The Messenger Of The Lord

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were seen as people who failed to listen to God’s commandments. Despite knowing beforehand that they would be punished for their disobedience, they still continued to commit sin. God tried to deter their misbehavior by promising them many blessings, but it worked to no avail. Due to the insubordination of the Israelites, He made sure that the promises He made to them would be withheld and that they would face consequences.

Without devotion to God, violence and death would flourish in Israel. These factors would impede God’s blessings of security and life; thus, the Mosaic covenant demonstrates the continual faithfulness of God in the Old Testament. Finally, God is faithful to Israel during the people’s complaints in the desert. Rather than abandoning the nation for its faithlessness, God provides them will nourishment and protection during their journey. These acts further reinforce the faithfulness of God, even when his followers stray. In all, the Pentateuch demonstrates the theme of God’s faithfulness.

When reading and interpreting biblical law, there are several important features to consider. First, there should be an understanding of the nature of law (“Lecture 1,” 2015). Torah, or תּוֹרָה, is the Hebrew word translated for “law” (Vogt, 2009). Its meaning refers to ‘instruction” or “teaching,” much different than the contemporary world defines the law. Moreover, it carries a “theologically centered” (Vogt, 2009, p. 26) teaching, providing for the ancient Israelites guidance in how to live in such a way that is pleasing to God (Vogt, 2009). Rather than looking at the law from a legalistic approach as is common today, it is important to understand that the Israelites received the law as a gift from God (Psalm 119:111, NIV) upon their deliverance from Egypt.

The Book of Judges is the hardest title to analyze as far as relation to the text goes. However the quote from the Bible at the beginning of this book in The Poisonwood Bible gives a hint as to why Kingsolver might have chosen this name. It says, “And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars…” (187). This quote, in the biblical sense, shows that God does not want the Israelites to associate themselves with the Canaanites or practice their beliefs, the main theme of the Book of Judges. However, the Israelites continue to practice pagan beliefs and intermarry with the people of Canaan while the Judges come back time and time again to save them. This situation is akin to Nathan’s relationship with the Price woman, especially Leah who stops believing in Nathan and God and builds her new religion from Anatole. This period in the book is when the girls no longer believe in Nathan, and therefore God, just like the Israelites after they conquered Canaan.

The book of Judges derives its title from the Latin Liber Judicum, but the Hebrew title is shophetim. The verbal form (“to judge”) describes the activity of the various deliverers whom God used despite their personal challenges, oddities, or inadequacies

Covenant and law are both prevalent themes that are used throughout the Old Testament of the Bible. A covenant is a binding contract in which “a kinship bond between two parties” is created when each party carries out assigned expectations established in the making of the covenant (Hahn and Bergsma 1). A law is a binding rule or regulation that is used to regulate the conduct of a community or group of people and is usually enforced by some kind of authority. There are many similarities and differences between covenant and law, and in some cases covenant and law can be connected so that one supports the other. This is especially true when talking about the Mosaic Law and God’s covenant with Israel. In these two items God creates expectations through the covenant, rules and regulations through the Law, and allows for covenant-maintenance by using both together rather than a simple law code.

Throughout history, people have been trying to create an improved, fair, and equal system of justice, not only to better society in which one lives, but to also find a sense of meaning in what responsibilities people should hold within their civilizations in order to create this just way of living. As early as the Old Testament within the Bible, we see examples of how the Hebrews formed their own justice. This can be seen in the in text of the Ten Commandments which were written in a form of law. Laws were significant even in this basic form of context, such as the Ten Commandments, which offered the ideas of right and wrongdoings and the sin for violating others for one’s own benefit. This not only

This lead the reader question why God did not provide defined rules, or expectations, prior to the commandments? Previous covenants focused on God’s obligations: to not destroy mankind again and to provide Abraham offspring and the land of Canaan, whereas Exodus focused on Israelite responsibilities (p. 114). In the end, the reader found Exodus a “rite of passage” that displayed God’s trust in the Israelites and a formalized relationship with God.

The Torah was provided so that Israel would know how properly worship and serve God. God wanted to make the nation of Israel completely different than the surrounding nations who worshiped demons. The law shows how” through the moral law, man could see God’s holy character as well as his own sinfulness and the infinite gulf that separates God and man.” Bible org” If they faithfully served God he will

“The law that God gave to Moses had many aspects – e.g., civil, dealing with the legal system of the people of God considered as a state, with courts and penalties; moral, the law of holy living; and religious, the law of the ceremonies and sacrifices.” These laws set the stage for Christ’s Law and eventually a new covenant made by Christ.

God needed to apply this dispensation because His people continued to sin. They used the law to live by and not their faith in God. The era of the law begins with the presentation of the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mt. Sinai. This dispensation runs for about one thousand five hundred years, and ends with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Reading the Bible, the timeline would run from Exodus 19, through Acts 1. One important highlight is that the people of this time could not be redeemed through the law. Even later in the Bible the Galatians argued that the law was redemptive. Paul reminded them in Galatians 3:10(ESV), For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of Law, and do them.” This scripture describes those who seek salvation through the law as opposed to doing it through faith. Remembering that Abraham was counted as righteous by faith. Through Abrahams’ faith sprouted the promise. This is where a covenant was made with Abraham. This covenant is like the Land

The Christ of the Covenants demonstrates the relationship between five covenants God instigated with Adam, Abraham, Noah, Moses, and David in the Old Testament, and how they are reflected in Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection in the New Testament. In answering four basic questions, I discovered this main idea to be true time and time again. Robertson exhibits his vast knowledge of the subject with a concisely structured index outlining one clear point for the entire novel.

In the book Messiah of the Masses: Huey P. Long and the Great Depression, it describes and outlines the life of Huey Pierce Long. In chapter one, the author (Glen Jeansonne) begins to talk about Long's childhood days. Long was born on August 30, 1893 in Winnfield, Louisiana. Winnfield was a part of Winn Parish in the northeastern section on Louisiana. He was one of ten children born to his parents, Hugh and Caledonia (Callie) Long. Hugh Long was a man of great intelligence and charm. The family moved around a lot, and in 1907 Hugh built one of the largest homes in Winnfield, equipped with 16 rooms and all the commodities that were essential to living a successful life. Many of Huey's siblings went on to school and earned a

From my reading, I have realized that The Laws of God and His established commands of the Old Testament were not given to restrict or enchain man, but to reveal to man God’s own true and righteous character. It was a way for God’s people to be identified with Him, and though they were forever falling short, they were identified and forever learning from the holy and righteous glimpse of God their creator through the Law. The entire Old Testament was one continuous story of God faithfully reaching for fallen man, and as man would repent and turn to God as their one and only God, He would deliver beyond mans’ deserves with blessing, victory, and hope for salvation.

     Abraham’s continual obedience to God is central to his character and the desired character of the Hebrew people. God, in his great plan, wishes to remove the human tendency to believe only in his judgment, the pride of thinking he knows better than God. Thus, God wishes to promote the qualities of obedience and humility, to birth a nation of men who fear God and follow orders. Only in this way can people be expected to follow a moral code and adhere to laws; they must understand that there are powers beyond them that they do not always understand, but must perpetually follow.