Invitation to Covenant and Renewal

:AJ3Jb,IE~/Stu.dy.~y Robert G. Boling.

:. -:Professor of Old Testament. Dean of Masters Program McConnick Theological Seminary

Contents

Page(s)

Introduction Stewardship as Poetic Diplomacy 2 Session 1 Stewardship of Power 4 Session 2 Stewardship and Economic Justice 8 Session 3 Stewardship of Self 12 Session 4 Stewardship of the Mysteries 16 Session 5 Ambassadors for Christ 19 Stewardship as Poetic Diplomacy

Psalm 66, A Close Reading ---- credentials: The title of the following study is ".Come and see what God has done: a poetic excerpt from ancient liturgy God is terrible (awesome) in deeds originally in use at the Jerusalem temple among humankind and a number of less prestigious wor­ who turned the sea into dry land ... ship centers. Psalm 66 is a joyous invita­ There we did rejoice in him who tion to worship God, ancient and rules with power for ever, addressed to "all the earth." It is whose eyes keep watch on the still heard today: nations .. . " (Psalm 66:5-7). "Make a joyful noise to God, all the In other words, Psalm 66 is about the earth; sing the glory of God's name; joyous approach to the one to whom give to God glorious praise!" (Psalm belongs "the kingdom, the power, and 66:1-2). the glory" (Matthew 6:13). The psalmist Lest the worshipper be at a loss for spoke as a member of the believing com­ words of praise, the poet included munity- one of the no-power people, a specific recommendation: citizens of a postage stamp-sized "Say to God, 'How terrible (awesome) country which straddled the narrow are your deeds! So great is your land bridge between Africa and Asia power that your enemies cringe - making claims that appeared out of before you!' "(Psalm 66:3). all proportion to realistic assessments of Then comes the verse which gives ti­ authority and exercise of power. tle to this study. It speaks in poetry of Moreover, the psalmist had experi­ motivation to worship by reciting God's enced a recovery from serious distress (Psalm 66:16-20) . That personal experi­ ence was placed alongside the collec­ tive memory of exodus and a gener­ ation spent wandering in desert wilderness (Psalm 66:9-12) . Joining mem­ ory and experience, the poet-psalmist sang: "I worship God!" (Psalm 66: 13-15).

Poet-Psalmist as Diplomat ---- The preceding section describes Psalm 66 in a manner that reveals something of its poetic structure and impact. Poetry differs from discursive and descriptive prose in its appeal to both emotional and rational faculties. It seeks not merely to convince, but to convict and convert. The poet-psalm­ ist, in the creation of poetry, joined both understanding and feeling to enact bib­ lical faith. The poet acted as a diplo­ mat, mobilizing and activating faithful response. Diplomatic Sources ------ship between sovereign and subject. As a diplomat, the psalmist had The steward was entrusted with the many compatriots in scripture. The affairs of a large household, including tradition of the covenant at Sinai was assuring that the resources of the house­ profoundly shaped by forms and prac­ hold were equitably distributed. Abra­ tices of international diplomacy. The ham had a steward (Genesis 15:2), as Sinai covenant cast Yahweh, God of did Joseph (Genesis 43:19, 44:4). Israel­ Israel, in the role of Suzerain, a power­ ite kings had such officials (1 Kings 15:18; ful king who exercised benevolent Isaiah 22:15). The man in charge of the sovereignty toward vassals within wedding feast in Cana was a steward a mutually acknowledged relation- Gohn 2:8-9). The person in charge of ship. Loyalty to the Sovereign (in the the vineyard was a steward (Matthew first four of Ten Commandments, Exo­ 20:8; Luke 8:3). In each of these exam­ dus 20:1-11) was exercised in the area ples, the steward acted on behalf of the of interpersonal relationships (in the owner. remaining six Commandments, Exodus 20:12-17). Thus Moses and the prophets Summary ------­ were ambassadors in fact, not in In this study series we will explore, as metaphor. covenantal partners, the relationship between divine commitment and hu­ Stewards? ------man obligation, between transcendent In the ancient world, stewardship sovereignty and faithful stewardship - was an important part of the relation- taking our bearings from scripture.

Suggestions for Study Note to Leaders ------or triads for 5-10 minutes of group For many participants in this study discussion. series, including many pastors, the Questions meaning of stewardship may be re­ for Discussion ------stricted to matters of money, program 1. What is the relationship between planning, budget-making, and fund­ worship and obligation? raising. Similarly, "covenant" might 2. What was the significance of coven­ be considered synonymous with the ant renewal in the worship setting "contract" in western legal tradition. of Psalm 66? To encourage broader understanding, 3. What is the significance of covenant inclusive of attitude and response to renewal in our worship today? worship, read Psalm 66 together. Allow 4. Do we, like the Hebrews, balance a few minutes for each participant to personal experience with a collective read the introduction to the Bible study memory? What is our collective and reflect on the image of stewardship memory? as diplomatic activity. Break into pairs Session 1 Stewardship of Power

