God’s Redemptive Plan in the Pentateuch
To obey Yahweh is to let go of the world and its ways, including ours. This phrase seems to be prevalent throughout Scripture. From the beginning in Genesis to the end of Revelation, the main theme that seems to be constant through it all is that obedience is costly. Christ offers all life, but few are willing to live for Him. This has clearly been an issue for humans since the first humans. Yet throughout it all, God has a redemptive plan for all. In the Pentateuch, God has a redemptive plan, and from Genesis to Deuteronomy, we see how Israel experiences this redemptive plan. Although the road to the promised land isn’t perfect, many trials and difficulties happen along the way. Although these events happened thousands upon thousands of years ago, we can still pull valuable lessons and wisdom from the Pentateuch.
The Pentateuch:
The Pentateuch consists of the first five books of the Bible (Genesis-Deuteronomy). In it is everything from the dawn of time to Israel’s history up until Moses’ death at the end of Deuteronomy. A lot happens in these books, “but the Pentateuch is not simply a ‘history’ of Israel; it also contains much that we would not expect in a national history and omits details that might ordinarily be considered historically pertinent.”
God’s plan is revealed throughout all of Scripture, but through the Pentateuch we can see His plan really revealed through each book from Genesis to Deuteronomy. The Pentateuch covers the events of creation all the way until God’s people, the Israelites, are about to enter the promised land. During this time, we visit stories from the past that shaped the future and point to the coming of Jesus Christ. We can find Jesus in every book, and just because the Old Testament no longer applies directly to us doesn’t mean that it is of no value. As Paul states in 2 Timothy 3, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
Genesis:
In the beginning God created. He created everything in creation. Things that we see and things we do not see. One of which creations is humans. The first human, Adam, was a special king of creation. As the first human, he was the blueprint for all of us today. Made in the image of God (Imago Dei), he was unlike any other creation the Lord had made.
Fast forward some time to the creation of Eve and the introduction of sin into the humans' lives. Now it is important to understand and note that God didn’t create sin. Rather, He allowed it so that we may have a choice. Love Him or reject Him. God doesn’t want robot servants. What is love if it doesn’t have a choice between loving and rejecting? True love is a choice, not a program or a feeling.
Fast forward a little extra, and we arrive at a time where humans and God have been disconnected for some time. Ever since the sin of Adam and Eve, humans have been banished from the presence of Yahweh and no longer have direct access to Him. Genesis 1-11 is essentially the prelude to Israel. Arnold states, “Genesis 1-11 sets the stage by describing God, His created universe, and the fallenness of humankind. So before relating the personal story of national Israel, the Bible first tells the sad universal story of all humanity.”
Although it is important to understand the beginnings and Genesis 1-11. For the sake of time and space, I am going to fast forward to the ancestors of Israel’s faith, the Patriarchs. “What is a patriarch? This term refers to the individuals who stand at the fountainhead of our faith: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They, their wives, and their families were pioneers of faith who paved the way for ancient Israel.”
Genesis 12 begins with a familiar person, Abraham. Little is known about his life up until this point, as scholars believe he was 75 years of age at this time, but nowhere in Scripture are his previous years mentioned. He is initially introduced as Abram (this is before God changed his name to Abraham). It’s also important to note that Abraham comes directly from the lineage of Adam (this will be important and a key detail when Jesus comes around).
Abram, although 75 years old and a well-accomplished person, and his wife Sarai, 65 years old, had gone childless their entire lives. For some context, during ancient times, having children was seen as a blessing and a major part of one's life. To be childless meant you were often looked down on or pitied, being seen as lesser and poor. So naturally, Abram and Sarai, being up in age, were distraught as they both wanted nothing more than to have a child. This is where Yahweh steps in.
Now let’s backtrack and remember: humans chose not to be in unity with God. God had every right to step away forever and never desire for humans to be in connection with Him ever again. Yet, because of His nature, Yahweh steps back in and makes connection with humanity again. Starting a domino effect that would change the course of history and lead to this very moment here as I write this.
“The call of Abram contained two great promises that were most important to an ancient man: land and descendants.” God established a unique relationship with this man and his family. “For much of the story, it appears Abram will fail. Early on he survived famine and temporary exile in Egypt, a dispute with his nephew, and regional war. But God intervened to remind Abram of the original promises and to assure him of ultimate success.” Many times Abram questions the future, but God remains faithful to His promise. We will see this play out more and more throughout Scripture. No matter how much humanity fails to maintain faith and love for Yahweh, He never abandons His promises.
