Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 47:1 (NA 1996)
Article: Faithless Israel, Faithful Yahweh In Deuteronomy
Author: Paul A. Barker

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TynBul 47:1 (1996) p. 172

Faithless Israel, Faithful Yahweh
In Deuteronomy1

Paul A. Barker

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the perception of Deuteronomy regarding Israel’s ability to keep the covenant requirements. Often Deuteronomy is regarded as an idealistic book, holding out the possibility of utopia in an Edenic land. Yet the hope of Deuteronomy is tempered by an acknowledgement of Israel’s propensity to fail. This contributes to a pessimistic expectation for the future which lies in some tension with the book’s optimism. It is the contention of this thesis that all optimism in Deuteronomy is grounded in the faithfulness of Yahweh to the Abrahamic promises and that, with regard to Israel, there is only a pessimism about the future. Nonetheless, these two strands are not in fundamental opposition to each other, as diachronic and redaction critics frequently imply to be the case. This thesis, which deals with the book synchronically, argues for the theological integrity of these points of view within Deuteronomy.

This thesis restricts itself to the three major accounts of Israel’s failure in the book, along with their respective accounts of resolution. These are: (1) Deuteronomy 1-3, which include the spies incident and the resumption of progress to the land; (2) Deuteronomy 8-10, which include the golden calf episode and its resolution in the answered prayer; and (3) Deuteronomy 29-30, which include the expectation of Israel’s failure and subsequent curses, as well as the promise of restoration. In each case, Israel’s failure finds resolution in the faithfulness of

TynBul 47:1 (1996) p. 173

Yahweh to the Abrahamic promises. This thesis argues that, in the interplay between Yahweh and Israel, there is a priority on Yahweh’s grace which guarantees a future for Israel despite her sin, but does not override human responsibility.

Deuteronomy 1-3, by contrast with parallel accounts in Exodus and especially Numbers, emphasises Israel’s sin. In chapter 1, the people are isolated in their refusal to enter the land. The spies’ report (1:25), which is at the heart of the chiastically arranged speeches of 1:6-39, is unequivocally positive. The juxtaposition of Israel’s refusal (1:27-28) highlights its baseless sin. The use of first-person plurals and second-person address identifies the current generation with its sinful prede...

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