Scripture Reading: Exodus 19:5; threatening to murder me as you Deuteronomy 20:1-20; Judges 2:1-5; murdered the Egyptian?' .. . a ques­ 2 Samuel 11-12 tion had been raised which is just as relevant today as it was in pharaonic "All the Earth is Mine" Egypt: what is the ultimate authority au­ The scene in Exodus 19 was set at for the exercise of force when the Sinai (also called Horeb), a mountain thorities themselves engage in clan­ made holy by God. It was there that destine murder? ... It must have Moses, a fugitive Hebrew murderer been a traumatic experience-or on the run from Egyptian law (Exodus have been seen as such by the religi­ 2:11-25), faced the self-revelation of ous community- to find that the Yahweh (Exodus 3) . In that experience conflict between two Hebrews was Moses became God's special ambassa­ identical to that between the Egyptian dor to the Egyptian court, as well as aggressor and the Hebrew victims" to the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. (G.E. Mendenhall, The Tenth Genera­ "It may well be that it all started with tion [Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Moses' murder of an Egyptian over­ University Press, 1973] 20-21). seer, occasioned by the brutality of Ambassador Moses the man. His attempt to put an end at the Constitutional to a brawl between two Hebrews Convention ------brought the retort: 'Who made you In the scene of Exodus 19 where prince and judge over us? Are you former slaves to pharaoh were invited to enter into a covenant, God's most awesome deeds (Psalm 66:3,5) were in the past and included liberation from state-slavery in Egypt and providential survival in an unfamiliar and inhospita­ ble desert. The Hebrews who assembled at the mountain of revelation were a mixed multitude (Exodus 12:38), with no inclusive ethnic identity. They were society's marginalized persons who had been forced into slavery in Egypt and included some descendants of an old tribal league called "Israel." At Sinai the plan for God's alternative kingdom was revealed. Through Am­ bassador Moses, God said to the people: "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to my­ self. Now therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine ... " (Exodus 19:4-6). shean in Palestine, shows Ramses II It appears to have been a matter of (right) receiving power from Amon-Re, trading one sovereignty for another, the sun god (left). but this newly acknowledged sov­ In divine right monarchy (the only ereignty transcended all others. To form of governance known to the civ­ Yahweh alone belongs the kingdom, ilized world prior to the Sinai conven­ the power, and the glory forever. tion), there could be no significant dif­ On Eagles' Wings ------ference between the policies of heaven Eagles' (or falcons') wings were a and the prerogatives of the ruling elite. powerful and effective symbol of sov­ The Sinai constitutional convention ereignty in the ancient world. They were was a decisive break with the past. The especially popular with the deified and eagles' wings in Exodus 19 represented divine right kings whose power the sym­ a sovereignty not shared with any bol legitimated. The winged sun-disk human being. God's kingdom had no appeared frequently in the art of the an­ geographical or national political bor­ cient world and was especially com­ ders. Believers comprised an interna­ mon in Egypt. All transactions between tional (ecumenical) network and God, pharaoh and the gods were shown as a transcendent sovereign, ruled over taking place under the shelter of out­ all lesser sovereignties, cutting across stretched falcon's wings. Pharaoh was national, racial, ethnic, and gender depicted beneath the outspread wings, lines. The Ten Commandments de­ together with a god drawn in human scribed the binding basic policy in form. Pharaoh was thus pictured receiv­ which God governed directly through ing the symbols of sovereignty and the ethical commitments of the "citi­ legitimate power. The illustration be­ zens" wherever they went in the world low, from a monument found at Beth- of nations. It was not until Saul established a monarchy, followed by David and Solomon (10th century 1B.C.E.), that the reconstituted Israel became a nation like others around it.

1Before the Common Era, a term used to affirm respect for both Jewish and Christian history

Reprinted from The Ancient Near East In Pictures, Vol. 1, ed. by James B. Pritchard [Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1954] 105. Holy Warfare? (Deuteronomy 20:1-20) reference points for relating the will and Not Any More! (Judges 2:1-5; decision-making of the individual to 2Samuel11-12) ------the life-favoring will of the reigning Sov­ There is wide agreement among ereign. As such, the Sinai tradition has scholars that Deuteronomy, in finished contributed enormously to shaping the form, comes from the time of the mon­ "sacred canopy" under which the peo­ archies in Israel and Judah after the ples of the Abrahamic religions (Jews, nearly disastrous old-style kingship of Christians, Muslims) must learn to live. Solomon. Deuteronomy is the product of a renewal movement, out and away In the U.S.A.? ------Take a look at the Great from the urban centers, which harked Seal on a one dollar bill and back to the era of Moses. Deuteronomy note the dramatic arrangement sets forth a program for renewal, in of elements in the picture. While the pursuit of which Israel was a distinct eagle on the seal is rather failure! One disturbing element in fierce, it also grasps in its talons the Deuteronomy is the strong urging to olive branch of peace and the arrows of warfare. Most destroy indigenous kingdoms, to out­ significantly, however, the law mixed marriages, and to forbid any eagle is placed beneath a rosette treaty relations with remnants of those with thirteen stars representing the nations. Deuteronomy actually sought original thirteen states. In this sym­ to regulate Israel's warfare so that the bolic arrangement, the political sover­ Israelites could take no credit for vic­ eignty resides with the people whose tory. In fact, those who were afraid of national constitution is designed for warfare were exempted from military change and improvement. service! Global Awareness Versus As the story line continued through Nationalist Narcissism ------the books of Joshua and Judges, Yahweh Is it possible that warfare reveals the declared expansionist warfare no longer wrath of God allowing the nature of legitimate (Judges 2:1-5). This passage nationalism to run its course? Consider is especially ironic when, in Judges 3, the political map of God's world and the surviving Canaanites served the the changes of the past forty years. Ob­ divine purpose of testing Israel's faith­ serve the many new nations achieving fulness! After the passages in Judges 2 independence. Many lives have been and 3, it is difficult to find strong bibli­ sacrificed for "national independence." cal support for expansionist warfare, How much of that independence is nom­ though many have tried. King David is inal, due to the Big Brotherism of one shown going through the motions to or more Great Powers? make his wars look holy, only to run "War today is at least as much a mat­ afoul of the genuine Yahwist piety of ter of national pride as of racial pride. Uriah, a soldier. Uriah, the Hittite, was What we call nationalism is more fre­ most likely a non-Israelite mercenary, quently a malignant national narcis­ but one who kept his promise to sism than it is a healthy satisfaction in Yahweh (2 Samuel 11-12). the accomplishments of one's culture. The commandments provide lasting In fact, to a large extent it is national­ ism that preserves the nation-state system. A century ago, when it re­ system has become obsolete. It is quired weeks for a message to get from our national narcissism, however, the United States to France, and that clings to our outdated notions months to get to China, the nation­ of sovereignty and prevents the devel­ state system made sense. In our cur­ opment of effective international rent age of instant global communi­ peacekeeping machinery" (M. Scott cation as well as instant holocaust, Peck, People of the Lie [New York: Si­ much of the international political mon & Schuster, 1983] 246).

