Sunday Sermonette: Review Lesson

Now seems a good time to take stock of what we have read so far. In Genesis and Exodus, the priesthood has not appeared. While there is no real systematic elucidation of the nature of society, people appear to live in small bands ruled by a hereditary patriarchy. God speaks directly to whoever he wishes, or by means of messengers. There is no designated intermediary. The origin of these stories is murky, but it appears they are derived from oral tradition that got transcribed at various times. Sometimes there are variants of the same story, or contradictory stories. (There is a priest mentioned in Genesis, Melchizedek, but he does not have any formal role in Hebrew society.) By the second half of Exodus, however, Moses emerges as the intermediary between God and the people. In Leviticus and Numbers, we are no longer reading transcripts of ancient tradition, but rather works composed by priests for the specific purpose of asserting their authority. At the time these books were written Israelite society, as was typical of societies of that era, was ruled by an alliance between a priestly caste and warrior kings. However, Leviticus and Numbers are set in a fictional past in which the kings have yet to appear. (They have just been foreshadowed with the introduction of Joshua.) This allows the focus to remain exclusively on thee authority and privileges of the priesthood. These are gradually developed, beginning with the ordination of Aaron and culminating in recent chapters ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs