Dominion and dynasty.

Although I've been back in town for three days, my plate has been full with running errands, buying groceries, and furnishing the batcave. But I did have the opportunity to finish Stephen Dempster's Dominion and Dynasty: A Theology of the Hebrew Bible, which I picked up before I left for Michigan, but left in DC to finish when I got back. After reading this condensed OT theology volume--only a little over 200 pages--the Hebrew Scriptures make a lot more sense. I highly recommend it for those who feel reading the OT to be daunting, and even if you have a good grasp of how the OT coheres together it still might be worth delving into.

A major take away is the amazing way the OT fits together. It is not a series of individual texts, but actually works together to form a single Text with common threads and themes that run throughout. After reading Dempster, I feel like I really missed a lot when I read through the OT because I treat the individual books as in a vacuum-like hermeneutic. I also think the consistency within the OT is a testament to it being God's Word; it is astonishing to realize that these books were written over hundreds of years by a plethora of authors yet all coherent in displaying a metanarrative of what God was accomplishing through Israel.

OT Structure

The way OT is structured has actually eluded me for quite some time. The OT can be divided into two parts:

Part I: Adam, patriarchs, Moses, Israelite conquest of Canaan, exile [Torah (First 5 books) and Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings)]

Part II: Poetic commentary and resumption of storyline

• Poetic commentary: Latter Prophets (Jeremiah to the Twelve) and first half of Writings (Ruth to Lamentations)
• Resumption of storyline: Second half of Writings (Daniel to Chronicles)

The OT is also structured with a story-commentary-story progression, as described above. But what is fascinating is that we see this same literary structure in the NT. Story (gospels, Acts), commentary (Letters), story (Revelation).

We see an hourglass shape form, where "there is a movement form the universal to the particular and back to the universal." Humanity is called to be the image of God, fails and is replaced by Israel (particular), even more particular with an individual (David) and then points to a Davidic king who will bring just rule to all humanity.

Genealogy and Geography

This universal-particular-universal pattern is characteristic of two major themes running through the OT: genealogy/dynasty and geography/dominion. The dual-themes of genealogy and geography are present at the very beginning of Israel; with Abraham being promised children and also the land of Canaan. However, fulfillment remains in the realm of hope for the OT saints, as the author of Hebrews reminds us in the Hall of Faith (Ch. 11). The genealogy would culminate in Christ and the geography the whole globe.

What struck me was the constant prophetic word being spoken of a universal goal, whereas we are accustomed to viewing the Israelites as radically exclusive with partisan aims (with this as their own view of themselves as well). However, Dempster reminds us time and again that the prophets pointed to a greater Davidic king who would reign over a universal kingdom.

Ruth and Esther

Both narratives of Ruth and Esther tend to be a big puzzling to interpret if we wish to keep away from interpretations that create moral examples of these women, instead of a more theocentric hermeneutic. Dempster was helpful in placing both these books in the larger framework of the OT.

Ruth contains a ten-member genealogy "that had soteriological implications for the human race...This new ten-member genealogy, set within the context of the exile, keeps the reader on track, ensuring that the 'movement toward a divine goal within history' is not forgotten." When Ruth first meets Boaz, he speaks of how she finds refuge under the 'wings' of Yahweh. His marriage to her foreshadows the nations--Ruth being a Moabitess--finding refuge through a Davidic descendant.

Esther fundamentally shows that the kingdom of God will triumph over all earthly ones. The Jewish nation survives because God has an overarching purpose for history. Esther's opposition to Haman also draws out a biblical theme of the woman against the beast. Examples: Eve versus the serpent; Sarah and Rebekah versus barrenness, Tamar versus Judah; Ruth and Naomi versus death; Hannah versus barrenness.