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10 Reasons to Study the Old Testament

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Jason DeRouchie gives 10 great reasons why Christians should read, study, and teach the Old Testament.

  1. The OT was Jesus’s only Scripture and makes up three-fourths (75.55 percent) of our Bible.
  2. The OT substantially influences our understanding of key biblical teachings.
  3. We meet the same God in both Testaments.
  4. The OT announces the very ‘good news/gospel’ we enjoy.
  5. Both the old and new covenants call for love, and we can learn much about love from the OT.
  6. Jesus came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them.
  7. Jesus said that all the OT points to him.
  8. Failing to declare ‘the whole counsel of God’ can put us in danger before the Lord.
  9. The NT authors stressed that God gave the OT for Christians.
  10. Paul commands church leaders to preach the OT.

I find reasons 2, 7, and 8 most personally compelling, but all 10 are good reasons. DeRouchie explains each one with brevity and clarity.

Check it out!

We Must Not Discard the Old Testament

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In “Why We Can’t Unhitch from the Old Testament,” Michael Kruger reviews Andy Stanley’s latest book Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World. Stanley’s claims include the following:

  • “when it comes to stumbling blocks to faith, the Old Testament is right up there at the top of the list”
  • using the Old Testament has led to “prosperity gospel, the crusades, anti-Semitism, legalism, exclusivism, judgmentalism,” and more.
  • when people wrestle with trusting Christ, “the Old Testament is usually the culprit”
  • the church fathers “ignored [Paul’s] warning against mixing and matching”
  • when we look for Jesus in the Old Testament Scriptures, God’s Word is being “hijacked” by Christians who are “ignoring original context”

Kruger clearly and biblically addresses these and other claims in his helpful review. He’s happy to celebrate what Stanley gets right, but he’s also not afraid to show where Stanley’s thinking veers off course.

What I most appreciate about Kruger’s review is that he shows us how our thinking about the Bible must derive directly from the Bible. It’s worth checking out to see an example of how to do that well.

Check it out!

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What the Old Testament Authors Really Cared About

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I’m intrigued when a book’s title has the chutzpah to make a grandiose promise. I’m suspicious unless that text hooks me quickly. And I’m flabbergasted when the aforementioned guarantee is delivered, so to speak, on time and under budget.

And this “Survey of Jesus’ Bible” edited by Jason S. DeRouchie did all three.

What Makes This Work Unique

I’m speaking of What the Old Testament Authors Really Cared About (Kregel Academic, 2013). With the wealth of quality Bible scholarship available to us, especially in the form of accessible Old Testament surveys, why would a publisher dare to present us with what the OT authors really cared about? What does this text have to offer that other OT surveys haven’t already provided?

In short, this OT survey focuses its discussion of each OT book more on the book’s theological message than its historical background. Of course, the historical background matters. But how easy is it to spend so much time researching and discussing who wrote a book, when, and to whom—while the book’s essential message goes unexamined and thus unheeded? As Peter Adam once recounted, “I well remember a series at school on the missionary journeys of St Paul, which told us a great deal about the geography of the Mediterranean, but nothing about Paul’s theology” (Speaking God’s Words, 110).

So DeRouchie and his team cover the historical background—in a single page for each book. Then they spend the bulk of their survey on the text’s content and message, summarized in 3 to 6 bullet points. For example, contributor Kenneth J. Turner writes that “The author of Exodus:

  • Portrayed the continuing fulfillment of Yahweh’s promises and mission.
  • Stressed Yahweh’s passion to be known by all in the world.
  • Celebrated Yahweh’s power to redeem his people from slavery.
  • Disclosed Yahweh’s gracious provision of his covenant with Israel.
  • Called Israel to respond to Yahweh’s disclosure of himself and his will.”

Another unique trait of this book is the way DeRouchie chose to work through the Old Testament. Instead of following the typical OT order of 39 books found in English Bibles, DeRouchie and his team examine the Old Testament the way it would have been known to Jesus: 24 books arranged in 3 divisions: Law, Prophets, and Writings.

