ken castor

Generational Transference in the Bible: The Pentateuch

             The Bible is rich with the theological foundations of generational transference in regards to the identity and mission among God’s people.  Not only is God’s character faithful to successive generations,[1] it is clear that each generation has the obligation to pass on to the next generation the message of God’s action and love in this world.   The Pentateuch, for example, includes spiritual and ritualistic ordinances and regulations that are passed on for generations to come.[2]  Israel is instructed, “Repeat them again and again to your children.”[3]  Throughout the entirety of the Old Testament, God urges people to equip their children to lead into the future.[4]  There is an overwhelming concept that the principles and character of God are to be impressed upon, taught, and passed on to children and grandchildren and future generations of God’s people.  This, in God’s opinion, is a primary aim of a leader.

         Humanity has commonly equated prominence with leadership.  Throughout history, common measurements of leadership have included the quantity of followers and accomplishments, the display of power and control, or the ever-increasing climb of positional influence. The ancient Israelites at times fit this negative pattern.  For instance, they wanted a king so that they could be weighed on the same scales as all the other nations.^[5]  All the nations around them measured grandeur according to their kingly leader, so eventually Israel too desired an impressive man who was a head above the rest- a warrior, a public speaker, an influencer, a human power dealer, a god of a man.  The end result elevated the talented, charismatic Saul to kingship before Israel learned of his moral bankruptcy and disruptive tendencies towards God’s mission for his people.[6]  Sadly, in many subsequent generations, there would be numerous kings like him.  The Israelites sought to be led by men who placed their own innate skills and seizure of authority above their relationship with God and with others.[7]

            But in Deuteronomy, God set the stage for a different kind of leadership.  God taught that true leadership is to measured first according to humility of the heart.  The greatest of leaders is to exhibit submission to the Lord.  From the foundation of Israel as a nation, the most essential qualities commanded to be transmitted to succeeding generations included humble obedience and commitment to God.[8]  Failure to follow the Lord resulted in failure of leadership.[9]  The primary responsibilities of the Israelite king, for instance, according the Deuteronomy 17, do not involve control and power, but involve actively learning the laws of God and obeying God’s commands in order to ensure future generations will successfully follow the Lord in Israel.[10]  Therefore, the measurement of a leader, first and foremost in God’s opinion, is the character of his heart.

            “When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites.  It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from this law to the right or to the left.”[11]

 

            As an example, God called Moses to lead the multitude of Israelites out of Egypt, not with his own charismatic power, but with God’s Spirit in his heart and hands.[12]  Moses, armed only with a staff of wood and no followers except Aaron, faced Pharaoh, armed with the greatest armies, buildings, economies, and religious customs the world had ever seen.  The clash was dramatic in its contrast: God’s modest version of a leader versus the world’s leadership epitome.  Moses won.

            Having been entrusted with the responsibility of leadership by God, Moses proceeded to raise up and transfer the onus of leadership to Joshua, a next generation leader who showed himself to be of godly character.^[13]  Moses and Joshua partnered in ministry for years.  During that time, Moses witnessed Joshua’s heart for God, his character as person, and his skills as a leader.   More profoundly, Joshua was chosen by God as Moses’ successor.^[14]  As a result, Moses encouraged the assembly of Israel to “encourage” Joshua “because he will lead Israel to inherit” the land.  Moses also began succession plans immediately, even though they would take years to complete.  He commissioned Joshua with leadership opportunities,[15] and openly spoke to the nation about the plans.^[16]  In one of his final acts of leadership, it is noted that “Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people.”^[17]

            God’s plan for leadership involves the transference of opportunity and responsibility to godly people from one generation to the next.  As Moses was weaned from his powerful heritage of Egyptian royalty, he learned a new kind leadership based not on the uplifting of the leader, but on the uplifting of God and of others.  A leader’s identity, Moses learned, was to be grounded in relationship with God and in service of God’s mission for the world.  In this way, the Bible reveals a perpetuating process of generational transference that involves a leader, or leaders, intentionally conferring opportunity and responsibility to others.  Transference most readily occurs within an environment whereby God’s people are joined in community with an aim to live out God’s mission. 

...:::: See the previous post for the introduction to Generational Transference in the Bible ::::...

