Grace Osborn
BBST 360
May 26th, 2017
Application Reflection Paper
Throughout the first five books of Scripture, readers can identify many themes and motifs such as sacrifice, kingship, prophecy, and many others. Among the numerous theological themes presented in the Pentateuch, the theme of covenant infidelity and consequent grace proves to be imperative to the Pentateuch as a whole, the redemptive plan of Scripture, and how we live as Christians today. This theme has been something I find myself struggling with every single day as a Christian and know that because of sin, doubt, and tribulation, is something that every Christian experiences at some point in their walk with God.
Although the Abrahamic Covenant did not come about until Genesis 12, the nuances of covenant relationship have occurred in the Pentateuch since the creation account. God formed Adam and Eve in His likeness, and in this very act, a relationship formed between Creator and creation. Just like any covenant style relationship, the Lord gave stipulations. Adam and Eve would have dominion over the land and other creation, and work the land, but they were not to eat of the tree of knowledge. Upon the sin of Adam Eve and the fall from grace, Adam and Eve broke the stipulations of this covenant. Although this particular covenant relationship had implications on the rest of humanity, it was not resolved by grace until the incarnation and crucifixion of Christ. However, the extensive redemption plan for the fall of humanity was initiated at this very moment.
The most notable covenant relationship in the Pentateuch is obviously the Abrahamic Covenant, presented in Genesis 12. This covenant, between God and Abraham, who acts as a representative for all of his offspring and essentially the future generations of humanity, promises many things. In return for faithfulness to Him, the Lord promises to make a great nation before Abraham, to give Abraham and his descendants the promised land of Canaan, and to bless him with many descendents who will receive this land and be blessed. In return, Abraham would “walk before [God] and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1).
The Abrahamic Covenant is not new, it is simply an encapsulation of the covenant God made with Adam and Eve in Genesis 1. Through the Abrahamic Covenant and Abraham’s life in general, we learn about the merits of righteousness: the only thing that merits righteousness is faith. Although faith is the only expectation of Abraham and his descendants, it is clear that faith is only effective when put into action. This agreement seems simple, easy; all the recipients of the Covenant must do is become circumcised (males) and have faith. However, the rest of the Pentateuch narrative proves this assumption to be false.
When the Israelites becoe oppressed under the rule and judgement of Pharaoh, the Lord provides grace. The Lord proclaims to Moses, “and now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:9-10) Moses is stubborn and does not have faith in God’s plan for his people coming out of Egypt and entering the Promised Land. As a result of his lack of faith, Moses is not allowed into the Promised Land. “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them,” the Lord says in Numbers 20:12. This illustrates how the Lord reacts when the stipulations of the covenant are not met; those who disobey or distrust God will not receive the blessings of the covenant.
Although the stipulations of the Covenant seem simple, the Israelites fail to abide, and are met with consequences upon the creation of the golden calf. The priests are blamed for this failure, and God responds by introducing the priestly code, as well as the Ten Commandments. This response can be viewed as a punishment or consequence of the failure to abide by the covenant. However, it should be acknowledged that the Israelites did not understand the problems concerning the creation of the golden calf, and therefore, God’s additions of new stipulations surrounding the covenant should be viewed as an act of grace. God desires for this covenant with His people, and by adding these stipulations, He makes it easier for his people to live within the guidelines of the covenant.
Overall, the theme of covenant infidelity and subsequent grace is something that is and has been pervasive throughout my life as a Christian. Although the Abrahamic Covenant that applied in the Pentateuch is not exactly how I am called to live as a Christian today, God still calls us to be in a relationship with him. We can only bear fruit if we remain in Christ and follow His commandments. I grew up in a secular community: none of my family was Christian, I went to a public high school, and played on sports teams with mostly secular players and attitudes. Because of this, I truly enjoyed my time going to Sunday church services and Wednesday night youth group; it felt like a privilege to be able to go to church and I absolutely loved learning new things about God and His word.
I was extremely excited to come to Biola and be able to go to weekly chapels and actually learn about God and theology in my bible classes. In my first few semesters, these sentiments remained and I was enjoying reading my Bible more and writing exegetical papers about what I was learning. However, I slowly started to become accustomed to this routine. I stopped going to church as often, simply because I had not gotten plugged in somewhere, and I would have rather slept in on Sunday mornings. I justified this by telling myself that I was already learning about theology through chapel and my bible classes. Even so, as time went on, I became apathetic about chapels; I had so much work to do and was so tired that I loathed having to take time out of my day to go to chapels. I got bored in my bible classes, and the various Biola-isms (“i’ll be praying for you”, “your grades don’t matter, God loves you anyway”) I heard around campus made me nearly hate the Biola culture and various parts of the church.
At the same time, I was going through so many things in my personal life. I had a serious knee injury, removing me from a sport I loved as well as exercise in general, which took away a major part of my life. Around this time I became extremely depressed (which added to my motivations in sleeping instead of going to church). I also was having trouble in my classes; as someone who grew up being a straight A student and essentially defining myself as an honor student, this was extremely hard for me. Initially, I tried to be patient through these tribulations in my life, and trust that God would use all of these situations for good in my life. However, these situations were not alleviated and I had no idea why or how God was using them in my life. I became angry at God and decided that I didn’t need to rely on Him because I wasn’t finding any solace in prayer or Scripture.
It wasn’t until last semester when I began having serious realizations through incredible lectures in my theology and acts classes. I realized that trying to do life apart from God would never result in happiness or joy or even contentment. These events or situations in my life that felt like consequences were a way for God to break me, and bring me back into a relationship with Him. I also realized that I would fail again and again in my walk with God, but thanks to his unending grace, He would always welcome me back with open arms. I consistently think about the lyrics to Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, “prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”
Often, when the Pentateuch and Old Testament in general is covered in classes at Biola, we read the passages involving the sin and failure of the Israelites and think “God makes his commandments so clear, how could the Israelites continue to fail again and again.” Yet, as Christians today, we continually fail to dedicate ourselves to a life surrounded by Christ and driven by a holy walk with Him. However, we must realize that the consequences in our lives may not be consequences, but ways in which God gives us grace. The church can read the Pentateuch and learn from the Israelites failures and realize God’s forgiving and gracious nature.