God's Establishment of Order During Creation

Genesis 1-11 gives the accounts of God’s creation and recreation. It sounds very familiar to most of us, for we grew up hearing about it all the time. We have thought that it is a single creation story. However, the Hebrew Bible contains a few accounts of God’s creation. We will be looking further into the details of God’s creation story based on the given biblical texts: Isaiah 51:9, Job 9:4-14, Job 26:7-14, Job 38:1-11, Psalms 8:1-9, Psalms 74:12-17, Psalms 89:8-10, Psalms 104:1-9, Psalms 136:1-9, Proverbs 8:22-31.
 
Bandstra calls this pericope (Gen. 1-11) the Primeval Story, which consists of two parts: creation and recreation. The Primeval Story or Stories of Origins contain two narratives that are unrelated and different in their setting, characters, and plot. (Stanley, p. 205). According to the documentary hypothesis, one is called the Yahweh Elohim collection and the other the Elohim collection. (Bandstra, p. 75).  

 In reference to the two creation stories in Gen. 1:1—2:3 and 2:4-25, Bandstra states, “The first half of the Primeval Story contained two different versions of creation.  The first version was comprehensive in scope, giving account of the big moments of world creation yet also treating the creation of humans in God’s image. The second version makes only passing reference to the grand environment and dwells on human origination.” (Bandstra, p. 63). Therefore, we need to read the story behind the story in order to understand God’s creation of the universe.

Scrutinizing the given passages and Genesis 1-2 in comparison, I found more similarities than differences as listed below.

The similarities:

• God’s use of commanding and spoken words to create 
• Creation of heaven and earth, sun, moon and stars
• Setting boundaries of the earth; separating waters from the lands—water above and water beneath, stretching the vacuum to make the sky
• Humanity created in God's image and likeness to have dominion over all creation
• Creation of living creatures: animals, beasts of the field, wild beasts, fowls of the air, fish of the sea

The differences:

• The creation of Wisdom first and foremost
• The subjugation of mythical creatures (Rahab, Leviathan, dragon, flying serpent) 
• God putting chaos, disorder and darkness in control, and establishing order in the cosmos
• Humanity made slightly lesser than heavenly beings

 Here is my short alternate story of creation, using the differences found in the passages:

In the very beginning, God created Wisdom first (Prov. 8:22-31). Next, God encountered Rahab (Pride or Arrogance), Leviathan, dragon – the sea monsters, and the mythical beasts – causing chaos and disorder throughout the universe; armed with Wisdom, God defeated them all, struck them down, crushed and pierced them (Isa. 51:9; Job 9:13; Psa. 74:13; 89:10). He gathered clouds, sent wind and rain, and made lightning thunders to carry his message throughout the earth (Job 26:7-10; Prov. 8:27-29). God made humans slightly lesser than divine / heavenly beings (Psa. 8:4-7). God’s angels sang praise to him in unison, proclaiming the great wonders of his creation works when he established the order (Job 38:4-11). All was very good then.

This alternate story tells us about what happened during God’s creation. God armed with Wisdom (the first and foremost of God's creation) put the chaos and disorder under control and established the order of the universe. It also gives us information about some superpowers above and before the material world (the physical cosmos) was created. They are angels and other non-created beings such as Rahab, Leviathan, dragon, sea monsters, mythical beasts, who caused chaos and disorder during God’s creation. 

Therefore, I have quite a few questions concerning this story: How did these superpowers come into being? Had they coexisted with God before time? Or were they created some time in between? What about God’s angels? Was Yahweh Elohim of Israel finite or infinite for creation of all? I may not find all the answer to these, but I know that the creation stories in the Hebrew Bible are very interesting for us to read and tell people about our God the Creator of the heavens and the earth.


* Bibliography

Bandstra, Barry. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 2008.

Stanley, Christopher. The Hebrew Bible: A Comparative Approach. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2009.

Online Bible. Common English Bible (CEB) https://www.biblegateway.com

A Dramatic Tragedy in Israel’s Most Renowned Royal Family

This is a tragic story of the house of David. Israel has always been proud of David, its greatest king ever.  But how come a highly regarded royal family had a lot of messes and upside-downs within itself? David was a young hero, who killed Goliath of the Philistine. He became king over all Israel after Saul. He united all the tribes of Israel under his kingship. His nation was seeing stability, peace and prosperity. He had a lot of children from different wives and concubines. Perhaps, he did not have enough time for his many children, and could not unite them together, so they became selfish, stubborn, and rebellious. They neither really respected their father nor love and care for one another the way they should have done. They had their own lust, selfishness, wickedness and depravity. One day it showed up openly and publicly and exploded in David’s royal house.