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[1] Deuteronomy 5:10; 1 Chronicles 16:15; Psalm 33:11; 90:1; 102:12; 105:8; 119:90; Isaiah 51:8; Lamentations 5:19; Daniel 4:3,34; Luke 1:50  [2] Genesis 9:12; 17:7,9,12; Exodus 3:15; 12:14,17,42; 16:32-33; 20:6; 27:21; 30:21,27; 40:15; Leviticus 3:17; 6:18; 17:7; 21:17; 22:3; 23:14, 21; 24:3; Numbers 10:8; 15:14-15; Deuteronomy 5:10; 7:9; 11:19; 32:7  [3] Deuteronomy 6:4-9  [4] Esther 9:28; Job 8:8  ^[5] 1 Samuel 8:5; Deuteronomy 17:16-20  [6] 1 Samuel 9:2; 10:21-24; 13:13-14; 15:10-12, 22-29  [7] 1 Samuel 8:9-22; 12:13-25  [8] Deuteronomy. 5:1-3; 6:1-25; 10:12-22; 11:19-21  [9] 1 Samuel 13:13-14  [10] Deuteronomy 17:14-20  [11] Deuteronomy 17:18-20  ^[12] Exodus 6:1  ^[13] Deuteronomy 34:9  ^[14] Deuteronomy 1:38  ^[15] Deuteronomy 3:28  ^[16] Deuteronomy 31:4  ^[17] Deuteronomy 32:44

Generational Transference in the Bible: Introduction

“I will teach you hidden lessons from our past-

stories we have heard and know,

stories our ancestors handed down to us.

We will not hide these truths form our children

but will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord.

We will tell of his power and the mighty miracles he did.

For he issued his decree to Jacob;

he gave his law to Israel.

He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children,

so the next generation might know them-

even the children not yet born-

that they in turn might teach their children.

So each generation can set its hope anew on God,

remembering his glorious miracles

and obeying his commands.”[1]

- Psalm 78:1-7

            The issues of generational transference of leadership will only begin to be resolved as a local church embraces an environment of biblical ministry leadership principles.  It is theorized, after all, that the themes of this dissertation are not foreign to the Bible.  Biblical and Theological foundations exhibit and call for an unceasing transmittance of faith as the central strategy to the communication of the Gospel. Throughout history, Scriptures reveal the pattern that God expects humanity to practice:  One generation passing on to the next the praxis of God’s mission. 

            Throughout the Bible the foundational concept of generational transference is evident in principle as well as in practice.  For instance, Psalm 145 implores God’s people: “Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts.”[2]   Another example, found in Deuteronomy 6, records the Lord’s proclamation upon his people to pass down his commands to their children and grandchildren so that they can then lead the future generations similarly.[3]  Furthermore, the theme of generational transference evidences continuity in the revelation of both the Old and New Testaments.  Paul, for instance, models a lifestyle of transferring leadership on to people like Timothy and Titus.  And he is not alone.  Barnabas, Peter, John, and others actively engaged in the practice of generational transference.  Older men and women are to be sources of mentoring and encouragement to younger men and women as they practice living wisely together in the midst of their challenging culture.[4]             At times, admittedly, generational transference of ministry leadership was haphazard at best.  In the book of Judges, for instance, it seems a miracle that faith and Scripture was able to survive as one generation repeatedly failed to follow after God.  And yet, at other times throughout the history of Scripture, generational transference of ministry leadership was an intentionally prioritized principle, such as in the example of Samuel and David or in the wisdom of Proverbs chapter two.  The example of Jesus and the disciples as well as the epistles to Timothy, just to name a few, provide a treasure house of principles for generational transference of ministry.  One only needs to give a cursory examination of Scripture to understand that no matter the geography, the cultural climate, or the leadership structures, generational transference of ministry is an essential aspect to God’s purposes for the his people. 

            UPCOMING GENERATIONAL TRANSFERENCE POSTS:  In the days to come I intend to post an overview of generational transference evident within Scripture.  These posts in no way are meant to be comprehensive, but merely a simple summary of the idea that God accomplishes his mission through a process of transferring the proclamation responsibility and missional purposes of his love spanning through generations.  These summaries are reflective of what were presented in chapter 4 of my dissertation: "Biblical and Theological Foundations of Generational Transference of Ministry Leadership in the Local Church".

