A Holy Nation: The Political Vision of the Old Testament (Explorer's Conference 2022, Part 1)
The 2022 Explorer's Conference at Wi-Ne-Ma Christian Camp was mt first opportunity to speak on the topic of the Biblical vision of the Bible. I was given three sessions to discuss the politics of the Bible, which I broke up into the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Epistles. Below you will find the video of the first session, the text of my notes, and a link to a PDF of the combined notes from all three sessions.
Defining Political Theology
• Biblical:
according to the bible
• Theological:
discourse about God
• Politics: “the business of using the power of the
government to create and shape order in society.”
• Problem: this
understanding of government only works of the last 400 years, not the Biblical
period.
• State is an entity
with absolute sovereignty over society: they govern your land, document your
life, license your business, conduct war, judge crimes
• Prior to the
1600's, those authorities would have been divided:
• Your lord governs
your land
• Your guild
licenses your business
• The church
documents your life
• The king goes to
war
• A variety of
authorities judge crimes
• Better definition:
the business of creating and shaping order in society
• Biblical Political
Theology: what the Bible says about God's plan for creating and shaping order
in society.
The Origin of Political Society
Scarcity Politics
The State of Nature
• Independence—all
human beings are sovereign individuals with power over their possessions.
• Assumption of
Scarcity—there is not enough to go around.
• Competition—I
must take what I need from others.
• Violence—I
will use violence to get what I need.
• Chaos—violent
competition will overwhelm society, making prosperity impossible.
In such condition, there is no place for Industry; because
the fruit thereof is uncertain; and consequently no Culture of the Earth; no
Navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by Sea; no
commodious Building; no Instruments of moving, and removing such things as
require much force; no Knowledge of the face of the Earth; no account of Time;
no Arts; no Letters; no Society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and
danger of violent death; And the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short. (Thomas Hobbes, 1651)
The Social Contract
• The Contract—Individuals
gather together and concentrate their political power in one authority with the
ability to keep peace and provide for prosperity.
• The State—the
government resulting from the contract is the ultimate authority on political
matters, sovereign over all individuals and societies.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That
to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to
alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation
on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. (Thomas Jefferson, 1776)
Providence Politics
The State of Innocence
Delegation—God creates humanity with the purpose of
ruling on his behalf.
Genesis 1:26-28:
Then God said, “Let
us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the
fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild
animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in
his own image,
in the image of God he created
them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to
them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule
over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living
creature that moves on the ground.”
Providence—there is enough, because God provides for
everyone.
Genesis 1:29-30
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant
on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.
They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all
the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the
ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant
for food.” And it was so.
Harmony—creation operates with complete harmony
amongst humanity, between humanity and creation, and between humanity and God.
Genesis 1:31–2:1 NIV
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there
was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
The Political Fall
• Humanity was
seduced by scarcity politics.
• The serpent
introduced the fear of scarcity.
Genesis 3:4–5 NIV
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.
“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will
be like God, knowing good and evil.”
• Fear of scarcity
induced Eve to assert her independence by seizing the fruit.
Genesis 3:4–6 NIV
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.
“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will
be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to
the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She
also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
• Independence
immediately put Adam and Eve in competition with each other, and their
children as well.
Genesis 3:7 NIV
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized
they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for
themselves.
Genesis 4:3–5 NIV
In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the
soil as an offering to the Lord.
And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of
his flock. The Lord looked with
favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look
with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
• We assume that the
politics of providence became impossible after the fall. However, God maintains
that his providence can still be trusted.
Genesis 4:6–7 NIV
Then the Lord
said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is
right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is
crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
• The fear of scarcity
is a lie—God still provides.
• Stop believing in
the lie and live in God’s providence.
• Cain rejects God's
wisdom and resorts to violence.
Genesis 4:8 NIV
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the
field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed
him.
• Violence threatens
to devolve into chaos
Genesis 4:10–15 NIV
The Lord said,
“What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the
ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its
mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground,
it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on
the earth.”
Cain said to the Lord, “My
punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and
I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the
earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
But the Lord said to him, “Not so;
anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one
who found him would kill him.
• God again promises
providence, and gives Cain the mark.
Genesis 4:15 NIV
But the Lord
said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times
over.” Then the Lord put a mark on
Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.
• Cain refuses to
trust in God’s providence; instead he builds a city—the first political
society—to save him from the chaos threatened by scarcity politics.
Genesis 4:17 NIV
Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave
birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son
Enoch.
• Cain’s city became
a civilization of increasing violence and evil, because of the fear of scarcity
that operated at its core.
• Enoch is the
civilization God destroyed with the flood.
• Noah’s descendants
were again seduced by scarcity politics—instead of trusting in God’s providence
and spreading throughout the world, they built the city of Babylon.