Suggestions for Study Note to Leaders ------2. Are there "Hebrews" within our The study leader should be familiar Christian congregations today? How with Deuteronomy 20:1-20; Judges do we identify them? 2:1-5; and 2 Samuel 11-12. These three 3. What does it imply when we assert in passages are reflections on God's re­ prayer that "the kingdom, the power, lationship to ancient Israel and its ex­ and the glory" belong to God? pansionist warfare. After the death of 4. In the stewardship of international Joshua, that warfare was interpreted as power, is the nation-state system (an sinful and, thus, a failure. Yet the image autonomous state inhabited by of God as warrior remained vivid and predominantly homogeneous people) evocative. The apostle Paul, for exam­ rendered obsolete by the realities of ple, wrote that Christ" ... must reign mass immigration, economic inter­ until he has put all his enemies under dependence, and multi-national his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed corporate structures? is death" (1 Corinthians 15:25-26). 5. Does the Christian church, as a cor­ Questions porate body, have a role to play in for Discussion ------the world rule of law? If so, what 1. Who are the "Hebrews" (powerless) is that role? in our larger society and throughout the world? Session 2 Stewardship and Economic Justice

Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 21:1-19; new homeland. After sermonic speech­ Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20 es by Moses, including a repetition of the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy "Come and see what 1-11), an expanded and expounded ver­ God has done!" sion of case law precedents (Deuter­ (Psalm 66:5) ------onomy 12-26) was provided. When the As noted at the outset of this study, narrative resumed (Deuteronomy the psalmist called forth emotional, 34:10-12), Moses was explicitly de­ rational, and reflective responses to scribed as prophet par excellence. the sovereignty of God. In contrast, Throughout the book of Deuteron­ Deuteronomy is passionately pleading omy, Moses was concerned with the ex­ prose advocating the establishment of ercise of values (individual and cor­ an egalitarian society striving for a porate). As future tenant farmers of direct theocracy. Yahweh in the new land, the Hebrews "What is the meaning of found in these precedents and val- ... the statutes ... which ues the guidelines for good and pro­ the Lord our God has ductive stewardship. Thus, Deuter­ commanded you?" onomy is a description of what stewardship in the land was supposed (Deuteronomy 6:20) ------Deuteronomy was presented as the to have been, and therefore, what farewell address of Moses. The people might yet be! he led for a generation, out of Egypt The land which Yahweh gave and through the desert of the Sinai was held and worked in fief. It was wasteland, were camped beside the distributed by lot (Joshua 13 ff.) and Jordan River, waiting to cross into their could not be sold in perpetuity (Levi­ ticus 25:23). Each family's plot was its inheritance from Yahweh. The land was to remain in the family, clan, and tribe. The productivity of the land was enjoyed in return for promised service to the Sovereign. Israel, reconstituted as the Kingdom of Yahweh, displaced a multitude of city-state kingdoms. Picture a territory roughly the size of Vermont, carved up into 31 absolute monarchies, competing for the economic productivity, military service, and forced labor of a popula­ tion that may have barely exceeded a half million people. Such was the life setting of many marginalized Hebrews. It was in this situation that Israel found a new identity in the Yahwist movement. Under the monarchy, Israel became an agrarian society with extreme social contrasts of wealth and poverty. cleavage between two classes. The rul­ Is this what makes Deuteronomy one of ing elite in such a social order comprised the most frequently quoted Hebrew only 1 to 3 percent of the population, scriptures in the New Testament? but owned 50 to 70 percent of the The Blessedness land! The ruling elite controlled the of Spiritual Poverty ------greater wealth and power and from The teachings of Jesus and the per­ this position of strength determined spective of Deuteronomy relate wealth, the condition of the peasantry who power, and spirituality in similar ways. formed the bulk of the populace. The Consider, for example, two versions of elite and the peasants seldom came in­ a single beatitude recorded by gospel to meaningful social contact. writers. Perhaps the most familiar is With the emergence of a ruling elite Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor under the monarchy, there was a shift in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of to prebendal land tenure. Prebendal heaven." Compare this to Luke 6:20, domain was exercised by government "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the officials under grants from a sovereign Kingdom of God." who held ultimate ownership of the In both versions of the beatitude, land. Prebendal domain in Israel Jesus was speaking as teacher (rabbi) applied at first to the land acquired by to his pupils (disciples). In Matthew's the military and diplomatic action of version, Jesus spoke of those who Saul, David, Solomon, and their succes­ display a certain outlook on material sors. But with power on its side, preben­ wealth. In Luke's version, Jesus spoke dal domain was extended to ever larger directly to persons whose life is charac­ areas. (See what happened to Naboth's terized by poverty. Some of the modern vineyard in 1 Kings 21.) Small family translations of this beatitude read holdings, originally grants from "Happy are the poor in spirit" and Yahweh, were swallowed up by more "Happy are you poor." It is insensitive, extensive prebendal estates, due to if not cruel, to assert that poverty is sharecropper indebtedness. Poor farm­ happiness, or that involuntary econom­ ers were forced off their land by econom­ ic hardship is in any way a desirable ic necessity and sought employment at condition. slave wages in private and public build­ There are two words in biblical Greek ing projects generated by the elite, but that are translated "blessed." One is a scarcely for the public good. By the time priestly word, eulogeo, used in formal . of Jeremiah (and for a hundred years liturgical pronouncements and benedic­ preceding, judging from the oracles of tions, such as in Matthew 21:9 where Amos), the peasants were no better off the Palm Sunday crowd welcomed than they were before Israel's experi­ Jesus to Jerusalem with a blessing that ment with direct theocracy. echoes Psalm 118:5 - "Blessed is he who Deuteronomy, like other law col­ comes in the name of the Lord!" lections in scripture, demonstrates Jesus, in both versions of the beati­ a special solicitude for disadvantaged tude, uses the other word for "blessed" persons. Deuteronomy set forth a con­ - makarios. This word, unlike the stitution which sought to avoid extreme priestly blessing, is spoken from a they lived a communal life of unparal­ spectator's perspective: to say makarios leled rigor, sharing all things in com­ was to express admiration. Makarios, mon. In their writings, they never tired therefore, does not imply "happy." of referring to themselves as "the poor." In Luke's version, the persons addressed And they used the Aramaic equivalent displayed an outlook on material of Matthew's Greek to style themselves wealth that, in Matthew's version, is as "poor in spirit." In ancient psychol­ described as "poor in spirit." What is ogy, "spirit" (the same word for "wind" the spiritual poverty that has Jesus' re­ and "breath") animates, energizes, spect and admiration? and gives vitality to a person. The poor We get a clue to Jesus' meaning from in spirit are those enabled by a spirit one of the sectarian writings found within them to be poor for the sake of among the Dead Sea Scrolls. These the kingdom of God. The poor in spirit scrolls, scholars widely agree, come whom Jesus admired were not necessar­ from one of the major renewal move­ ily the economically oppressed, nor ments in first century Judaism - the were they marked by an other-worldly Essenes. The Essenes were a voluntary piety. Rather, Jesus commended their association of pious laypersons and value system. disaffected priests who had withdrawn There was an essential difference their allegiance to the religious leader­ between the Essenes and Jesus' disci­ ship in Jerusalem. Those who produced ples. Jesus' disciples did not withdraw the Dead Sea Scrolls had taken up resi­ from the public scene to await divine dence in the desert once again, believ­ intervention. They became, like him, ing that they were the true Israel and itinerant citizens of a transcendent and would very soon witness the final transforming commonwealth, ulti­ blossoming of God's Kingdom. Out mately crossing all political and ethnic near the northern tip of the Dead Sea, boundaries. Suggestions for Study

