{"id":36,"date":"2018-01-10T09:51:35","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T14:51:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/readingthebible\/?post_type=chapter&p=36"},"modified":"2018-01-12T12:49:33","modified_gmt":"2018-01-12T17:49:33","slug":"chapter-7-the-cloud-of-the-lord","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/readingthebible\/chapter\/chapter-7-the-cloud-of-the-lord\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 7: The Cloud of the Lord","rendered":"Chapter 7: The Cloud of the Lord"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n
For the cloud of the Lord hovered over the Tabernacle <\/em>\r\n\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by day, and there was fire in the cloud by night, and the<\/em>\r\n\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Israelites could see it at every stage of their journey. <\/em>\r\n\r\n(Ex.40.38)<\/blockquote>\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe Old Testament narrative paints a picture of God. He is never far\u00a0away; is, you might say, the subtext of the stories. He is the creator-god, the\u00a0avenging-god, the choosing god, the covenant god. The promise he makes to\u00a0Abraham that launches the narrative is renewed and thus brought back to\u00a0our attention at the introduction of each new hero in the line from Abraham to\u00a0Jesus. Even when he is not participating as a character in the action of the\u00a0story his presence is felt. From the beginning we have been told how the events\u00a0of the story are under the control of this god, and at the conclusion of Exodus\u00a0we find that his presence will be constantly, visually on the canvas - day and\u00a0night - omnipresent. \"And the Israelites could see it at every stage of their\u00a0journey.\" This cloud and the Tent of the Presence are constant reminders to\u00a0the newly freed Israelites of the power and presence of their tribal god. Not\u00a0only did he free them from slavery but he is also guiding them to their\u00a0promised land. He reveals the way to his people and they are never lost in the\u00a0desert.\r\n\r\nJust as Yahweh reveals the way through the desert to the rich valleys of\u00a0Canaan, so also does he reveal the way to religious and political riches. A\u00a0priestly account of the origins of the sanctuary, its personnel and rituals follows\u00a0in Leviticus. Time after time the formula \"the Lord spoke to Moses and\u00a0said,\" announces a new set of rules concerning offerings, installation of priests,\u00a0sacrifices, sexual conduct, purification and atonement, preparation of food\u00a0offerings, and the approved slaughtering techniques. The Tent of the Presence\u00a0is the center of the religious life of the tribes and from it come the laws that\u00a0will bind the tribes together into a people. Negotiating meaning between the\u00a0Presence and the People - that is, the approved readers of the subtext - are the\u00a0priests, the members of the tribe of Levi.\r\n\r\nThe patriarchal religion was patterned after the patron deity of the clan\u00a0- the \"god of the fathers\" - and its rules and patterns are developed in the\u00a0stories in the post exodus books. Religion in the early Near East consisted not\u00a0so much in certain beliefs as in common patterns of ritual enactment.1 The\u00a0recurring prophetic metaphor shows a relationship of parent to child:\r\n
When Israel was a child, I loved him\r\n\r\nand out of Egypt, I called my son. (Hosea 11.1)<\/blockquote>\r\nwhere the desert sojourn is viewed as Israel's childhood and where Yahweh\u00a0taught his children the necessity for discipline and trust. In the stories of\u00a0conquest we see the most basic form of the contract theory of political\u00a0obligation: obey the laws of the divine ruler and the consequences will be good,\u00a0disobey and chaos will follow. Contract theory as developed later by Hobbes\u00a0and Rousseau is implicit in the Old Testament stories although never\u00a0specifically offered as a political theory. Why does one have an obligation to\u00a0Moses, Joshua and the Judges? Because they are divinely appointed and speak\u00a0the words of Yahweh. The battles that go against the tribes are ones where the\u00a0will of Yahweh has not been followed. Good consequences flow to those who\u00a0obey and are righteous; when events turn out bad the reasons are to be found\u00a0in the disobedience of the people who have broken the contract.\r\n\r\nThroughout the forty year \"childhood\" the lack of food and water and the risk\u00a0of attack by hostile tribes were constant threats. Time after time Yahweh\u00a0provides for his people through miraculous delivery of manna and quail in the\u00a0midst of a barren desert and through the equally miraculous ability to produce\u00a0water from the dry and barren landscape. In one story (Num. 20) we are given\u00a0the reason why Moses will not be able to enter the promised land and it\u00a0revolves around water.\r\n\r\n \r\n