The Calling of Israel
• God called Abraham
out of Babylon to restore the blessings of his providence to the nations.
Genesis 12:1–3 NIV
The Lord had
said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household
to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
• God saved the
Israelites out of Egyptian oppression so he could make them an example to the
world of a faithful political community
Exodus 19:4–6 NIV
‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I
carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me
fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured
possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the
Israelites.”
Deuteronomy 4:5–8 NIV
See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you
may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe
them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the
nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great
nation is a wise and understanding people.” What other nation is so great as to
have their gods near them the way the Lord
our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great
as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting
before you today?
The Political Shape of the Covenant
Providence in the Law of Moses
• The Law of Moses
was designed specifically to demonstrate to the world that God’s providence
could be trusted.
• The Law of Moses
had no central authority, no standing army, and no military stockpiles.
• “Yahweh War” was
designed to ensure that only God could be given credit for military victories.
• Reverse draft
• Initial sacrifice
• Harem—devote
to destruction.
• ·The Law of Moses
strictly forbids the worship of any other gods, lest they be given credit for
his work.
• Other religions
were based on scarcity politics—gods could be bribed into helping humans
compete for scarce resources.
• Sabbath forced Israel
to depend on God economically:
• One day a week
• Seven festivals a
year
• One year every
seven
• One year every
seventh seven
• God promised that,
as Israel obeyed his covenant, he would demonstrate his providence by blessing
them as a nation.
Harmony in the Law of Moses
• The Law of Moses
was designed to restore the harmony of humanity with each other, with God, and
with creation.
• Sabbath was meant
to be shared with all people.
• Everyone practices
weekly Sabbath—family, servants, slaves, foreigners, and animals.
• Even the land
participated in the Sabbath year.
• Sabbath laws
created a society with no rich or poor classes.
• In Sabbath years,
all Israelite debt was forgiven and all Israelite slaves were freed.
• In Jubilee years,
all land was restored to the people.
• The Tabernacle and
sacrificial system showed harmony between God and his people—a harmony that was
dependent on their faithfulness as a political community.
Summary:
• The Law of Moses
created a unique political community—a kind of anti-state.
• Properly followed,
the Covenant would make it clear that the Israelites owed their security and
prosperity to God, not to their leaders or political institutions.
• Followed properly,
the Law of Moses would create a community in which people trusted in God’s
providence and thus were able to live in harmony with each other.
• As the Israelites
fulfilled their role in the covenant and received God’s blessings, they would
demonstrate to the world that scarcity politics is a lie, and God’s providence
can be trusted.
• The Law of Moses
is a new mark of Cain.
• Scarcity is a
lie—God still provides
• Stop living in the
lie and live in God’s providence
The Legacy of the Covenant
The Tribal Confederacy
• The tribal
Confederacy quickly abandoned the instructions of the law and turn to idol
worship, and began facing political crisis after crisis.
• Here they faced
the choice of Cain: trust in God's providence or resort to human power.
• The Israelites
decided that their failure was due to lack of central power, and demanded a
king.
• God warned them
that a king would distort the covenant into a system of oppression, but they
insisted and God relented.
The Kingdom
• Under the
monarchy, Israel rapidly fell away from the design of the covenant.
• Saul established
an officer corps and legitimized his reign by taking credit for victory in
battle, indeparture from the principles of Yahweh war.
• David established
a private standing army, a royal capital, took control of the priesthood, and
brought worship to the Royal City.
• Solomon replace
the tribal Confederacy with a royal bureaucracy, built permanent shrine in the
temple, built vast imperial palaces, and enslaved Israelites.
• He also chose to
marry and retain foreign wives as part of foreign alliances, at the expense of
the covenant.
• By the end of
Solomon's reign, Israel had become an Egyptian style empire State.
The Decline
• After Solomon's
death, the tribes rebelled against the imperial bureaucracy and Israel was
divided into two smaller squabbling kingdoms.
• The Kings of
Israel and Judah depended on alliances with nearby Kingdoms for their stability
and prosperity. This led to rampant idolatry and a total pollution of the
covenant.
• Overtime they also
departed further and further from the egalitarian vision of the covenant.
• They did not
observe the Sabbath or jubilee years. Leading to the growth of a landed
aristocracy and the landless poor class.
The Exile
• Eventually God
invoked the curses of the covenant, which are meant to demonstrate that Israel
is not living according to the design of the covenant.
• Israel was
gradually stripped of its sovereignty, before finally losing the kingdom in the
presence of God altogether and being taken into exile among the nations.
Toward the New Testament
• Israel could not
be trusted to use the levers of power to create a community dependent on God.
• How can such a faithful political community be created?
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