Lesson
#20
Coda
Coda
Exodus
20
through
Levi2cus
26
expresses
Gods
covenant
with
the
Israelites
in
its
totality.
Levi2cus
27
then
func2ons
much
like
an
appendix
to
the
covenant,
and
its
topic
is
vows
and
dedica1onsgiEs
to
the
sanctuary
which
cons2tute
a
large
part
of
the
income
needed
to
implement
the
covenant,
operate
the
Tabernacle
and
compensate
the
priests.
In
Lesson
#19
we
examined
these
vows
and
dedica2ons
in
detail,
focusing
especially
on
the
diering
redemp2on
prices
for
men
and
women,
and
on
the
act
of
placing
under
the
ban
an
irredeemable,
conquered
peoplea
very
troubling
concept
to
modern
readers.
Coda
Chris2ans
oEen
view
Levi2cus
as
an
impenetrable
tangle
of
ancient
laws
and
rituals,
things
en2rely
superseded
by
the
sacrice
of
Christ
on
the
cross
and
the
inaugura2on
of
the
New
Covenant.
Nothing
could
be
farther
from
the
truth!
For
Jews,
Levi2cus
sits
at
the
very
heart
of
the
Torah:
from
Gods
lips,
to
Moses,
to
you.
As
we
noted
in
Lesson
#1,
from
the
Middle
Ages
onward
Jewish
children
are
introduced
to
Scripture,
not
with
the
great
stories
of
Genesis,
Exodus,
Numbers
or
Deuteronomy,
but
through
the
study
of
Levi2cus,
following
the
great
rabbi
Rashis
slogan,
Let
the
pure
ones
come
and
study
laws
of
purity.
For
a
Chris2an,
studying
Levi2cus
and
penetra2ng
to
the
deeper
levels
of
the
anagogical
(future
events
of
Chris2an
history),
typological
(how
events
in
the
Hebrew
Scriptures
foreshadow
those
in
the
New
Testament)
and
tropological
(the
moral
meaning
of
the
stories
and
how
they
are
applied
to
Chris2ans
today),
gives
us
the
clearest
picture
we
have
of
Gods
plan
of
redemp2on
and
of
the
person
and
work
of
his
Son,
our
Lord
Jesus
Christ.
Coda
In
this
concluding
lesson
we
review
and
summarize
what
we
have
learned
from
Levi2cus,
placing
the
book
in
its
proper
context
within
the
overall
linear
narra2ve
of
Scripture.
Coda
When
we
began
our
study
of
Scripture
we
laid
out
a
set
of
principles
to
guide
us.
We
noted
that
the
world
of
the
Bible
is:
Patriarchal
Monarchial
Polytheis2c
Slaveholding
These
were
unques2oned
reali2es
of
the
ancient
Near
Eastern
world;
it
would
never
occur
to
anyone
to
consider
an
alterna2ve
world
view.
And
we
noted
that
all
works
of
art
mirror
the
2me
and
culture
from
which
they
emerge,
including
the
Bible.
Coda
Whats
more,
we
noted
that
although
wricen
over
a
period
of
at
least
1,500
years,
with
each
book
of
the
Bible
passing
through
the
hands
of
editors
and
redactors,
and
each
book
of
the
Bible
having
its
own
more
or
less
complex
textual
historythe
Bible,
as
we
have
it
in
its
full
72-book
Septuagint
canonis
a
unied
literary
work:
the
curtain
rises
in
Genesis
and
it
falls
in
Revela2on
the
main
character
is
God
the
conict
is
sin
the
theme
is
redemp2on
The
Chris2an
canon
of
Scripture
has
a
set
of
concrete
images
that
create
textual
cohesion,
and
it
moves
in
a
straight
line
from
Genesis
through
Revela2on,
with
recapitula2on
throughout
the
linear
progression.
Coda
Our
story
begins
in
Genesis
with
crea2on.
Coda
William
Blake.
The
Ancient
of
Days
Sehng
a
Compass
to
the
Earth
(Relief
etching
with
hand
coloring),
1794.
Plate
from
Europe
a
Prophecy
(1794),
copy
K.