With an intro to each of the three divisions, and a separate overview of the flow of the Hebrew ordering, DeRouchie masterfully explains the majesty and beauty of the entire collection. For example:

  • In the Law, the Old Covenant is established.
  • In the Prophets, the Old Covenant is enforced.
  • In the Writings, the Old Covenant is enjoyed.

This way of examining the OT brings out significant observations and ideas often missed in the English ordering:

  • The Prophets begin with God calling Joshua to be careful to do all that “Moses my servant” commanded (Josh 1:7-8). And they end with Yahweh’s call in Malachi to “remember the law of my servant Moses” (Mal 4:4).
  • The Prophets (Josh 1:8) and Writings (Ps 1:2) both open with commands to “meditate day and night” on God’s law.
  • The Prophets (second division) have two sub-divisions: narrative (Josh, Judg, Samuel, Kings) and commentary (Jer, Ezek, Is, The Twelve). Altogether, they paint a bleak picture of rebellious Israel’s condition.
  • The Writings (third division) also have two sub-divisions, the reverse of the Prophets: commentary (Ruth, Ps, Job, Prov, Eccl, Song, Lam) and narrative (Dan, Esther, Ez-Neh, and Chronicles). Altogether, the Writings paint a positive picture of faithful Israel’s life and hope.

That last point strikes me as being remarkably significant. One of my struggles in reading the Old Testament annually is ending with the gloomy assessment of the Prophets. But if I read the books in this Hebrew order, the Writings actually provide much more hope and encouragement for life as part of the believing remnant.

Finally, moving beyond the bounds of even the Old Testament, DeRouchie’s introductory essay makes a compelling argument for the following summary of the entire Bible’s message: God’s kingdom through covenant for God’s glory in Christ. He subdivides “covenant” into the tripartite structure of the OT: covenant established, enforced, and enjoyed. He then proposes a corresponding tripartite identity for Jesus Christ in the NT: Christ the savior, sovereign, and satisfier.

This is big-picture, main-point thinking at its finest.

Where It Could Be Better

The analyses of some OT books are better than others. The biggest weakness of this survey is that it doesn’t spend enough time on literary structural analysis to derive the bullet points for each book’s message. I can see how some contributors derived their assigned book’s message from its literary structure and argument (for example, Dempster on Genesis, DeRouchie on Deuteronomy, Miller on Judges, Smith on Isaiah, and Curtis on Job). But for some other contributors, I can’t tell as easily whether the proposed outline of the book’s message is truly what the OT author really cared about.

But this weakness is not debilitating, as every contributor clearly traces his proposed message through the detailed peaks and valleys of the text itself.

How to Use this Book

What the Old Testament Authors Really Cared About would make a fine addition to any personal library. I plan to use it any time I’m preparing a book overview for an OT book.

This book would also make a marvelous text for an OT survey class. It’s probably too much for a Sunday School, but it would be great for a high school or college Bible class.

I recommend it highly. It’s available at Amazon.

If you’re wondering how academic this book is, or whether the language might be above you or your class, check out this video of DeRouchie explaining the Old Testament’s message in 10 minutes. If you like the video, you’ll love the book.

Disclaimer: Amazon and Westminster links are affiliate links. If you click them (Westminster) or click them and buy stuff (Amazon), you’ll support our efforts to continue reviewing great resources at no extra cost to yourself. The publisher provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Listen to the Old Testament, Which Still Speaks

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I rarely link to book reviews, especially when I haven’t yet read the book being reviewed. But Josh Philpot’s review of 6 Ways the Old Testament Speaks Today by Alec Motyer sounded like something that might interest the readers of this blog.

The late Professor Motyer was a reputable scholar with a commitment to help ordinary people learn to study the Bible. This new book is a posthumous reprint of an earlier work, A Scenic Route Through the Old Testament.

Philpot states the need for Motyer’s book:

With the exception of a select number of psalms, a few passages in Isaiah, and a general outline of famous hero stories, our grasp of the Old Testament can be quite weak. Some have even said recently that the Old Testament is dying in certain churches. Why is this so?

