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QUESTION
Title:
Mosaic Covenant Essay
Paper Details
Write an essay of 1,000-1,250 words. Based upon your study of the history of ancient Israel, answer the following questions:
How was the history of ancient Israel influenced by the Mosaic covenant and the Decalogue? Give examples.
What literary themes from the Pentateuch emerge in the writings of Isaiah, Micah, and Jeremiah?
How did the prophets use the Mosaic covenant and the Decalogue in their critique of Israel?
Use three to five academic sources in your paper to support your findings.
Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.
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| Subject | Essay Writing | Pages | 3 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Ancient Israel and the Mosaic Law
Ancient Israel, for the longest time, was governed by the Mosaic Law. Simply put, the Mosaic Law, also commonly known as the Sinai covenant, refers to the Biblical covenant between the Israelites and God at Mount Sinai. The commandments, popularly known as the Ten Commandments or the Decalogue, were given to Moses. Biblically, these guidelines are clearly stated in the first books of the Bible in the Old Testament commonly known as the Torah. The Mosaic Law consists of 613 commands, 365 of which are described as negative commands and 248 as positive commands. These laws covered areas such as morality, social behavior and ceremonial behavior meant at bringing the Israelites closer to God. These laws came with covenant blessings for Israel if they obeyed the commandments (Woodring, 1956). Covenant blessings were enjoyed whenever the Decalogue and the Mosaic Law was obeyed. Disobedience led to the suspension of the blessings and good will from God.
God’s grace over His people was never affected. Even if He was to punish the Israelites, he did it with divine grace. On incidences where it was clear that grace was evading them, they could reclaim it through repentance, supplication and confession of their sins. The Mosaic Law has repeatedly been referred to as the most conditional law that ever existed (Woodring, 1956). The blessings of the people fully depended on how obedient to the laws they were. In cases of gross misconduct and disobedience, the blessings eluded the individual all the way to their third and fourth generation (Kaizer, 1987).
The Mosaic Law had a great impact on the history of ancient Israel in more ways than could ever be imagined. This law brought blessings and curses depending on the obedience or disobedience of the nation. The laws enhanced the way of worship of the ancient Israelites as seen in Exodus 3:12. The Mosaic Law was also a tool of delivery of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt as seen in Exodus 3;16-17. Israelites were redeemed and commands given to them at Mount Sinai. ancient Israel came to be classified as the chosen nation or the nation after God’s own heart as he had uniquely made this covenant with them and them alone. He, therefore, declared them an anointed nation. (Harman, 1990).
The Pentateuch refers to the first 5 books of the Bible. There are several themes that emerge from the Pentateuch. Some of these themes are Kingship, the covenant, grace, sacrifice and the theme of prophetism. In the writings of Micah, Isaiah and Jeremiah, one major theme of prophecy stands out. God reveals Himself to his servants through prophesy. He warns kings, rebukes evil, creates passionate relationships with His people and comforts His people through prophesy. God chose specific people and used them as tools to relay his prophetic messages to the people. They acted as a mouthpiece of God. A true prophet of God is the one who passed his message with the accuracy it deserved (Deut.18:14-22) and whose message was guided by the Sinaitic covenant. Jeremiah prophesized to the Israelites and mentored other prophets to follow suit. God spoke to Jeremiah prophetically through visions. Micah was a contemporary prophet of Prophet Isaiah. It is apparent that human language in its plain state does not have capacity to fully communicate the dynamics of the spiritual world; this is where the poetry of these prophets came in to convey the message.
They were keen to criticize the interpretation of the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments stating that the Israelites took the laws word by word instead at looking at the deeper meaning that could have been understood only by a critical mind. Prophet Isaiah mocked the Israelites form of religion comparing it to drunkenness since they took a line by line interpretation of the laws given to them by Moses.
In conclusion, it is important to note that prophets were naturally inspired to re-order and recast the Mosaic Covenant. In their capacity to do so, the prophets recast the covenant specifications. They shaped the material poetically giving the content a rich image through the use of metaphorical words. God’s purpose for them was to divinely express the message conveyed in the Ten Commandments and the Sinai covenant effectively.
References
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Fishbane, M. (1985). Biblical interpretation in ancient Israel. Oxford University Press Chapman, S. B. (2000). The law and the prophets: A study in Old Testament canon formation (Vol. 27). Mohr Siebeck. Dunn, J. D. (Ed.). (2001). Paul and the Mosaic Law. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. Phillips, A. (1970). Ancient Israel's criminal law: a new approach to the Decalogue. Schocken.
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