Note to Leaders ------are free from the idolatry of wealth. The We sometimes forget how scripture poor in spirit put their resources to has entered the basic formation of west­ work for the kingdom of God. ern and, more specifically, North Amer­ Questions ican tradition with its fundamentally for Discussion ------egalitarian, anti-absolutist commit­ 1. Concerning land tenure, do you ment. To be sure, scripture can be put recognize any parallels between the to demonic misuse as, for example, in plight of the peasantry in ancient the South African use of covenant to Israel and the deepening plight of legitimize apartheid. Consider the rela­ the family farm in the United States tively short period of time since many today? North American Christians conclud- 2. What is the relationship between ed that slavery was not compatible with economic prosperity and success? God's plan, as set forth in the cen- 3. The tiny states of Israel and Judah tral story line of scripture. mistakenly believed their national For this session, break into small existence was secured by their special groups (maximum of six participants role in God's plan for all the nations. per group) to discuss the passages from Does any state have "favored nation" Deuteronomy 6 and 1 Kings 21 in light status? What beliefs do we hold of certain present-day issues of eco­ regarding the right to national exis­ nomic justice. tence for the United States? After hearing some response from 4. What are the stewardship impli­ each of the discussion groups, proceed cations of foreign investments by to an open and general discussion of secular, as well as ecclesiastical, spiritual poverty. God's solicitude in institutions? scripture for the economically disadvan­ 5. Who are the poor in spirit in today's taged is obvious and scripture has often world? undergirded philanthropy. The study 6. Can a demonstration of spiritual suggests that the poor in spirit actually poverty be considered an act of control various degrees of wealth, yet faithful stewardship? Session 3 Stewardship of Self

Scripture Reading: Micah 6:1-8 Micah: " ... what does the Lord require of With What Shall I Come you but to do justice, and to love Before the Lord? ------­ kindness and to walk humbly with The question raised by the title of this your God?" (Micah 6:8). section was answered by the prophet To Christians and Jews alike, this is one of the most familiar passages of scripture, and rightly so. At the same time, as with many beloved scriptures, it may take a special effort to under­ stand it in its original sense.

