The issue of the Canon...

It is the Exodus-event that structures many of these issues for us. In the Exodus, God gives a formal revelation, creates a community that accepts it, authenticates it to the founders of the community, authenticates the mediator of much of that revelation, sets it up as a standard to judge future claims to revelation, provides a mean to preserve the continuity of content, and sets criteria in place to allow micro- and macro-changes to the content.

Let's analyze the Mosaic Events (i.e. Exodus and Wanderings):

• The Exodus-event-stream begins with the extraordinary appearances of YHWH to Moses in the burning bush of Exodus (Ex 3):

  Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight -- why the bush does not burn up." 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." 5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey -- the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" 12 And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." 13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, `What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.'" 15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, `The LORD, the God of your fathers -- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob -- has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.

  Note that God does a visible manifestation, a miraculous element, an audible communication. He identifies Himself with the Patriarchs--ancestors of Moses and creators of the Hebrew community. Moses is clearly persuaded that it is GOD Himself speaking to him (i.e. the extraordinary evidence is effective!), for he hid his face in fear (vs.6).
  

  So God establishes an epistemic 'anchor point' with Moses, and establishes a communication channel with him. This communication stream is centered around (1) God's promises to the Abrahamic community and (2) God's impending actions in history to deliver that community from bondage in Egypt.
  

• Moses is sensitive to the epistemic issues he will face!:

  Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, `The LORD did not appear to you'?" 2 Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. 3 The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 "This," said the LORD, "is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers -- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob -- has appeared to you." 6 Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. 7 "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. 8 Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground."

  This passage--Exodus 4.1ff--contains God's provision for extraordinary evidence to be used in case some doubt Moses' claim to have had an extraordinary experience. The miraculous signs had evidential value, but apparently the Nile-to-blood sign was for 'escalation'.
  

  Notice that God authenticated His message and identity to Moses first, then gave means for authentication to him, FOR him. And, also note that God anticipates that some will respond with EITHER disbelief OR suspension of judgment--in spite of the reality of the miracle. In other words, extraordinary evidence does NOT NECESSARILY "convince"--there is more to the equation than just the evidence.
  

• Then begins a large, but concentrated, series of extraordinary events designed to 'anchor' the faith of the Abrahamic community in YHWH and in His commissioned messenger Moses. The judgments on Egypt (many of which were targeted at Egyptian deities--e.g. the Nile, the frog) which eventuated in the Exodus of an entire nation from the midst of Egypt (unheard of in those days!) were constructed to be an 'empirical' foundation for Israel's faith. Compare Moses' marshaling of these arguments in Deut 4.32ff:

  Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? 35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today. 39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.

  The LORD is VERY keen on getting "extraordinary evidence" to these people--to create a community of acceptance of Him--but not on the basis of 'blind faith'!
  

• The extraordinary evidence of the Exodus-events is continued during the Wilderness Wanderings--manna from heaven, miraculous water supply, protection from enemies, authentication of messengers.
  

  If one looks at the express mentions of God's epistemic intent--in the book of Exodus alone--the number of passages is impressive (both to the Egyptian people, the royal court, and to the Israelites):
  

  • Exodus 6:7: I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
    

  • Exodus 7:5: And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it."
    

  • Exodus 7:17: This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.
    

  • Exodus 8:10: "Tomorrow," Pharaoh said. Moses replied, "It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.
    

  • Exodus 8:22: "`But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land.
    

  • Exodus 9:14: or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
    

  • Exodus 9:29: Moses replied, "When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the LORD. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the LORD's.
    

  • Exodus 10:2: that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD."
    

  • Exodus 14:4: And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this.
    

  • Exodus 14:18: The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."
    

  • Exodus 16:6: So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt,
    

  • Exodus 16:8: Moses also said, "You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD."
    

  • Exodus 16:12: "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, `At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'"
    

  • Exodus 18:11: Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly."
    

  • Exodus 29:46: They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.
    

  • Exodus 31:13: "Say to the Israelites, `You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.
    

  The interesting thing about these extraordinary events and authenticating signs is that they are VERY, VERY PUBLIC.
  
  • Some are done on a national scale (the Big Judgments) .
  • Some recur DAILY (e.g. manna)
  • Some are highly noticeable due to the crises surrounding them (e.g. Sea 'foreclosure', water supply)
  • They are all done prospectively: they are all FORETOLD by the authenticated messengers Moses and Aaron.
  
  

  And yet...some did not believe?!:
  

  • The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? (Num 14.11)
    

  • In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe. (Ps 78.30)
    

  • The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times -- 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. (Num 14.20ff)
    

  • do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did. (Ps 95.8ff) [Notice that the hardening of a heart can override a 'though they had seen what I did'.--so much for 'extraordinary evidence' being compelling!]
    

  • Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." 32 In spite of this, you did not trust in the LORD your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go. (Deut 1.29f)
    

  • Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember his power -- the day he redeemed them from the oppressor, 43 the day he displayed his miraculous signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan. (Ps 78.41ff) [Notice--this was a strange type of 'memory' problem!]
    

  So, even in the face of extraordinary evidence, acceptance and concurrence are contingent on other factors as well.
  

• There was a special class of miracles done to authenticate the appointed messengers and leadership.
  
  • We have already seen how Moses was given specific means to authenticate his relationship as spokesman for God.
    

  • At Sinai, God again does something special to authenticate Moses (Ex 19.9: The LORD said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.").
    

  • In Numbers 16-17, Aaron's leadership role is contested--God authenticates his role by a miraculous sign and a miraculous judgment.
    

  • In Numbers 12, Moses' leadership role is contested by Miriam and Aaron--God authenticates his leadership by a miraculous sign.
    

• But the BAD NEWS was...since the role of the authenticated-messenger had/has such power over the group, it was therefore monitored much more closely by YHWH--with harsh punishments for misleading the people.
  
  • Miriam was struck by a week of leprosy when she and Aaron challenged Moses "authentication" as leader (Num 12)
    

  • Moses was disqualified from entering the promised land because he misrepresented God before the people! (Num 20)
    

  • Aaron was likewise disqualified with Moses by the same event (Deut 32.50)
    

  • Aaron had almost been killed by the Lord for the golden-calf incident (Deut 9.20-21)
    

  • Moses had almost been killed by the Lord for failing to circumcise his kids (Ex 4.24-26).
  
  

• In the midst of this constant stream of extraordinary evidence and authenticating miracles, comes a burst of disclosure from God--the Mosaic covenant, given at Mt. Sinai.
  
  • This communication is given specifically to the previously-authenticated messenger, Moses.
    

  • This communication is given surrounded by very powerful visual/audible evidence--semi-volcanic activity and storm (Ex 19.16ff:

    On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, 19 and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. 20 The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the LORD said to him, "Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against).

  • This communication occurs in a very NATURAL form--the Hittite Suzerain treaty forms of the 2nd millennium BC.--a very easy-to-understand format in that time.
    

  • This communication--esp. in its covenant dimensions--becomes a DEFINING core of the Israelite community. The nation of Israel is actually CONSTITUTED as a nation (under the Suzerain YHWH) by this communication.
    

  • To be a member of this community (subsequently) was to accept the revelation as authenticated by God in the events of the Exodus/Wanderings.
  
  

  This once-for-all communication of God's identity, commitments, and the obligations placed upon the humans in the treaty was (1) immersed in extra-ordinary evidence and (2) constitutive of the existence of Israel as a nation.
  

• This communication was set up as a perpetual agreement, with the treaty requiring a copy of the revelation to be placed in a 'safety deposit box' (cf. Ex 25.16; 34:1,28,29). Thereafter, copies were to be made by the leaders (e.g. Dt 17.18).
  

• This revelation had protective features built-in, designed to keep the core pure. The general prohibitions against idolatry and witchcraft are intended to keep 'counter revelation' from becoming a confusion factor in the community.
  

  This is a significant issue. If the blessings to the community could only occur as they were faithful to the terms of their agreement with YHWH (i.e. the Mosaic covenant--cf. Ex 19.7: So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.), then it was critical to the happiness and well-being of the people to NOT get off the track! They would need to be faithful to their commitments (as per the treaty) for God to be faithful to His promises (as per the treaty). Treachery and treason to a protective and benevolent King is/was NOT healthy in any culture!
  

  Therefore, it was in the best interests of the people for YHWH to put stipulations in the covenant to strongly discourage them even 'listening to' alternative supernatural voices (remember the serpent?). Hence, the strong capital punishments for mediums and false prophets made perfect sense in that tightly-defined covenant community.

  Deut 13.1ff: If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.).

  Deut 18.10f: Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.

  Deut 18.20: But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death."

  Deut 20.27: "`A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.'")

  These are, of course, some rather strong measures (which are unique to the theocracy of the OT, I might add), but not unreasonable in light of the implications of covenant fidelity (Deut 28.1-14) or infidelity (Deut 28.15-68). Israel had agreed and pledged themselves to these conditions several times:
  
  1. The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." (Ex 19.8)
     

  2. When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do." 4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. (Ex 24.3-4)
     

  3. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey." (Ex 24.7)
     

  4. 27 Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells you. We will listen and obey." (Deut 5.27)
     

  5. Then Joshua said, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD." "Yes, we are witnesses," they replied. (Josh 24.22--a bit later)
     

  
  

  "Censorship" (of OVERT anti-YHWH 'competing revelations'--NOT of 'different opinions'--we will see many of these later) made perfect sense in this type of community--it was a matter of community survival and welfare. [And any would-be spiritists and false-prophets would have been more than welcome in the surrounding cultures--the job market for these was very, very good.]
  