The tragic story from 2 Samuel 13:1-33 below tells us something wrong about this renowned royal family. Here is a brief summary of it, “Amnon humiliated his half sister Tamar to gratify his sexual lust by raping her. Though David was very angry but did not chastised or punish him for this offense. Absalom organized a murder banquet to kill Amnon in retaliation for Tamar.” I am going to interlace more with it hereinafter as it goes.

Amnon rapes Tamar

13 Some time later, David’s son Amnon fell in love with Tamar the beautiful sister of Absalom, who was also David’s son. ² Amnon was so upset over his half sister that he made himself sick. She was a virgin, and it seemed impossible in Amnon’s view to do anything to her.

Amnon  fell in love with his half sister, Tamar, a beautiful virgin. He became sick because of her. Amnon was helped by Jonadab his cousin and friend to trap Tamar by pretending to be sick on bed. Tamar came to serve him food and was raped by Amnon, her half brother.

Amnon had a perverted sexual desire inside of him. He was selfish, lustful and emotionally uncontrollable. It seems that he followed David’s example or at least carried on this type of hereditary gene from his father (maybe too much estrogenic hormones).

³ But Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, Shimeah’s son, David’s brother, who was a very clever man.⁴ “Prince,” Jonadab said to him, “why are you so down, morning after morning? Tell me about it.” So Amnon told him, “I’m in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom.”
⁵ “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick,” Jonadab said to him. “When your father comes to see you, tell him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me some food to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I can watch and eat from her own hand.’” 

Jonadab was a friend of Amnon, but a real bad cousin of David’s children. I wonder why this clever guy rendered Amnon such an evil device. Were they really good friends? Did he take advantage of Amnon’s sick and depraved mind in this matter to cause chaos and animosity among the royal family members for his unknown purpose or just his mischief?

⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. The king came to see him, and Amnon told the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of heart-shaped cakes in front of me so I can eat from her hand.” ⁷ David sent word to Tamar at the palace: “Please go to your brother Amnon’s house and prepare some food for him.”

⁸ So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house where he was lying down. She took dough, kneaded it, made heart-shaped cakes in front of him, and then cooked them. ⁹ She took the pan and served Amnon, but he refused to eat. “Everyone leave me,” Amnon said. So everyone left him. ¹⁰ Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom so I can eat from your hand.” So Tamar took the heart-shaped cakes she had made and brought them to her brother Amnon in the bedroom. ¹¹ When she served him the food, he grabbed her and said, “Come have sex with me, my sister.” ¹² But she said to him, “No, my brother! Don’t rape me. Such a thing shouldn’t be done in Israel. Don’t do this horrible thing. ¹³ Think about me—where could I hide my shame? And you—you would become like some fool in Israel! Please, just talk to the king! He won’t keep me from marrying you.” ¹⁴ But Amnon refused to listen to her. He was stronger than she was, and so he raped her.

Tamar tried very hard but failed to prevent Amnon from doing such an evil thing to her by explaining and begging him. It is clear that women were treated with contempt and normally as sexual object no matter it is outside or inside the home. Men violently dominated the weaker sex for their own lustful desire. Finally, Amnon raped his sister.

¹⁵ But then Amnon felt intense hatred for her. In fact, his hatred for her was greater than the love he had felt for her. So Amnon told her, “Get out of here!”

After gratifying his sexual lust, Amnon told Tamar to get out of his place. This indicates that Amnon did not care about the consequence. Perhaps, he thought it would be okay afterwards.

¹⁶ “No, my brother!” she said. “Sending me away would be worse than the wrong you’ve already done.”

But Amnon wouldn’t listen to her. ¹⁷ He summoned his young servant and said, “Get this woman out of my presence and lock the door after her.” (¹⁸ She was wearing a long-sleeved robe because that was what the virgin princesses wore as garments.) So Amnon’s servant put her out and locked the door after her.

¹⁹ Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long-sleeved robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and walked away, crying as she went.

²⁰ Her brother Absalom said to her, “Has your brother Amnon been with you? Keep quiet about it for now, sister; he’s your brother. Don’t let it bother you.” So Tamar, a broken woman, lived in her brother Absalom’s house.

