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The “Word of God” and Retribution Theology in Luke-Acts

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The “Word of God” and Retribution Theology in Luke-Acts THE “WORD OF GOD” AND RETRIBUTION THEOLOGY IN LUKE-ACTS Scott Shauf It is widely accepted that Luke wrote his two-volume work to be a continuation of biblical history.1 Two of the many features that link Luke-Acts with OT historiography are his use of the phrase “the word of God/the Lord” as a part of his depiction of the ministry of Jesus and the Christian movement and the idea that divine retribution plays a role in the fl ow of historical events. These themes are connected via their relationship to the prophetic character of OT historiography and of Luke-Acts. The main point to be explored here is how these themes get reconfi gured in Luke’s work, especially in Acts. This reconfi guring, I will argue, is primarily due to the changed place of the people of Israel in Luke-Acts vis-à-vis the OT narratives and to the emphasis on the eschatological nature of God’s retributive action in Luke-Acts. Divine Retribution and the Divine Word in the OT The centrality of divine action in OT historiography is obvious even to the most casual reader. As Millar Burrows writes: The basic, distinctive presupposition of all ancient Hebrew ideas about history is the conviction that in human history the one eternal, living God is working out his own sovereign purpose for the good of his creatures, fi rst for his chosen people, and through them for the rest of mankind.2 1 E.g., Nils Alstrup Dahl, “The Story of Abraham in Luke-Acts,” in Jesus in the Memory of the Early Church (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1976), 66–86; H. Douglas Buckwalter, “Luke as Writer of Sacred History,” EvJ 14 (1996): 86–99; Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke (SP 3; Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical, 1991), 10; Brian S. Rosner, “Acts and Biblical History,” in The Book of Acts in Its Ancient Literary Setting (ed. Bruce W. Winter and Andrew D. Clarke; vol. 1 of The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting, ed. Bruce W. Winter; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 65–82; Gregory E. Sterling, Historiography and Self-defi nition: Josephos, Luke-Acts, and Apologetic Historiography (NovTSup 64; Leiden: Brill, 1992), 363. 2 Millar Burrows, “Ancient Israel,” in The Idea of History in the Ancient Near East (ed. Robert C. Dentan; New Haven: Yale University Press, 1955), 128. For many refer- ences covering this topic see Bertil Albrektson, History and the Gods: An Essay on the GRAY_F11_173-192.indd 173 5/27/2008 1:26:44 PM 174 scott shauf It is also easy to recognize that throughout the OT, as well as in other Jewish historiographical works like 1 and 2 Maccabees, this working out of God’s purpose among humankind takes the form of retribution, reward for obedience to God, and punishment for disobedience. This principle is spelled out in places like Judg 2:11–23 and 2 Kgs 17:7–23, so that it is clear that Israel’s fortunes as a nation rise and fall in accor- dance with the people’s submission to God’s commands. Even where it is not spelled out, the plot generally makes it clear that the principle is operative. The skepticism of Qohelet never seems to make its way into the historiographical works. The key role of prophecy and the prophets in retribution is once again not hard to fathom in OT historiography, especially in the works covering the period of the kingdoms. As 2 Kgs 17:13–14 (NRSV) puts it regarding the fall of Israel: Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the law that I commanded your ances- tors and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” They would not listen but were stubborn, as their ancestors had been, who did not believe in the Lord their God. Frequently in the books of Samuel and Kings we see God speaking directly to the prophets, who then convey God’s words to their intended target (e.g., 1 Sam 3:10–14; 2 Sam 7:1–17; 1 Kgs 21:17–19); earlier Joshua also acts as a prophet in this regard in the book devoted to his accomplishments (e.g., 20:1–6). In Chronicles, while the prophets them- selves play a more peripheral role (primarily due to the removal of the northern kingdom from the spotlight, and hence the key characters of Elijah and Elisha), prophecy remains central in the delivery of God’s commands (e.g., 1 Chr 17:3–15; 2 Chr 12:5–8; 28:9–11). Linked to this is the central role of the concept and term “the the LXX terms will be discussed ;דבר־יהוה .word of the Lord” (Heb below). Indeed, the reception and possession of the divine word is the Idea of Historical Events as Divine Manifestations in the Ancient Near East and in Israel (Lund: Gleerup, 1967), 11–15. See also Gerhard Maier, “Truth and Reality in the Historical Understanding of the Old Testament,” in Israel’s Past in Present Research: Essays on Ancient Israelite Historiography (ed. V. Philips Long; Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1999), 192–206; Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology (trans. D. M. G. Stalker; 2 vols.; London: SCM, 1975), 1:121–28. GRAY_F11_173-192.indd 174 5/27/2008 1:26:46 PM.
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