It would be here where God makes a covenant with Abram, assuring him of His promises and binding Himself to Abram in an intimate and permanent relationship. “In the eerie ceremony described here, a smoking fire pot, representing God’s own presence, passed between pieces of various animal corpses while Abram slept. The ancient custom called for covenant partners to walk between bleeding halves of sacrificial animals. They were, in essence, pledging not to break the new covenant, lest they become like the dead animal.” God committed Himself to Abram in a remarkable relationship.
However, as I’ve already discussed, it wouldn’t be long before man would find their way to disobedience. Abram and Sarai were instructed to wait and remain faithful to the Lord and His promises, including the promise of a child. Abram and Sarai grew weary of waiting and acted of their own accord. Sarai had Abram sleep with her bondservant to have a child. This was not the promised child. This wouldn’t be the first time humans have acted out of disobedience, and it certainly won't be the last. Yahweh, however, does not contradict Himself and keeps His promise to Abram and Sarai, who by now have been renamed Abraham and Sarah. Delivering the promised child, Isaac, to the couple at 100 and 90 years old. Eventually, Abraham’s faith will be tested again when he is asked by God to sacrifice Isaac, the promised child. This time Abraham is obedient and does as the Lord asks out of faith. However, Yahweh steps in and prevents him from sacrificing Isaac, as it was merely a test of his faith, and Yahweh provides a sacrifice in place of Isaac. Now a lot more happens in the story of Abraham and, eventually, in the story of the promised child, Isaac. However, for time and space purposes, I will skim over the majority of it, and we’ll arrive at Jacob.
Let’s recall the promise made to Abraham a couple of generations ago. Yahweh promised that Abraham would have descendants as many as the stars in the sky. We arrive at a point where Jacob, who is in the direct lineage of Abraham, is the main focal point of the story. Yahweh is still there as a guide, and human error continues to be present. Jacob had a rough time remaining obedient to the Lord and what was right. He failed in many ways, like all humans, and there were many things in his life and the lives of those around him that went wrong. However, he also had times when he succeeded in being obedient to God. He was even renamed from Jacob to Israel by God. As the third and final patriarch, he laid some of the foundation of faith for the rest of humanity to follow. God promised He would multiply Abraham’s descendants, and for a while things seemed to be going pretty well, aside from the many human errors and hiccups along the way, of course.
There is a lot that I skimmed over in Genesis; however, we can see God’s redemptive plan already revealing itself through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He clearly cares for His creation, and even though humanity severed its own connection with the Creator of everything, God never backed down. His plan to rescue humanity has been set in motion, and the patriarchs of faith have been laid out.
Exodus:
Soon after the events of Genesis take place, we arrive at a point in time where the Israelites are under the rule of Egypt. Being held as slaves, the mass people of what scholars believe to be about 2 million. These people had been subject to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. It is here where we meet a popular biblical hero named Moses.
“The book of Exodus is about a daring escape. Even the meaning of the word ‘exodus’ implies a quick exit. By God’s grace and mercy, he rescued Israel from a life of slavery in Egypt. But the book is also about Israel’s relationship with God after the nation’s departure from Egypt. Exodus describes two main events: Israel’s departure from Egypt (rescue) and God’s newly established covenant with Israel (relationship).”
The main theme behind the Exodus is the faithfulness and love of God. Yahweh, in all His might and strength. Instead of choosing someone who had self-confidence and influence, choose someone opposite. Moses, the man who spent most of his life fleeing from people after losing his temper once and had trouble speaking, was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land. These are the very people/descendants Yahweh promised Abraham all those years ago.
Once again, I will be skimming through the majority of the story and focusing on the significance of it. “The book of Exodus and the events it describes are of paramount importance in Christian theology.” Many important events happened in the book of Exodus, including the exodus from Egypt, God giving the Ten Commandments, the first Passover, the ten plagues God sent, and God leading His people through Moses and Aaron through the wilderness. There are two main themes in the two main sections of Exodus. Chapters 1-18 have a heavy emphasis on the deliverance of God. Chapters 19-40 hold a heavy emphasis on the covenant God makes with Israel. After Yahweh delivers His people from death and slavery, He establishes a connection (covenant) with them. A covenant that He will never break. Although once again man does not uphold their end of the covenant and is disobedient to the Lord once again.