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[1] Psalm 78:1-7 [2] Psalm 145:7 [3] Deuteronomy 6:1-9; 20-25; 32:7

[4] Titus 2:1-6

reciprocal and imitative love .:6:.

II. WHAT THE LORD DESIRES:  A call for reciprocal love (DEUT 10:14-16)

    Before listeners are able to absorb the profundity of the preceding comments, Moses reminds Israel of God’s boundless grandeur.  Essential to Moses’ argument is the truth that God loves Israel and that God wants Israel to reciprocate and imitate that love.  The fact, Moses recalls, is that “the LORD your God” owns the farthest heavens,[1]  all of the earth, and everything that is in the earth (Deut 10:14).  Wright notices that “this verse, with wonderful rhythmic cadence, affirms the universal exultation and cosmic ownership of Yahweh.”[2]
    Even with God’s possessive inexhaustability, however, Moses states the remarkable fact that God chose to place his affection on Israel. McConville notes that “verses 14-15 bring together two theological statements that seem at first glance to be at odds, namely Yahweh’s universal rule, and his election of one nation, Israel.”[3]   But this is precisely Moses’ point!  The LORD owns everything… YET he chose to love the descendants of those listening.  The contrastive power of the Hebrew raq should not be overlooked.[4]   Of everything in the entirety of Creation, God chose the relatively insignificant nation of Israel.  In the simple word, raq, of Deuteronomy 10:14, Christians today should recognize the cohesion with the Greek word, δε, in passages like Romans 6:23. Both Testaments would agree that it is because of the LORD’s loving grace that he sets his affection upon a relatively undeserving people.
    But in the face of God’s grace, Israel must be careful not to become proud and unfaithful.  “Election, for Israel,” Wright notes, “was not so much a privilege as an awesome responsibility.”[5]   Israel wasn’t chosen because they were a great nation.  In an attempt to remind the people of their humble position, Moses teaches that Israel was chosen despite God’s greatness!  Arthur F. Glasser comments that God existed before Israel and he could do so again![6]   It was according to “no merit or quality” that God chose Israel.[7]   Therefore, Moses contends, Israel should respond in love to God.  To argue his case, a barrage of metaphors is lobbed at the listeners in an attempt to dislodge any sense of self-importance that might be setting in.  And so we hear the seemingly awkward call to “circumcise” hearts and to loosen “stiff”-necks.
    Circumcision for Israel was to be an outward sign of an inner commitment to the LORD.[8]   In Genesis 17:9-14, we learn that the LORD made a covenant of relationship and promised blessing with Abraham that would be confirmed through his “seed”.  Circumcision was to be the humanly responsive, visible mark of that covenant.  McConville believes Deuteronomy 10:15-16 recalls that defining initiative of relationship but now expands the concept by applying circumcision to the heart.[9]   Heard literally, the Israelites were to “cut away the foreskin of your heart.”  Similarly, their necks were not to be “stiff” but pliable to the Lord.  With these vivid analogies in mind, near the end of Deuteronomy, Moses recalls this passage by prophesying that when the people respond in obedience to the Lord, he will then perform the circumcision of their hearts so that they would be free to love him.[10]   Understood in context, Israel was to surrender to God so that he could rid them of anything that thickened or blocked their hearts from openly receiving his love and that kept their heads from turning in reciprocal response to him.[11]   In other words, Moses said to Israel, “God is in charge of everything and yet he chose to love you.  Therefore, don’t be so foolish as to let your hearts or your posture before God to be stubborn.”[12]   Above all, love must be the motivating force for any and every inner emotion and every outer act by the people Israel.[13]

prior posts: reciprocal and imitative love .:series:.

1  Literally an emphasized superlative, “the heaven and the heaven of heavens”.  See Wright, 146 and Tigay, 107
2  Wright, 146.  He also suggests consulting 1 Kgs 8:27; Pss 24;1; 47:7-9; 68:38; Jer 10:10-13.
3  McConville, 198
4  “The effect of hen in conjunction with the following raq (‘yet’, 15) is a concession: ‘although… yet’.” Ibid., 200.
5  “Israel finds a double-barreled call to repentance aimed at their metaphorical hearts and necks.”  Wright, 147:
6  Glasser, Arthur F. Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of God’s Mission in the Bible.  Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003, 57.
7  Ibid., 58.
8  Genesis 17:9-27; 21:4
9  McConville, 200.  The Prophets recall this metaphor in Jeremiah 4:1-4; 9:26 and Ezekiel 44:7-9.
10  Deut 30:6
11 See Tigay, 107-108.
12  Earl S. Kalland writes: “Because of this gratuitous position they had in relation to the true God, the Israelites were urged to circumcise their hearts and cease being stiff-necked (v.16).  The circumcision of the heart connotes being open, responsive, and obedient to the Lord.” Kalland, Earl S., “Deuteronomy” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 3, gen editor Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992, 86
13  See Alexander, 429.

reciprocal and imitative love .:5:.