Fitzwilliam
Museum,
Cambridge
University.
Coda
And
it
was
good,
indeed.
In
the
2nd
crea2on
story
God
walks
with
Adam
and
Eve
in
the
Garden
of
Eden
in
an
in2mate,
loving
rela2onship.
Coda
Hieronymus
Bosch.
Garden
of
Earthly
Delights
[detail]
(oil
on
oak
panel),
c.
1490-1510.
Prado
Museum,
Madrid.
And
he
said
.
.
.
10
But
very
quickly
conict
enters
our
story:
sin.
In
Genesis
3
we
dene
sin,
not
as
an
act
that
we
commit,
but
as
a
condi2on
that
we
are
in,
a
condi2on
of
aliena2on
and
separa2on
from
God
that
manifests
itself
in
outward
sinful
ac2on.
And
we
learned
that
sin
has
four
characteris2cs:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sin
is
subtle
Sin
distorts
our
judgment
Sin
escalates
Sin
cascades
down
through
genera2ons
Coda
11
William
Blake.
Tempta1on
and
Fall
of
Eve
(watercolor),
1808.
Museum
of
Fine
Arts,
Boston.
And
he
said
.
.
.
12
Exactly
who
or
what
is
this
serpent
who
tempts
Adam
and
Eve?
At
the
end
of
our
story
in
Revela2on
20:
1-3
we
are
told:
Then
I
saw
an
angel
come
down
from
heaven,
holding
in
his
hand
the
key
to
the
abyss
and
a
heavy
chain.
He
seized
the
dragon,
the
ancient
serpent,
which
is
the
Devil
or
Satan,
and
1ed
it
up
for
a
thousand
years
and
threw
it
into
the
abyss,
which
he
locked
over
it
and
sealed,
so
that
it
could
no
longer
lead
the
na1ons
astray
.
.
..
Coda
13
And
where
did
Satan
come
from;
how
did
he
get
into
the
Garden
of
Eden?
Revela2on
12:
7-9
gives
us
a
hint.
In
a
ashback
to
events
prior
to
Genesis
1,
we
read:
Then
war
broke
out
in
heaven;
Michael
and
his
angels
baPled
against
the
dragon.
The
dragon
and
its
angels
fought
back,
but
they
did
not
prevail
and
there
was
no
longer
any
place
for
them
in
heaven.
The
huge
dragon,
the
ancient
serpent,
who
is
called
the
Devil
or
Satan,
who
deceived
the
whole
world,
was
thrown
down
to
earth,
and
its
angels
were
thrown
down
with
it.
Coda
14
Isaiah
14:
12-15
gives
us
addi2onal
imagery
associated
with
Satan:
How
you
have
fallen
from
the
heavens,
O
Morning
Star,
son
of
the
dawn!
How
you
have
been
cut
down
to
the
earth,
you
who
conquered
na1ons!
In
your
heart
you
said:
I
will
scale
the
heavens;
Above
the
stars
of
God
I
will
set
up
my
throne;
I
will
take
my
seat
on
the
Mount
of
Assembly,
on
the
heights
of
Zaphon.
I
will
ascend
above
the
tops
of
the
clouds;
I
will
be
like
the
Most
High!
No!
Down
to
Sheol
you
will
be
brought
to
the
depths
of
the
pit!
Coda
15
This
is
the
Scriptural
context
for
John
Miltons
Paradise
Lost
of
1667,
the
greatest
epic
poem
in
the
English
language.
Coda
16
William
Blake.
Satan
Arousing
the
Rebel
Angels
(watercolor),
1808.
Victoria
and
Albert
Museum,
London.
And
he
said
.
.
.
17
William
Blake.
God
Judging
Adam
(color
relief
print
with
pen,
ink
and
watercolor),
c.
1795.
Metropolitan
Museum
of
Art,
New
York.
And
he
said
.
.
.
18
Once
banished
from
Paradise,
Adam
and
Eve
struggle
with
pain,
sickness
and
death,
the
direct
consequences
of
sin.
Coda
19
Peter
Paul
Rubens.
