[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]
The Old Testament reveals the nature of God and His expectations for societal interactions. It is an amazing, coherent narrative showing how God chose one nation—the Israelites—out of many nations to demonstrate to all people who He is, who humans are, and how God and humans relate to one another. God’s dealings with the Israelites in the Old Testament are for our instruction today. Paul used examples from Israel’s history to warn the church in Corinth against idolatry, and then explained, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings to us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.”[1] Following the example of Paul, Christians today can examine the history of God’s relationship with the Israelites and derive principles that are applicable in modern situations.
Identifying the principles taught in the Old Testament does not require extraordinary spiritual insight. There is no secret “Bible code” that Christians must learn before interpreting the Bible. Ordinary Christians endowed with discernment by the Holy Spirit—and, perhaps, some basic historical context provided by a study Bible—can understand and apply the principles laid out in the Old Testament. However, Christians must read the scriptures responsibly, just as they would read any other text responsibly: in context and faithful to the author’s intent. For example, when reading correspondence between two people, one would first want to understand who is writing to whom, the occasion of the letter, and the intent of the author before trying to discern the “meaning.” The same diligence is required when reading the Old Testament. Unfortunately, many Christians skip the work of reading the Bible responsibly and jump straight into interpretation and application devoid of context. Doing so, they derive “meanings” that neither the author nor the recipients of the book would never have imagined.[2]
To properly interpret the Old Testament, we must understand that its authors, although inspired by God, were not mindless robots taking divine dictation. They always had a purpose for writing, an intended audience, and a message to convey. Even in the case of the prophetic books, we can safely assume that the prophecies and historical interludes were recorded in the books with a specific audience and message in mind. Sometimes the audience and message were roughly contemporary to the events described, as with Deuteronomy, Nehemiah, or Ezra. Other times, such as with Chronicles, the author and audience lived and wrote centuries after the histories recorded, compiling existing written or oral accounts.[3] But, in general, the authors were Israelites writing to other Israelites about what happened in the past, with the aim of helping the audience understand the character and requirements of God for their contemporary situation, especially in light of God’s special promise to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Acknowledging the author, audience, and message of the Old Testament does not diminish its divine message, but instead clarifies and even elevates it. Taken together, the Old Testament is extraordinary in world literature, with a consistent theme that stretches across a millennium. It begins with Moses, who recorded the history of man’s beginnings, the relationship between God and Abraham, the lives of the other patriarchs, and the law (or, instruction) given by God. Moses’ aim in recording all this was to remind the Israelites of their special role in history and of God’s expectations for them as they established their new nation in the Promised Land. Many centuries later, after the Israelites had been carried into exile by the Babylonians, the authors of Kings and Chronicles wrote histories of the kings of Judah and Israel to help Israelites understand their national tragedy—why God allowed the scattering of the Israelite nation. The prophets before and after the exile recorded God’s direct messages to the Israelites, reminding them of His covenant with their nation, the disastrous ramifications for their breaking that covenant, and the promises of mercy and blessing to come.
With a perspective that takes into account the author, audience, and message, every Christian today can read the Old Testament expecting to learn something about who God is, how He wanted the Israelites to relate to one another, and how He responded when they failed to follow His commands. And, once the Christian understands what a particular Old Testament book meant for the original audience, they can then begin to answer the question, “What does this passage mean for me today?” By studying the examples given in the Old Testament in this responsible manner, Christians can derive principles—understood in the light of teaching in the New Testament—that they can then apply to current situations.
[1] 1 Corinthians 10:11
[2] The exception is the New Testament authors who were inspired by the Holy Spirit in a unique way, or when the Holy Spirit reveals personally applicable messages to Christians in a way that is consistent with the rest of the Bible message.
[3] Take Chronicles, for example. Eight generations of descendants are listed after the post-exile governor Zerubbabel in 1 Chronicles 3:19-24. That would indicate an authorship for Chronicles around 400 B.C., whereas the events recorded in Chronicles occur centuries before.
[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]
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