In Exodus, we experience another part of God’s redemptive plan for humanity. We see His love and mercy in ways not yet seen before. Genesis focuses on individual people and their families; Exodus is the first time we see a heavy focus on a generation of people and not just one individual and their family. While Moses is a prominent figure, and God does a lot, if not all, of His communicating through Him. The overall focus is the people and God, not turning back on the promise He gave to Abraham. We see the Lord’s faithfulness that sets up the eventual arrival of the Messiah.
Leviticus:
Leviticus is one of the more interesting books of the Bible as it’s not as straightforward as, say, Exodus or Genesis. It is, however, very important, just like every other book. Leviticus consists of laws for various things, all written for the Levite priest to perform. Many view the book as weird or a sort of disruption from the flow of books, but there are some good reasons the Levites were assigned these things. There were many laws concerning things like worship, sacrifice, garments, and other things.
The contents of Leviticus are the offerings, the priesthood, cleanliness, uncleanliness, and the Holiness Code. The basic types of sacrifices are burnt offering, cereal offering, peace offering, sin offering, and guilt offering. Once again, there are many reasons why these laws had to exist in the first place, but we can narrow much of it down to the fact that Yahweh had His people separated from the rest of the world. While many things like offerings and sacrifices were the norm of the day, Yahweh took a much different approach to them. However, sin must be paid for, and though blood is used in many offerings and sacrifices, God made clear that nothing less than life itself must be presented to Him as atonement for sin. This is the reason the eventual Messiah would suffer and bleed for all humanity’s sake so that we may be made clean and right with God.
The point is that God calls His people to live Holy. We are called to live a Holy life because He Himself is Holy, and to maintain the privilege that it is to have Imago Dei, we must maintain Holiness like Him. The more time we spend with Him, the more time we become like Him. Much like today, in Leviticus God calls for His people to be set apart from the world. Once again we see this is a part of God’s redemptive plan. He doesn’t just seek to redeem us but to reunite us with Him in Holiness. Just as it was in the garden, it will be even better for those who believe.
“God’s call for Israel to live a holy life is based on his own holy character. He did not ask his people to become something he is not. The difference between his holiness and the Israelites’ holiness is that his is intrinsic, while theirs is derived from their relationship with him.” Leviticus still speaks to the modern believer today as it did thousands of years ago. It speaks of reverence in worship, purity in lifestyle, and our need for forgiveness.
Numbers:
The book of Numbers speaks on something humanity has struggled with since the dawn of its existence. The struggle with obedience and the consequences of disobedience. “Israel had everything going its way. God had worked a spectacular miracle in redeeming the nation from Egypt. Now Israel had a new and unique relationship with God. The Sinai covenant came complete with a tabernacle, a worship program, and an elaborate legal system.” Yet Israel’s story is not one of immediate success. They may have had everything going for them, but they completely forgot the goodness of the Lord. His love, mercy, forgiveness, and joy.
This book is one of the sadder books of the Bible. Israel had already struggled with obedience before, but this book focuses on one of the biggest mistakes in human history. Israel not only forgot the Lord, but they completely refused to enter the promised land. As a result of their disobedience, they returned to wandering in the wilderness for another generation until the next would eventually come in Deuteronomy, 40 years later.
The disobedience and lesson in this story are so great that Paul uses it to warn the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians, and the writer of Hebrews also uses it. It serves as a warning to modern believers today as well that even though we are saved and cared for by God, it doesn’t mean we can live as if we aren’t called to be like the Lord. Humans may have free will, but it doesn’t mean humanity is free from the consequences of man’s actions.
The Israelites weren’t sent back into the wilderness just because they refused to take the promised land. They, in essence, rejected God. They already had a bad track record of disobeying God, yet He remained faithful even though the Israelites had broken the covenant multiple times. An important message to take away from the book of Numbers is that God remains faithful even when we have turned our backs on Him multiple times. God remained faithful to the point of still allowing the Israelites to go into the promised land. Although at the cost of the previous generation not making it due to their own continuous disobedience and sin.
