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Covenants In The Old Testament
Covenant: Essay
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In his book, Structure of Biblical Authority, Meredith Kline explains, describes, and defends the suzerain-vassal paradigm of the biblical covenant and canon of Scripture. Scripture’s authority, according to Kline is not merely related to its ontology (that God has spoken it); but in its basic economic form, Scripture is a covenantal document and therefore is authoritative. It is through this covenant that God binds himself to his covenant people and they to him. As our covenant suzerain, God sovereignly rules his vassals with covenant stipulations.
Part One
In chapter one, Formal Origins of Biblical Canon, Kline shows how the origin of the Old Testament canon, coincided with the founding of Israel at the establishment of the covenant at Sinai. It is around this very treaty that the totality of the Old Testament canon was formed. Therefore, canon is inherent in covenant: the same type of covenants which were attested in the ancient world. Therefore, we ought to turn to this structure to gain perspective and insight on the particular structure and communication of God with man in the Scriptures.
In chapter two, Covenantal Bible, Kline applies the first chapter in answering the question, “Are all the Scriptures covenantal?”. He answers in two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. His answer for the Old Testament is that the treaty form which was adopted shows the remarkable unfolding of the covenant relationship between God and His people. The Old Testament represents the adaptation of the treaty form, yet maintained creativity and originality establishing a formal covenantal corpus for God’s people. This lays the proper groundwork for viewing the distinction between the Old and New Testaments. More than mere association...
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...ssing features of both Exodus and the gospels. They both have as their literary center of gravity “an account of the inauguration of a divine covenant, set within a record of the the covenant mediator’s career and of the law of the community promulgated by the mediator” (181). Kline goes on to lay out feature after feature of the similarities and purposeful differences (how Christ fulfills the law in its cursings and blessings). While Exodus established the Old Covenant, the Gospels establish the New. Both were authored by the same Spirit.
The Structure of Biblical Authority has helped me understand the general layout and purpose of the Canon. It also offers a proper perspective on laws, covenants, and events contained in both the Old and New Covenants.
Works Cited
Kline, Meredith G. The Structure of Biblical Authority. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1997.
The Bible is read and interpreted by many people all over the world. Regardless, no one knows the absolute truth behind scripture. Walter Brueggemann, professor of Old Testament, wrote “Biblical Authority” to help people understand what he describes as six different parts that make up the foundation to ones understanding of scripture. He defines these six features as being: inherency, interpretation, imagination, ideology, inspiration, and importance. As Brueggemann explains each individual part, it is easy to see that they are all interconnected because no one can practice one facet without involuntarily practicing at least one other part.
Writings of historical scholars, Josephus, Aristotle, and Plato, to name a few, are taken as truth and fact, yet the writings of the Scripture are constantly disputed. Why? Perhaps because of the ethical imperatives imposed to which people do not want to adhere. Perhaps because of man’s ego and pride that disallows them to submit to a Higher Authority. Nonetheless, The Bible has been, and still remains, the most widely read and revered book of all
The Hebrew Bible, better known as the Old Testament, is a collection of tomes that form part of the Biblical canon. Many scholars around the world do not think that a single author wrote the books contained in the Hebrew Bible, but rather that it represents centuries of stories frequently compiled after the events they describe . The stories were created with visions for the future, in order to allow audiences insight into communities and beliefs that were common thought during their era. The stories responded to the issues and problems of their time, but also addressed contemporary climates. While the stories themselves may not be true, they convey truth without needing literal readings. For example, the creation stories in Genesis, portray God as creating the universe, and while this is considered as not ‘literally true’; the stories communicate theological truths about mankind’s relationship with God through the eyes of Hebrew writers .
Metzger, B. (1997). The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance. New York.
(Michigan;Dunham Publishing Company,1969). pages 76-108 Other resources: Strong’s Concordance young’s Analytical Concordance Harper’s Bible Dictionary NIV Application Commentary
Noth, "God, King and Nation in the Old Testament", The Laws in the Pentateuch and other Essays, Oliver & Boyd 1966.
The Old Testament is divided into six major sections. During each of these sections, elements of Old Testament history foreshadow various New Testament themes and events. Some of these various accounts recorded in the Old Testament are prophetical in nature and foretell specific details about various events that will be fulfilled in New Testament times. Each of the six major sections carries its own unique overarching theme that will in some way tie into New Testament history and theology. The six major sections of Old Testament are: creation (Genesis 1-11), covenant (Genesis 12-50), congr...
