Week 2 Assignment
In my paper I will try to explain the relationship the Pentateuch
has to the origin of the nation of Israel, the intended purpose, and the bearing of the Pentateuch on the relationship between God and Israel.
ORIGIN
“In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
Genesis 2:7 Then the
Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and man became a living being.”
The beginning of the nation of Israel.
The Pentateuch shows the establishment of Israel as a nation. “Four-fifths of the Pentateuch--Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy – or one sixth of the Old Testament portrays
the 40-year leadership of Moses and God’s revelation to Israel”. It is devoted
to “the miraculous deliverance and establishment of Israel as a nation.” (THE PENTATEUCH, New American Standard Bible
The Open Bible, 1978, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
THE INTENDED PURPOSE
Fellowship – I believe God created man and the
nation of Israel for fellowship and for His glory.
Never Thirsty, an internet site, quotes, “Genesis 3:8 tells us that God
visited Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.”
Why would He visit them? “What is
man that You magnify him, and that You are concerned about him, that You
examine him every morning and try him every moment? (NASB) Job 7:17-18. Job
states that God is concerned about us and watches us every day. That implies
that He cares about us.” I believe God sought a relationship with Israel that
would give him fellowship.
Also, reading the post “Relationship
with God”, Andrew Wommack Ministries,
Adam and Eve talked with God every day but they still didn’t know God very
well. They didn’t have the information “that
God loved them so much that He would give His only Son to die for them so we
might life.”
Isiah 43:7 reads “whom I created for my glory” and Psalm 86:12 “I will
praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.”
This is what God created the nation of Israel for – to glorify Him.
THE BEARING OF THE PENTATEUCH ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOD AND
ISRAEL
The relationship between God and Israel – the nation of Israel was to
magnify the miracles of God through praise, worship, song, dance, and literally
everything it does. God desires for Israel to glorify His name in all that they
do.
On the internet
website www.allabouttruth.org, the
page about The Pentateuch states: “These
five books of Moses are meant to be read as a whole. In them together you find
the foundation of the world, the beginning of our history, and the infinite God
who keeps His promises.”
As I read the last
two paragraphs of Chapter 11 of our textbook “Discovering the Old Testament:
Story and Faith,” the conclusion of the Torah is brought to life. “It is
an invitation to Israel to rise up as a people who live in the experience of
seeing God and knowing Him “face to face” as Moses did.”
REFERENCES
THE PENTATEUCH, New
American Standard Bible, The Open Bible, 1978, Thomas Nelson Publishers
Like The Master Ministries, (2016) Retrieved from www.neverthirsty.org/bible-qa/qa-archives/is-our-purpose-in-life-to-have-fellowshio-with-god/
Andrew Wommack Ministries, (2016) Retrieved from www.awmi.net/reading/teaching-articles/relationship
_god/
Branson, R., & Edlin, J. (2003). Discovering the Old Testament: Story and
Faith. p. 131.
Beacon Hill Press, Kansas City.
