Deutero....what??

This week we have been studying the former prophets. Former, doesn't mean that they came before them in historical timeline, this classification is referring only to their location in our Biblical cannon. So what books make up the former prophets? Joshua, Judges, (not Ruth), 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings. These books are also referred to as the Deuteronomistic History. This title (very simply put) is based on the theological perspective that these books have, which is that of the Deuteronomist. As we have talked about in previous posts, when reading any scripture we need to look at all aspects that influenced the composition of that piece. Should we see these texts as historical? Yes and no. They are a part of history, but they were written with a purpose to a particular audience.. and that is the history that is important for us to focus on today! 

Check out this Blog, there is a great explanation of historical writings:

"People always write about the past because they wish to communicate some kind of truth to their readers or to advocate some kind of virtue. It has always been so; it will always remain so."

Lets keep this quote in mind as we head into analyzing some scripture passages from the Former Prophets. We are going to look at five scripture passages, go over what each implies/says about faithfulness to Y*WH, covenant and how this is effected by social and political history.

• Deuteronomy 28:1-68
• Joshua 23:1-16
• 1 Samuel 12:1-25
• 2 Kings 17:5-18
• 2 Chronicles 36:11-21

Deuteronomy 28:1-68
To Obey....or not to Obey

Verse 1-14 of this chapter talk about the blessings for obedience to the commandments. A whopping 14 verses. How many verses talk about the punishments for disobedience? 15-68! To me, this says that disobedience was where the problem was at and there for what our author wanted to focus on.

The blessings that are described sound pretty great! This passage makes it sound like as long as you follow the commands and keep the covenant, life will be peachy keen. 

When do bad things happen? When you are disobedient (or that is what this passage implies). In the instance if you are disobedient:

          the Lord will take delight in bringing you to ruin and destruction; you shall be plucked                         off the land that you are entering to possess. (v.63)

Wow, pretty intense... and pretty hard to swollen. Harsh descriptions must have been a scare tactic to promote obedience. 

Joshua 23:1-16

Incase you forgot... here's a reminder

This passage does a lot of 'reminding' of the blessings and 'benefits' of following God's commands. These verse take more of a hopeful sense, pointing to the past as proof or evidence of God's fulfillment of following through with blessings when the people are faithful. Then there is also mention of the curses bound to befall all who are unfaithful to God and the covenant made.

1 Samuel 12:1-25

Did you forget again? Because here is another reminder

Samuel also goes over historical evidence of God's faithfulness to those who keep the covenant. These passages go all the way back to Moses and Egyptian exile and continues recounting history up until the point of the current address. Samuel calls upon the Lord and the Lord rewards him for his faithfulness. 

This is going over the same theme as the other passages: good things happen to you when you are good, bad things happen to you when you are bad. (a sticky view point for our common mindset)

2 Kings 17:5-18

Bad people? Bad times.

Here we see the consequences for disobedience. This specific passage recounts the Babylonian exile. This is shown to be a direct result to the people worshiping false gods and going against their covenant.

2 Chronicles 36:11-21

Bad people? Bad times... continued.

This is another explanation of the exile as a direct result of disobedience, this addresses the disobedience of the monarchy as well as the people. The Lord sent prophets and the people ignored them and mistreated them. The result/consequences? You guessed it... not positive!

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The biggest challenge for me with these scripture passages is the reasoning for misfortune. Misfortune is seen as only a result of disobedience and breaking of the covenant, So if you obey only good things will happen to you. (I know I know, we need to think about context and the times for which it was written). 

What can we take away from this: These writing definitely wanted to convey the path of obedience and there could be disastrous and extreme consequences if a different path is chosen!