by Tim Goodfellow

The Old Testament easily overwhelms us as readers. Its writings often seem foreign to us; its violence disturbs us; and sometimes we simply don't understand what God is trying to accomplish through all of it. Yet the Old Testament becomes less foreboding if we peel away some of the layers and take a look at its underlying core. Here the Old Testament frames three significant events in Israel's history: the Exodus, the monarchy, and the Exile. Each of these three events marked turning points in Israel's faith and their self-awareness as a people called by God to “be a blessing” to the nations. In it all, Israel leaves us with a treasure trove of accounts of ordinary human beings (and the occasional extraordinary ones) struggling to be faithful to the calling of God in uncertain and tumultuous times. What one finds in these accounts is the story of a God unwilling to part from the world he loves regardless of how stubborn, wayward, or incompetent it is.

The Exodus

To truly understand the Exodus, which is told in the second book of the Bible, it is helpful to get a grasp on the first book of the Bible, Genesis. Genesis divides quite nicely into two distinct sections. The first 11 chapters, affectionately called the Primeval History, or the history of the “first era,” set the stage for the remainder of the Bible. This early history tells the story of God's majesty and artistry in building a world and creating a people he can only call “good.” It then gives the gory details of the ability of those people to undermine everything that was good. The effect this has on God is stated clearly: “And the LORD was sorry that he had made humanity on earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (Genesis 6:6).

What follows in the remaining 39 chapters of Genesis is the story of God choosing to fix an irreparable world not by force or might but through the unlikely power of the most powerless people on earth. God calls Abraham and Sarah, an elderly couple without children, to be the father and mother of the nation, soon to be known as Israel, through which God would bless the people of earth. Their kids and grandkids and great-grandkids take God on a journey of family dysfunction and foreign politics only to find God faithfully standing by and caring for them every step of the way. As the book of Genesis winds down, the entire family has settled down in Egypt and seems to be enjoying themselves (one of the few moments of respite for this people).

We learn early in Exodus that in Egypt these descendants of Abraham were fruitful and multiplied. As a result, they became a large people group and a large threat to the powers-that-be. Thus the people God had called to bless the world were now suffering under the burden and oppression of forced labor. And this is where God intervenes. In a confrontation with Pharaoh, the leader of Egypt, God delivers Israel from the yoke Egypt had placed on them. As the story is told, God breaks the stagnation of slavery with his “mighty hand and outstretched arm…amid signs and wonders.” Israel is led to the “safety” of the desert only by the powerful hand of God. For the rest of her history Israel looks back to the Exodus as the defining moment in her relationship with God. For in the Exodus event God clearly and definitively demonstrated his power and grace and the seriousness of the responsibility to which he had originally called Israel—to be a blessing to the nations.

Wilderness Wanderings

Many have heard the cliché, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” Apparently God never heard this cliché. (One would think that God clearly had the power to make the world right through quick and decisive action back in the early chapters of the book of Genesis.) As it turns out, almost immediately after God pulls Israel out of Egypt, God finds himself stuck in the desert with what he describes as a “stubborn…and stiff-necked people.” Through the remainder of the book of Exodus (and Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy) the people of Israel grumble, complain, whine, mope, dissent, and desert God and his appointed spokesman Moses.

This era of Israel's history, dubbed the “Wilderness Wanderings,” only leaves one wondering how on earth God is planning to save humanity through these people. Yet, in the midst of Israel's time in the desert, God makes a promise to the people that he will be their God and they will be his people. This promise has since earned the formal title “The Mosaic Covenant,” and it forms the heart of the faith of the people Israel. Throughout the remainder of the Old Testament Israel refers back to the time that God “brought us out of the land of Egypt.” The standards and expectations laid down in the covenant—including the ever-popular “Ten Commandments”—define for thousands of years who Israel is supposed to be and how they are to live in relationship to each other and the world. Essentially, the Exodus becomes the point of no turning back for both Israel and God. Together they embark on a common mission to fix the problems that humanity started back in the opening chapters of Genesis.

