Old Testament Studies, Essay Example

Genesis 1-11 is dedicated to the depiction of Earth’s and life’s creation by God. The creation of Earth, dry land and waters, the nature in the Earth, and the beats living in the wilderness – all this account provides a very in-depth, awe-inspiring impression about the God’s power and the natural world following the order that God predetermined for it. The day and night are regulated by Sun and Moon, which implies that God determined some time for labor, and some time for rest for the humanity; the arrangement of water and land presupposed the emergence of divided territories on which different people would live. Genesis 1-11 also says much about the nature of the human identity; when God created Adam and Eve, he told them, “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenished the earth, and subdue it”, which means that people are the full-pledged masters of the world in which they live, and they have power over the natural riches, but they at the same time have to preserve their world, not only consume its wealth mindlessly.

Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, but after they ate an apple from the forbidden tree, they were driven out from the Garden by God who since then established the unequal relationship between man and woman by stating that women would subdue to men, and would bear their children in sorrow and pain. The story of Cain and Abel taught the destructive power of envy between people that brought evil into the human soul. Finally, Genesis 1-11 is illustrative and educational in the delineation of the human civilization’s destiny in case people drown in violence and arrogance – the Great Flood from which Noah, his family, and the species of the world’s animals and birds saved was the lesson to the whole humanity that God would not stand the evil on his Earth, and he would destroy the whole civilization fiercely in case it forgot about its virtuous, faithful destiny predetermined to it by God.

At the time of Samuel the ruler of Israel, when Samuel was already old, he appointed his sons Joel and Abijah as judges, but they diverted from the faithful path of honesty, took bribes, and perverted the administration of justice (1Samuel 8:1-3). Hence, seeing the unfaithful nature of Samuel’s sons, the elders of Israel gathered together and told Samuel that they demanded a king, since his sons were unjust. So Samuel prayed to God, and heard His response – to heed the voice of the people, but not because their claim was right, but because God was going to teach people a lesson through such ungodly deeds as refusing the power of the ruler, as if they refused the power of God over them. Hence, Saul, an insane man, a taker, a merciless and cruel ruler, was chosen as the king of Jerusalem to show to people that in case they do not wait for God’s ruler, then they will suffer because of the vicious nature of the ruler they are given (1 Samuel 16-20).

Hence, Saul was chosen as a ruler to teach the people of Jerusalem a lesson, but his rein was vicious and cruel; Saul was killed during the attack of Philistines on Israel, and David became the new king of Jerusalem – his reign is known in history and Biblical writings as the golden age of Jerusalem. David was a usually shepherd, but he managed to defeat Goliath in a battle because of his living “after the Lord’s own heart”, which made him a virtuous and faithful believer whom God helped (1 Samuel 16-20). His son Solomon, nonetheless, committed the sin of divorce, which caused the division of Jerusalem (1 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 10). Solomon’s sin was in falling in love with many foreign women, and abandoning his Christian faith for the sake of their pagan gods (1 Kings 11: 1-8). Moreover, Solomon sinned much, and even overslept the regular course of the Temple service after his wedding with the Egyptian princess, which made God highly distrustful and disappointed with Solomon. Hence, for the sins of Solomon and his inclinations towards paganism, God promised to tear the kingdom from his hands, but not at the time of his life, but after his death, from the hands of his son (1 Kings 11:1-8). Hence, soon after Solomon’s death, the kingdom was divided into Judah and Israel.

The topics of diligence and laziness, wisdom and folly are widely discussed in the Old Testament. For instance, the hard and honest work is cherished in the Bible: “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Moreover, hard work, i.e., diligence, is seen as the basic precondition of one’s family’s survival – “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8).

Diligence in work is seen as the fruitful deed that will always be remunerated, and no labor comes in vain: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:9-10). According to the Hebrew writings, wisdom and folly can be contrasted in a similar way to the diligence and laziness, since wise people are those who know the right decision and follow it, while follies are those who know the right decisions but do not follow them. Similarly, laziness is presented as the voluntary choice of not doing the right things condemned by God.

The role of prophets in the Old Testament is tremendous; one of their important writings is the God’s covenant with the nation of Israel falling into three major clusters: idolatry, social justice, and religious ritualism. Idolatry was intensely condemned by the prophets. For instance, John said, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (John 5:21), while Isaiah spoke about those who fashions a god or casts an idol: “they may be put to shame… the craftsmen are only human…they shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together” (Isaiah 44:9-20). They also widely spoke about social justice, claiming for its establishment and reproaching its absence in violent, unreligious places. Isaiah said, “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause” (Isaiah 1:17). In the book of Jeremiah, one can see a similar call for social justice: “Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed” (Jeremiah 22:3). Matthew revealed his call for social justice as follows: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Finally, the religious ritualism was also one of the topics of concern for prophets in their teachings. They mostly rejected the traditional religious rituals and asked people to be faithful in their religious piety – the instructions on how true religion may be exercised without excessive and even sinful rituals may be found in Jeremiah (7:3-10), Isaiah (58:1-14), Micah (6:1-8), etc.

References

Childs, B. S. (1977). Old Testament Books for Pastors and Teachers. Westminster, UK.

Collins, J. J. (2004). Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.