The encounter with the Gibeonites provides another example of fulfillment. Their fear of Yahweh and of Israel is quite evident. Since the Israelites are prohibited from making covenants with nations within the land God allotted for them, the Gibeonites pretend to have traveled a great distance (Joshua 9). They claim, “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan . . .” (9:9-10). Although they lie about their homeland, the Gibeonites’ testimony affirms the truth of Yahweh’s promise that the nations would see his deeds on Israel’s behalf and tremble (see Deuteronomy 28:9-10).
Ironically, the portrait of God’s covenant people does not fare well in these accounts. Rahab, the prostitute full of faith, contrasts with Achan, the faithless Israelite who endangers the entire covenant community by keeping for himself some of the plunder from Jericho that should be devoted to Yahweh (see Joshua 7). Meanwhile, the Gibeonites uncover the foolishness of the Israelites, who are taken in by their ruse.6 Generation Next is off to a wobbly start.
The Israelites quickly lose sight of the fact that God set them apart from the nations to belong to him. They decide they’d rather be like everybody else.
THE KING’S HOUSE: DAVID’S DYNASTY
Have you ever known people who just can’t stay in one place for long? Address changes, job changes, broken relationships, serial dating, even serial marriages—they keep thinking the grass will be greener somewhere else, but when they get there, the same story replays itself. There is a common denominator to each new situation: they always bring themselves. This is how it is for Israel. Settling in the promised land is not the magic solution for Israel’s rebellion. They continue to be their own worst enemy. Aren’t we all?
After settling in the land, the tribes of Israel are only loosely affiliated with one another, ruled by local “judges” for hundreds of years. Many of these judges have major character flaws and as a whole, the Israelites spiral downward into serious moral failure. The Israelite priests after the time of the judges are scoundrels. They disregard the sacrificial instructions and take whatever they want from the people (1 Samuel 2:17; 3:13). The priests—the guys whose job it is to make sure Yahweh is honored and the covenant maintained—are the very people who are cutting corners and acting like they run the show. For this reason, Yahweh declares that he will cut off the current priesthood and raise up a “faithful priest” and an “anointed one” to lead the people (1 Samuel 2:35). Samuel, clearly the fulfillment of that priestly promise, proves himself “trustworthy as a prophet” (1 Samuel 3:20 NJPS).
Eventually, in spite of the appointment of Samuel as a worthy leader, Israel demands to have a king like other nations. Yahweh had intended to give them a king, but the timing of Israel’s request is a symptom of their lack of faith in him (1 Samuel 8:7-9, 19-20).7 Rather than being distinct, they want to blend in with the nations around them, each of which has a king. Samuel warns the people of the dangers of kingship and exhorts them to follow Yahweh alone wholeheartedly (1 Samuel 12:20-21). But they demand and get their king. Samuel reassures them, “For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own” (1 Samuel 12:22, emphasis added). Yahweh’s reputation is still explicitly tied to Israel. The task of his anointed ruler—whether king, prophet, or priest—is to call the people back to covenant faithfulness, to model how a name bearer ought to live.
Perhaps you can think of a time when someone was chosen as captain of your sports team or class president not because they demonstrated leadership skills, but because they were good looking or the life of the party. Saul is tall, dark, and handsome—fitting the bill of what the people think they want—but as Israel’s first king he proves himself to be cowardly, paranoid, and susceptible to fits of rage. His failure to follow Yahweh’s simple instructions results in his forfeiture of the kingship (1 Samuel 13:13-14; 15:26) as well as the departure of Yahweh’s presence (1 Samuel 16:14). So much for a king helping Israel fulfill her vocation as name bearers!
The book of Samuel is a literary masterpiece designed to show us who Yahweh chooses as king. Saul keeps sinking lower and lower. Meanwhile, Yahweh directs Samuel to anoint David as king (1 Samuel 16:13, 18). The famous story of David’s fight with Goliath reveals the stark contrast between David and Saul. Saul, we just noted, is really tall. He stands head and shoulders above everyone else. Yet when a tall Philistine challenges the Israelites to a duel, Saul cowers at a safe distance from the battle lines and tries to persuade someone else to do what he ought to be doing. He even offers rewards, including the hand of his daughter in marriage.
David, on the other hand, seems unfazed by Goliath’s size and refuses to be lured by Saul’s reward or impressed by Saul’s armor. For him, the pertinent issue is God’s reputation. By defying Israel’s armies, Goliath is insulting Israel’s God. David’s blood boils. He calls out to Goliath, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1 Sam 17:45).8 David’s victory over Goliath ensures that “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands . . . and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:46). David clearly grasps the mission of God’s covenant people, and he takes it upon himself to carry it out, even when Israel’s anointed ruler is chicken.