*Here is my 5th academic sounding commentary... bear with me! : )

    These five responses (see prior post) are in effect a summary of Deuteronomy... and for that matter, the entire Old Testament.[1]   They are not meant to be linear steps of discipleship, where one begins with “fear” and graduates with “observance” of law.  No, each of these phrases, while distinct, are intertwined with one another. Wright suggests the five phrases “are essentially a twisting kaleidoscope of all the colors and patterns that flow from the central commandment – to love God.” [2]  And so, placed at the fulcrum of the requirements, is love.  It is the hinge point by which all the others are founded and bounded.  Namely, a response of love to the LORD will be displayed in a proper posture of awe and respect.[3]   Furthermore, a response of love to the LORD will be evidenced in righteous living intent on following God’s patterns.  It is an imitation of what God does.[4]   A response of love to the LORD will also be binding within every aspect of a person’s (or community’s) passions and actions.[5]   And finally, a response of love to the LORD will simply be noted in the way a person guards and treasures God’s equipping boundaries for their lives.[6]
    Love is the centrifugal core from which all the others flow.  It is a reciprocation of the active passion of the LORD himself.  This is the point that many Christians today fail to recognize about the Old Testament.  Many Bible readers consider the “laws” and “commands” to be the central purpose of the Old Testament.  Many have mistakenly highlighted obedience as the one thing that the LORD required from his people.  But what we are to “hear” in this passage is that God requires love; just as a husband desires that his wife love and respect him or just as a father craves to be loved and honored by his children.  In other words, Israel is to embrace God’s commands because they are to love the LORD.  As Tigay suggests, Moses “does not focus on obeying the rules of the renewed covenant… but on underlying attitudes, as he does throughout this part of Deuteronomy.”[7]   It is for the very good of his people, for the restoration of relationship with him and his world, for the benefit of knowing the LORD and living in the land he has given them, that God lovingly gives Israel these good requirements.[8]  
    Considering Israel’s historical context alongside this passage, Desmund T. Alexander and David W. Baker remind us of why these things are for the good of God’s people: 

In giving his people the law… God demonstrates more grace, for these provide practical, ethical and spiritual guidance for reclaiming their lives in the Promised Land.  The Hebrews had lived with the dehumanizing bondage of slavery for generations.  In order to experience shalom that God intends, the people must learn to see themselves, others, and the world from a new, holy perspective.  These are given not for God’s benefit, but for the well-being of the Hebrews (Deut 10:12-13). [9]

    These commands are to help Israel love God and live well by loving others.  Later in Israel’s history, with obvious recollection of Moses’ query and in the context of God’s disappointment with Israel’s unfaithfulness, Micah 6:8 offers a similar question and offer a similar answer.  “He has shown you, O man, what is good.  And what does the LORD require of you?” the prophet asks.  “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  Mercy stems from God’s loving grace given to Israel; the very act that Israel in Micah’s day was failing to embrace.  God requires Israel to reciprocate his love and evidence it by their whole-hearted action.  “The motivation,” Wright contends, “is total and exclusive commitment” to the LORD.  Micah’s threefold answer summarized prophetic preaching in the same way that Moses’ fivefold answer summarized the Torah.[10]   And McConville notes: “this requirement of a heartfelt love of what is right, based in loyalty to Yahweh, is the stuff of Deuteronomy too.”[11]    Alexander and Baker concur: “Love is never a mere statement or feeling in Deuteronomy; rather love expresses itself in obedience.”[12]

~prior posts~
reciprocal and imitative love .:1:.
reciprocal and imitative love .:2:.
reciprocal and imitative love .:3:.
reciprocal and imitative love .:4:.