State-sponsored Terror? ----- In the near background of Micah 6:8 is the experience of state-sponsored terrorism. For most of us involved in this study series, familiarity with state­ sponsored terror comes secondhand, via the media. For the persons who pro­ duced the bulk of Hebrew scripture, state-sponsored terror was everyday reality. Regarding the old northern king­ dom of ~srael and its demise in 7'22. B.C.E., the Assyrian emperor Sargon II boast­ ed in his annals: "I besieged and took Samaria, led away as booty 27,290 inhabitants ... together with their chariotry ... The terror-inspiring glamour of Asshur my lord overwhelmed them. At the very mention of my name their hearts pounded in fright; their arms lost their vigor" (Reprinted from Micah, The Prophet by Hans Walter Wolff, copyright © Fortress Press. Used by permission of Augs­ burg Fortress.) The threat to the southern kingdom of Judah was no less severe. Less than a quarter century later, the next emperor, Sennacherib, reported: "As for Hezekiah of Judah, I besieged forty-six of his strong fortified cities. I drove out as booty 200,150 persons, young and old, male and female .. . Himself I shut up as a prison in his Seeing God's covenant in shambles royal city Jerusalem like a bird in a evoked Micah's poetic thunder. He cage .. . The brilliant terror of my announced, like Amos a decade or two lordship overwhelmed Hezekiah" earlier, the unavoidable and inescapable (ibid). terror of imminent national destruction In the last half of the eighth century (Micah 2 and 3) . His poetry was col­ B.C.E., terror seized the entire ancient lected and edited for the survivors of world - thanks to Assyria's imperial this destruction. As a result, there is might and its practice of calculated tension in the book of Micah between cruelty. This was the era of four great unconditional proclamation of doom biblical prophets: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and invitation to hope-filled renewal. and Micah. Micah's prophetic activity In the threats of unconditional bad began at the latest in 734 B.C.E. and news, Micah confronted two kinds of continued through the years toward the opposition in Jerusalem and in his own impending disaster of 722 when the hometown - popular prophetic col­ northern capital at Samaria was de­ leagues and responsible public officials stroyed, as Sargon boasts. The book of (the "leaders and rulers" of Micah Micah is filled with a sense of escalating 3:1,9). The popular prophets, Micah's horror. According to Micah, develop­ God complained, "lead my people ments such as the Assyrian invasion astray" (Micah 3:5). The Jerusalem served God's sovereign purpose. leadership was targeted because "I will make Samaria a heap in the "they eat the flesh of my people ... " open country, a place for planting (Micah 3:3). And the Moresheth offi­ vineyards. And I will pour down her cials heard Yahweh's indictment: "The stones into the valley and uncover women of my people you drive out her foundations" (Micah 1:6). from their pleasant houses//from their The news for Jerusalem and its splen- young children you take away my glory did Temple was no better: forever" (Micah 2:9). "Zion shall be plowed as a field; Love for those who suffered un­ Jerusalem shall become a heap of leashed the prophetic grief. God and ruins, and the mountain of the house prophet lamented and shared in the a wooded height" (Micah 3:12). just and righteous response of God to Micah did not live at the political the blundering and exploitative misuse center of the nation. His home was at of political power and economic clout. Moresheth, in the low hills bordering But Micah also had a message for the fertile south-coastal plain. There survivors. With the destruction of were five fortress towns maintained by Jerusalem and God's rejection of the the southern kingdom within six miles power elite, what would become of of Moresheth. Micah was thus assured God's promise to David? That promise lively contact with Jerusalem. He may to David had, by Micah's day, helped have been a man of means, for he maintain one ruling family in Jerusalem showed up as a prophet in the capital for the better part of three centuries! city speaking in the name of Yahweh to Micah said that the promise was still those who "build Zion with blood and in effect, but it would be from David's Jerusalem with wrong" (Micah 3:10). hometown, Bethlehem, that a ruler would arise who would fulfill all that tionship. (For the first pattern, see the splendid coronation psalms had Deuteronomy 32; Psalm 50:1-7; and expected from the Jerusalem king. Jeremiah 2. Micah 6 belongs to the The Lord Has a second pattern- see Isaiah 1 and Controversy Psalm 50:8-13) . In both patterns of with the People ------scripture, God was both plaintiff and In Micah 6:1-8, a broken and passive judge. Using prophetic imagination to people, including the power elite, came convict and convert, the prophet de­ under surveillance by the word of God. clared that the mountains and hills The Hebrew word for "controversy" in served as witnesses for the treaty 6:2 represents a formal indictment. The partners in Micah 6:1. They replaced the imagery for God's judgement was not respective gods who were expected to drawn from local legal practice, which function as judges in the "real world" in Israel and Judah had a setting at the of international diplomacy. city gate (Ruth 4:1-12) . Instead, the As the scene unfolded with lively indictment imagery (like the pattern imagery, Israel was sorrowfully indicted of the Sinai covenant) came from the by God for failing to remember "the conduct of international diplomacy. At saving acts of the Lord" - liberation Sinai, Israel had been reconstituted as from state-slavery in Egypt and provi­ Yahweh's vassal kingdom. In Micah 6, dential care thereafter, leading to re­ Israel was on trial for breach of coven­ entry into the homeland (verses 3-5) . ant. Israel responded, as defendant, in Being an ambassador in the ancient verses 6 and 7. Given the relationship world was a far riskier occupation than alleged in the indictment, the defendant it is today. It was the ambassador's task asked about appropriate gifts to bring as to carry the Suzerain's indictment into compensation for damages to Yahweh's the presence of the accused and to ac­ reputation: "With what shall I come quire evidence and acknowledgement before Yahweh and bow myself before of guilt or innocence. With no interna­ God on high?" Burnt offerings? Calves tional courts, the Suzerain's indictment a year old? Thousands of rams? Rivers for breach of treaty was a declaration of of oil? My first born . . . ? At last the war, with the Suzerain's army to follow prophet intervened, with a warning soon unless matters were set right. to Israel that a change of conduct was Such was the secular model that pro­ required: foundly shaped the classical prophet's "He has showed you, 0 earthling, self-understanding of Yahweh and what is good; and what does Yahweh Yahweh's people. require from you but to do justice, In scripture, as in international and to love kindness, and to walk affairs, the indictment for breach of humbly with your God?" covenant might conclude in either of What an incredibly moving scene! The two ways: a declaration of guilt and poet-prophet brings us to the realiza­ threat of total destruction; or, a warn­ tion that there is nothing- absolutely ing specifying the change of conduct nothing - with which we can come required for restoration of the rela- before the Lord, except that which has most likely been going elsewhere - our involves everyone. The word for "kind­ lives. Life, for this prophet, is a totality ness" (hesed) is clarified more precisely of coming together in the presence of as Yahweh's loyalty toward the disad­ God and going alone with vows of vantaged (a kindness that occurs among renewed service. earthlings, thanks to an internalized Several words in the passage deserve ethic). This kindness is the responsible special comment. The question in verse caring that underlies and grounds cove­ 8 is addressed to the human species, nantal relationships. Doing justice rendered ''earthling'' (adam) because of and loving kindness is mutuality in re­ the wordplay with "ground" (adamah) sponsible caring, and thus, what it in the creation story of Genesis 2. The means to walk humbly with God. "good" that has been revealed is not Covenantal life is like doing the the platonic ideal, but the "amity" or Hokey-Pokey. Sooner or later, there "friendship" of a living covenantal comes a time when, at last, "You put relationship. Justice (mishpat) is not left your whole self in!" to institutions or public officials, it

Suggestions for Study Note to Leaders ------scene concluding with an assertion In the books of the prophets, scrip­ of "friendship" as God's revelation ture exploded the notion that God rules of what is "good?" While Christians the world in a one-on-one, rewards­ talk about God's love, why do we and-punishments, moralistic way. God rarely hear talk of God's friendship? expects much the same behavior from 3. Ask participants to describe hesed both individuals and the corporate experiences (acts of caring without body. Thus, when Israel was confront­ any prior obligation or expectation of ed with the Sovereign's indictment in reciprocity). Discuss the relationship Micah 6, it appropriately responded between hesed-living advocated in as an individual. Micah and exercising freedom of Questions conscience. between for Discussion ------4. What is the difference advocating justice and doing justice? 1. Does Israel's line of pleading in 5. Discuss the problem of state-spon­ Micah 6:6-7 sound foreign to our sored terror as an appropriate re­ situation and frame of mind? Can sponse to terrorism. What ethical we recognize something of our­ and spiritual reaction to terrorism selves in Israel's proposal to buy does God require of Christians? its way back into God's favor? 2. Are we surprised to find the trial Session 4 Stewardship of the Mysteries

