Summary
• The sacred Scriptures are the inspired Word of God.
• God’s self-revelation to Moses and the prophets was a summons to them, and through them the people of Israel,
to a way of living with God.
• An encounter with God is never neutral – it is a call and a summons. The one called receives a new identity. God’s
self-revelation always includes a mission or vocation: “Go and say…,” or “Go and do…,” or “Go and be…,” etc.
• Life at its core is a relationship with God. Furthermore, humans are not isolated beings – they are by nature oriented
towards another. This desire for the other is linked with our covenant with God.
• In the covenant with Moses, God renews his bond with Israel. The “Ten Words” describe our relationship to God in our relationship to the other.
• When the people of Israel strayed from keeping their part of the covenant agreement, God sent the prophets to call them back. They pointed out how they had transgressed the covenant. They named their transgressions “sin.”
Review questions
Knowledge and understanding
1. Explain how sacred Scripture is the Word of God.
2. Describe the structure of a covenant, and use God’s covenant with Moses as an example.
Thinking and inquiry
3. Explain the function of the “Ten Words” in the Mosaic covenant.
4. How is the Christian moral stance related to the Ten Words given to Moses?
Communication
5. Create a chart that shows the parallels between the call stories of the prophets.
6. Write a short story or poem about one of the prophet’s encounters with God, or about an encounter that you have had with God. Or, communicate the main points about this encounter visually or musically.
Application
7. Identify and analyze two forms of covenant that can be found in our society.
8. If you were called to be a prophet today, how would you call people back to God? Use the Ten Words to help people identify how they must reform their ways so that they live in right relationship with God and with one another.
Glossary
call story: The Bible contains a number of stories of God calling people and imparting to them a mission. They follow the pattern of encounter with God, God speaks, God gives a mission, the person being called objects, they are reassured by God, and God gives a sign that God is with them in their mission. When God calls us, God does not leave us alone. covenant: A binding agreement between two parties that spells out the conditions and obligations of each party. The biblical notion of covenant arose from this contractual notion, but it is far more. God’s covenant is a bond of love that calls to us in our freedom to respond in love. God’s commitment to us is forever. God’s commitment is founded in love.
revelation: People have the ability to come to know God through God’s works. But there is a higher order of knowledge which comes not from human reason, but from divine revelation. God makes Himself known fully by sending his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The sacred Scriptures reveal the loving actions of God in human history.
vocation: Vocation is a call from God. Jesus calls all people into the family of God. God also calls each one of us personally to a way of life that is founded on the love of God and the love of neighbour. For some this way of life leads to priesthood; for others, consecrated religious life; for others, service in the context of family life or
the broader community.