Paul A. Barker

The Triumph of Grace in Deuteronomy: Faithless Israel, Faithful Yahweh in Deuteronomy (Paternoster Biblical Monographs) Paul A. Barker

Does the Old Testament have an optimistic outlook for the people of God, ancient Israel, or is it pessimistic? The strands of optimism and pessimism seem to be juxtaposed throughout. In this study of Deuteronomy, a lynchpin book within the Old Testament, the so-called tensions between optimism and pessimism are shown to cohere theologically. Despite the faithlessness of Israel, Yahweh's faithfulness to his promises results in the triumph of grace. This book is a textual and theological analysis of the interaction between the sin and faithlessness of Israel and the grace of Yahweh in response, looking especially at Deuteronomy chapters 1-3, 8-10, and 29-30. The author argues that the grace of Yahweh is determinative for the ongoing relationship between Yahweh and Israel and that Deuteronomy anticipates and fully expects Israel to be faithless.