Scripture Reading: Psalm 66:5; Amos context of public worship of Yahweh on 3:7; 1 Corinthians 4:1 the great festival occasions. There were three major pilgrimage feasts, in addi­ Early in this study, we draw on tion to the sabbath and other special the sociological notion of a sacred days, that dominated the liturgical canopy. A sacred canopy is the total calendar and contributed to the sacred network of shared understandings that canopy of the Hebrew people. Passover holds a society together. Without it, (in the spring) celebrated the exodus there is no social cohesion. Every soci­ and liberation from state-slavery in ety will have a sacred canopy, whether Egypt. Seven weeks later came the or not it is acknowledged as "religious" festival of the early wheat harvest in any way. What shared experiences (Christian Pentecost) which commem­ and understandings supported the orated God's self-revelation at Sinai. sacred canopy of life for ancient Israel­ Finally came the feast of the late har­ ites and early Christians? vest (fruit, grapes, olives) known as the Worship and Education Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles), when in Prophetic Formation ------the feasting by families in rustic shelters Refer again to the introduction recalled the generation of wilderness to the setting of Psalm 66 and its con­ wandering after departure from the tribution to our study theme. That mountain of God. Tabernacles was also song, and others like it, was set in the especially important as the beginning of the new civil year. Worship at the pilgrimage centers on such occasions was fiesta time! It was also public education and covenant renewal time. The closest ancient parallel to public education in the United States today took place when the story of Yahweh's saving action was dramatically rehearsed and the motivating memory was reactivated (Deuteronomy 26:5-9). Worshippers recalled the interventions of Yahweh in rescuing and reforming a people, then redistributing land in Canaan. They did this as preparation for renewing their promises to Yahweh and to one another until the next feast would bring them together again. The call to "Come and see what God has done" referred to both the ancient past (Psalm 66:5-7) and the recent past (Psalm 66:16-20) in the songwriter's life. Yahweh's responsiveness to corporate and individual plight were of equal poetic usefulness as values were formed em kingdom (Amos 7-8)! in worship. Why was Amos at the Bethel temple? Apart from occasions of public wor­ Perhaps he was there on business. He ship, general education took place at was, after all, a sheep herder and fig home in the nuclear and extended orchard caretaker. He may have been families of town and village. This was seeking the best market for his products the ultimate source of the "wise say­ at the flourishing border sanctuary. ings,'' the brief maxims familiar from Temple priesthoods controlled large the Book of Proverbs. After the rise of estates on behalf of God and king. They the monarchy, schools existing primar­ served powerful and prosperous vested ily for the elite (children of royal, noble, interests and the temples were centers priestly, and commercial families) of flourishing commercial and banking formed a curriculum around such collec­ enterprises. (Remember the story of tions of wise sayings. Jesus and the temple merchants in This down-home, common sense Matthew 11:15-19.) ethic had long penetrated the heart of But Amos came to Bethel as a proph­ Israel's memory. The Ten Command­ et (Amos 7:10-15), even though he had ments, taken one by one, represented been most resistant and had repudiated the clan wisdom learned from experi­ labels that might identify him with the ence and taught by parents to their professional prophets. Amos spoke on children. These particular examples behalf of Yahweh out of a strong ethical of common sense ethic were brought motivation, formed from practical together as binding basic policy in the experience and education through kingdom of God (Exodus 20, worship. His words reflected precise­ Deuteronomy 5). ly the village wisdom of his preferred Yahwist religion, based on liberation lifesetting and work. experience and common sense ethic, "Does a lion roar in the forest, established the foundation of Israelite when he has no prey? worship and prophetic protest. For a Does a young lion cry out from his brief case study of prophetic protest den, if he has taken nothing? with a focus on stewardship, consider Does a bird fall in a snare on the the prophet Amos. earth, when there is no trap for it? The eighth century prophet Amos Does a snare spring up from the came from Tekoa, a small town in ground, when it has taken the hills of the southern kingdom nothing?" (Amos 3:4-5) (Judah). His prophecies were delivered There are forms and moments of wor­ at Bethel in the rival northern kingdom ship which may cause us to forget (Israel). At virtually any point, it be­ about reality. Karl Marx tagged this form comes clear that the primary targets of of religion "the opiate of the people." Amos' prophetic thunder were the royal There are also forms of worship which and commercial power elite. The misuse serve to heighten our sense of reality, of authority and oppressive exercise of dependent upon the effectiveness of economic advantage were given as an internalized ethics. It was this form of explanation for Amos' horrifying vision worship, combined with down-home that the end was in sight for the north- clan wisdom and public education, which turned another poet into liturgi­ (Matthew 22:34-40) . Jesus lived the Ten cal songwriter: "Come and see what Commandments, summarized as two, God has done!" (Psalm 66:5). and his life was vindicated by resurrec­ God's Secret and tion. The mysteries, of which believers God's Mysteries ------are stewards, are quite clear. What is the "secret" in Amos 3:7? Concerning the lasting significance What are the "mysteries" in 1 Corin­ of the commandments, one scholar has thians 4:1? The secret of which Amos written: spoke is God's plan, counsel, and policy "Perhaps it is only when these funda­ for the common good, revealed to the mentals of social life become unpre­ true prophet who had been granted dictable that they can be properly access Geremiah 23:22). When Paul valued. This is what Sinai meant; the wrote to the Corinthians regarding community formed there accepted God's mysteries, of which believers are these not as God-given rights, but as stewards, he used a Greek word that God-given obligations to which they translated Amos' word for secret. The in effect pledged their lives as guaran­ secret and the mysteries are best sum­ tees" (G.E. Mendenhall, The Tenth marized in the Ten Commandments Generation, 66).

Suggestions for Study

Note to Leaders ------ues, taught, exercised, and preserved Stewardship, in a narrow sense, may by individuals and the community of mean financial commitment. It also can faith. mean a promise to participate, as time Questions allows, in programs sponsored by the for Discussion ------church and supported in part by the 1. Where does the most effective value­ pledge of dollars. This promise includes formation occur? Does it vary from our participation in worship, as well one social location (subculture) to as our growth through Christian educa­ another? tion and service in mission outreach. 2. Our society increasingly recognizes The study of scripture leads to a whol­ pluralism. Does our worship truly istic understanding of stewardship, acknowledge and celebrate diversity? requiring a communal and covenantal 3. How might our worship encourage response to God's grace. As our per­ prophetic formation? ception of stewardship broadens, we 4. How might our worship encourage learn to include the stewardship of val- faithful stewardship? Ambassadors for Christ!