~footnotes~

1.   “Here God’s requirements are summarized.  These are the main principles expressed throughout Deuteronomy, and all have been expressed earlier.”  See also 4:10,40;6:5,13,24;8:6.” Tigay, 107
2.   Wright, 145.  Regarding the whole section, Wright also reminds the reader similarly “to read each verse (14-15) in the light of the other for they mutually qualify and ‘flavor’ each other.” Wright, 146
3.   “Fear,” according to Wright means to “to have a basic respect and reverence for the covenant Lord that permeates all other attitudes (cf.5:29;6:13;10:20).” Ibid., 145
4.   cf. 6:5; 11:1,13,22.  See Ibid., 145 
5.   Wright suggests that “to serve” is a “metaphor of bonded service to the one who has bought and therefore owns the people (cf. 6:13; 10:20; 11:13).” Ibid., 145
6.   Finally, Wright suggests that “to observe” means “to give careful, conscientious, and constant attention to the terms and stipulations of the covenantal relationship (cf. 7:11; 11:1,8,13,22).” Ibid., 145
7.   Tigay, 107
8.   Wright offers: “Through obedience, Israel could enter into secure possession of the land, long life, enjoyment of all God’s gifts, etc (cf. 5:29,33; 6:24; 30:15-20).  It also condenses the important ethical point that the law itself was a gift of God’s grace for the benefit of human beings, not an imposition for arbitrary divine satisfaction.” Wright 145
9.   Alexander, T. Desmond and David W. Baker.  Dictionary of the Old Testament Penteteuch: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship.  Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003., 374.
10.   Wright, 144-145
11.   McConville, 199
12.   (cf. Deut 5:10;7:9’10:12-13;11:1,13,22;19:9;30:16). Alexander, 154

reciprocal and imitative love .:4:.

I. WHAT THE LORD REQUIRES: A call for loving relationship (DT 10:12-13)
    “Hear, O Israel,” Moses insists.  Frequently used as a startling call of attention, this combination of command with audience marks the paramount moments of Deuteronomy.[7]   Through this invocative formula, Moses demands that the people turn their ears to what he is about to say.  In modern usage, perhaps, “Pay attention, people!  What follows is going to be of great importance!”
    With their attention, Moses now encourages them to think and respond passionately.  He begins the speech in verse 12 by positing a profoundly simple inquiry, but one that is essential to the very existence and purpose of Israel.  He asks, “O, Israel.  What does the Lord require of you?”   The answer to the question, of course, will be significant.  Moses has just concluded a grand recollection of the way God has acted in Israel’s history and recounted the laws God had given them.  Now, Moses asks, why has God done all of this?  Why has God chosen us?  Why has God given us these commandments?
    Moses doesn’t give the reader/listener long to reflect.  The answer, it seems, is too important.  It is an answer based not on Israel’s debt to God or even on earning God’s favor.  God does not expect Israel to pay him back for what he has done.  What God requires from Israel is a reciprocation of his love for them.  It is a reminder of the great Shema in 6:3-9.  Israel’s chief aim is to love God and display his love via their actions.  We learn from Moses five proper responses intensified by a compacted arrangement:[8]

1. to fear the LORD your God
2. to walk in his ways
3. to love him
4. to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul
5. and to observe all of his commands and decrees

~prior posts~
reciprocal and imitative love .:1:.
reciprocal and imitative love .:2:.
reciprocal and imitative love .:3:.

~footnotes~

1.   Deut 4:1; 5:1; 6:3-4; 9:1; 10:12; 20:3.  McConville suggests that “the opening words, ‘So now Israel’, as in 4:1, mark a turning from historical reminiscence to command.” McConville, 199
2.   McConville offers: “This clustering has the marks of a recollection and summation.  The elements in v. 12b are grouped closely, whereas they were more widely spread in ch. 6.” Ibid., 199

reciprocal and imitative love .:3:.

