Israelite Worship as Response to Salvation History

The worship of the Israelites is a response to God's saving acts on their behalf, particularly the Lord's action of deliverance in the Exodus event. Through such events God spoke, calling the people to faith and commitment. The history of salvation conventionally begins with the calling of Abraham,"our father in faith," though the liturgy includes in its scope the creation epic of Genesis 1 and 2, and like 1 Peter, sees the story of Noah as relevant to saving history (baptism). The whole of Old Testament history in a variety of ways is seen as preparation for the coming of the Messiah. He and his redeeming work of passion, death, and resurrection are the culmination of saving history, which is carried forward by the operation of the Holy Spirit in the church, which awaits the eschaton, the summing up of all things in Christ at the end. This pattern underlies the whole of the Christian liturgy. The proclamation of God's word in the Old Testament lessons prepares the way for the krugma…