According to Motyer, we’ve lost the “voice” of the Old Testament.

Philpot quotes Motyer:

Instead of Columbus “discovering America,” suppose the American Indians had journeyed east to tell us about themselves and about the marvelous land to the west where they lived. The Old Testament is like that: it is not the account of human voyage of discovery, searching for God, but of God coming to tell us about himself. (121)

And Philpot concludes:

We believers need a relationship with the Old Testament. We need to slay our tendency to read only the stories and psalms that are most familiar to us. We need to dwell in the Old Testament for an extended time, struggling to understand each book. We need to wrestle with God’s message like Jacob wrestled God, even if it means we come away with a limp. The pages of the Old Testament were never intended to be left untouched like dust on an old barn floor. The Old Testament was meant to ransacked. There are hidden treasures, after all (Prov. 2:4), and only by ransacking the Bible for all its worth does one understand the fear of the Lord, and “find the knowledge of God” (Prov. 2:5).

This indeed seems worth checking out. Here is Philpot’s inspiring review. And if you’d rather go directly to the source, here is Motyer’s book.

Check it out!

Disclaimer: Amazon links are affiliate links. If you click them and buy stuff, you’ll help us continue listening to the voice of the Old Testament, at no extra cost to yourself.

Context Matters: You Have Heard That it was Said…But I Say to You

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Perhaps you’ve heard about Jesus’ disagreement with the Old Testament. The people of Israel had received a set of laws through Moses, but Jesus trumped them in his Sermon on the Mount. An extreme version of this view might say that Jesus disregarded the Old Testament law and put a new law in its place. A softer view might say that Jesus took the outwardly focused OT laws and added to them an inward dimension, focused on the heart. But perhaps we should take a closer look.

My goal in this post is not to develop a comprehensive theology of Old and New Testaments, nor to explain what our thinking should be on the OT law. My aim is more focused. I want to look at just one passage that some might use to claim that Jesus either set aside, or in some way added to, the law of Moses.

Context matters. If we learn to read the Bible for what it is—and not as a collection of independently assembled proverbial sayings—we’ll discover that some of our most familiar passages don’t actually mean what we’ve always assumed.

The Pertinent Formula

I’m referring to Jesus’ repeated formula: “You have heard that it was said…But I say to you…” (Matt 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43). Seems clear enough, right? You have heard what Moses said—you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, and so on—but I have something new and/or different to say. Moses was great, but I am greater. The old has become obsolete and is ready to disappear; the new has come. The law of liberty. The law of love. The law of Christ.

ajshain (2011), Creative Commons

The Immediate Context

But look at where Jesus just came from. Remember that the Sermon on the Mount was a sermon. It was all spoken at once. In fact, what Matthew has recorded to us could be spoken out loud in about 10 minutes, and it’s highly unlikely that such large crowds would have gathered on a mountain for only a 10-minute speech. So Matthew has likely condensed and summarized all that Jesus actually spoke that day. But the point remains: Don’t break it into tiny pieces. Read the sermon as a unit.

And right before Jesus launches into his sixfold “but I say to you” formula, he makes the following introductory comments:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:17-20)

Jesus could not be more clear about the fact that he did not come to abolish the Law. Certainly, we can debate what exactly it means that he came to “fulfill” it. But there is no question that Jesus did not come to abolish it (Matt 5:17). Heaven and earth will pass away before the tiniest stroke of the Law passes away (Matt 5:18). And Jesus has no goodwill toward anyone who would relax “one of the least of these commandments” or teach others to relax them. The great ones in his kingdom are those who do the Law, and who teach others to do it (Matt 5:19). And to even enter Jesus’ kingdom, we must have a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt 5:20).