• This burst of communication was 'fixed'--the content of the formative revelation was NOT to be modified by the Israelites (theoretically, the Suzerain had rights to modify it--even 'cancel it', if the vassal did NOT keep the stipulations.):

  Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.

• There apparently was a prophetic ministry that WAS okay--only the 'bad' ones are condemned in the law--the passage from Deut 13 shows this.
  

• But ALL subsequent revelation was held to a VERY SPECIFIC standard--accuracy (Deut 18.21) and continuity of content with the covenant (Deut 13.1ff):

  If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.

  Notice that the reason the false prophet is so dangerous is that he tries to get the people to follow a DIFFERENT GOD than the One who has already proven His power and kindness (through the Exodus--vs. 5). The people are supposed to already be in love with such a wonderful, gracious, and saving God.
  

  Thus--EVEN IN THE CASE OF EXTRAORDINARY EVIDENCE--a member of the community (already created by YHWH) was NEVER justified in giving equal/greater weight to a 'competing revelation'. Not only would a single sign or miracle have inadequate 'weight' BY ITSELF to explain away the huge quantity and high intensity of the Exodus/Wanderings miracles(!), but the very fact of their existence as a nation-taken-from-Egypt was proof enough of YHWH's reality and good motives.
  

  It should be noticed that this is parallel to the story of Isaac--his existence ITSELF was proof of God's reality, power, graciousness to Abe, faithfulness to His promises, and His kind-hearted intent to 'bless all nations'.
  

• Also, this standard of not-competing with the revelation of YHWH gives us an interesting insight into how the evidential force of miracles works for God. God does NOT rely upon single, uninterpreted, unforetold miracles--they have essentially NO EVIDENTIAL FORCE for His purposes! YHWH relied on a cluster-pattern of miracles, all foretold, and all supportive of a common purpose--the creation and sustenance of the nation of Israel, as the covenant community of Abraham.
  

  [Practically speaking, for me this has an interesting implication. If someone were to approach me today and offer occasional or 'spot' miracles in support of counter-YHWH claims, I would be hard pressed to accord them ANY evidential force. The VAST majority of the miracles in the Bible occurred in such well-organized 'clusters'--Moses, Elijah/Elisha, Jesus/Apostles. But more on this later...]
  

• This community-witness and content-continuity becomes even more interesting when we consider the epistemic grounds for faith for SUBSEQUENT generations after Moses.
  

  There are 4 specific generations we need to consider.
  

  1. The generation of Israelites who saw the exodus miracles and the wandering miracles had obvious good epistemic grounds for believing in, and adhering to, YHWH. But, as we have seen, they didn't always/often respond appropriately to this data. This generation died during the 40 years wandering--Num 26.64-65 (cf. Num 14.31 and Deut 1.39).
     

  2. The generation after them--the children under 20yrs of age at the Exodus. After the 40 years wandering, this group would have been 40-60 years old, as they prepared to cross the Jordan into the promised land. Of those in the 40-60 years old age range, most of these would be able to remember the events of the Exodus and the Wanderings. But their children would NOT have seen the Exodus, and would have only experienced SOME of the Wandering miracle-events.
     

     This group (40-60 at Jordan) is addressed by God in Deut 11.1-7:

     Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. 2 Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm; 3 the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country; 4 what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the LORD brought lasting ruin on them. 5 It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the desert until you arrived at this place, 6 and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. 7 But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the LORD has done.

     Notice that God reminds them that THEY have seen extraordinary evidence--but that their children have NOT seen ALL of the works (some of them WOULD have seen SOME of the wandering events, of course).
     

  3. The generation of children referred to above--this group would have experienced manna, and some wandering events, and would soon see the Wall of Jericho come down miraculously (Josh 6).
     

     But their epistemic grounds would no longer be PERSONAL EXPERIENCE of the extraordinary events; instead their grounds would become the EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY of the extraordinary events.
     

     The entire community was to bear witness to the exodus in its institutions, its religious observances, even its law codes (cf. Lev 19.33: "`When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. 34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. ).
     

     Consider some of the passages related to transmission of the community's confession to the children:
     

     • Ex 10.1f: Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them 2 that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD." [Notice: the parents were supposed to tell the kids about the extraordinary events--the kids were supposed to have the benefit of the extraordinary evidence WITHOUT having to have experienced it themselves. This would have required enough credibility on the part of the adult population of Israel--in the eyes of the children.]
       

       Now this last issue would have been addressed by a community-consensus of ALL the adults. In other words, if EVERY adult Israelite made the same confession at Passover about the extraordinary evidence of the Exodus, then that would constitute at least better grounds for belief than say, just a pair of parents.
       