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20; following of 250 leaders of the congre­ Numbers 14:1-10; Numbers 16:1-11 gation rose up to challenge the leader­ ship of Moses and Aaron, claiming that At the climax of his second surviving " . .. all the congregation is holy, every letter to the Corinthians, the apostle one of them, and the Lord is among Paul asserted "We are ambassadors them; why then do you exalt yourselves for Christ." He used a metaphor as above the assembly of the Lord?" old as the career of Moses and the (Numbers 16:3). classical prophets. Let us return to Even though these stories may have that early period and pick up the been embellished and reshaped over story line once again. centuries of re-telling before being the story line sounds as Liberation and Leadership: written down, plausible as complaints coming out of In the Wilderness ------or ec­ The book of Numbers may qualify any large and recent corporate . as one of the most seriously neglected clesiastical restructuring another episode, "all the books in Jewish and Christian scriptures. In yet Israel" (Numbers 14) ques­ After reporting tribal rosters based on people of of Moses and old census lists, Numbers sets forth a tioned the leadership series of stories in chapters 9-36 about Aaron: "Would that we had died in the land survival in the ruggedly inhospitable Or would that we had died Sinai desert. An evocative candor per­ of Egypt! vades these "embarrassing" stories. These people were not nomads in the way of the bedouin in iater centuries. Such nomads did not require divine intervention to cope with the challeng­ es of desert life, nor did they tell such stories. These stories are about the people's failure of nerve, their willing­ ness to go back to the relative security of state-slavery rather than persist in the freedom that comes with mutually responsible caring. There were severe power struggles within the newly constituted Kingdom of Yahweh, beginning at the holy moun­ tain (e.g., Aaron and the golden calf, Exodus 32). There were those who con­ spired against Moses (finding an excuse in his marriage to a black woman) to promote the leadership of Aaron and Miriam, claiming equal revelatory gifts for them. In another episode (chapter 16), three members of Levitical families (Korah, Dathan, and Abiram) with a in this wilderness! Why does the lords, thanks to their vastly superior Lord bring us into this land, to fall by military technology. the sword? Our wives and our little It is not surprising that there was ones will become a prey; would it not a movement for anointing a human be better for us to go back to Egypt?" king in Israel, "like all the nations." (Numbers 14:2-3). Stories about Samuel's leadership and If you make the imaginative effort role in effecting the transition once to put yourself in their sandals, this again show the people sharply divided. kinging for the relative comfort of the In some of the stories, Samuel appeared known and predictable may not sound unalterably opposed to kingship in so unreasonable. Israel (1 Samuel 8:1-22; 10:17-27; 12:1- Moses responded with an inter­ 25), while in other stories Samuel took cessory prayer, pleading for divine the initiative in seeking out a nominee forgiveness to avert Yahweh's wrath who would have both popular support against the people. He audaciously and divine approval! (1 Samuel 9:1- reminds Yahweh of the promise in the 10:16; 11:1-15). wake of the golden calf affair: "Yahweh It was then, first with Saul but espe­ is slow to anger, and abounding in cially with David, that ancient Israel steadfast love" (Numbers 14:18; cf. became a territorial nation-state with Exodus 34:6-7). citizenship a matter of loyalties fre­ The story was told to explain why it quently in tension. The Jerusalem was the next generation, not the current king was Yahweh's anointed (Hebrew rebellious one, to at last re-enter the mashiah), no less subject, in theory, to homeland. It continued to be Yahweh's the old covenantal ethic, but exercising plan that "all the earth shall be filled in Israel an unprecedented concentra­ with the glory of Yahweh" (Numbers tion of power in one person. Solomon's 14:21). reign was so oppressive that, at his Kingship: death, the ten larger and more prosper­ A Return to Egypt? ------ous northern tribes broke away, known By the mid-eleventh century B.C.E., thereafter as the northern kingdom, the Yahwist reformation of Israel that Israel, flanking the southern kingdom, began at Sinai had swept over much of Judah. Where now was the "Israel" of the Canaanite hill country on both sides God? While known in history books as of the Jordan River. The re-tribalized Judah, the southern establishment population, having long since repudi­ never surrendered the label "Israel" ated political kingship-as-usual, was entirely to the north! At the same time, now at a distinct disadvantage. There many prophets held that "Israel" re­ were recently established and large terri­ ferred to a community of faith that torial kingdoms in central and southern made the political border between Transjordan (Ammon and Moab; later north and south irrelevant! also Edom), looking covetously at the It is impossible to over-emphasize the highlands of western Canaan. And the effectiveness of the doctrine of Yahweh's fertile plains of western Canaan were anointed in the south. No such doctrine already controlled by Philistine over- was effectively promoted in the north- em kingdom, where no dynasty lasted Jesus as God's "Christ" (Greek equiva­ more than a few generations, and lent of Hebrew mashiah), they were where prophets were involved in the saying something about God's gover­ elevation, evaluation, and removal of nance of themselves through a memory one ruling family after another. image of Jesus. Jesus as Christ meant By contrast, the southern kingdom something like Jesus as "Vice President gathered in response to the invitation, of the Universe - with tenure!" With "Come and see what God has done!" unimpeachable credentials, his life where the saving acts were recited and matched his teachings so well that they reenacted and included God's promises were certified by resurrection! to David. In the south, one family At the same time, there is a clear remained in power from David in the thread of continuity from the career of early tenth century to the destruction ambassador Moses, through the acti­ of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.E.! vities of classical prophets maneuvering It was out of frustrated hopes and for covenant renewal, to Saint Paul's disappointment with the performance choice of metaphor in 2 Corinthians of one mashiah after another in Jeru­ 5:20. salem, that messianic hopes were gen­ We Are Ambassadors erated - including a confidence that for Christ ------there would come a day when a son of This was not, for Paul, mere figurative David would arise who would in truth speech. After his Damascus road exper­ do all that the beautiful coronation ience with the risen Christ, Paul pos­ psalms had advertised regarding the sessed a dual citizenship - Roman and currently reigning king in Jerusalem cosmic. He valued his Roman citizen­ (e.g., especially Psalms 2, 18, 20, 21, ship highly, and trusted Rome to honor 72, 101, 110, 144). his cosmic citizenship. He exercised the By Jesus' day, apocalyptic specula­ latter so faithfully that at last it cost his tions had given rise to a variety of life, precisely as a Roman citizen. messianic