OVERVIEW of Deuteronomy 10:12-11:1 ~ THE CALLS & REMINDERS OF LOVE

    I'm spending the time writing all of this commentary on a few verses in Deuteronomy because I believe the themes of this Old Testament passage are so important.  This series may have a bit too much of an academic feel to it... but the detail, I believe, is really cool!  Basically, we learn from Deuteronomy that: God loves, we should reciprocate God's love, and we should imitate God's love towards others.  While these are the themes we have come to expect from the New Testament, we tend to overlook the fact that these are the themes of the Old Testament too!  It's true that each of these themes is highlighted in one remarkably rich section in Deuteronomy 10:12-11:1- which is why I am taking the effort to study it so in depth.
    This passage makes plain God’s desire to be loved by his people, reminds Israel of God’s extraordinary love for them, and urges Israel to display a life of love towards others patterned after God’s loving action. As well, this section exemplifies Moses’ rhetorical stylistic purpose for Deuteronomy so that listeners of its oral presentation would best be able to absorb the substance of the message.[1]   
    This frequently visited deuteronomic theme comes to a crescendo in this passage.  With this in mind, Christopher J.H. Wright says:

[This] is unquestionably one of the richest texts in the Hebrew Bible, exalted and poetic in its language, comprehensive and challenging in its message.  It purposely tries to ‘boil down’ the whole theological and ethical content of the book into memorable phraseology, packed and pregnant, rich and resonant of all the surrounding preaching.  Indeed, there are not many dimensions of ‘OT Theology,’ that are not directly expressed or indirectly echoed in this mini-symphony of faith and life.[2] 

    This section, which is bracketed by a call to exhibit love to the Lord (10:12; 11:1), is the first part of a cohesive speech running from 10:12 to 11:31.[3]   J.G. McConville notes that this speech is “a kind of summation of themes up to this point” and that it also prepares and exposits the “main deuteronomic themes” to come.[4]   He also points out that this section “is forward-looking, though it draws extensively on themes and motifs in 1:1-10:11.” [5]   The second part of this speech serves as an extrapolation of the compact proclamations of 10:12-11:1.
    We learn in these verses that the Lord promotes love as the uniquely identifying marker of his people.  Though God will not force love, he does call for it. God wants his people to embody his love in such a way that they embrace the transformational implications of it.  Receiving God’s love means responding reciprocally to the Lord and also responding outwardly in a show of love for others.  Just as God loves, so are his people to love.  Just as God loves through emotion and action, so are his people to love emotionally and in action.  The following five rhythmic movements of the passage reveal these themes; namely, that God’s purpose for giving the law was namely to draw people into a living relationship with him evidenced in loving reciprocal and imitative action. 

1. We discover in verses 10:12-13 a profound summary of the practice God desires from his people.  It is a practice hinged upon love, acted upon through obedience, stemming from their relationship with God. 
2. Verses 14-16 remind the reader (or listener) that despite God’s infinite identity, he lovingly and humbly chose Israel to be his own.  Therefore, Israel should reciprocate in loving humility towards God. 
3. Verses 17-19 remind the reader/listener of God’s reign over every other power (whether actual or perceived) and as such God has no need to favor anyone.  And repeated positively, it could be said that God offers his favor to everyone by defending and caring for them.  Therefore, Israel should, likewise, love others without partiality. 
4. Verses 20-22 remind the reader/listener that because God chose Israel uniquely, he also requires a unique obligatory response from them.[6]   
5. And finally, verse 11:1 serves as a book-ending and summarizing statement echoing the call of love.

~prior posts~
reciprocal and imitative love .:1:.
reciprocal and imitative love .:2:.

~Footnotes~

1.   Tigay notes: “As befits Moses’ purpose, Deuteronomy has adopted a rhetorical style well suited to oral presentation.  Its sentences are long and flowing.  They are marked by assonance, key words, and stereotyped expressions, all valued features of oral presentation.  Themes are repeated frequently, a practice that enables listeners in a large audience to catch everything that is said.” Tigay, xviii-xix
2.   Wright, Christopher J.H. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary.  Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1996, 144.
3.   Some commentators (e.g. McConville) suggest that the first section of this unified speech is bracketed by “and now” in 10:12 and 10:22b.
4.   McConville, J.G. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary.  Leicester, England, 2002, 197.
5.   Ibid., 197
6.   Regarding literary structure, Wright observes: “The six verses of 10:14-19 are carefully structured as a pair of matching triplets: verses 14,15,16 and verses 17,18, 19.  In each of the two passages there is an opening, hymn-like exaltation of Yahweh with resounding superlatives (vv.14,17).”  Wright, 145-146

reciprocal and imitative love .:2:.

    .: Here's more about how the Old Testament actually teaches us that God is a loving God- and how we need to respond :. 