The Lord spoke to Moses and said, `Take a staff, and then with\r\n\r\nAaron your brother assemble all the community, and, in front of\r\n\r\nthem all, speak to the rock and it will yield its water. Thus you will\r\n\r\nproduce water for the community out of the rock, for them and\r\n\r\ntheir beasts to drink.'<\/blockquote>\r\n \r\n\r\nMoses makes a fatal, human error. Responding to the community with\u00a0impatience (and who wouldn't given the constant complaining of the\u00a0community?) he does not speak to the rock as commanded, but strikes the\u00a0rock twice with his staff, saying, `Listen to me, you rebels. Must we get water\u00a0out of this rock for you?' This one loss of patience, this human response to a\u00a0toilsome situation, costs him dearly:\r\n\r\n \r\n
`You did not trust me so far as to uphold my holiness in the sight of\r\n\r\nthe Israelites; therefore you shall not lead this assembly into the\r\n\r\nland which I promised to give them.'<\/blockquote>\r\nNo one, not even the faithful, long serving, reluctant hero, Moses, is immune\u00a0from the commands of Yahweh. Moses disobeys and is denied access to the\u00a0promised land.\r\n\r\nMoses' ability to inspire is dramatically shown in the story of the battle\u00a0against the Amelekites. While Joshua led the attack, Moses stood on a hill in\u00a0full view of his army holding his arms over his head and as long as his arms\u00a0were outstretched the Hebrews were successful, \" and Joshua mowed down\u00a0Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.\" A constant theme\u00a0throughout the story of the conquest of Canaan: it is the divine power of\u00a0Yahweh that is responsible for success.\r\n\r\nAccording to the Priestly account (Ex. 19.1; Num. 10.11) the Hebrews\u00a0spent nearly a year at Mount Sinai before finally breaking camp and striking\u00a0out toward the Wilderness of Paran. With them on the journey goes the\u00a0portable ark and the tabernacle as evidence of Yahweh's presence as they push\u00a0on to the vicinity of Kadesh where the official forty years in the wilderness is\u00a0spent. Throughout Yahweh faithfully produces water, manna, and quail.\r\n\r\nThe Balaam story (chs. 22-24) provides a delightful interlude in the\u00a0Numbers narrative and is the one case in the Bible of a talking animal and a\u00a0touch of humor - for here the dumb beast is more enlightened than the\u00a0learned master. Talking animals are not unusual in the literature of the time\u00a0(e.g., Achilles' horse Xanathus in the Iliad) but the only other Old Testament\u00a0example is the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The emphasis in these oracle\u00a0stories is on the fact that an oracle is only as good as Yahweh allows him to be\u00a0and foreshadows the later prophetic conception of the divine Word.\r\n\r\nThe words of Deuteronomy are the words of the ritualistic covenant\u00a0agreement with an emphasis on the timeless and contemporary nature of the\u00a0agreement. Each new generation stands before the God of Sinai to hear the\u00a0words of the lawgiver and renew the covenant:\r\n\r\n \r\n
Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in\r\n\r\nyour hearing this day, and you shall learn them and be careful to do\r\n\r\nthem. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not\r\n\r\nwith our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who\r\n\r\nare all of us here alive this day. (Deut. 5.1-3)<\/blockquote>\r\n \r\n\r\nThe story of the time in the wilderness emphasizes the ongoing power\u00a0of Yahweh and his covenant promise to the chosen people. It also tells of\u00a0victories and defeats as the tribes seek a way of entering Canaan to settle in the\u00a0promised land. The laws that will bind the tribes together and the rituals that\u00a0will be constant reminders of the power and glory of Yahweh are a part of the\u00a0official line of these books, establishing as they do the many priestly\u00a0observations that will be a part of the history and celebration of the covenant.\u00a0The beginning story for one of the important Jewish holidays is described as\u00a0follows:\r\n\r\n \r\n