Cane
Slaying
Abel
(oil
on
oak
panel),
c.
1608-1609.
Courtauld
Ins2tute
of
Art,
London.
And
he
said
.
.
.
20
And
by
Genesis
6:
5-6
we
read:
When
the
Lord
saw
how
great
the
wickedness
of
human
beings
was
on
earth,
and
how
every
desire
that
their
heart
conceived
was
always
nothing
but
evil,
the
Lord
regrePed
making
human
beings
on
the
earth,
and
his
heart
was
grieved.
So
Genesis
6:
11
9:
17
God
in
brought
the
ood
to
wash
the
board
clean
and
give
humanity
a
second
chance.
Coda
21
John
Mar2n.
The
Deluge
(oil
on
canvas),
1834.
Yale
Center
for
Bri2sh
Art,
Paul
Mellon
Collec2on,
New
Haven.
And
he
said
.
.
.
22
Armenia
!
Turkey
"
Mt.
Ararat
Iran
And
he
said
.
.
.
23
Photography
by
Ana
Maria
Vargas
Photography
by
Ana
Maria
Vargas
Photography
by
Ana
Maria
Vargas
Photography
by
Ana
Maria
Vargas
Photography
by
Ana
Maria
Vargas
Photography
by
Ana
Maria
Vargas
Thats
not
Not
amrk!
e.
Noahs
Ill
bet
it
is!
Coda
30
Once
the
Flood
subsided,
Noah
got
o
the
ark,
planted
a
vineyard,
got
drunk,
cursed
his
children
and
we
ended
up
at
the
Tower
of
Babel
in
Genesis
11:
1-9.
It
happened
all
over
again!
Coda
31
Pieter
Brueghel
the
Elder.
The
Tower
of
Babel
(oil
on
panel),
1563.
Museum
of
Fine
Arts,
Vienna.
Rewards
and
Punishments
32
Clearly,
leE
to
our
own
devices
humanity
cannot
resolve
the
issue
of
sin,
so
in
Genesis
12:
2-3
God
takes
macers
into
his
own
hands
and
introduces
the
plan
of
redemp2on,
making
a
covenant
with
Abraham,
a
covenant
which
involves
both
progeny
(people)
and
property
(land).
Coda
33
In
the
Abraham/Isaac
story
we
have
our
rst
hint
that
Gods
plan
of
redemp2on
will
involve
something
far
more
than
God
building
Abraham
and
his
wife
Sarah
into
a
na2on
and
giving
them
land.
It
will
also
involve
the
sacrice
of
Gods
own
son,
foreshadowed
in
the
story
of
the
sacrice
of
Isaac
in
Genesis
22:
1-19.
Coda
34
Rembrandt.
Sacrice
of
Isaac
(oil
on
canvas),
1635.
Hermitage
Museum,
St.
Petersburg,
Russia.
Rewards
and
Punishments
35
So,
God
makes
good
on
his
covenant
with
Abraham:
Abraham
and
Sarah
have
Isaac;
Isaac
and
Rebekah
have
Jacob;
and
Jacob
and
his
wives,
Leah
and
Rachel
(and
his
concubines
Bilhah
and
Zilpah)
have
twelve
sons
who
become
the
founders
of
the
twelve
tribes
of
Israel.
We
leave
Genesis
with
the
en2re
family
of
70
in
Egypt
with
their
brother
Joseph
who
is
Prime
Minister
of
Egypt,
second
only
to
Pharaoh
himself.
Coda
36
When
we
turn
the
page
to
Exodus,
400
years
ash
by,
and
Jacobs
family
of
70
have
become
nearly
2
million
and
they
are
now
slaves
in
Egypt.
We
shouldnt
be
surprised.
In
Genesis
15:
13,
God
said
to
Abraham:
Know
for
certain
that
your
descendants
will
reside
as
aliens
in
a
land
not
their
own,
where
they
shall
be
enslaved
and
oppressed
for
four
hundred
years.
Why
would
God
do
that?
Coda
37
There
are
two
reasons:
1. Slaves
dont
assimilate.