Numbers can be seen as the book of despair for Israel. A people who had everything anyone could ever dream of having during that day and age, yet struggled to recognize the very one who gave them the privilege of being in that position. If you think about it, this represents a lot of Christians today as well. While no one is perfect, our purpose is to strive to be more like the one who created us. Even though times have changed, God has not.
Deuteronomy:
While Numbers can be viewed as a book of despair for the Israelites. Deuteronomy can be seen as the book of restoration to the Covenant. This is a book of transition. One generation to the next, including a transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua. Deuteronomy may be translated as “second law,” but it is much more than just a “second law.” In fact, it’s not really much of a “second law” at all, but rather a restatement of the preexisting law.
Deuteronomy takes place after the Israelites have traveled through the wilderness for 40 years and have now arrived at the plains of Moab, getting ready to cross the Jordan River to claim the promised land. Before the Israelites are able to cross, Moses calls for a meeting to address the people before they cross.
This was probably a bittersweet time for Moses and the previous generation, as we can recall God stating that no one from the previous generation would be allowed to enter the promised land due to their disobedience and sin. Not even Moses was permitted to enter due to his sin and Kadesh in Numbers 20. It was probably bittersweet for Moses because he more than likely would have been overjoyed at the fact that the Israelites were finally going to enter the promised land but would’ve also probably been a bit sad he wouldn’t get to see it. Either way, Moses had already made peace with it and knew even if he didn’t get to experience the promised land, God’s promise still stood, and He is still just and faithful.
In this speech, Moses reminds the people of what Yahweh had brought them out of, had done for them, and the promise He gave them. However, he also warned them about what had happened in the past and not to repeat the same mistakes the previous generations had made, and to always remember the Lord. He reminded them to keep the covenant they had with the Lord and to never forget Him and the things He had done.
Moses makes a second speech, and his main focal point of this one was to review the covenant, with stipulations for new life in the promised land. Moses presents a Yahweh-only approach for the Israelites, in contrast to the polytheism of the ancient Near East. He reminds them that God is one and that there is no other God but Yahweh. It is Yahweh and Yahweh alone on the throne of judgment and Holiness. No one is like Him, and no one could ever compare to Him. It is He who brought them out of slavery, the wilderness, and despair. He restored them and kept His promise to Abraham from many generations ago.
Moses, in his third and final speech to the Israelites, discusses the sanctions of the covenant. Before his death, he pronounces a blessing over every tribe and hands over leadership to Joshua. This would mark the end of the first half of primary Israelite history in the Old Testament. “Deuteronomy is pivotal in that it ties together what precedes it to what follows. It forms a literary bridge between the Pentateuch and the historical books. It looks both back to the past and forward to the future.”
We see God’s redemptive plan come full circle in Deuteronomy for the Israelites. Although this isn’t His complete plan, it was His plan to kickstart what would be the coming of the Christ. We witnessed how Yahweh took a broken people and returned them to Him and guided them. We also see that He doesn’t just desire repentance but a life of full surrender to Him and His likeness. It’s a privilege to know Him and to bear Imago Dei in us.
Redemption for all:
God’s redemptive plan was set forth in the Pentateuch, but now it has nearly come full circle after the death and resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Redemption is found in Christ, yet God is still the same God as He was in the Old Testament. He still desires for us to be like Him. Although some things of the Old Testament may not apply to the modern believer anymore, it doesn’t mean the Old Testament should be thrown out. There is much importance and truth in the entirety of Scripture, but especially the Old Testament. Without it, how could anyone know God’s character and His deeds? How could anyone see His plan from the beginning and how it’s all coming to fruition? The modern believer can take much from the lessons of the Pentateuch and apply them to everyday life. Even Paul recognized this when he used Numbers to warn the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians.
From Genesis to Revelation, God’s redemptive plan for all has been revealed, and it is only through Jesus Christ that anyone can be set free. Just as Moses lifted the bronze serpent and whoever saw it was healed from their snake wound, so will anyone who looks to Jesus be healed from their spiritual snake wound.
Bibliography
Encountering the Old Testament, Arnold, Bill T. Beyer, Brayan E. Baker Academic. Michigan. 2024.
Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Crossway. 2001. redemptive Pentateuch
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