OTHCC Chapter 75: items 1481

The Old Testament in the Heart of the Catholic Church < > All Chapters

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Read Ex 17. Read Ps 95 [Psalm 95]. The place Massah and Meribah is forever remembered as a place

a.   at which Israel received the water it needed.
b.   that shows that man should ask God to pass tests.
c.   where hardship caused Israel to question God's plan.

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The Church sees the ''water from the rock'' of Ex 17 as a type or figure of the spiritual gifts of Christ. [CCC 1094] <<

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Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy || Joshua Judges Ruth >> 1 Samuel 2 Samuel << 1 Kings 2 Kings || 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah || Tobit* Judith* Esther 1 Maccabees* 2 Maccabees* Job

Psalms

Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs Wisdom* Sirach* || Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Baruch* Ezekiel Daniel || Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

The Old Testament books with a star * are not any more or less important than the others. The star indicates that the Catholic Church definitively professes and knows these books to be part of the sacred writings, the inspired Word of God [cf. CCC 120], but that they are specifically rejected by the Jewish people, and called ''apocryphal'' (of doubtful inspiration) by Protestants.

Samuel is a prophet and a judge of Israel, the anointer of the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David. His mother dedicated him to the LORD and he became part of the household of Eli and his sons, who were priests. Read 1 Sam 2:12. Now read 1 Sam 2:35-3:19. The LORD calls Samuel

a.   to replace the priesthood of Eli and his sons.
b.   to support the priesthood of Eli and his sons.
c.   to warn the priesthood of Eli and his sons.

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A theory held by some Jews was that a (good) king could unify the laws, the people, and the army, making a nation stronger, more just, and better able to defend itself. Read 1 Sam 8. What does the LORD say?

a.   The people may have a king because a king will make the nation stronger.
b.   The people may have a king even though it shows their lack of faith.
c.   The people may not have a king because it shows their lack of faith.

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Read 1 Sam 9:27-10:1. The anointing of Saul with oil

a.   caused Saul to become deeply troubled and concerned.
b.   showed that the spirit of the LORD has come upon Saul.
c.   was a mistake because Saul was not to the people's liking.

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Saul is gifted and well-accepted by the people, but he proves unacceptable to God. Samuel then anoints David. Now there are two anointed kings of Israel at once! 1 Sam 16 - 2 Sam 5 (you don't have to read all of these chapters unless you want to) tell the story of Saul's pursuit of David, David's increasing favor with everyone, even with Saul's own children, Saul's eventual death in battle against the Philistines, the death of Saul's last heir, and David's acceptance as king by all of Israel. <<

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Read 2 Sam 7:1-17. This passage was interpreted by the Jewish people as

a.   a false glorification of kingship over the former times when judges ruled.
b.   a perpetual covenant made between the LORD and king David and his sons.
c.   of little significance in the life and history of the people of Israel.

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Read 2 Sam 7:18-29. The Catholic Church [CCC 2579] sees this passage as

a.   a model of prayer.
b.   important to Jews alone.
c.   of no importance.

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The destruction of Jerusalem and the Exile in Babylon caused the Jewish people to reflect more deeply on the promises God made to them, including the promise he made to David, of an everlasting kingship. (After the Exile, Israel no longer was ruled by its own king descended from David).

The Catholic Church professes that the Old Testament has a history in which God gradually reveals the fuller meaning of his promise to David of a kingdom as a promise of a universal kingdom for all men. This universal kingdom, secure forever, is the New Covenant, the union of Christ and his Church.

