Friday: Further Thought ~ Deuteronomy in the Later Writings
Further Thought:
“This [Micah 6:1-8] is one of the great passages of the OT. It, like Amos 5:24 and Hosea 6:6, epitomizes the message of the eighth-century prophets.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
The passage opens with a beautiful example of a covenant lawsuit in which the prophet summons the people to hear the charge Yahweh has against them. The mountains and hills are the jury because they have been around a long time and have witnessed God’s dealing with Israel. Rather than directly charging Israel with breaking the covenant, God asks Israel if they have any charges against him. ‘What have I done? How have I wearied you?’ In the face of injustice some of the poor people may have become ‘weary in well doing.’ In the face of opportunities to get rich quick some of the land-owners might have grown weary of keeping the covenant laws.” — Ralph L. Smith, Word Biblical Commentary, Micah-Malachi, (Grand Rapids, MI: Word Books, 1984), vol. 32, p. 50.
“In the reformation that followed, the king [Josiah] turned his attention to the destruction of every vestige of idolatry that remained. So long had the inhabitants of the land followed the customs of the surrounding nations in bowing down to images of wood and stone, that it seemed almost beyond the power of man to remove every trace of these evils. But Josiah persevered in his effort to cleanse the land.” — Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 401.
Discussion Questions:
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- Sure, we’re Seventh-day Adventists, and with our present truth message, we see ourselves and (rightly so) in the same place that ancient Israel had been in: having truths that the world around them needed to hear. It’s a great privilege for us. How well, though, do you think we are living up to the responsibilities that come with such privilege?
- In class go over the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27. What role does the covenant have in that prophecy, and why is the idea of covenant so important to it — and to us?
- Imagine being Daniel, having seen your nation invaded and defeated, and knowing that the temple, the center of your whole religious faith, was destroyed by idolatrous pagans. How, though, could knowledge of the book of Deuteronomy been very faith-sustaining for him (or any other Jew) at this time? That is, how did the book help him understand all that was happening and why it happened? In a similar way, how does our understanding of Scripture as a whole help us deal with trying times and events that otherwise, without our knowledge of Scripture, could be very discouraging to us? What should the answer teach us about how central the Bible must be to our faith?
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Seventh-day Adventists look at the Torah with Christian eyes and make distinctions between the Ten commandments and the rest of the law. We use words like "binding" and "non-binding", "done way with at the cross", "fulfilled" and so on. Much of this argument has to do with our view of the importance of the Sabbath. I am not arguing that the Sabbath is not important, but rather I wasn't to emphasise once again the importance of perspective.
In a nutshell, when we lose our vision of God and his purpose, the big loser is always justice and mercy. Today's lesson mentions three Old Testament passages that emphasise this point:
Every time that apostasy took hold of those who professed to believe in God, the big loser was always justice and mercy. Is it any wonder that the pictures we have of the judgement in the New Testament mention things like cups of cold water, visiting the sick and imprisoned and so on.
Is it possible that in our defence of "Seventh-day Adventism" we forget the big principles of Justice and Mercy? Or, to put it another way how does our belief system help us to see the needs of others and support them in a way that points them to Jesus?
Today's lesson again refers to the notion of God presenting a lawsuit against Israel - complete with charges being presented before a jury. I decided to have a deeper look into the original Hebrew of Micah 6:1-8 and found that there is an alternative portrayal of what is going on. The words that have been translated within a legal framework can also refer to entering into a 'debate' - but not in the formal type that we might think of as per a high-school or university debate.
Rather, this is an intensely personal and passionately appealing effort undertaken by the initiating party in order to see if perhaps they have missed understanding something that would explain why the other person done what they have done - yet at the same time humbly confident that they have done everything possible and therefore trying to lead the other person to see that every possible chance is being given to them. You might see something like this when a lover is trying to find out why the other party has chosen someone else who will only hurt and abuse them, rather than the lover who is committed to loving them 'perfectly' (as per the story of Hosea and his prostituting wife). Thus, it is a 'debate' that is a deeply personal and passionate appeal that is again reflective of the heart-breaking tone* of Jesus in Matthew 23:37.
On the one hand, God is infinitely powerful to the degree that there is no-one that can match the I AM. But this infinite Sovereign is often 'desperately' (using this word loosely) pleading with His people in a way that could almost be misperceived as embarrassingly vulnerable - though is instead a manifestation of a shameless, overflowing of infinite compassion. Yet this is the God that I find represented in scripture when I dig a little deeper. And as I behold this God, my heart is melted and my compassion for others is awakened. By beholding, I am becoming changed... (2 Corinthians 3:18).
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* note that the tone is other-focussed not self-focussed. It is 'desperate' for the wellbeing of the other, not upset because its love has not been 'loved back in return'.
Phil. Excellent perspective and portrayal of God’s benevolence! Thank you.
I recall a saying “close your mouth so I can hear what you are saying”. Actions speak more than our words. We can know and say all the right things but living a life is gone most important. My prayer each day and many times a day is to let Jesus shine through and His will be done in all that I do and say.
Over the years of bible study, I have learned that ‘the moral aspect of every deed expresses the heart, the spiritual aspect of our actions’, and that this is the most important aspect of all our ‘deeds’(life). God's love, mercy, grace extended to our fellow man by that which we call our life is what the Father looks to establish in us.
The hardheadedness and the stony heart of man is the result of our original parents deed of eating the fruit of the ‘Tree of the ‘knowledge of good and evil’; now, man reasons and follows his own mind what is good and right. This condition is the reality for the unredeemed; they have only themselves and others like them to go to when needing answers to life’s questions. But our Creator has told/shown us what is good, and those who hear his voice will act upon it - Micah 6:8!
It is essential to life for us to know and believe what our Lord declares to be good in order to do that which is right. It is essential for the seeker of Truth to know that true life is found only in the ‘Righteousness of the Lord’ – Micah 6:5!
Deuteronomy, John, Psalms and Proverbs are books which tell it all; their message can be easily understood by those who love the Father and seek counsel from Him. How many times does our heavenly Father need to repeat the same message to His children before we believe Him with all our heart and soul – John11:25-26KJV.
Many of you remember, taking a word from last week's lesson, remember in 1900's the King's Hearlds, Ray Turner, Bob Edwards, Jim Ayars, Wayne Hooper, Bob Seamount, John Thurber, Jim McClintock, and many more. One of my favorite songs they sang was: "I want to dig, I want to dig a little deeper in the store house of God's love..."
When we put on our thinking caps, asking that the Holy Spirit guide our thinking, we can see that the authors had a excellent partial illustration of a covanent relationship with God, which is the justice portion of the covenant. Previously this quarter we studied a God of Love and a God of Mercy.. This week we studied the covenent between God and us. From that prospective, the lawsuit. For love, mercy, and justice, a marrage relationship is a good illistration of a covenent relationship with God.
Daniels prayer, in chapter 9 is depicting a covenent relationship of love, confesssion, forgiveness, repentance, consecration, live for Him. May I add in Jeremiah's prayer? Jeremiah
chapter 17. Heal me and I am healed, save me and I am saved. Those prayers are in behalf of God's people. Not only that, they teach us the Gospel, how and what to pray for, foder for our prayers. I like David's prayers also.
The Book of the Law is Deuteronomy. Josiah used it, How important it is, was certainly pointed out this week. God did not only give His law, He detailed it, and the covenent with how it pertains to our wellbeing. Again a loving God, full of justice, and mercy.
Micah 6:1-8 is excellent, cutting to the core of Deuteromony, both are essential, giving us the what to do as a covenant keeper, living the victorious life.