Episode Details

Prayer

O Lord, my life is but a breath. There is much to be done, and there is little time to do it. Beyond this, my sin is a constant hinderance to my spiritual growth. O Lord, please deliver me from temptations and the devil’s power, and help me to grow mighty in your word. Fill me with your wisdom, and give me understanding I pray. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reading

Genesis 1 -2:3 & Luke 24.

Meditation

What is the Pentateuch? Let’s begin by laying some groundwork – here are five elementary principles on the Pentateuch that will set us up well for our initial quest into the Book of Moses. The first and most obvious thing to say about the Pentateuch is simply this: the Pentateuch is the first five books of the Bible. That’s about as basic as it gets! Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The Bible recognises these fives books as one single work of literature penned by Moses. For example, in Joshua 1:8 it is simply called: “the Book of the Law”; in 1 Kings 2:3 it’s called “the Law of Moses”; in Ezra 6:18 it’s called “the Book of Moses”; and our Lord himself refers to these books collectively as a singular work in Luke 16:29 and Luke 24:27. It’s like “Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R.Tolkien, it’s divided into three volumes, but at the end of the day it’s a singular work. The Pentateuch is five volumes, but fundamentally consists of one unified work of literature.

The second thing to say about the Pentateuch is that it is the foundation of the Bible. If the Bible was a house, then the Pentateuch would be the foundation of the house, and without that foundation, the whole thing would collapse. Let me give you an example of what this looks like in practice. In Genesis 1:1 we read: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Now, imagine the implications for the Bible – and for our lives – if that doctrine wasn’t there? What if God didn’t create the heavens and the earth? Straight away the Christian faith is thrown into absolute chaos isn’t it? You’d say: “Jesus is the Son of God” – and immediately you have to ask: “Well, who is God? What’s he got to do with our lives?” With Genesis 1:1 you can respond immediately: “Well, God is the one who made us – that’s who he is!” This kind of principle holds true for the whole Pentateuch, all of the major doctrines of our faith are built upon what’s revealed in the Pentateuch, and you can find them there in seed-form.

The third observation we should make about the Pentateuch is that the pentateuch is a historical narrative. That’s it’s genre. That’s the kind of writing that it is. This is important to keep in mind because as we read any work of literature, our expectation and ability to read it are shaped by our expectations based on the genre. You don’t read a joke book the way you’d read a newspaper, nor do you read a psalm the way you’d read an epistle. Now, what does it mean to say that the Pentateuch is historical narrative? Well, first it means that it’s historical. That is to say, it’s historically true. Moses was not a made up character, for example, he existed – as did Adam and Eve. But secondly, this also means that it’s a narrative. Now this is also very important – the Pentateuch isn’t just history it’s historical narrative. Many modern history text books are often a boring, academic, collection of facts. Not so the Pentateuch. It is historical, but it’s also penned in the form of a story. It’s been deliberately constructed as a narrative and thus uses literary and narrative devices. These devices include: character, plot, and setting; the narrative also focuses on themes, and uses symbolism and metaphor. The Pentateuch is not a boring university historical text book, it is a carefully constructed, and beautifully designed work of narrative literature.

Here’s the fourth thing I want to say in our introduction to th