_{Handout 31}

Major Conclusions from the Pentateuch

This handout will summarize major lessons we have learned from the Pentateuch, grouped into four areas:

• What it teaches us about God, mankind, and creation.
• How Israel’s ‘religion’ compares to that of her Neighbors.
• A Summary of the Covenantal Framework so far.
• How Does the OT Law Apply to Christians?

A. The Nature of God, Mankind, & Creation:

1. The Pentateuch contains the foundational biblical basis for the nature of God, of mankind, and of creation. Genesis chs. 1-3 are absolutely essential to Christian theology, and to the biblical view of mankind & our relationship to God. If we remove Genesis 1-3 from scripture, or reject a basically straight-forward reading of it, Christian theology collapses.

2. By the end of the Pentateuch we have an essentially balanced and complete picture of the nature and character of God:

   Character	Character
   Enormously Powerful.	Pre-disposed toward the good.
   Ruler over nature.	Makes himself known.
   He is a person.	He has passion, feelings (Gen 6).
   He has a will.	He is just; He avenges sin.
   He is morally perfect, holy.	Yet He shows mercy to thousands who turn to Him.

3. The Pentateuch bases it claim to authority on the reality of the exodus and Sinai. If they did not really happen, then it has no claim to divine authority. The religion of the Bible is anchored in history.

   Therefore:

   In view of the compelling revelation of God it contains (via Egypt, the Red Sea, the encounter at Sinai, the Law itself, God’s accompanying presence in the wilderness), and in view of the full picture the Pentateuch provides us of the nature and character of God, → the Pentateuch is the standard by which all subsequent claims of revelation about God are to be judged; the Pentateuch is the standard and the authority.

B. Israel’s Religion Compared to the Pagan Religions Surrounding it:

The biblical religion of Old Testament Israel does bear some points of resemblance to the pagan religions around it (both have some idea of god, have places of worship / temples, sacrifices, creation accounts, flood accounts, etc.). Nonetheless, Israel’s religion is distinct, and involves a radically different underlying worldview. Examples:

1. Israel’s God is morally perfect, not like the flawed and petty gods of the pagan religions.

2. Israel’s God is immeasurably powerful, as opposed to pagan gods, who can be beaten by magic, and need to be fed by sacrifices.

3. The God of the Bible creates matter by an act of His will out of nothing. In paganism, matter always existed in a primordial dark watery chaos. The gods somehow arose from this chaos.

   They then formed the earth and stars out of material that was already there.

4. Mankind is in God’s image, is given dominion over earth;.

   In paganism, mankind is there to serve and feed the gods.

5. Pagan sacrifices feed and placate the gods, and there is much secrecy about their rituals. The Levitical rituals are prescribed in detail, and nothing is secret. Israelite sacrifices have as their goal personal and community holiness.

   Therefore:

   There are radical differences between Israel’s biblical religion and the pagan religions which surrounded Israel. Therefore, the proposition that: “Israel’s religion came from the existing religions around it” makes no sense. The most sensible explanation as to where Israel got its religion is the explanation given in the Pentateuch → that it was revealed to them by the one true God.

C. Summary of the Covenantal Framework so far:

By the end of the Pentateuch, the Bible has mentioned three main covenants: the covenant given through Noah, the covenant with Abraham, and the Sinai covenant.

Of those three, the covenant with Noah applies to the whole earth, as long as it endures. So the two that we need to examine in order to understand how the Old Testament applies to Christians are the covenant with Abraham, and the Sinai covenant.

The Abrahamic Covenant:

• The three major promises:
  1. __
  2. __
  3. __

• The promises are “certain & guaranteed”, but not . . .

• It will(!) include Israelites, but not . . .

• Again, it will include Israelites, . . .

• The larger overall goal of the Abrahamic covenant is . . . .

• Ultimately, the Abrahamic promises are for →

• Israel’s unique role (see Rom 9:4-5): →

The Sinai Covenant / the Law:

• The Sinai covenant is with “the sons of Israel.” It explicitly sets Israel, as-a-nation, apart from the other nations. It is intended to make Israel a holy people, fitting for a close relationship with God.

• The Law is not merely a ‘pile of laws’ given to Israel because God simply felt like doing so. Rather, those laws are the stipulations, the requirements, of the Sinai covenant.

  [They also set forth the unchanging moral standards of God.]

• If (!) Israel honors Yahweh alone as God and obeys the Law = the stipulations of the Sinai covenant:

  • __
  • __
  • __

• But on the other hand, . . .

• Even though it does set Israel apart from the other nations, the Sinai covenant still has the Gentiles in view, because . . .

D. Question: So, Does the Law Apply to Christians?

On the one hand – Christians are not under the Law the way that OT Israel was under the Law.

The ‘Laws’ are part of a covenant package, they are part of the Sinai covenant between God and the nation of Israel (= the sons of Israel).

When Jeremiah 31 announced that a new covenant was coming, it referred to the Sinai covenant as the “old” covenant. Then Hebrews chs. 8-10 quote Jeremiah 31, and they tell us that the “old covenant” is obsolete, and is passing away. It passed away because Israel broke it (Jer 31:32).

At the latest, it passed away when the second temple was destroyed by the Romans in the year AD 70. The second temple is the one that Jesus visited. Jesus told them that it would be destroyed: Matt 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 19:44.

Therefore there are good biblical reasons to conclude that the Sinai covenant has ended; it is no longer in effect. None of the NT epistles suggests that the Sinai covenant is still in effect.

Also, the Law was part of the Sinai covenant, and the Sinai covenant was between God and the nation of Israel (“the sons of Israel”).

Therefore Gentile Christians are not under the Law for two main reasons: (1) Gentiles Christians were never under the Sinai covenant to begin with; and, (2) Either way, the Sinai covenant has ended.

So no, Christians are not under the Law the way that OT Israel was under the Law.

On the other hand – Christians are still under the moral Law of God.

However(!), many of those laws reflect the unchanging nature and character of God. And so even if the Sinai covenant has ended, Christians are still under the moral law(s) within the Law. The New Testament affirms that Christians should obey the moral law of God.

The teaching of the NT lines up very well with what we have just explained about Christians and the Sinai covenant. The NT treats the OT, in general, as being from God and as being authoritative.

However, the NT explicitly sets aside the food restrictions (Mark 7:19). It also sets aside the sacrificial laws from Leviticus (Hebrews chs. 8-10, + Rom 12:1).

Further, the church is not called to carry out the functions of civil government (which OT Israel did under the Law). Rather, the NT instructs Christians to obey the laws of the government they are under (Matt 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25; Rom 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:17).

Conclusions:

The moral law(s) set forth in ‘the Law’ do(!) still apply to Christians. But the sacrificial and ceremonial laws do not. And the civil and criminal laws are not binding on us.

So we are not arbitrarily selecting some laws and ignoring others (“cherry-picking”) when we apply the moral law(s), to Christians, but not the other OT laws. Rather, we are following what the New Testament teaches about Christians and the law.