The collected stories of the early years of Israel's history develop into a corpus of literature known to Israel as “Torah.” Contained in Torah are the history of God's relationship with Israel through these formative times and the expectations of how Israel is called to live as the people of God. The importance of Torah for the life of Israel is reflected in a prayer known as the Shema, the opening of which is found in the book of Deuteronomy.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words I have commanded you today shall be on your heart. Shape them in your children; talk of them when you dwell at home and when you go out along the road, when you lie down and when you rise; bind them as a sign on your hand, make them a pendant on your forehead; and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

From this point forward Israel is bound to her God and the expectations of how she is to live as God's people. The Exodus becomes the irrevocable experience of the grace of God for the people of Israel.

The Monarchy

In the years that ensued after the Exodus the Israelites never quite got settled into their role as redeemers of humanity. While they managed to get to Canaan, they didn't experience peace there. On the one hand, there were Hittites and Canaanites and Philistines and Amorites and Moabites to contend with. On the other hand, they couldn't figure out exactly who was in charge. Leadership was an elusive concept for the Israelites because they didn't quite grasp what it meant to have God as their leader. Sure, he delivered them from the land of Egypt, but divine leadership often proves too intangible. So during the reign of the judge named Samuel, Israel declared that the time had come for them to take power into their own hands, quite literally, by instituting a monarchy.

Now it should be pointed out that there were some problems with launching a monarchy. The first problem was that Israel already had a king—God. By choosing to place a human being on the throne, Israel was usurping God's leadership over them. The second problem, along with giving God the pink slip, was that Israel would soon experience taxation like never before. According to Samuel, their possessions would no longer be their own, for the king would clearly see the pressure to put up a front of power and might before other nations and it would be the common people of Israel who would end up bearing the burden for the king. Nevertheless, the political pressures put on Israel, both internal and external, led them to seek out a king. Despite all this, God, in a typical act of grace, reassures them that he will continue to be faithful to them.

Israel's first king was an unsuccessful lad named Saul. Suffice it to say, Saul forgot the part about being obedient to God, and God expedited his term on the throne. A young shepherd from the town of Bethlehem, David, followed Saul to the throne. David emerged as the archetype for Israel's kings. For the most part he was faithful to God; and when he wasn't faithful he repented quickly. David's faithfulness did not go unrecognized. God made a promise to David that he would be the ancestor of an everlasting dynasty; there would always be a “son of David” to reign as the king of Israel.

The first son of David to reign as king was Solomon. In order to understand the significance of Solomon's reign, one must understand an obscure portion of the Torah. In the pages of Deuteronomy lies a short passage detailing the responsibilities of any human king that rules over Israel. Quite simply there are two expectations given: read Torah and do not amass great wealth. Returning to Solomon, we soon get the impression that Solomon never read Torah. What we know about Solomon's reign is that he not only amassed great wealth, he did so at the cost of forced labor on the people of Israel. As a result, the majority of Israel rebelled, and the kingdom split into two parts: the Northern Kingdom, Israel, and the Southern Kingdom, Judah.

For the remainder of the period of the monarchy the two factions of Israel never reunited. Each nation was led by a succession of kings who, with a few exceptions, “did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” In Judah, the line of David continued its dynasty while in Israel kings were appointed due to their charisma. Both kingdoms ended up collapsing under the weight of unjust kings and the growing threats of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires.

To read the history of Israel's monarchy as a story primarily about the kings would be akin to admiring the Mona Lisa for its framing. For the story of the monarchy is not so much the story of Israel's kings, as the story of Israel's prophets. The accounts of the prophets highlight the tension between trying to live as a powerful nation among powerful nations and trying to live as a (seemingly) just nation among (seemingly) unjust nations. As the kings stretch the limits of justice for the sake of power, the prophets remind the kings over and over again what justice and righteousness truly look like. The remarkable consistency between the picture of justice painted by the prophets and the understanding of justice found in the Mosaic covenant informs us of the significance of the Mosaic Covenant for the people of Israel. For roughly 400 years the prophets struggled to keep alive the memory of the Exodus and the expectations of Torah.