With
400
years
of
slavery
God
ensured
that
Jacobs
family
of
70
would
not
assimilate
into
the
dominant
Egyp2an
culture,
thereby
enabling
them
to
achieve
cri2cal
mass,
retaining
their
iden2ty.
2. And
400
years
of
slavery
taught
the
Israelites
very
important
moral
and
ethical
lessons
about
oppression,
jus2ce
and
social
equality,
lessons
that
would
become
cri2cal
for
the
Israelites,
Gods
vehicle
for
redeeming
humanity.
Coda
38
But
400
years
of
slavery
is
enough!
In
Gods
own
2me
he
raised
up
Moses
who
would
lead
his
people
out
of
Egypt.
Finding
him
in
a
basket
in
the
bulrushes
of
the
Nile
River,
Pharaohs
daughter
adopted
Moses
and
brought
him
up
as
a
prince
of
Egypt.
We
all
know
the
story
of
Exodus
2:
1-15.
Coda
39
Paul
Delaroche.
Moses
in
the
Bulrushes
(oil
on
canvas),
1857.
Private
Collec2on.
Rewards
and
Punishments
40
Moses
spent
the
next
40
years
as
a
fugi2ve,
living
in
the
land
of
Midian,
in
northwestern
Saudi
Arabia
of
today.
There
he
married
Zipporah,
daughter
of
Jethro,
and
he
tended
sheep
belonging
to
his
father-in-law.
Quite
the
comedown
for
a
prince
of
Egypt!
But
in
Exodus
3
God
chose
Moses
to
perform
a
great
task.
Coda
41
Henri
Eugne
Pluchart.
God
Appears
to
Moses
in
the
Burning
Bush
(oil
on
canvas),
1848.
St.
Isaacs
Cathedral,
St.
Petersburg,
Russia.
Rewards
and
Punishments
42
It
took
the
10
plagues
to
convince
Pharaoh
to
free
the
Israelites,
and
when
he
does,
they
leave
Egypt
a
devastated
land,
ravaged
by
supernatural
disasters
and
the
death
of
every
rstborn
Egyp2an
child
and
animal.
The
plagues
did
three
things:
1. they
taught
the
Israelites
who
God
is;
2. they
taught
the
Egyp2ans
who
God
is;
and
3. they
brought
judgment
on
the
Egyp2an
gods.
Coda
43
Once
out
of
Egypt
and
across
the
Red
Sea
the
Israelites
make
their
way
to
Mount
Sinai,
where
in
Exodus
19
God
rearms
the
covenant
with
them.
Coda
44
Land
of
Goshen
"
Via
Maris
Rameses
!#
Succoth
!#
"
Bicer
Lakes
#
"
Marah
#
"
Elim
#
"
Rephidim
"
Mt.
Sinai
Mt.
Sinai
Photography
by
Ana
Maria
Vargas
At
midnight,
Dr.
Creasys
intrepid
band
of
students
prepare
to
climb
Mt.
Sinai.
Photography
by
Ana
Maria
Vargas
Dr.
Creasy
leads
the
way
up
the
mountain
in
the
black
of
night!
Photography
by
Ana
Maria
Vargas
Unlike
Moses,
we
stop
halfway
up
for
coee
and
cookies,
served
by
the
Bedouins!
Photography
by
Ana
Maria
Vargas
Sunrise
from
atop
Mt.
Sinai.
Photography
by
Ana
Maria
Vargas
Early
morning
on
the
mountain
of
God.
Photography
by
Ana
Maria
Vargas
Accep2ng
the
terms
of
the
covenant,
God
gives
his
people
two
great
giEs:
the
Law
and
the
Tabernacle.
1. The
Law
is
ten
principles
by
which
a
covenant
people
are
to
live
with
God
and
one
another;
and
2. The
Tabernacle
is
a
physical
structure
that
enables
a
sinful
people
to
gain
access
to
a
holy
God.
Coda
52
Turning
the
page
to
Levi2cus,
we
learn
how
to
apply
the
Law
and
how
to
use
the
Tabernacle.