²¹ When King David heard about all this he got very angry, but he refused to punish his son Amnon because he loved him as his oldest child.

David did not do anything about this horrible offense because his love for Amnon his oldest son. Love sometimes overlooks the wrongdoings of others. It is no fair or just at all.

²² Absalom never spoke to Amnon, good word or bad, because he hated him for raping his sister Tamar.

Absalom kills Amnon

²³ Two years later, Absalom was shearing sheep at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, and he invited all the king’s sons. ²⁴ Absalom approached the king and said, “Your servant is shearing sheep. Would the king and his advisors please join me?”

²⁵ But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son. We shouldn’t all go, or we would be a burden on you.” Although Absalom urged him, the king wasn’t willing to go, although he gave Absalom a blessing.

²⁶ Then Absalom said, “If you won’t come, then let my brother Amnon go with us.”

“Why should he go with you?” they asked him. ²⁷ But Absalom urged him until he sent Amnon and all the other princes. Then Absalom made a banquet fit for a king.

 Why didn’t David sense something wrong from the invitation of Absalom, especially when he insisted on David sending Amnon and all other princes instead? Or he might not expect it to happen yet, at least in his lifetime as he thought he was still in control of his household and keep it in order.

²⁸ Absalom commanded his servants, “Be on the lookout! When Amnon is happy with wine and I tell you to strike Amnon down, then kill him! Don’t be afraid, because I myself am giving you the order. Be brave and strong men.” ²⁹ So Absalom’s servants did to Amnon just what he had commanded. Then all the princes got up, jumped onto their mules, and fled.

Absalom was an undercover murderer. He had harbored the plan of revenge for two years. It was good time for him to put his hand on Amnon, who raped and humiliated his sister Tamar. Absalom was as wicked as his enemy Amnon. He deceived his father and brothers all into his trap for the purpose of killing just one man. From here, I could see how wicked the men of the house of David were. How evil and perverted and brutal this royal family was!

³⁰ While they were on the way, the report came to David: “Absalom has killed all of the princes! Not one remains.” ³¹ The king got up, tore his garments, and lay on the ground. All his servants stood near him, their garments torn as well. ³² But Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, said, “My master shouldn’t think that all the young princes have been killed—only Amnon is dead. This has been Absalom’s plan ever since the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar. ³³ So don’t let this bother you, my master; don’t think that all the princes are dead, because only Amnon is dead.

It is interesting that King David got a wrong report about his princes. We do not know who gave David the report. I guess some of the servants of the princes might have shaken loose and ran sooner and faster than their masters or someone might have known about this murder spree went back to David and reported to him incorrectly. It appears that Jonadab, David’s nephew, knew the tragic result of David’s family because he was giving Amnon a wicked advice earlier, and that David did not know anything about this.

Of course, David was cut to heart because of this happening, and he mourned deeply for the death of his son Amnon, whom he loved so much. After such a tragedy in his family, David might become more precautious in the way of dealing with his children. I still wonder why David, the most honored King in Israel, could not rule his family well enough while successfully ruling his nation.

YHWH had favor on David and promised to build a perpetual dynasty for David and to enduringly support his line (Bandstra, 255). It is the Davidic covenant YHWH made with David. It seems that David neglected his military duty, but focused on his selfish enjoyment of life, building cities and palaces instead.

All the male characters of this story such as David, Absalom, Amnon and Jonadab portrayed the level of moral corruption and depravity in Israel. Tamar, the only female character, presented the wretched and lowly position of women in society, even in the royal family of David. Is it just another story telling the unfair treatment toward women in Israelite society before the eye of YHWH, the God of Israel? Or does this story narrative contain a plot element for something to happen in Israel as the Deuteronomistic historian or editor intends it?

Israelite Anarchy in Judges: A Transitional Period to Monarchy

Israelite Anarchy in Judges: A Transitional Period to Monarchy

Summary of Judges 19:1 – 21:25

A Levite man from the Ephraim highlands had a secondary wife (concubine) from Bethlehem in Judah (19:1). After his concubine had gone back to her father’s home (19:2), he went there to get her back to his home (19:3). He was sojourned there for five days with his father-in-law; on the sixth day he determinedly left the place and set off a journey back home (19:4-10). Because of a long way, he could not reach home before sunset, he had to stayed in the city square of Benjaminite Gibeah (19:15). He was invited by an old man to his home for an overnight stay (19:16). A group of perverted men of Benjamite tribe came and tried to attack him sexually but then they raped his concubine to death instead (19:22-28a). The Levite man took his wife’s body home the next day and cut it into twelve pieces to send to all Israelite places (19:28b-29). Not counting the tribe of Benjamin, all the rest of Israel responded as one in outrages and decided to punish the evil Benjamites (20:8-11). Israel waged war against Benjamites their relatives, killing all except 600 men left in hiding at the rock of Rimmon (20:46-48). It was a bloody civil war in their newly conquered land, with high death toll on both sides. Finally, the Israelites sent out a truce to these men and gave them a chance to live and replenish the tribe of Benjamin. They gave them young virgin women to take as their wives (21:12-13, 21).

Responses to the questions

Apparently, the book of Judges is part of the Deuteronomistic History (DH). In this particular pericope (19:1 – 21:25), the narrative story of a Levite man, an immigrant in the tribe of Benjamin, serves as a good ground for a great plot of seeking a monarchy to come that is seen artfully orchestrated in the book of Samuel. (Stanley, p. 264).

As we know the ancient heroic tales in Judges had been edited by the Deuteronomic redactors for their own purpose of promoting a good DH plan for the nation of Israel, in order for them to become a unique people of the region at least or of the world later at most. The story might have served as a Deuteronomic message to the original hearers in ancient Israel. It indicates the need for a faithful king who could bring the people back to Yahweh their God was justified by the Deuteronomistic historian. The book of Samuel seems to fit in with this purpose at an appropriate time for the rise of kingship. Therefore, this passage in the book of Judges is transitional between the era of Israelite tribal judges and the formation of a first monarchy in the nation. (Bandstra, p. 237).

The central message of the story is that the people of Israel without a king were generally living their own anarchic way of life.  Judges 19:1 & 21:25 “…there was no king in Israel…” seem to be the key verses in the book of Judges. They served as a preliminary ground for Israel to request a king or to start a monarchy, and it was reasonable and logic. In the last three chapters of this book, we do not see any conflict and oppression that come from outside of Israel or mentioning of any judges in Israel. Perhaps, this passage serves as a transition to a new area of Israelite history that would happen in the life of Samuel known as the last judge over Israel before it turned into a kingdom. Israelite people in these days lived without nationally recognized leadership. Everyone could do whatever they felt good and thought right in their own way. It might be out of control. The civil war wiped out almost the entire tribe of Benjamin owing to the sin they committed against their relatives, but without any remorse. We could see a destructive power here: with no leadership, it first caused individuals to ignore God’s law, and it then drove the whole nation into a moral breakdown.

The first and the last verse of the passage point out that the people of Israel without leadership acted so wildly, chaotically and anarchically that the modern reader sees them as very horrific and uncivilized. In addition, historically speaking, each of the other peoples surrounding Israel had a king. So it was time for Israel to have a king to rule over them as they settled in the promised land that they had conquered. 

This is a very ugly story but a very good lesson for Israelites which occurred while they conquered Canaan between the time of Joshua, son of Nun and the first monarchy in Samuel’s days. For the people who preserved this story and made it part of the Hebrew Bible, the purpose was to explain why a human king was needed in Israel to lead the people back to the Lord their God. 

There are several plot elements in this story that would seem strange or offensive to the modern reader in our social context. The homosexual rape was unthinkable to the old Ephraimite man and the Levite man while the rape of two women instead was acceptable to them. The massacre of all of the innocent women and children of the tribe of Benjamin was approved and carried out by Israelites. The Levite man chopped the body of his concubine limb by limb into twelve pieces and sent them to all the Israelite tribes. The entire tribe of Benjamin decisively defended the sexual perversion of their kinsmen without remorse. 

However, in an ancient audience’s perception, these plot elements might have functioned well and relevantly for the original hearers and their society because they gave them a good moral concept and right instruction of the Lord their God even if it was a bloody civil war and a good number of people were massacred, which is an eye-for-an-eye vengeance. This happened for a better purpose of their future becoming a kingdom. There seems to be a cyclical pattern repeating itself throughout the book of Judges, that is, sin (Israel turns from God) --> punishment (an enemy is sent to oppress Israel) --> repentance (Israel cries to God for help) --> deliverance (God sends a judge to deliver Israel), and it revolved around this cycle. (Bandstra, p. 228)

Bibliography

Bandstra, Barry. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 2008.

