Week 5

 

Read Chapter 5 of TIOT, pages 131-174

 

Questions to keep in mind while reading (and note that the focus question for your group will appear on your discussion board page):

 

1.      "The law functions as a dynamic reality within a living community... The law is not understood in a static sense, as if the law were given once and for all." (TIOT p131) I like the sound of this, but commands written on stone tablets don't sound too dynamic and non-static to me. Do you agree with the book's claim about the dynamic nature of the law? Why? (focus for Numbers Group)

2.      "The Sinai covenant is a matter, not of the people's status, but of their vocation." (TIOT p133) What's the difference in focusing on vocation instead of status?

3.      Referring to Leviticus, TIOT p136
says, "No secret priestly lore exists which is not shared with all; in a democratizing move, the laity are given ownership with respect to priestly matters." Is this a consistent biblical theme? As persons pursuing diaconal or pastoral ministry, how does this observation speak to you? (focus for Deuteronomy Group)

4.      According to TIOT p138, the real issue with which the law is concerned is: "What best serves the relationship with God and the life, health, stability, and flourishing of the community?" The argument is basically that the goal just described is more important than the means proscribed in the laws of Exodus-Deuteronomy. Do you agree?

5.      TIOT p138: Regarding the Holiness Code of Leviticus 17-26: Leviticus 19.2 states, "'You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.' This does not mean that holiness is something to strive for; Israel's holiness is a reality." What difference does this distinction make?

6.      Deuteronomy is "best understood as spiritual direction... The book in not designed simply to transmit a fixed tradition; it is concerned about the meaning of that tradition down through the ages." (TIOT p149f.) How does one determine whether the meaning one discerns in the tradition is consistent with the tradition? I.e., how open to interpretation of the tradition are you, and what defines the guidelines for determining meaning?

7.      TIOT p151: It is noted that the Sinai covenant is often considered to be conditional in light of a text like Exodus 19.5: "IF you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession." The authors of TIOT, however, claim that the reference to "covenant" in that verse points back to the covenant with Abraham (not ahead to the commands about to be given). "Israel as a community is now to respond as Abraham did. The phrase means being faithful to the relationship with God in which the people stand; that is a responsibility more extensive than obedience to the laws now to be given at Sinai." Is this good or bad news to you? Why?(focus for Joshua Group)

Try to read all of Joshua and Judges.
(Note that you could skip or quickly skim most of Joshua 12-22.)

Joshua-Judges reflections

  1. As you read, consider why a later generation would remember these stories and recount and preserve them in the way that they do? (What value does this history have for their present?)
  2. Moses certainly would seem to be the central figure in the Deuteronomistic history, but look at these charts indicating the Similarities Between Moses and Joshua (at http://cc.cumberlandcollege.edu/acad/rel/hbible/HebrewBible/hbmisc/simMosesJoshua.htm) and God's Promises to Moses Fulfilled in the Book of Joshua (at http://cc.cumberlandcollege.edu/acad/rel/hbible/HebrewBible/hbmisc/promisesfulfilled.htm). How is Joshua to be evaluated in comparison to Moses?
  3. In case you did not make the connection yourself while reading, Joshua 4.23-24 establishes the parallel between the escape through the Red Sea in Exodus 14-15 and the crossing of the Jordan River in Joshua 3-4. What are the similarities and differences between the two accounts and how are they significant? ( http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/joshua/dzmn6465.stm )
  4. Joshua 6 recounts the capture of Jericho with the assistance of Rahab. Joshua 7 recounts the failure to capture Ai due to the sin of Achan. What are the implications and significance of juxtaposing these two stories? ( http://www.ot-studies.com/Documents/Reversal.htm ) (focus for Genesis Group)
  5. Joshua 24.32: Why are the bones of Joseph mentioned here? What is the significance of this detail recounted here?
  6. Who are the "judges" and what do they actually do? Note the verbs used to describe the activity of each of them. ( http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/RTOT/CH7/CH7_1A.HTM )
  7. Be sure to note the critical parameters established in chapter 2 of Judges that account for the rise and fall of Israel's fortunes described in Judges.
  8. What dynamics are at work in the story of Deborah and Barak (and we should probably add Jael too) in Judges 4-5? ( http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/RTOT/CH7/CH7_2B.HTM )
  9. Judges 6-8 recounts the period of Gideon's influence. What do you make of his doubts and insecurities? In the opinion of the author of Judges, was he a good or bad leader? (focus for Exodus Group)
  10. What do you make of Jephthah in Judges 11? Was his vow considered to be a good or bad thing? 
  11. Samson is the central character of Judges 13-16. Is he a good leader or not? Clearly he has heroic characteristics, but what about all his bad traits? ( http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/RTOT/CH7/CH7_2E.HTM ) (focus for Leviticus Group)
  12. What do you make of the gruesome story of Judges 19? (Read more about the "Tale of Terror" at http://www.ot-studies.com/Documents/trible.htm )