Interesting. Note all the contrasts lined up in a row:

  • Jesus came not to abolish the Law :: Jesus came to fulfill the Law
  • Heaven and earth will not pass away :: The Law will be accomplished
  • Anyone who relaxes even a single command, and teaches others to do so, is least :: Anyone who does the commands, and teaches others to do them, is great
  • Scribes and Pharisees [presumably, by the sentence’s logic] will not enter the kingdom :: Those more righteous than scribes and Pharisees will enter the kingdom

So Jesus contrasts his purpose (fulfill) with what is not his purpose (abolish). And he contrasts right use of the law (do) with wrong use of the law (relax). And he contrasts those who get into the kingdom (more righteous than scribes) with those who don’t (scribes).

And then… He works through 6 more contrasts, 6 case studies, having to do with the Law. “You have heard that it was said…. But I say to you….” The context therefore suggests that the 6 contrasts of verses 21-48 are following on the theme of verses 17-20. In other words, they are contrasting those who abolish or relax the commands with those who do them and teach them.

The Quotations (OT Context)

But that doesn’t make sense of the fact that Jesus actually quotes the Old Testament laws! The thing he is negating is the Old Testament text. The OT Law. “You shall not murder,” “You shall not commit adultery,” and so on.

But there is more here than meets the eye.

  • For the first two (murder and adultery – Matt 5:21, 27), Jesus quotes Exodus, and then he goes on to talk about heart-intentions. But I’ve written before (e.g. here and here) about how the law in Exodus was always about heart-intentions. This is nothing new.
  • The third quote (on divorce – Matt 5:31) is from Deut 24, which permits divorce only on the ground of “indecency” (i.e., sexual immorality). Jesus is not disagreeing with Moses but simply reiterating what Moses said.
  • The fourth quote (on swearing – Matt 5:33) is drawn from Lev 19:12, Num 30:2, and Deut 23:21. But none of those passages say anything about swearing “by heaven” or “by the earth” or “by Jerusalem”or “by your head” (Matt 5:34-36).
  • The fifth quote can be found all throughout the books of Moses (Matt 5:38), but never in support of vengeance. In fact, this stipulation exists to prevent personal vengeance and to limit what sanctions civil courts may impose.
  • The sixth quote…is no OT quote at all (Matt 5:43). It has a ring of truth (“You shall love your neighbor”). But you can spend all day looking up “and you shall hate your enemy” and you will not find it.

This sixth “quote” is the linchpin that alerts us to something significant. Jesus is not quoting the Old Testament laws to correct them in some way. He is quoting what these people have heard their teachers say about the Old Testament laws.

He is quoting those who have, in fact, relaxed the commands. Those who teach others to do the same. Those who abolish what God has required of them. Those whose righteousness is like the scribes and Pharisees…. Actually, we have much reason to believe he is quoting the scribes and Pharisees themselves.

Matthew’s Broader Context

Chapter 5 is not the first place in Matthew where Jesus quotes the Old Testament. Look at how Jesus chooses to refer to the Old Testament itself:

  • “It is written” (Matt 4:4)
  • “Again it is written” (Matt 4:7)
  • “For it is written” (Matt 4:10)

Later in the book, he will incredulously ask the scribes and Pharisees “Have you not/never read…?” (Matt 12:3, 5; 19:4; 21:16, 42; 22:31). He will command them to go and learn what the Scripture says (Matt 9:13, 12:7). He will accuse them of setting aside (relaxing) the word of God for the sake of their oral tradition (Matt 15:3, 6). He will curse them for not entering the kingdom (Matt 23:13) and for missing the point of the law (Matt 23:23-24).

My point: When Jesus refers to the Old Testament, it is the written word. When he mentions what “you have heard that it was said,” he is talking about the Pharisees’ oral traditions.

Conclusion

In Matthew 5, Jesus is not setting aside the Old Testament law in favor of a new teaching. He is upholding the full standards of the law, as intended by God. He identifies those who obey the law and adhere carefully to the written word according to its original intention, and he contrasts them with those who relax the commands, who abolish them, to hold to their own accumulated teachings about the law.

Context matters.

What Value is the Old Testament to the Christian Life?

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On the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper fields this question: “What are the best uses of the Old Testament for giving shape to our Christian lives today?” After all, we clearly don’t keep many of the instructions in the Old Testament anymore (offering sacrifices, pursuing ceremonial purification, etc.).