Along with the annual feasts stipulated in the Covenant Code,\r\n\r\nLevitical law added the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the\r\n\r\nmost solemn of all Hebrew fasts. Observed on the tenth day of\r\n\r\npenitence at the beginning of the New Year, when forgiveness was\r\n\r\nsought for the sins of the past year. Although it was not until the\r\n\r\npost-Exilic period that it received a fixed place in the liturgical\r\n\r\ncalendar, its rituals appear to be quite old. Sin offerings were made\r\n\r\nby the high priest for himself, his family, and \"for all the assembly\r\n\r\nof Israel,\" after which the nation's sins were symbolically laid upon\r\n\r\nthe scapegoat (goat for \"Azazel\"), which was driven into the\r\n\r\nwilderness to die. The day of Atonement was the one day in the\r\n\r\nyear when the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies, the inner\r\n\r\nshrine of the temple.2<\/blockquote>\r\n \r\n\r\nThe book of Joshua tells us the official story of the conquest of\u00a0Canaan. Although all the extra-biblical evidence indicates a long and gradual\u00a0encroachment by the Hebrew tribes here we are given three swift and decisive\u00a0campaigns to bring the whole land into Israelite control. The battle of Jericho\u00a0is a prime example of the point of these stories. On the way to the city the\u00a0tribes must cross the Jordan River. As they approach the river the waters\u00a0miraculously stop and allow their passage in a story reminiscent of the Red Sea\u00a0episode on the way out of Egypt. After observing the Passover the assault on\u00a0the city begins. With the priests in the front, carrying the Ark and blowing\u00a0trumpets, they march around the city seven times and then miraculously a\u00a0mighty shout is sufficient to bring down the walls of Jericho. The city is then\u00a0totally destroyed as a sacrifice to Yahweh.\r\n\r\nNarrative conquest of the promised land is portrayed as a sudden and\u00a0complete victory but all of the evidence, even other biblical evidence, indicates\u00a0a much less thoroughgoing victory as we see at the beginning of the book of\u00a0Judges where the question raised after Joshua's death is \"Who shall go up\u00a0against the Canaanites, to fight against them?\" indicating that the victory is not\u00a0complete, the lands not yet secured.\r\n\r\nAfter the death of Moses the mantle of authority passes on to Joshua,\u00a0the warrior hero, who will reign over the conquest. The climactic entry into the\u00a0promised land, a land that Moses will see but never enter, is promised again in\u00a0Yahweh's charge to Joshua at the beginning of the book of Joshua:\r\n\r\n \r\n
`My servant Moses is dead; now it is for you to cross the\r\n\r\nJordan, you and this whole people of Israel, to this land which I am\r\n\r\ngiving them. Every place where you set foot is yours: I have given it\r\n\r\nto you, as I promised Moses....Be strong, be resolute; it is you who\r\n\r\nare to put this people in possession of the land which I swore to\r\n\r\ngive to their fathers....for the Lord your God is with you wherever\r\n\r\nyou go.'<\/blockquote>\r\n \r\n\r\nAnd indeed the story offers evidence that Yahweh is with Joshua, for\u00a0he is not only able to capture and destroy Jericho and Ai, but he is also able to\u00a0defeat the combined forces of all of the Amorite kings in the battle outside of\u00a0Gilgal in Gibeon (Joshua 10). It is in that battle that the power of Yahweh is\u00a0exhibited in a most dramatic way - the sun itself stands still \"until a nation had\u00a0taken vengeance on its enemies.\"\r\n\r\nSigns, miracles, victories, all signal the proclamation that the chosen\u00a0people are the instrument of a powerful god, a god who is fulfilling a promise\u00a0made to the patriarchs so many hundreds of years before. In the ongoing\u00a0covenant story of the Pentateuch we see a simple ethic: follow the rules and\u00a0good consequences will come; break the rules and bad consequences will\u00a0come. But the Hebrew writers also knew that this simple explanation of good\u00a0and evil was unable to explain all the real events in a community's life.\u00a0Sometimes the bad prosper. Sometimes the good suffer. This conflict between\u00a0the official line and the story of a real life is wrestled with in the Wisdom\u00a0literature. Proverbs, for example, tells us of a practical wisdom to employ in\u00a0everyday life, while the books of Job and Ecclesiastes offer a counterpoint to\u00a0the official position that God always rewards good and punishes evil.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"
\n

