believing prophet (Gen 15:6; 20:7), or for Moses, the priest who in the wilderness failed to exhibit his faith (Num 20:12)? How can anyone today read and understand its meaning for his or her life? How can a Christian take its laws and religious rites as something that must be obeyed? In the first section of this book I argue that the message of the Pentateuch, like the rest of the OT, is not that its readers should become ancient Israelites and worship God in a temple. That surely was the intent