Act 3: Messianic Anticipation
Genesis 12 onward, Images 11 through 14
What follows is a supplemental commentary on the third Act in “The Canon" collection of captioned art.
Summary
Similar to the previous Act, I designate a marker for the Act transition (Genesis 12 in this case) but Act 3 really spans the entire Old Testemant. In most Protestant Bibles, this would mean your readings about ancient Israel would conclude with the exhortations of the minor prophets. However, in the structure of the Jewish TaNaKh, the Ketuvim (writings) are what would round out your readings of the scriptures - specifically ending with Chronicles. And this seems fitting, since Chronicles may be best summarized as a review of Isreal's history from Genesis through Kings. What is the commonality between both structures? The history of Ancient Israel establishes a climatic and even prophetic hope for a deliverer. Part of me laments distilling the rich web of sophisticated plots down to this singular idea - but at the same time I believe it is valuable, because it draws one's attention to the connecting thread laced throughout the entire Old Testemant. We have a diverse collection of instances where God pursues man inspite of man's brokeness. The gracious faithfulness of God is an assurance which provides great peace, but Israel was still left longing for a path to fully renewed life - one that would free them from their bondage to death. After tasting deliverance again and again over millennia, the Israelites eagerly waited for the revelation of God's promised savior.
First with a family, and then a community, and ultimately a kingdom
Image 11 of 29
Inspired by Genesis 28:14, Deuteronomy 7:6, and 1 Samuel 9:15-17
"Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring."
"For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession."
"Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel: 'About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked on my people, for their cry has reached me.' When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, 'This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.'"
This image is the most broad-reaching portrayal found in the collection, capturing the full breadth of Isreal's history of messianic anticipation. The archetypes we'd be inclined to see along this progression are Abraham, Moses, and David - but the full story includes dozens of other patriarchs, judges, and kings. In one regard it is unfortunate that the meditation is so inadequately disproportionate to the volumes of text it alludes to. But in another, it seems fitting for a distilled meditation on the entire Bible. In spite of the sophisticated and compelling plots within these stories, their purpose remains largely illustrative. Collectively they are a repetitious harmony of the core themes and narrative patterns introduced in the opening pages of the Bible. But necessarily so, because it shows a multiplicity of co-laboring attempts strung over millenia, to no avail. It solidifies the necessary context to believe a savior is really needed, an appeal made to (and through) every permutation of communal life. And that is how I imagine the iconic history of Ancient Israel.
Each of these vehicles revealed the brokeness of man and the goodness of God
Image 12 of 29
Inspired by Exodus 20:18-21 and Micah 7:18-19
"When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.' Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.' The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was."
"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."
The "lesson learned" at the end of nearly every Biblical narrative is that God is good. And ironically enough, this goodness is often so foreign to man that man responds in fear. That is what we observe at the base of Mount Sinai: frantic retreat from the foreboding approach of God's presence. There are other examples of even more explicit opposition to the notion that God is good/knows best too. Not long after this scene in Exodus we find the Israelites erecting the golden calf; Abraham and Sarah circumvented the promise of God by plotting to bear a child through Hagar; Jonah questioned the righteousness of God and refused to serve as a vehicle for His grace and mercy. The pattern conveys to us that the heart of man and the heart of God are fundamentally opposed. Image 12 is how I imagine this multi-generational game of "cat and mouse", between the pursuant goodness of God and the reclusive brokenness of man.
The truth was amplified over generations, but the need for a deliverer remained
Image 13 of 29
Inspired by Psalm 78:4-7 and Romans 15:4
“We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which He commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget His deeds but would keep His commands.”
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”
The Biblical narrative is repetitious, and once you are a couple hundred pages into the Old Testament part of you might question, "Is there ever an end to this cycle?" I can only imagine how agonizing this must have been for the Ancient Israelites. Their history testifies to the goodness and faithfulness of God, while also testifying to man's continual need for Grace and mercy. Is this dynamic God's eternal plan? No. God promises renewal, and man longs for deliverance. But families, judges, and kings have all failed to realize this final ascent to a redeeming reality. A silhouette of their savior remains: whoever or whatever it may be. And Image 13 is how I imagine the messianic anticipation of God's chosen people.
And then, a child was born
Image 14 of 29
Inspired by Isaiah 9:6, and Luke 1:31-33
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
There is nothing more incredible than the incarnation: that the promise of God's ultimate deliverance would come in the form of a child. That God would make his dwelling place with man, as man. He truly, in every sense of the word, met them where they were at: in the midst of their brokenness. I can only imagine how perplexing this revelation was to the ancient Israelites who have imagined and hoped for a deliverer for millennia: that a great king would rise up, that a warrior would conquer enemies, that an angel of the Lord would intervene with power and justice. I do not think that it is just happenstance that the Maccabean revolt had such close proximity to the birth of Christ. The way of Christ provides a dramatic contrast to the way of the world. A king rises up, but His glory is His humility; He conquers enemies but His weapon of choice is truth. Christ is the unexpected savior, quite literally personified in the gentle hope of a newborn child. And that is how I imagine the opening scene to the Gospel story.