For the cloud of the Lord hovered over the Tabernacle <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by day, and there was fire in the cloud by night, and the<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Israelites could see it at every stage of their journey. <\/em><\/p>\n

(Ex.40.38)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Old Testament narrative paints a picture of God. He is never far\u00a0away; is, you might say, the subtext of the stories. He is the creator-god, the\u00a0avenging-god, the choosing god, the covenant god. The promise he makes to\u00a0Abraham that launches the narrative is renewed and thus brought back to\u00a0our attention at the introduction of each new hero in the line from Abraham to\u00a0Jesus. Even when he is not participating as a character in the action of the\u00a0story his presence is felt. From the beginning we have been told how the events\u00a0of the story are under the control of this god, and at the conclusion of Exodus\u00a0we find that his presence will be constantly, visually on the canvas – day and\u00a0night – omnipresent. “And the Israelites could see it at every stage of their\u00a0journey.” This cloud and the Tent of the Presence are constant reminders to\u00a0the newly freed Israelites of the power and presence of their tribal god. Not\u00a0only did he free them from slavery but he is also guiding them to their\u00a0promised land. He reveals the way to his people and they are never lost in the\u00a0desert.<\/p>\n

Just as Yahweh reveals the way through the desert to the rich valleys of\u00a0Canaan, so also does he reveal the way to religious and political riches. A\u00a0priestly account of the origins of the sanctuary, its personnel and rituals follows\u00a0in Leviticus. Time after time the formula “the Lord spoke to Moses and\u00a0said,” announces a new set of rules concerning offerings, installation of priests,\u00a0sacrifices, sexual conduct, purification and atonement, preparation of food\u00a0offerings, and the approved slaughtering techniques. The Tent of the Presence\u00a0is the center of the religious life of the tribes and from it come the laws that\u00a0will bind the tribes together into a people. Negotiating meaning between the\u00a0Presence and the People – that is, the approved readers of the subtext – are the\u00a0priests, the members of the tribe of Levi.<\/p>\n

The patriarchal religion was patterned after the patron deity of the clan\u00a0– the “god of the fathers” – and its rules and patterns are developed in the\u00a0stories in the post exodus books. Religion in the early Near East consisted not\u00a0so much in certain beliefs as in common patterns of ritual enactment.1 The\u00a0recurring prophetic metaphor shows a relationship of parent to child:<\/p>\n

When Israel was a child, I loved him<\/p>\n

and out of Egypt, I called my son. (Hosea 11.1)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

where the desert sojourn is viewed as Israel’s childhood and where Yahweh\u00a0taught his children the necessity for discipline and trust. In the stories of\u00a0conquest we see the most basic form of the contract theory of political\u00a0obligation: obey the laws of the divine ruler and the consequences will be good,\u00a0disobey and chaos will follow. Contract theory as developed later by Hobbes\u00a0and Rousseau is implicit in the Old Testament stories although never\u00a0specifically offered as a political theory. Why does one have an obligation to\u00a0Moses, Joshua and the Judges? Because they are divinely appointed and speak\u00a0the words of Yahweh. The battles that go against the tribes are ones where the\u00a0will of Yahweh has not been followed. Good consequences flow to those who\u00a0obey and are righteous; when events turn out bad the reasons are to be found\u00a0in the disobedience of the people who have broken the contract.<\/p>\n

