Reflections on Old Testament Law and History #1

In my reading of the Law and History this semester, I observed the plan of God to choose, save, bless and judge his people announced and demonstrated. Yet the process of reading entire books over several days focussed my attention on smaller patterns. This week I'm posting a series on my observations and thoughts on how these apply to the way I understand the Bible and apply it to my life, most of which made it to my final "reflective essay" for my Old Testament Foundations lecturer.

I observed similarities in the events leading up to the marriages of Isaac to Rebekah (Gen. 24:10-51), Jacob to Rachel (Gen. 29:1-20) and Moses to Zipporah (Exod. 2:15-21): each bride was met at a well while watering her family’s flock. While the community well may have been merely a convenient place to meet people, Genesis 24 emphasises God’s sovereignty in providing a suitable wife. This clarifies the nature of Abraham’s descendants as God’s chosen people. Furthermore, perhaps the author of Exodus included this event to demonstrate continuity between the patriarchs and Moses. Moses also replicates Joseph’s marriage, marrying the daughter of a foreign priest (Gen. 41:45; Exod. 3:1; 18:1), again strengthening his connection to the forefathers. These similarities suggest that the author of Exodus was at least aware of Genesis, if not its author.