S3E16: Deuteronomy and the Covenantal Cycle

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In this episode we look more deeply at Deuteronomy and highlight how the Covenant and the Law are projected into the future both within the book of Deuteronomy as well as by later Jewish writers. Deuteronomy describes a cycle of covenant breaking, exile, repentance, and return that later becomes the foundation for Jewish eschatological conviction. This cycle thus becomes the engine of the apocalyptic hermeneutic in the second-temple period and in the New Testament.

Show notes

• Projecting the covenant and the law into Israel’s future – Daniel 9:11-13; 2 Maccabees 6:12–16 (1:40)
• The “covenantal cycle” of transgression, exile, repentance, return – Jeremiah 1:1, 11-12; 2 Kings 22:8; Ezekiel 1:1-3 (12:44)
• The cycle will not go on forever – Deuteronomy 4:30-31, 30:1-6, 6:6, 10:16; Jubilees 1:21-22 (19:26)
• Apocalyptic eschatology is built on the assumption of God’s faithfulness to the covenant – 4 Ezra 5:23-29; 4 Ezra 6:18-20 (27:14)
• The New Testament and the covenantal projection – Romans 9-11; Romans 11:11-16; Deuteronomy 32:18–21 (37:00)