Throughout the forty year “childhood” the lack of food and water and the risk\u00a0of attack by hostile tribes were constant threats. Time after time Yahweh\u00a0provides for his people through miraculous delivery of manna and quail in the\u00a0midst of a barren desert and through the equally miraculous ability to produce\u00a0water from the dry and barren landscape. In one story (Num. 20) we are given\u00a0the reason why Moses will not be able to enter the promised land and it\u00a0revolves around water.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Lord spoke to Moses and said, `Take a staff, and then with<\/p>\n

Aaron your brother assemble all the community, and, in front of<\/p>\n

them all, speak to the rock and it will yield its water. Thus you will<\/p>\n

produce water for the community out of the rock, for them and<\/p>\n

their beasts to drink.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Moses makes a fatal, human error. Responding to the community with\u00a0impatience (and who wouldn’t given the constant complaining of the\u00a0community?) he does not speak to the rock as commanded, but strikes the\u00a0rock twice with his staff, saying, `Listen to me, you rebels. Must we get water\u00a0out of this rock for you?’ This one loss of patience, this human response to a\u00a0toilsome situation, costs him dearly:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

`You did not trust me so far as to uphold my holiness in the sight of<\/p>\n

the Israelites; therefore you shall not lead this assembly into the<\/p>\n

land which I promised to give them.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No one, not even the faithful, long serving, reluctant hero, Moses, is immune\u00a0from the commands of Yahweh. Moses disobeys and is denied access to the\u00a0promised land.<\/p>\n

Moses’ ability to inspire is dramatically shown in the story of the battle\u00a0against the Amelekites. While Joshua led the attack, Moses stood on a hill in\u00a0full view of his army holding his arms over his head and as long as his arms\u00a0were outstretched the Hebrews were successful, ” and Joshua mowed down\u00a0Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” A constant theme\u00a0throughout the story of the conquest of Canaan: it is the divine power of\u00a0Yahweh that is responsible for success.<\/p>\n

According to the Priestly account (Ex. 19.1; Num. 10.11) the Hebrews\u00a0spent nearly a year at Mount Sinai before finally breaking camp and striking\u00a0out toward the Wilderness of Paran. With them on the journey goes the\u00a0portable ark and the tabernacle as evidence of Yahweh’s presence as they push\u00a0on to the vicinity of Kadesh where the official forty years in the wilderness is\u00a0spent. Throughout Yahweh faithfully produces water, manna, and quail.<\/p>\n

The Balaam story (chs. 22-24) provides a delightful interlude in the\u00a0Numbers narrative and is the one case in the Bible of a talking animal and a\u00a0touch of humor – for here the dumb beast is more enlightened than the\u00a0learned master. Talking animals are not unusual in the literature of the time\u00a0(e.g., Achilles’ horse Xanathus in the Iliad) but the only other Old Testament\u00a0example is the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The emphasis in these oracle\u00a0stories is on the fact that an oracle is only as good as Yahweh allows him to be\u00a0and foreshadows the later prophetic conception of the divine Word.<\/p>\n

The words of Deuteronomy are the words of the ritualistic covenant\u00a0agreement with an emphasis on the timeless and contemporary nature of the\u00a0agreement. Each new generation stands before the God of Sinai to hear the\u00a0words of the lawgiver and renew the covenant:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in<\/p>\n

your hearing this day, and you shall learn them and be careful to do<\/p>\n

them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not<\/p>\n

with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who<\/p>\n

are all of us here alive this day. (Deut. 5.1-3)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

The story of the time in the wilderness emphasizes the ongoing power\u00a0of Yahweh and his covenant promise to the chosen people. It also tells of\u00a0victories and defeats as the tribes seek a way of entering Canaan to settle in the\u00a0promised land. The laws that will bind the tribes together and the rituals that\u00a0will be constant reminders of the power and glory of Yahweh are a part of the\u00a0official line of these books, establishing as they do the many priestly\u00a0observations that will be a part of the history and celebration of the covenant.\u00a0The beginning story for one of the important Jewish holidays is described as\u00a0follows:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Along with the annual feasts stipulated in the Covenant Code,<\/p>\n