After a brief but thorough explanation, Piper concludes with two glorious suggestions:

First, meeting God for who he really is so that we can know him and worship him since his character was revealed as truly in the Old Testament as in the New Testament.

Second, letting the hundreds of promises in the Old Testament wash over you as your blood-bought birthright in Christ Jesus so that every day, you set yourself free from sin by the superior pleasures of the promises of God.

Piper gives a skillful and clear answer to an important question. Check it out!

More on How to Apply Old Testament Promises Today

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As a follow-up to my “check it out” post a few weeks ago, here’s a brief interview with John Piper addressing how to apply Old Testament promises today. Piper starts with 2 Cor 1:20 to show that all the promises belong to us through Christ. Then he explains how the meaning of some promises changes in light of Christ’s work on the cross.

You can listen to the 9-minute recording or read the transcript. Check it out!

5 Reasons to Study Old Testament History

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My church is wrapping up a sermon series through Mark’s gospel, and we’re getting ready to begin preaching through Exodus. To prepare for our preaching team’s meeting to discuss an overview of the book, I’ve been reading and re-reading the book. With my mind saturated in Exodus, I was delighted to see this brief article from David Murray with “5 Reasons to Study Old Testament History.”

Many Christians, according to Murray:

entertain a negative view of Old Testament History; of its usefulness and even of its accuracy. It is often regarded as “far away” and “distant” chronologically, geographically, socially, and theologically. “What can it do for me?” and “Why study it?” are common questions. Here are five reasons to study it and benefit from it.

Murray’s 5 reasons:

  1. OT History is True History
  2. OT History is Selective History
  3. OT History is Relevant History
  4. OT History is Purposeful History
  5. OT History is Redemptive History

Reading Murray’s comments, I couldn’t wait to dive back into Exodus. May it encourage you to pursue studying those many narratives that tell the stories of our people and of our King.

Check it out!

A Simple Guide to Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament

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Kevin Halloran offers a simple guide to seeing Jesus in the Old Testament. He offers two simple steps and three helpful questions to guide us.

Two steps:

  1. Study the passage in its original context.
  2. Look for connections and work to understand it in its broader context.

Three questions:

  1. Does the New Testament say anything about this topic or passage?
  2. How does this passage connect with a main theme that points me toward Christ?
  3. How does this passage aid my understanding of Christ and what he has done?

This short article is well worth your time. Check it out!

The New Testament Uses the Old Testament

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scrollThe apostle Paul provoked an uproar up and down the Roman empire with a simple, two-point message:

  1. The Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead

  2. The Messiah is Jesus

He staked these claims in the soil of Scripture.  Luke tells of his stint in Thessalonica:

And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.’ (Acts 17:2-3, ESV)

The citizens of Berea wouldn’t take it on Paul’s word alone.  They had to see it for themselves:

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica [who ended up attacking both Paul and his message]; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (Acts 17:11)

Paul wasn’t the only one to use this method of reasoning.  Every apostle used the Old Testament to explain this great message about Jesus, and many of them wrote it down for us in the New Testament.  Some authors were more explicit in their use of the Old Testament than others.  And we can learn much from them about how to read the Old Testament ourselves.

To that end, I’ve compiled a few lists to help launch you into the delightful world of intertestamental hermeneutics (a big phrase that simply means “how the New Testament authors understood the Old Testament”).

These lists won’t give you a complete understanding of the Old Testament and how it speaks of Jesus.  But they will direct you to the passages that most explicitly influenced the apostles’ thinking.  May they help you see Jesus more clearly.

Top 10 OT books quoted in NT

10 OT books never quoted in NT

Top 13 OT chapters quoted in NT

Top 11 OT verses quoted in NT

Top 10 NT books that quote OT passages

10 NT books that don’t quote the OT

Now go, you Berean, and see if these things are so. Check out the Resources page for an exhaustive list of NT quotations of the OT.

Question: What do you think about how the NT authors used the OT?