Scott Cox's Reviews > The Liturgy of Creation: Understanding Calendars in Old Testament Context
The Liturgy of Creation: Understanding Calendars in Old Testament Context
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Dr. Michael LeFebvre is a pastor as well as adjunct professor Old Testament at Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh. In this work Dr. LeFebvre proposes a unique framework to the Pentateuch that is a “calendar narrative.� Unlike Dr. Meredith Kline’s literary framework hypothesis, LeFebvre’s Genesis creation account is considered to be a “structured retelling of the creation around the pattern of a Model Farmer tending his fields and livestock each day of the week until the Sabbath.� Especially instructive were the details regarding Old Testament Israel’s seven annual festivals beginning in the first month (Spring) and ending in the seventh month (Autumn). The author then endeavors to link major events in the Pentateuch to these annual festivals, which he calls “event sequencing.� Specifically, LeFebvre’s major thesis is that Pentateuch dates were for “liturgical instruction� (remembrance dates), not “journalistic sequencing.� The author then attempts to demonstrate that this liturgical structure also holds true for the creation narrative of the first two chapters of Genesis, specifically, “the creation week narrative contains the history of God’s ordering of the world, mapped to Israel’s observance schedule for stewarding that order with labor and worship.� LeFebvre is adamant that the first two chapters of Genesis are not meant to be a science textbook. LeFebvre quotes John Walton, “Through the entire Bible, there is not a single instance in which God revealed to Israel a science beyond their own culture.� I thought that one of the weakest parts of his hypothesis to be the two panel-triad structure of Genesis 1. This is reminiscent of Kline’s framework hypothesis, but I found there to be little Biblical support for this hypothesis. I also question the author’s understanding that the underlining purpose of the Genesis creation account to be “human stewardship.� This lacks historic redemptive depth demonstrating Christ as the purpose of creation. Overall this was a thought-provoking work, however I cannot entirely subscribe to all aspects of the author’s creation hypothesis.
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Reading Progress
November 29, 2020
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Started Reading
November 29, 2020
– Shelved
May 22, 2021
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Finished Reading
May 29, 2021
– Shelved as:
theology
May 29, 2021
– Shelved as:
non-fiction