Levitical law added the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the<\/p>\n

most solemn of all Hebrew fasts. Observed on the tenth day of<\/p>\n

penitence at the beginning of the New Year, when forgiveness was<\/p>\n

sought for the sins of the past year. Although it was not until the<\/p>\n

post-Exilic period that it received a fixed place in the liturgical<\/p>\n

calendar, its rituals appear to be quite old. Sin offerings were made<\/p>\n

by the high priest for himself, his family, and “for all the assembly<\/p>\n

of Israel,” after which the nation’s sins were symbolically laid upon<\/p>\n

the scapegoat (goat for “Azazel”), which was driven into the<\/p>\n

wilderness to die. The day of Atonement was the one day in the<\/p>\n

year when the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies, the inner<\/p>\n

shrine of the temple.2<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

The book of Joshua tells us the official story of the conquest of\u00a0Canaan. Although all the extra-biblical evidence indicates a long and gradual\u00a0encroachment by the Hebrew tribes here we are given three swift and decisive\u00a0campaigns to bring the whole land into Israelite control. The battle of Jericho\u00a0is a prime example of the point of these stories. On the way to the city the\u00a0tribes must cross the Jordan River. As they approach the river the waters\u00a0miraculously stop and allow their passage in a story reminiscent of the Red Sea\u00a0episode on the way out of Egypt. After observing the Passover the assault on\u00a0the city begins. With the priests in the front, carrying the Ark and blowing\u00a0trumpets, they march around the city seven times and then miraculously a\u00a0mighty shout is sufficient to bring down the walls of Jericho. The city is then\u00a0totally destroyed as a sacrifice to Yahweh.<\/p>\n

Narrative conquest of the promised land is portrayed as a sudden and\u00a0complete victory but all of the evidence, even other biblical evidence, indicates\u00a0a much less thoroughgoing victory as we see at the beginning of the book of\u00a0Judges where the question raised after Joshua’s death is “Who shall go up\u00a0against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” indicating that the victory is not\u00a0complete, the lands not yet secured.<\/p>\n

After the death of Moses the mantle of authority passes on to Joshua,\u00a0the warrior hero, who will reign over the conquest. The climactic entry into the\u00a0promised land, a land that Moses will see but never enter, is promised again in\u00a0Yahweh’s charge to Joshua at the beginning of the book of Joshua:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

`My servant Moses is dead; now it is for you to cross the<\/p>\n

Jordan, you and this whole people of Israel, to this land which I am<\/p>\n

giving them. Every place where you set foot is yours: I have given it<\/p>\n

to you, as I promised Moses….Be strong, be resolute; it is you who<\/p>\n

are to put this people in possession of the land which I swore to<\/p>\n

give to their fathers….for the Lord your God is with you wherever<\/p>\n

you go.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

And indeed the story offers evidence that Yahweh is with Joshua, for\u00a0he is not only able to capture and destroy Jericho and Ai, but he is also able to\u00a0defeat the combined forces of all of the Amorite kings in the battle outside of\u00a0Gilgal in Gibeon (Joshua 10). It is in that battle that the power of Yahweh is\u00a0exhibited in a most dramatic way – the sun itself stands still “until a nation had\u00a0taken vengeance on its enemies.”<\/p>\n

Signs, miracles, victories, all signal the proclamation that the chosen\u00a0people are the instrument of a powerful god, a god who is fulfilling a promise\u00a0made to the patriarchs so many hundreds of years before. In the ongoing\u00a0covenant story of the Pentateuch we see a simple ethic: follow the rules and\u00a0good consequences will come; break the rules and bad consequences will\u00a0come. But the Hebrew writers also knew that this simple explanation of good\u00a0and evil was unable to explain all the real events in a community’s life.\u00a0Sometimes the bad prosper. Sometimes the good suffer. This conflict between\u00a0the official line and the story of a real life is wrestled with in the Wisdom\u00a0literature. Proverbs, for example, tells us of a practical wisdom to employ in\u00a0everyday life, while the books of Job and Ecclesiastes offer a counterpoint to\u00a0the official position that God always rewards good and punishes evil.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

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