AS IT IS WRITTEN
Esther & Joseph
The Lord revealed his salvific will to the Israelites through their historical experience. Of prime importance in that experience, of course, were the events and institutions associated with Moses, Joshua, David, and Solomon: the Exodus, the Sinai Covenant, the Conquest, the Davidic throne, and the Temple. Although these components of the Revelation were foundational, they did not exhaust the ways in which the Lord revealed his will to Israel, a fact later demonstrated by the canonization of the Prophetic Books.
Through the Prophets the Lord disclosed, among other truths, that Israel's painful experiences of exile also revealed his salvific will. Indeed, the Israelites' historical familiarity with exile—the Diaspora—became so dominant and extensive that it altered, in many minds, their regard for the Holy Land itself. The 'Erets Israel, once the majority of Israelites, through several generations, no longer lived there—and had no intention of returning—became a diminished point of reference.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor emeritus of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Out of Step with God: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019).
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
19.6—July/August 2006
The Three-Fold Cord of Imagination, Reason & Will in C. S. Lewis by Michael Ward
32.2—March/April 2019
on Properly Rendering Things to Caesar & to God by Peter J. Leithart
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