Jesus is the ''King of the Jews'' [read Mark 15:26], from the tribe of Judah and a true son of David [read Mathew 1:1], the King who from the Cross establishes the kingdom of the New Covenant in his blood. <<

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In spite of his success and wealth, David does what is displeasing to God. He has sexual relations with Bathsheba, the wife of his general Uriah, gets her pregnant, and arranges for Uriah to be killed in battle. The prophet Nathan is sent to show David his sins. Read 2 Sam 11-12:25. David does repent, and thus re-confirms his faithfulness to God. However, are there still consequences to David's sins against God? Solomon, we know, does grow up to be king. What does the rest of Second Samuel tell about two of David's sons, the half-brothers Amnon and Absalom?

a.   Amnon rapes Tamar, Absalom's sister, Absalom kills Amnon in a revenge-killing, then plots against David until Absalom is killed in battle.
b.   Amnon rapes Tamar, Absalom's sister, Absalom kills Amnon in a revenge-killing, then succeeds David until Solomon is ready to assume the throne.
c.   Amnon rapes Tamar, Absalom's sister, Amnon peacefully assumes the throne from David, followed by Absalom, who is followed by Solomon.

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Read Ex 14. According to this passage the Israelites are able to escape their slavery

a.   by defeating the Egyptian army in a pitched battle.
b.   by quietly praying while God did everything.
c.   by traveling over dry land in the midst of the sea.

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The people of Israel escaped their slavery, passing from death to life, as it were, led by Moses, by traveling safely through water. The Catholic Church has seen Moses as a type of Christ, and the crossing of the Red Sea as a type of the sacrament of

a.   Baptism.
b.   Confirmation.
c.   the Eucharist.

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Some modern scholars think that Ex 14 actually blends together two separate traditions about the crossing of the sea. If this happens to be true, then

a.   your faith is not shattered if there is no ''newspaper'' account of the crossing.
b.   your faith is shattered because there is no true account of the crossing.
c.   your faith is wounded because there is no true account of the crossing.

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You may as well know: some scholars think that the people of Israel crossed a ''sea of Reeds,'' (some sort of marshland), not the Red Sea. Ex 14 never actually mentions the particular sea crossed, but Ex 15:22 does. The Red Sea might be the correct sea referred to in Exodus, but ''Red Sea'' also might be an ancient Greek mistranslation of the original Hebrew text, a mistranslation then passed on for centuries. However, no pope, or even a single bishop, so far as is known, has ever even hinted that this possibility might affect your union with Christ. You don't need to worry about it, one way or the other. <<

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The God of Israel is a God

a.   about whom stories are told of great deeds he performs among the other gods.
b.   cut off from reality and human time and who exists only outside of time.
c.   who actively enters into human time and into real human hearts.

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The exodus of Israel from slavery, the giving of God's name, and the giving of the Law

a.   are central events to Jews and to Catholics.
b.   are central events to Jews but not to Catholics.
c.   are insignificant events to Jews and to Catholics.

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The events recounted in the book of Exodus (and retold and referred to in many other places in the Old Testament) defined Israel. From then on, Israel thought of itself as the people whom the Lord brought out of Egypt, to whom he gave his holy name, and to whom he gave the Law as a covenant with them. <<

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Read Gen 22:1-19. The literal sense of this passage appears to be given in Gen 22:15-18. Abraham, who is willing to trust God with what is nearest and dearest to him, his son Isaac, in return receives God's superabundant blessings. The Catholic Church sees in Isaac at this sacrifice a type of Christ, because the victim to be offered to God

a.   is completely innocent.
b.   is not the beloved son of a completely faithful father.
c.   will feel no pain.

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Most scholars find in Gen 22:1-19, Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac,

a.   acceptance of the human sacrifices performed by Israel's neighbors.
b.   hesitancy about the human sacrifices performed by Israel's neighbors.
c.   rejection of the human sacrifices performed by Israel's neighbors.

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Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy || Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings || 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah || Tobit* Judith* Esther 1 Maccabees* 2 Maccabees* Job

Psalms

Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs Wisdom* Sirach* || Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Baruch* Ezekiel Daniel || Hosea Joel Amos >> Obadiah << Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

Regarding its length, the book of Obadiah is

a.   one of the shortest.
b.   the longest.
c.   the shortest.

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