Page 130 - Pentateuch - Student Textbook

reference to Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:3-11). Israel has become just like the nations they were
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sent to destroy.

With the coming of the kings, the covenant did not change. The worship book of Israel reaffirms the law
constantly. “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or
stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose
delight is in the law of the LORD (Ps. 1:1-2a). “LORD, who may dwell in your
sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is
blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart
(Ps, 15:1-2a).” “The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The
Blameless? commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes (Ps. 19:8).” “Blessed
are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD
(Ps. 119:1).”

The everyday wisdom of Israel reaffirms the law with almost every line.
Sinful men “lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves
(Prov. 1:18).” The upright will live, but the wicked will be cut off (2:21-
22). By honoring God with first fruits, barns and vats will overflow (3:10).
Poverty is the result of laziness (6:9-11). On and on the writer weaves
the connections among wisdom, sin, life, and death. “The LORD detests Blameless?
dishonest scales (11:1).” “The mouths of fools are their undoing (18:7).”
“The generous will themselves be blessed (22:9).” The proverbs can refer
to specifics or generalities, yet all follow God’s law of right and wrong. “The one whose walk is blameless
is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit (28:18).”

Prophet after prophet railed at Israel for disobeying God. Hosea made much
of Israel’s failures. He wrote about specific laws broken. “There is no
faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only
cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery (4:1-2).” He wrote about a
general neglect of God’s law. “My people are destroyed from lack of
knowledge…Because you have ignored the law of your God; I also will ignore
your children (4:6).” He wrote about the dynamics of Israel’s sinful
progression as an illustration of the theology of Deuteronomy. “When I fed
Blameless?
them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud;
then they forgot me” (13:6, cf. Deut. 8:10-14).
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Amos lists a whole series of events God used to try to bring Israel back to himself. Empty stomachs (4:6),
lack of rain (v. 7), blight and mildew and locust (v. 9), plagues like those in Egypt (v. 10), and overthrow
like Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 11). Much of this language is purposely borrowed from Deuteronomy to
make the connection clear. God swears by his “holiness” (4:2), the uniqueness of his being, that he will

136 A careful study of these two chapters reveals a deliberate comparison by the author of Judges. He
uses much of the language of Genesis 19:4-8 in his account in 19:22-24. I owe the details of this
observation to Daniel I. Block in class notes for an Old Testament course on Judges through Bethel
Seminary in St. Paul, MN.
137 Commentators frequently observe Hosea’s references to Deuteronomy. See, for example, Dearman,
Hosea, 36-40.

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