        Even a cursory glance at Deuteronomy reveals the emphasis of a three-fold movement of love.  In Deuteronomy, God is depicted as a God who loves, who wants his love to be reciprocated, and who wants his love to be imitated.  First and foremost, it is noted that the dominating motivation of the book is the unswerving and personal love that God exhibits for Israel.  We learn, almost scandalously, that God chose Israel, treasures them and continuously cares for them even though he is the Holy, Almighty God and they are no greater than any other nation on earth (Deut 4:37; 5:10; 7:6-8, 13; 10:15; 14:2; 18:5; 23:5; 26:18; 33:12).  Secondly, it is observed that because he personally loves Israel, God wants the objects of his affection to respond in love for him.  God desires a relationship with those whom he chooses. In other words, God wants Israel to reciprocate his love for them.  So it is in that theme that Deuteronomy frequently encourages Israel to wholeheartedly and actively love their God” (Deut 6:5; 10:12; 11:1, 13, 22; 13:3; 19:9; 30:6, 16, 20).  Thirdly, it is also witnessed in Deuteronomy that because God practices love towards Israel, God longs for Israel to show love for others in a similar manner.  This revolutionary exercise of choosing, treasuring and caring was extended specifically in Deuteronomy to resident aliens, widows and orphans.  God desires that his loving character and action be reflected in the lifestyle of those whom he loves (Deut 1:16; 10:18-19; 16:11, 14; 23:7; 24:14, 17, 19-21; 26:11-13).  In other words, God wants Israel to imitate his merciful love for their neighbors… especially those in need.  A brief overview of Deuteronomy could be summed up simply with this triune formula:
        1.    God loves Israel
        2.    So Israel should reciprocate God’s love
        3.    So Israel should imitate God’s love for others

Reciprocal and Imitative Love .:1:.

Let us love our God supremely,
Let us our love our brothers too
Let us pray and care for people
‘Til God makes our lives anew. *

    In many churches across North America, the Old Testament is generally considered to be irrelevant to life in the 21st century.  Many Christians today, steeped in modern and independent religious habits, consider the commands and laws of the Old Testament to be restrictive in purpose.  Many would believe that the laws were put in place to set tight boundaries to produce fear of God, cultic pursuit of holiness, and even to frustrate personal spiritual freedoms.  The end result, in the minds of many Christians today, is that the Old Testament laws actually served to distance people from an intimate relationship with a Holy, Jealous God.  A lopsided emphasis on a Pauline correlation between the Old Testament law and judgment [e.g. “the law was added so trespass might increase” (Rom 5:20) or “because law brings wrath” (Rom 4:15)] has been reinforced from North American pulpits.  In this vain, evangelical traditions in North America have often tended to paint the requirements of God in the Old Testament as antiquated standards of a demanding religion now buried in the onslaught of grace in Jesus Christ.  And so, as a result, many sincere Christians today believe that the word “love” is not descriptive of the Old Testament.  Of course, some of the Old Testament laws, such as honoring parents and not murdering, are respected in Christian circles because they are deemed socially positive guidelines in virtually any era or culture.  But it is completely likely that many Christians would concur that “God is love” is a New Testament idea which is not descriptive of the Old Testament portrait of God.
    The book of Deuteronomy, however, proves otherwise.  Throughout this poetic, sermonic volume, God’s love for his people is put on display.  And this love is not portrayed as a one-sided affection, a crush from afar, but rather as the Almighty’s yearning desire for reciprocation and imitation.  Deuteronomy depicts a God who longs to love and to be loved.  And from this relationship, God wants to see the objects of his love reflect his character by becoming subjects of love towards others as well.  In what would be surprising to many North American Christians, the New Testament actually reverberates with the same loving action of God that is so embedded within the words of Deuteronomy.  That is why Paul said, “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith?  Not at all!  We uphold the law” (Rom 3:31). That is why Paul concluded, “So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good” (Rom 7:12). That is why Paul also said, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law” (Rom 7:22). This is how Paul could say that “the entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal 5:14; Rom 13:9).  It is the oft-overlooked, over-arching themes of Deuteronomy that Paul reflects when he says, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law… [for] love does no harm to its neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom 13:8,10: cf. Deut 15:1-18).  Of course, no Christian could deny Jesus’ affirmation of the emphasis of love declared in the words of Deuteronomy: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets are summed up in these two commandments.” (Matt 22:37-40; Mk 12:29-34; Lk 10:27; cf. also Jam 2:8).
    Jeffrey Tigay, in the JPS Torah Commentary effectively sums up the astonishing revelation of the intimate and personal nature of God’s love for his people as depicted in Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy emphasizes that the bond between God and Israel is not merely legal, but spiritual and emotional as well.  It reminds Israel of God’s love for her and calls on her to love and revere him with all her heart, soul, and might, devoting her entire being to Him.  It conceives of a relationship so intense that it can be described in terms normally used of romantic love: God was ‘drawn in His love for Israel’s ancestors’ (10:15) and Israel is to ‘hold fast’ to Him (4:4; 10:20; 11:22).**