Importantly,
the
Tabernacle
provides
a
bridge
between
God
and
humanity,
a
bridge
mediated
by
the
priesthood
and
enabled
by
the
5
Great
Sacrices:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Burnt
oering
Grain
oering
Peace
oering
Sin
oering
Guilt
oering
Coda
53
The
Tabernacle
The
Law
and
the
Tabernacle
have
great
intrinsic
value
in
their
own
right,
but
viewed
through
a
Chris2an
interpreta2ve
lens,
they
speak
of
the
person
and
work
of
Christ.
We
learn
in
Hebrews
8:
1-6
that
the
Tabernacle
is
a
copy
and
shadow
of
the
heavenly
sanctuary,
and
we
learn
that
the
5
Great
Sacrices
have
a
deeper
spiritual
meaning,
as
well:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Burnt
oering
=
Christ
oers
himself
wholly
to
God;
Grain
oering
=
Christ
is
awless
in
his
humanity;
Peace
oering
=
Christ
is
our
peace,
with
whom
we
share
a
meal,
his
body
and
blood
in
the
Eucharist;
Sin
oering
=
Christ
takes
our
sin
upon
himself;
Guilt
oering
=
Christ
pays
the
penalty
for
our
sins,
making
res2tu2on
to
God
on
our
behalf.
Coda
55
Exodus
20
through
Levi2cus
26
encompass
the
en2rety
of
Gods
covenant
with
Israel,
following
the
standard
6-part
structure
of
ancient
Near
Eastern
covenants
between
sovereigns
and
vassals:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Preamble,
or
introduc2on
of
the
speaker;
Historical
prologue;
S2pula2ons;
The
document;
Calling
the
gods
as
witnesses;
and
Blessings
and
curses.
Coda
56
When
we
leave
Levi2cus
and
move
on
to
Numbers,
we
count
the
people,
organize
them
and
march
toward
the
land
of
Canaan,
the
Promised
Land:
In
Deuteronomy
Moses
tells
the
new
genera2on
their
story,
in
light
of
spending
40
years
in
the
wilderness;
In
Joshua
the
Israelites
conquer
the
land
of
Canaan;
and
In
Judges
the
Israelites
secle
it.
By
the
end
of
Judges,
however,
the
Israelites
have
shacered
the
covenant:
they
are
far
from
being
a
kingdom
of
priests
and
a
holy
na1on,
a
light
to
the
Gen1les;
rather,
we
read:
In
those
days
.
.
.
everyone
did
what
was
right
in
their
own
sight.
The
Israelites
had
forgocen
God,
en2rely.
Coda
57
So,
once
again
sin
corrupts
humanity.
We
really
do
m
need
Not
e.
Christ.
Coda
Stay
tuned
for
the
rest
of
the
story!
58
1. Adam
and
Eve
live
in
paradise,
a
awless
garden
where
everything
is
as
God
intended:
yet
they
fall.
Why?
2. The
Abrahamic
covenant
consists
of
two
promises.
What
are
they?
3. How
does
the
sacrice
of
Isaac
foreshadow
the
sacrice
of
Christ?
4. Why
were
the
Israelites
enslaved
in
Egypt?
5. When
God
rearmed
his
covenant
with
the
en2re
Israelite
community
at
Mount
Sinai,
he
gave
them
two
great
giEs.
What
are
they?
Coda
59
Copyright
2015
by
William
C.
Creasy
All
rights
reserved.
No
part
of
this
courseaudio,
video,
photography,
maps,
2melines
or
other
mediamay
be
reproduced
or
transmiced
in
any
form
by
any
means,
electronic
or
mechanical,
including
photocopying,
recording
or
by
any
informa2on
storage
or
retrieval
devices
without
permission
in
wri2ng
or
a
licensing
agreement
from
the
copyright
holder.
[All
Tabernacle
illustra2ons
in
these
lectures
are
taken
from:
Paul
F.
Kiene.
The
Tabernacle
of
God
in
the
Wilderness
of
Sinai,
trans.
by
John
S,
Crandall.
Grand
Rapids,
Michigan:
Zondervan
Publishing
House,
1977.
Used
by
permission.]
Coda
60
