Seven Stars
According to a recent post by Steve Jeffery, Paul quotes seven Old Testament texts in Galatians 3:6-16. He notes that they are chiastic, but I reckon they are also Covenant-shaped:
TRANSCENDENCE
A. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness (v. 6; Gen 15:6)
HIERARCHY
B. In you shall all the nations be blessed (v. 8; Gen 12:3; 18:18)
ETHICS
C. Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them (v. 10; Dt 27:26)
D. The righteous shall live by faith (v. 11; Hab 2:4)
C’. The one who does them shall live by them (v. 12; Lev 18:5)
SANCTIONS
B’. Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree (v. 13; Dt 21:23)
SUCCESSION
A’. The promises were made to Abraham and to his (singular) offspring (v. 16; Gen 13:15; 17:8)
If you are familiar with the various threads of the matrix, there is a great deal here upon which to meditate. For a start, there is the pattern of events from Canaan to Egypt to Canaan, the pattern of death and resurrection in the rite of sacrifice, and also the sevenfold festal calendar. We also have circumcision at Hierarchy, where Abraham’s household is set apart as a priesthood for the nations, and baptism at Sanctions, where Jew and Gentile are reunited in the death of Christ.
