22:8-9),andtheangelinstantlyandsternly
correctshim:“No!WorshipGod.”
Thecommandmentnottomake“idols”
foryourselvescountermandsourbasic
humandesiretomaketheabstract
concrete;theineffable,tac>le.
Iconography[eijkovn,“image”;gravfein,“towrite,”or“wri>nginimages”]istheartformthatexpressessuchdesire.
Egyp>an,Assyrian,Babylonian,Greekand
Romangodswereallembodied
iconographically.
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FriezeinthetombofPharaohHoremheb(c.1319-1292B.C.)
depic>ngthegodsOsiris,AnubisandHorus(KN57).
ValleyoftheKings,Egypt.
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Yet,Godissofarbeyondourabilityto
capturehiminconcrete,tac>leformthat
hecommandstheIsraelitesnottomake
anyimageofhim.
Iconographyisawindowthroughwhich
weseetheineffable,andfrequentlythe
windowbecomesopaqueandpeopleend
upworshipingtheimage,ratherthanthe
realitybeyondtheimage.
Thishappenedwiththe“serpentofbrass”
thatMosesmadeinthewildernesswhen
theIsraeliteswerebeingbiMenbyvipers.
RecallNumbers21:4-9—
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“The people’s patience was worn out by the journey; so the people complained against God and Moses . . . so the Lord sent among the people seraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of the Israelites died. Then the people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord to take the serpents from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people and the Lord said to Moses: Make a seraph and mount it on a pole and everyone who has been bitten will look at it and recover. Accordingly Moses made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever the serpent bit someone, the person looked at the bronze serpent and recovered.”
(Numbers 21: 4-9)
BenjaminWest.TheBrazenSerpent(oiloncanvas),c.1790.BJUMuseumandGallery,Greenville,SouthCarolina.
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Notme.
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Iwonderwhatever
happenedtothatserpentof
brass.Diditbecomean
ar>fact,likeOg’sironbed?
That’saveryinteres>ngepisode!Inourstudy
ofNumberswelearnedthattheserpentof
brassforeshadowsthesacrificeofChristonthe
cross.AsJesussaidtoNicodemus:“JustasMoseslifeduptheserpentinthedesert,
somusttheSonofManbelifedup,sothateveryonewhobelievesinhimmay
haveeternallife”(John314).
46
No,itdidn’t.Somethingmuchworse
happenedtoit.WhenyoungHezekiah
becomeskingsevencenturiesaWertheExodus,weread:
“InthethirdyearofHoshea,sonofElah,kingofIsrael,Hezekiah,sonofAhaz,kingofJudah,becameking.Hewastwenty-fiveyearsoldwhenhebecameking,andhereignedtwenty-nineyearsinJerusalem[715-686B.C.].Hismother’snamewasAbi,daughterofZechariah.HedidwhatwasrightintheLord’ssight,justasDavidhisfatherhaddone.Itwashewhoremovedthehighplaces,shaaeredthepillars,cutdowntheasherah,andsmashedthebronzeserpentMoseshadmade,becauseuptothat>metheIsraeliteswereburningincensetoit.(ItwascalledNehushtan.)”
(2Kings18:1-4)
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Yikes!
Becauseofthistendencyto
maketheabstractconcrete;
theineffable,tac>leandto
endupworshipingtheimage
ratherthanthereality,Moses
warnstheIsraelitestoavoid
makinganyimagesofGod
whatsoever,andtoshun
thosewhodo.
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“Because you saw no form at all on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, be strictly on your guard not to act corruptly by fashioning an idol for yourselves to represent any figure, whether it be the form of a man or a woman, the form of any animal on the earth, the form of any bird that flies in the sky, the form of anything that crawls on the ground, or the form of any fish in the waters under the earth. And when you look up to the heavens and behold the sun or the moon or the stars, the whole heavenly host, do not be led astray into bowing down to them and serving them.”
(4: 15-19a)
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That’spreciselywhy
therearenoimagesof
God,peopleoranimalsin
asynagogue—orina
mosque.
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Properlyunderstood,Chris>anart
playsaprofoundroleinour
understandingofGod,butthe
Churchalsowentthroughaperiod
ofabolishingallimages,the
“Iconoclas>c”eraini>atedbythe
Byzan>neEmperorLeoIII(A.D.
686-741),duringwhich>memany
Chris>an“images”weredefaced
ordestroyed.
Iconoclasmemergedagainduring
the16th-centuryProtestant
Reforma>on,especiallyunder
thoseinfluencedbyJohnCalvin.
ChludovPsalter(illuminatedMs.D.129,fol.67r),c.850.
StateHistoricalMuseum,Moscow.
[Oneofonly3Psalterstosurvivefromthe9thcenturytheclandes>nemanuscriptprotestsiconoclasm.]
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Mosesthenstressesthe
importanceofthisprohibi>on
against“gravenimages”and
theimportanceofremaining
faithfulandobedienttoGod
inthemostseriousofterms:
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“When you have children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, should you them act corruptly by fashioning an idol in the form of anything, and by this evil done in his sight provoke the Lord, your God, I call heaven and earth this day to witness against you, that you shall all quickly perish from the land which you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You shall not live in it for any length of time but shall be utterly wiped out.”
(4: 25-26)
Sevenhundredyearslatertheprophet
Isaiah(740-686B.C.)producesacourtroom
dramainwhichGodsitsasjudge,withIsrael
inthedocket,andheissuesthisaccusa>on
againsthispeople:
“Hear,Oheavens,andlisten,Oearth,fortheLordspeaks:SonshaveIraisedandreared,buttheyhaverebelledagainstme!Anoxknowsitsowner,andanass,itsmaster’smanger:butIsraeldoesnotknow,mypeoplehasnotunderstood.”
Towhichthewitnesses—theheavensandtheearth—tes>fy:
“Ah!Sinfulna>on,peopleladenwithwickedness,eviloffspring,corruptchildren!TheyhaveforsakentheLord,spurnedtheHolyOneofIsrael...”
(Isaiah1:1-4)
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ThecourtroomdramaspansIsaiah1-35,
whereinGodfindsIsraelguiltyoftotal
apostasy,offorsakinghimandturningto
othergods,“godsthatareworksofhumanhands,ofwoodandstone,godswhichcanneitherseenorhear,neithereatnorsmell”(Deuteronomy4:28).
Thepunishment?Israellosestheland.
Asweknow,in722B.C.theAssyrians
conquerthenorthernkingdomofIsrael,
takingthesurvivorscap>vetoAssyria;
andin686B.C.theBabyloniansconquer
thesouthernkingdomofJudah,taking
thesurvivorscap>vetoBabylon.
As1Chronicles9:1rightlyconcludes:
“JudahhadbeenexiledtoBabylonbecauseofitstreachery.”
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1. WhydoesMoses1stDiscourseinDeuteronomy
men>onthattheIsraelitesonlyhearGodatMount
Sinai,notseehim?
2. John’sgospelclaimsthat“NoonehaseverseenGod”(John1:18),sowhatdoesitmeanthattheLord
knewMoses“facetoface”(Deuteronomy34:10)?
3. HowdoesMosespresenttheGodofIsraelasbeing
superiortothegodsofEgypt?
4. WhydoesGodprohibittheIsraelitesfrommakingany
“images”ofhim?
5. WhydoourchurchestodayoWencontainimagesof
peoplefromScripture,andevenimagesofGod
himself?
58ASacredCovenant
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