Stanley, Christopher. The Hebrew Bible: A Comparative Approach. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2009.

"Blessing / Curses" -- Deuteronomic Codes of Law

The book of Deuteronomy sets a legal foundation (especially found in chapter 28) for later events of social and political history in ancient Israel. What will happen to its people is all up to their faithfulness to their God and his covenant. It is believed that the northern kingdom of Israel originally produced the legal sections of the book and later edited and added by the priests who escaped to Judah during the Assyrian invasion. So it seems they could tell people about the future events. (Stanley, 257).

The Deuteronomistic History (DH) is generally considered to be in connection with the book of Deuteronomy. According to Professor Mariottini, Deuteronomy is viewed as an introduction to the Deuteronomistic History. Joshua, 1 Samuel, 2 Kings, and 2 Chronicles are among the DH books, which are classified as prophetic books in the Hebrew Bible. These books give accounts of Israel’s life from the days of Joshua in the promised land until the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.E. From Deut. 28:47-52; 28:63-64, we could see the historical purpose of these prophetic writings is to demonstrate the exile of Israel as an outcome of their violation of the covenant demanded by the Lord, their God. (Mariottini, Historiography).

 Deuteronomy 28:1-68

This passage contains the whole 28^th chapter of Deuteronomy, which is commonly known as the law of blessing and cursing. It is very crucial for Israel to follow the guidance and demand of the covenant of the Lord their God. Whether they will experience prosperity or they will face destruction. It all depends on their choice and effort (faithfulness to Yahweh and his covenant). Their decisions of faithfulness or unfaithfulness will bring about their social and historical outcomes. If the Israelites obey Yahweh, he will bless them above all nations; if they disobey him, they will be cursed and Yahweh will send a nation to destroy their land and take them captive. (vv. 41, 49-52). This is very profound and powerful prophetic message to Israel. It seems things are looming so bleak in the horizon. 

I am so amazed that the list of blessings is shorter (vv.1-14) than that of curses (vv.15-68). This intrigues me to think that this covenant is more demanding from Yahweh the God of Israel. It seems that he was a just god and was willing to punish his people heavily without mercy if they don’t obey him. However, I also think that nobody on the face of this earth could ever live up to this standard. This passage is a basic and typical form of the DH, in which it carries the “if … then” clause of the law of blessing and curse Yahweh established with the people of Israel.

Joshua 23:1-16

Deuteronomic law of Yahweh’s covenant with Israelite people is shown to be reaffirmed by Joshua in this passage. Joshua was getting very old in the last days of his life (v.1). He reviewed their accomplishments with God. He encouraged them to continue and be careful to “love the Lord” their God (v.11). Then Joshua warned the Israelites not to turn away from the Lord and join the rest of the nations remaining among them (v.12). He reaffirmed that God would provide as long as they kept his covenant, but that the anger of the Lord would come upon them if they would violate it, worship and serve other gods, and Joshua affirmatively told them to “hold fast to Yahweh or they “shall perish” from the good land." (vv.14-16).

I am aware that Joshua emphasizes this covenant law of Yahweh with Israel. Yahweh has helped Joshua and his people conquer Canaan. It indicates the faithfulness of Yahweh the God of Israel that he has kept his promise to give them the land. However, I could see that it is always the duty or responsibility of us the beneficiaries (the lesser party) to follow the demand of the Lord God. It seems a little bit suspicious here due to the strictness of Yahweh, who is willing to chastise us with a rod of curses that correspond to our violation of the law. 

         1 Samuel 12:1-25

In this passage we find that under Samuel’s leadership, the Israel progressed, and in his last days the Israelites requested a king to rule over them instead of the Lord God who had already their king (v.12). Samuel warned Israel that if they and their king obeyed and served God faithfully, they would be blessed and do well; if they disobeyed the Lord and rebelled against his command and continued to do evil, they would all be severely punished and destroyed (vv.14-15, 24-25).
I am puzzled here because it is very hard to understand the DH plot. I am reminded last three chapters of the book of Judges how anarchically and chaotically people lived and acted when there was no king in Israel in those days. It seems that Israel needed a king to rule over its people. I think it is reasonable to ask for a king to lead the nation but it does not appear to be pleasing to Yahweh to have a human king in place of divine leadership. Then both the king and his people would have to strictly obey and serve Yahweh faithfully and wholeheartedly. Otherwise, they would be seriously punished and destroyed. Again, I see the Deuteronomic law of blessing and curse reinstated here.