*(From the hymn “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship” by George Atkins with these alternate words by Bryan Jeffery Leech, ©1976 Fred Bock Music Company)

** Tigay, Jeffrey H. The JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation. Philadelphia: PA, 1996, xv.

random thought about leadership

I woke up this morning with this random thought on leadership:

         In the eyes of most people, to resist the seizure of prominence is to reject the opportunity of leadership.  Throughout history, the common measurement of leadership has been the quantity of followers and accomplishments, the display of power and control, or the ever-increasing climb of positional influence. The ancient Israelites are a good example.  They wanted a king so that they could be weighed on the same scales as all the other nations (1 Samuel 8:5 and Deut 17:16-20).   Everybody around them wanted a kingly leader.  So they too began to desire an impressive man who was a head above the rest- a warrior, a public speaker, an influencer, a human power dealer, a god of a man.  So, the Israelites got Saul, and in subsequent generations, numerous kings like him.  The Israelites sought to be led by men who placed their own innate talent and drive for influence and authority above their relationship with God and with others.
        But God measures leadership according to humility.  God called Moses to lead the multitude of Israelites out of Egypt, not with might, nor with power, but with God’s Spirit in his heart and hands.  Moses, armed only with a staff of wood and no followers except Aaron, faced Pharaoh, armed with the greatest armies, buildings, economies, and religious customs the world had ever seen.  The clash was dramatic in its contrast: God’s modest version of a leader versus the world’s leadership epitome. 
        Moses won.

conversion: the heart circumcised

        The whole of the Bible reveals God’s initiative of conversion and salvation.  From the Flood to Abraham to David to Nehemiah to Zacchaeus to Paul, it is clear that God has always been the business of turning people around and starting them anew both on a corporate and individual scale.
        In the Old Testament, the emphasis of conversion is especially evident in some texts like Deuteronomy, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.  These books each underscore the idea of people wandering in darkness and needing salvation.  Each of these three books use vivid metaphors to describe the process by which a person passed from the Kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God.  Some metaphors refer to God’s gathering of a scattered people, God’s caring for a downtrodden people (Lv 19:34; Ho 2:23),  and God’s unfailing love for a repentant people (Jl 2:13; Mi 7:18).   But the repetitive metaphor that perhaps most resonates with the familiar New Testament pictures of conversion and salvation is the metaphor of a new heart.  Echoing in Jesus’ words to Nicodemus, God in the Old Testament yearns for people to be recreated with a heart that reflects his own love so that they can see his Kingdom and know that God is the LORD.  For that reason, God repeatedly urges humanity, specifically through Israel, to turn from their sin and allow him to rework their hearts. 

circumcision
        The creation of a new heart is sometimes painted in the lovely term "circumcision."  Yikes!  In the language of circumcision, the human heart is reshaped through a sacrificial process whereby we are rid of those things that hinder our love for God.  In other words, as the metaphor suggests, the unholy is cut off, pruned so to speak, so that the heart can flourish in righteousness.  For instance, Deuteronomy 10:16 instructs the Israelites to “circumcise” their hearts in response to God’s love for them.  Later on, in Deuteronomy 30:6, the Israelites are assured directly that God himself would perform the circumcision on their hearts so that they would be able to love God with all their heart and with all their soul.  Jeremiah 4:4 urges the Israelites to let God circumcise their hearts, admonishing them to comply… or face God’s wrath.  The New Testament agrees, saying that a circumcised heart cannot be accomplished through human means, but only is instead brought about through the regenerative change initiated by the Spirit (Ro 2:29).