Worship, Justice, and Kingship in the Bk of the 12

[Beth Stovell]

Abstract:

Handmade Images, Noisy Harps, and Rolling Waters: Mapping Kingship, Worship, and Justice in the Book of the Twelve Prophets and the Implications for Today

Beth M. Stovell

While many scholars have noted links between worship and justice generally in the prophets, less scholarly attention has been given to the specific ways that worship and justice function in relation to the political dynamics between God and the king in the Book of the Twelve Prophets. This paper will explore the political implications of the combining of conceptions of justice and worship in the Book of the Twelve Prophets. This paper will suggest that critical appraisal of the ideologies of Israel’s leaders are found in the loss of justice and the hollowness of worship in these texts. Re-establishment of God’s king/prince in Book of the Twelve Prophets functions as the restoration of justice and the reinstitution of proper worship. Using the conceptual metaphor theories of Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner, this paper will examine how the conceptual frameworks of justice, worship, and kingship in Deuteronomy 16-17 echo in Micah 6 and Amos 5 to provide insight into the relationship between conceptions of justice, worship, and kingship in the Book of the Twelve Prophets. This paper will argue that depictions of worship and justice provide a theological answer to a political question: can Israel’s leaders represent God’s royal justice and worship to their people in the midst of foreign political power? Further, this paper will argue that the answer to this question has implications for the larger theological themes in the Book of the Twelve Prophets. Finally, this paper will engage the question: where do these conclusions lead us as we engage with our own political powers today? This paper will suggest a way for worship and justice to function as historically located acts of resistance, shaping our Christian identity in our present situations.

The full paper is attached to this post.

[Lynda Burnhope]

Beth, I've only just read this, but have found it highly insightful and pertinent to what I am obsessed with at the moment - the idea of worship and justice in Romans, which you actually asked me a question about when you were in my session at SVS.

The idea of justice being 'twisted and broken' is exactly what I think is being described in Romans 1:18-32, where in fact it does seem that Paul is speaking into a situation where their 'king' or their 'emporer' has become their worship,and is the exact opposite of the Deuteronomy 17 ideal of kingship.  Hence the downward spiral of justice and the resulting injustice (adikia). Thanks for your work. Would love to get together sometime - sorry we didn't manage it in the summer.