     • Deut 4.9: Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. [Notice: the Israelites were cautioned to remember the extraordinary evidence--and to pass that evidence on!!!!]
       

     • Deut 6.7: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. [Notice: The famous Shema instructs the parents to 'immerse' their kids in these matters--to provide their kids with a unified view of YHWH--as the covenant Originator.]
       

     • Deut 31.12f: Assemble the people -- men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns -- so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. 13 Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess." [Notice that there was a provision to read the Law to the kids--so they could learn the Law and be blessed also.]
       

     • Deut 32.45f: 45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, "Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you -- they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess." [Notice that the kids are in view here again--along with the crucial comment that obedience to the agreed-upon stipulations was not an 'idle matter'--the benefits were life itself, rich and fruitful.]
       

     This group will see very, very few miracles, but the historical kick-off miracles will be taught to them constantly--in conversations, in religious praxis, in every celebration they have throughout the year, etc. They are expected to believe those that witness to them about the shared history, the unique creation of the nation, and the extraordinary evidence surrounding that.
     

     The integrity and passion of the redeemed Israelite (coupled with public continuity with the covenant documents and practices--as preserved by the priesthood) was supposed to be adequate grounds for the younger generation to accept the truthfulness of their witness concerning the extraordinary evidence. With the strong emphasis on honesty and integrity AS PART OF THE COVENANT, witnesses were expected to be trustworthy!
     

     This was not your basic "believe me--because I am your mom!" kinda-thing, but EVERY ADULT in the community would share the same basic conviction (!), and there were publicly accessible records of these recorded events available to inspect--via the Levitical institution. It still was not "blind" faith at all.
     

     That this process basically worked (even in seriously retrograde times!) can be seen in the life of Gideon (Judges 6.11ff):

     The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." 13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, `Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."

  4. The FOURTH generation would be the children born in the Land (and all subsequent generations). They would have seen NO miracles at the Exodus-scale, and they would be essentially dependent on a few factors:
     
     1. The testimony of the adult community (as above) mediated through institutions (e.g. priests, prophets), religious life (e.g. Passover, feasts, sacrifices), law (e.g. laws based on Exodus/Wandering patterns).
        

     2. Experience of God's turning the Land over to them ( via normal military conquest, with only one or two miraculous interventions)--in accordance with the promises contained in the Law. [Notice: this would not be extraordinary evidence in the same sense as the parting of the Red/Reed Sea, but it would have a particular 'timing' and 'correlation' force, similar to that of "answered prayer" or "changed lives", but slightly greater since it was a community endeavor and was rooted (verbally) in the Exodus/Wanderings Disclosure. They would experience FIRSTHAND that YHWH keep His part of the 'bargain' when they fulfilled THEIR part--covenant fidelity. ]
        

     3. Everyday experiences of God, as mediated through prayer, meditation, cultic functions, etc.
        

     This was to be the "steady state" environment--no disrupting external influences (e.g. false prophets), no character/integrity failures (e.g. false witnesses, failure to teach the kids), no failure in the institutions to preserve and teach the Law (e.g. no corrupt priests), and the individual's constantly accumulating experience of God's 'ordinary' interactions with him or her.
     

• Finally, there was a provision for ANOTHER Moses-like messenger and for ANOTHER future burst of revelation (Deut 18:15ff):

  The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die." 17 The LORD said to me: "What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19 If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.

  Here is the promise of the Messianic prophet--like unto Moses--of special stature with YHWH, and under special commission by Him. Also, it is important to note that there may be ADDITIONAL revelation--"I WILL put my words in his mouth...".
  

  Thus, even within the fixity of this exodus/wandering revelation, there is a provision of ANOTHER authenticated messenger and authenticated message...
  

Summary of the Exodus/Wanderings revelation "set-up":

1. God delivered a very concrete message, clear in its instructions (not like augury!), understandable in its form (e.g. treaty, contract), tied to the past (i.e. Abraham), with good motives/intent (e.g. keep promises, bless the world through the Jew), and mediated through a specific individual (e.g. Moses).
   

2. This message was HEAVILY authenticated--to its mediators (e.g. Moses) and to its recipients (Israel, Egypt, the other nations), and PRE-interpreted by God for them.
   

3. This message contained in it the seeds for its own continuance--measures to safeguard its accurate transmission (e.g. priesthood, ritual, family life) and measures by which to 'weed out' hostile/destructive 'competing revelations' (e.g. test for false prophet, warnings against external-spirit-dependent "discovery").
   

4. This message also included provision for additional "ad hoc" authorized messages from God (i.e. prophets, which originally did NOT constitute a regular institution like the priesthood)--but with functions/usages unspecified in the Law, and the guarantee of Another Moses-like Messenger, with the very authority of God and some indication of ADDITIONAL revelation from God.

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