        2 Kings 17:5-18

This passage records the final moments and the fate of the northern kingdom of Israel when Assyrian armies invaded Samaria and carried Israelites away into exile. As Israelites built shrines and worshiped other gods and images (heavenly beings and Baal), they turned away from God and violate his law in the covenant. Because the people of Israel sinned against the Lord their God, they would have to undergo his punishment as a result. Though “the Lord warned Israel and Judah” (v.13) through all the prophets, “they wouldn’t listen” (v.14) and kept doing evil in his sight, showing their unfaithfulness toward their God and his covenant. Finally, the northern kingdom of Israel fell at the hand of the Assyrian King, and the people were sent into exile in the land of the Medes; only the people of the southern kingdom of Judah remained intact (v.18). Here we see that the king of Assyria invaded the land of Israel and take its people captive. This happened because the Israelites rejected the covenant with God, indicating the relationship between the faithfulness of Israel to their God and his covenant and the outcome of social and political history.

Here I see the theme of Deuteronomic law repeated and reminded so that Yahweh’s people could remember the covenant Yahweh made with their forefathers. When his people violated the covenant and did not obey Yahweh’s command, they had to suffer the consequence as it was pronounced in the law of blessing and curse. Again, it was too much for human beings to bear in satisfying the divine demands. Sometimes, I see it so ridiculous and ironical and beyond human capacity. As we know, no one is perfect so they will sooner or later fail to keep the law or to repent of their sins and transgressions, then they will fall prey to the trap/trick of the law—punishment. Is it a fair-play game for Israel or for us today?

      2 Chronicles 36:11-21

This passage gives a final touch on the fate of the southern kingdom of Judah. King Zedekiah was enthroned. Unfortunately, he was the last king of Judah. He wouldn’t be able to put Judah back on the right and godly track with Yahweh. He did evil before the Lord; he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonian king even if he was warned by Jeremiah the prophet sent by Yahweh (vv.12-13). Yahweh All the people of Judah were at fault and equally responsible for their doom future. Jerusalem fell at the hand of the Babylonians and God’s chosen people were taken captive and deported to exile in Babylonia for 70 years (vv.20-21), just like the prophet Jeremiah predicted. Yahweh’s temple was destroyed (v.19). All these happened due to their unfaithfulness to Yahweh their God and his covenant. 

What had been warned earlier in other books against Yahweh’s people in the southern kingdom of Judah was fulfilled here due to their disobedience of the covenant law indicates a Deuteronomic thread that is coherently interwoven into a bigger picture of the DH plot.

The DH books give us a good overview of ancient Israel’s life as well as that of ancient Near East in terms of social and political history. It sheds light on understanding how society of that time operated according to the guidelines of divine covenants with territorial deities or gods as a whole and Yahweh the God of Israel as an individual. It is moral and supports justice and balance in ancient Israelite society as well as any society so far. It is more like the law of the land, where people together live and develop for the prosperity and well-being of one another under the divine guidance of the Lord God.

As a modern reader of these texts, I am convinced that these were written to Yahweh’s people in the period of Joshua’s days and the end of the Judean monarchy, and for his chosen people, including us Christians as the people of faith today. However, I find it somewhat irrelevant to people of modern time. They might think it would be better to stay out of the game (the covenant) than to be part of it because the benefit it brings is not worthwhile—the loss may be more than the gain. 

I see two chief positions held by Christians on these Deuteronomic codes. Some believe that if they fear God and follow his instructions they will be blessed and prosperous; on the other hand, if they disobey his command and turn away from him, they will be punished and cursed such as Jehovah’s witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, prosperity theology teaching churches, etc. But many believe that God is a loving God of grace and mercy, he will not do harm or intend destruction on his dear people even if they don’t listen to him or disregard him because the Deuteronomistic law does not apply to them as Christians. Instances like these are most of the mainline churches, independent grace churches, etc.

      *  Bibliography:

Harper Collins. The Study Bible. Harper New York, NY: Collins Publishing, 2006.
Stanley, Christopher. The Hebrew Bible: A Comparative Approach. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2009.
Marriottini, Claude. Historiography. http://claudemariottini.com/2010/11/15/historiography/