expectations. The Dead Sea Come and See Scrolls community, for example, was What God Has Done, anticipating two (possibly three) fig­ ures: a "messiah from Aaron" (a priestly for example, at Corinth ------Who were the Corinthians? Why leader, with highest rank), alongside a could the apostle Paul presume to give somewhat subordinate "messiah from them instructions in the faith? Is there Israel" (non-priestly, Davidic ruler). any pertinence for Christian believers Their rise would be preceded by the in the waning years of the twentieth arrival of a great prophet announcing century? the end time and a new age dawning. Corinth had once been a magnificent When that happened, the Dead Sea Greek city. It ceased to exist after 146 community (part of a Jewish renewal B.C.E. when resistance to Rome's in­ movement known as Essenes) would tervention was ruthlessly suppressed. fight victoriously in the army of the Most of Corinth's inhabitants had fled sons of light. and the remaining inhabitants were When early Christians confessed slaughtered or sold into slavery. The Paul received reports of happenings city was torched and looted, its treas­ in Corinth, to which he responded ures stripped and sent as booty to with the letter we know as 1 Corinthi­ Rome. ans. It was very likely the following Almost one hundred years later, spring that Paul made an emergency Corinth became an official Roman visit to Corinth, prompted by an alarm­ colony. Most Roman colonies were ing report from Timothy who had visit­ settled by army veterans, but not ed Corinth in the interim. Paul's visit, at Corinth. Instead, the colonists dis­ this time, was the occasion of a traumatic patched from Rome were drawn from confrontation with one of the Corinthian the ranks of the poor (predominantly Christians. After a short stay, Paul re­ freed slaves). Most were not Roman at turned to Ephesus. In early summer the all, but persons relocated from the same year, he was arrested and impris­ eastern Mediterranean. Among them oned at Ephesus. Upon his release later were many Jews, Egyptians, and Syr­ that summer, Paul set forth for Mace­ ians. Only a portion of the population donia, where he was joined by Titus, fresh may have been descendants of the from a stay in Corinth. This was the oc­ original Greek population. casion of Paul's letter to Corinth (includ­ By Paul's day, Corinth had become ing at least 2 Corinthians 1-9), precipitated a flourishing commercial center once by the news arriving with Titus. again, with a population no more char­ At Corinth acterized by a single ethnic identity than ... Reconciliation! ------the early Roman colony. Religious life In 2 Corinthians, a major climax in Corinth was as diverse as the cultural occurred where Paul, the reconstructed backgrounds of the colonists. In addi­ Pharisee, asserted "We are ambassa­ tion to indigenous Greek cults and the dors for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20). It Roman Imperial cult, there was evidence capped a long discourse on the meaning of Egyptian cults and Judaism. of apostleship (2:6-5:19), where Paul 2 Corinthians: urged early on that apostles were "min­ A Stewardship Letter ------isters of a new (renewed?) covenant" A major motivation for writing this (3:6) . A major argument that Paul made letter was to encourage contributions in response to the apostles who chal­ to a fund for which Paul was soliciting lenged his integrity and authority at toward the relief of Christians in Corinth was that his own actions spoke Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 9:1-15). A louder than their words. Now, toward large part of the letter was devoted to the high point and climax of the section, countering challenges to Paul's motiva­ it is "the love of Christ" (exercised espe­ tion and leadership - challenges posed cially on the cross) that controls us (5:14), since the time that Paul had spent with so that "we regard no one according them. to earthly standards" (5:16). The stand­ Paul introduced some Corinthians to ard-setting sovereignty was transcen­ the gospel and founded the congrega­ dent and made all worldly distinctions tion there during an eighteen month stay, probably in the years 50-51 2C.E. 2The Common Era, when Christians It was probably the springof 55 C.E. that and Jews share separate histories. relative. By worldly is meant biologi­ Amazing Grace ------cally and/or culturally given. We are re­ Perhaps it is only in the experience minded of Paul's letter to the Galatians: of one's own being that talk about grace "There is neither Jew nor Greek, can be amazing. Daily attention to local there is neither slave nor free, there and world news gives us the sense that is neither male nor female; for you we live in a time when grace may yet are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you prove to be utterly amazing. There is a are Christ's then you are Abraham's Dennis the Menace cartoon that illus­ offspring, heirs according to prom­ trates the point very well. Dennis and ise" (Galatians 3:28-29). playmate are hunkered down amidst a In other words, the old Israelite striving jumble of playthings, toys heaped all for egalitarian status had been actual­ around them in various degrees of ized through God's stamp of approval brokenness. They have made a com­ (resurrection) of Jesus-become-Messiah. plete shambles of the playroom, and In our 2 Corinthians passage, the one of them says to the other: "What accompanying metaphor was "new are you going to be, if the neighbors let creation," for, in Christ, God was you grow up?" Such is grace. reconciling the world (not just the There was a lovely garden in Eden. squabbling Corinthians and their Think of it as a playroom. It is sheer anxious long distance correspondent) amazing grace, that in the face of es­ to God's self - exercising forgiveness calating political and economic crisis and entrusting the message of reconcili­ internationally- to say nothing of ation! It was through faithful apostles national and strictly domestic turmoil as ambassadors for Christ that God's - we may still be persuaded that God appeal to the worldly scene happened. works. God works through those em­ To be in Christ as part of the new powered by faith and guided by inter­ creation is to be claimed by the gover­ nalized ethic to go about picking up the nance of love, instituted on the cross. It pieces, seeking new ways to repair and is liberation from the power of the pre­ prevent brokenness, and putting to­ sent age. In yet another letter attributed gether again the network of mutuality to Paul, the writer spoke of believers all around the world. Ah, yes. How having been given the stewardship of blessed is the tie that binds hearts in the God's grace and how the "mystery" was love of God's Christ, who came our way made known to him by revelations and still comes our way in scripture, as (Ephesians 3:2) . the totally unpredictable Rabbi Jesus. Suggestions for Study Note to Leaders ------Questions Reconciliation was God's plan for the for Discussion ------people of Israel and Corinth-and for 1. What does it mean for Christians to us. Reconciliation is God's plan for the live with dual citizenship: earthly world, accomplished through Jesus and territorial; transnational and Christ's redemptive act on the cross. We cosmic? sing with the psalmist, "Come and see 2. In what way might we be active in what God has done!" service as ambassadors for God, given our understanding of Jesus Christ's leadership?