Yahweh’s selection of David as his anointed ruler becomes more and more obvious as the narrative unfolds (2 Samuel 3:18; 5:10, 12). Finally, he is enthroned. In one of his first acts as king, David brings the ark of the covenant tablets to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1-23). It had been captured by the Philistines some time earlier, who returned it to Israel within months to avoid Yahweh’s wrath (1 Samuel 5–6). For twenty years the ark was kept in a home in Kiriath Jearim (1 Samuel 7:2), but David’s priority was to bring it to the center of Israel’s political life. With the ark in Israel’s possession in the capital city, David’s kingship is secure. His enemies are vanquished. His own palace is built. It’s a golden time. Then he has an idea: I should build a temple for Yahweh in Jerusalem!
David’s conversation with Yahweh about this project revolves around the words “name” and “house,” playing with their various meanings. David proposes to build a “house” (i.e., a temple) for Yahweh’s “name” (that is, a place where he will be honored). Yahweh sends the prophet Nathan to respond to David’s idea, saying that instead Yahweh will build David’s “house” (that is, his dynasty) and give him a “name” or reputation (2 Samuel 7:9).9 David recognizes the uniqueness of Israel’s election: “And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?” (2 Samuel 7:23).
God’s promise to build David’s dynasty, as positive as it is, serves as a gentle rebuke. Temples are not the prerogative of kings but are built by divine initiative. David has blood on his hands, so his son must be the one to “build a house for my [Yahweh’s] Name” (2 Samuel 7:13). That son is Solomon, the fruit of David’s union with another man’s wife—just one more proof that God redeems our epic failures.
RIBBON CUTTING: SOLOMON’S TEMPLE
Solomon’s primary positive accomplishment is the construction of the temple David desired on Mount Zion. The temple is repeatedly associated with Yahweh’s name.10 When it is built, a special “ribbon-cutting” ceremony dedicates it to the worship of Yahweh. Yahweh reaffirms his covenant with Solomon, promising his presence and blessing as long as Solomon walks in his ways (6:11-13; cf. 8:23-26). Solomon dedicates the temple with a prayer that beautifully encapsulates the biblical-theological theme of bearing Yahweh’s name to the nations. He prays:
As for the foreigner who does not belong to your
people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name—for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when they come and pray toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name. (1 Kings 8:41-43, emphasis added)
Solomon recognizes the missional significance of Yahweh’s acts on Israel’s behalf. The election of Israel as Yahweh’s special people and Jerusalem as the special place for his house motivates God to act on their behalf (1 Kings 8:53; 11:13, 32, 36; cf. 14:21). Yahweh’s fame provides the sole basis for Solomon’s appeal for blessing, “so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other” (1 Kings 8:60).
Not only does Solomon’s temple dedication feature the name of Yahweh, but it also echoes the dedication of the tabernacle at Sinai. Sinai, referred to here as Horeb, is specifically mentioned as the ark is brought into the inner sanctuary: “There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt” (1 Kings 8:9). Just as “Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:35), so at Solomon’s temple dedication “the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple” (1 Kings 8:11).11 The presence of Yahweh filling this new temple was a tremendous affirmation of Yahweh’s ongoing covenant commitment to Israel. Centuries had already passed since Sinai, years punctuated by faithlessness and rebellion on the part of the Israelites. Still, Yahweh keeps his promise and offers more grace.
Solomon’s wisdom has a magnetic effect on the surrounding nations. First, all Israel marvels at his wisdom (1 Kings 3:28); then the nations begin to notice (1 Kings 4:29-34). King Hiram of Tyre blesses Yahweh on account of Solomon’s wisdom (1 Kings 5:7). The Queen of Sheba travels a great distance to hear his wisdom personally and blessed Yahweh (1 Kings 10:1-10). Indeed, the “whole world” seeks Solomon’s wisdom (1 Kings 10:24). This sounds like the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise to bring blessing to the nations. But it doesn’t last.
Yahweh’s standard remains clear. If Israel fails to keep the covenant, Yahweh will destroy the temple and make Israel the object of mockery in the sight of the nations (1 Kings 9:6-9). In spite of Solomon’s wisdom, he proves himself to be easily swayed from covenant faithfulness, marrying hundreds of wives for the sake of political alliances, and providing ways for them to continue to worship gods other than Yahweh. Solomon takes his place among the majority of Israel’s leaders who tolerated blatant disregard for the covenant.
After Solomon, the kingdom is split in two. His son Rehoboam rules the southern kingdom, which comes to be known as Judah. Jeroboam rules the northern kingdom, known as Israel. Jeroboam’s first act as king is to set up golden calves in Dan and Bethel, marking the northern and southern boundaries of his territory. This ensures that the Israelites will not travel further south to worship Yahweh at the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem. It seals the demise of the ten northern tribes, none of whose subsequent eighteen kings worship Yahweh. Eventually, the Assyrians drag the heart of this kingdom into exile, just as Moses predicted.