While the prophets were seeking to keep the kings in line, they also provided hope for the common people of Israel. Those who were bearing the brunt of Israel's unjust kings found promise in the prophets' condemnation of injustice. As such, the prophets enjoyed popular support and appreciation from the public and the reciprocal disapproval of the kings and aristocracies whom they chastised. A man named Elijah provides a notable illustration of the role of prophets. Elijah won the hearts of Israel's masses (and even some foreigners) through his unfailing commitment to remind the kings of the importance of Torah. The kings threatened Elijah's life on more than one occasion. In the end, Elijah was taken up to heaven on a chariot and has remained one of the most important figures in Israel's memory.

In the end, the prophets' attempts to remedy the injustice of Israel's kings prove futile. The kings ran the nations of Israel and Judah into the ground through their idolatry and lack of concern for their people. When the nations finally fall into the hands of foreign empires, the people God called out at the time of Exodus find their identity lost as they are shipped off to foreign lands.

The Exile

From a political standpoint the Exile is easy to understand. The Northern Kingdom was invaded and conquered by the Assyrian empire. The Assyrians assimilated most of the Israelites, effectively erasing their identity as a nation. Similarly, the Babylonian Empire defeated and deported the Southern Kingdom. Between Assyria and Babylon, the people of Israel ceased to be recognized as an independent nation. The book of Lamentations provides a vivid account of the impact of the exile on Israel: “How empty sits the city that had been great with people. Like a widow is she who was great among nations. She who was princess of provinces has become a slave” (Lamentations 1:1).

The problem with looking at the Exile from a purely political vantage point is that experiences like the Exodus and promises like God made to King David don't erase from memory quite so easily. During the time of exile a shift occurs in the role of the prophets. Instead of reminding the kings of the expectations of Torah, they focus their work on reminding the people of Israel about the insatiable grace of the God who delivered them from Egypt during the Exodus; and they remind Israel of the promise made to David of an everlasting dynasty. The covenants God had made with Israel became reminders of the history of God redeeming and delivering his people time and time again. Indeed, the prophets speak of the possibility of a new Exodus wherein God will deliver his people from exile just as he delivered them from the hands of Egypt.

These reminders made possible the tiny gem of hope buried in the despair of Lamentations: “This returns to my heart and for this reason I hope: Because of the steadfast love of the LORD we will not end, for his mercies will not cease. They are new each morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:21-23). Outside of Lamentations we find additional messages of hope running through the writings of the prophets. Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel all found images and metaphors to convey hope to the people in exile. Such words of hope sustained Israel for approximately 70 years. Then we learn that God anointed an unusual redeemer, Cyrus, king of the Persian Empire, who conquered the Babylonians and allowed Israel to return to her homeland.

Israel's return to her home was not without difficulty, and the only thing that is clear after the Exile is that Israel was never quite herself again. Like the scattering following the tower of Babel, Israel found herself dispersed into a world more volatile than ever before. No longer at home in her own land, Israel began to witness the onslaught of history ushered in by the likes of Alexander the Great, the Ptolemies and Seleucids, and eventually the Roman Empire. While the Old Testament tells us little about the changing tide of the Ancient Near East at that time, the New Testament reveals the underpinnings of the ensuing struggle of trying to live out Torah in an increasingly hostile and pluralistic world.

When we finish the story found in the Old Testament we are left bewildered. At once, nothing has changed; yet everything has changed. God is still left with a world and a people that haven't figured out which way is up. But the world (and Israel in particular) is left with the indelible impression of a God whose grace extends beyond the boundless reality of human failure. Perhaps what we find in the Old Testament is not so much the story of Israel but the story of God's grace as can only be told by people who have searched for its limits and have come back unsuccessful.