Charlesworth, Matthew. "The Covenants in the Old Testament." Academia.edu. N.p., 28 Nov. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
Authority of Scripture reconciles the community with God and can transform our lives. To participate in the fuller blessing of understanding, it is important to view Scripture with historical and literary sensitivity, interpret theocentrically, ecclesially, and contextually. I realize each of these can be overwhelming to the average person who is seeking direction for a specific concern in their life. Therefore, Migliore reminds us, interpreting Scripture is practical engagement in the living of Christian faith, love, and hope in a still redeemed world. When we listen carefully to the voices of the past, from a worldwide culture, and guided by the Holy Spirit, we will open ourselves to those transformational opportunities.
Forgive the pun, but my mental image for understanding the biblical canon's purpose is that of, well, a "cannon." Much like artillery directing an explosion to launch a projectile, scripture guides our religious fervor "so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:17). This means, of course, that the trajectory of the Bible will extend beyond the written word - not unlike how a canno...
For centuries now Christians have claimed to possess the special revelation of an omnipotent, loving Deity who is sovereign over all of His creation. This special revelation is in written form and is what has come to be known as The Bible which consists of two books. The first book is the Hebrew Scriptures, written by prophets in a time that was before Christ, and the second book is the New Testament, which was written by Apostles and disciples of the risen Lord after His ascension. It is well documented that Christians in the context of the early first century were used to viewing a set of writings as being not only authoritative, but divinely inspired. The fact that there were certain books out in the public that were written by followers of Jesus and recognized as being just as authoritative as the Hebrew Scriptures was never under debate. The disagreement between some groups of Christians and Gnostics centered on which exact group of books were divinely inspired and which were not. The debate also took place over the way we can know for sure what God would have us include in a book of divinely inspired writings. This ultimately led to the formation of the Biblical canon in the next centuries. Some may ask, “Isn’t Jesus really the only thing that we can and should call God’s Word?” and “Isn’t the Bible just a man made collection of writings all centered on the same thing, Jesus Christ?” This paper summarizes some of the evidences for the Old and New Testament canon’s accuracy in choosing God breathed, authoritative writings and then reflects on the wide ranging
It was deemed that the books of the New Testament that are authentically apostolic in nature were included in the Bible. This strict appraisal process used by the church fathers to determine the legitimacy of certain books in the bible is the reason why scripture, once it becomes part of church canon it is incorruptible. Furthermore, because tradition stems from scriptural interpretation that it can be corruptible as it relies on the judgment of human beings, whose interpretations may be driven by internal
But when it comes to Old Testament, Covenant refers to two or more parties bonded together. For instance, legal treaties between kings and subjects existed during the Bible period like Moses, Joshua.
The nature of Scripture and the authority of Scripture are two characteristics carefully entwined in such a way that creates an impossibility for them to not affect each other. They directly influence each other. Evangelicalism, Liberalism, and Neo-Orthodoxy all have differing views of the nature and authority of Scripture. Evangelicalism takes up the view that the Bible, Scripture, is infallible (Lane, 2006, p. 255). Scripture is God’s word and is therefore fully truth (Lane, 2006, p. 256). People under Evangelicalism equate Scripture with God’s spoken word, and they believe that though God and humans are both authors, the human author was divinely prepared by God to write out His word (Lane, 2006, p. 257). They believe that “the Bible is the supreme authority for faith and practice” (Bingham, 2002, p. 162). Liberalism takes a different view on the Scripture. In Liberalism, religion is “nothing but feeling and experience” (Lane, 2006, p. 238). This reduces the authority and value of Scripture. Scripture is not seen as God’s word or His revelation but as a written record of the experiences of humans, which takes away from its divinity and authority (Lane, 2006, p. 239). Schleiermacher, the father of Liber...
Answering these questions is the purpose of this essay. I begin by arguing that the Bible cannot be adequately understood independent of its historical context. I concede later that historical context alone however is insufficient, for the Bible is a living-breathing document as relevant to us today as it was the day it was scribed. I conclude we need both testimonies of God at work to fully appreciate how the Bible speaks to us.