Judah fares moderately better. Of her twenty kings, eight attempt to stay true to the covenant with Yahweh. Hundreds of years later, as the Assyrian king Sennacherib threatens to destroy Jerusalem, King Hezekiah prays for mercy, grounding his plea on Yahweh’s reputation: “Now, LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, LORD, are God” (2 Kings 19:19). Judah is being mocked by the nations (2 Kings 19:21-22) and Yahweh responds through the prophet Isaiah, promising to defend her for his own sake (2 Kings 19:34). However, his rescue does not turn Israel from its path. God’s own people are too persistent in their rebellion.
Moses had looked ahead to this day. He saw what was coming. In his song in Deuteronomy 32, he called the people “a nation without sense” (v. 28) who “abandoned the God who made them” (v. 15). It would only be a matter of time before the curses announced in Deuteronomy 28 would come to rest on them because of their unfaithfulness. Finally, on the basis of Judah’s untiring wickedness, Yahweh announces that he will reject his people, his city, and even his temple (2 Kings 23:27). The threatened exile of the southern kingdom becomes a reality.
Enough is enough.
Through those dark days, when the light of the covenant is almost snuffed out, the prophets are the single voice of reason, calling God’s people back to their true vocation as worshipers of Yahweh and bearers of his name. They look at the mess from God’s perspective, providing a view from 30,000 feet.
DIGGING DEEPER
*Daniel I. Block. Deuteronomy. NIVAC. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.
*David M. Howard Jr. An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books. Chicago: Moody, 1993.
Sandra L. Richter. The Deuteronomistic History and the Name Theology: Lešakkēn Šemô Šām in the Bible and the Ancient Near East. BATW 318. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2002.
*Christopher J. H. Wright. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2006.
Related video from The Bible Project: “Torah: Deuteronomy.”
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WHAT YAHWEH SEES
The Faithful Few
ONE MAN SHOW? ELIJAH AT SINAI
Through the centuries, God sent prophets to announce his word to his people, calling them back to covenant faithfulness. Most ignored their message, but their words were preserved by the faithful few for future generations. The first significant prophet we meet during Israel’s monarchy is Elijah, who ministered after the Israelite kingdom had split in two, with Israel in the north and Judah in the south. At that time, the northern kingdom of Israel was led by two devout worshipers of the Canaanite god, Baal. Not only is worshiping other gods a direct violation of the covenant, but King Ahab and Queen Jezebel become obsessed with eliminating Yahweh-worship altogether. They kill any prophets of Yahweh they can find, but they have a terrible time tracking down Elijah. Elijah, whose name means “My God is Yahweh,” announces a drought lasting several years, earning him the nickname “Troubler of Israel” (1 Kings 18:17). His threat isn’t random. Lack of rain is a curse prescribed at Sinai in the event that Israel disregards the covenant:
If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. . . . But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant . . . I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit. (Leviticus 26:3-4, 14-15, 19-20)
Lack of rain should be the first clue that the Israelites have gone off the rails, but their perspective has been skewed.
Lack of rain is also a source of deep embarrassment for Baal, as he is supposedly the storm god, responsible for thunder, lightning, and rain.1 An ancient story known as “The ‘Aqhatu Legend” illustrates Baal’s inability to bring rain under similar circumstances. Here his name is spelled Ba’lu:
Thereupon Dani’ilu the man of Rapa’u, uttered a spell upon clouds in the heat of the season, upon the rain that the clouds pour down on the summer fruits, upon the dew that falls on the grapes. Seven years has Ba’lu failed, eight (years) he who rides upon the clouds: no dew, no showers, no upsurging (of water) from the deeps, no goodly voice of Ba’lu.2
Baal is directly blamed for the lack of rain.
Drought is also an embarrassment to King Ahab, who
depends on Baal’s endorsement of his kingship. Shrewdly, Elijah plans to beat Baal at his own game. He arranges a contest with the prophets of Baal in which the god who sends lightning will be recognized as God. He gives Baal the home turf advantage, holding the contest on sacred Mount Carmel. After a whole day of desperate prayer, Baal’s prophets give up. Baal is silent and so are the skies. Elijah prays a single, simple prayer and Yahweh sends a dramatic answer: the lightning he sends from a cloudless sky burns up not only the sacrifice on the altar but the stone altar itself. Instantly, everyone present recognizes that Yahweh is God. The rains soon follow, removing any remaining doubt about who caused the drought. Yahweh’s victory vindicates the prophet who bears his name.
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