6 Ways the Old Testament Speaks Today

An Interactive Guide

Alec Motyer

• Publisher: Crossway
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781433558542
• Topic: Teologia e religione
• Subtopic: Studi biblici

What does the Old Testament have to do with us today?

To many of us, the Old Testament can seem distant, foreign, and confusing, with difficult language and events disconnected from our present-day lives. But with a little guidance, it is quickly evident that the Old Testament still speaks today.

In this engaging book, late pastor-theologian Alec Motyer leads us to discover the everyday significance of six key themes that resonate throughout the Old Testament: history, religion, worship, prophecy, wisdom, and theology. Each chapter focuses on one theme, featuring a week's worth of Scripture readings paired with accessible commentary on the biblical text. Clear, accessible, and warmly pastoral, this book will help you see what this collection of ancient texts from the past has to do with our day-to-day lives in the present.

1

The Voice of History

A Review

Between the time when the Lord called Abraham (Genesis 12) and the time of Malachi, the last of the prophets, there are about 1,500 years. Within this time span the Old Testament tells how the Lord chose one man, gave him a family, and made the family into a nation. Patiently he persevered with that nation through thick and thin, never deviating from his freely given commitment to be their God.

Figure 1.1 (p. 16) shows an outline of the story. A chart can only give an impression: this is what the skeleton of Old Testament history looks like. But put some flesh on the bare bones by following the events on the map (see fig. 1.2).

One Man to Bless the World

God had a worldwide purpose when he called Abram from Ur of the Chaldeans (Gen. 11:31–12:5; 15:7), and we, marveling at the simple trust of the man who “went out, not knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8), can follow him along the established trade route from Ur to Haran and on into Canaan. He went on his way trusting the promises God had made to him—that he would be a universal blessing (Gen. 12:2–3) and possess the land of Canaan (15:7). In due course the promises passed to Isaac (17:19–21) and then to Jacob (27:27–29; 28:13–15).

Topic	References	Dates
The Family Abraham Isaac Jacob and his twelve sons	Genesis Genesis 12–25 Genesis 21–35 Genesis 25–50	2000–1500 BC
The Nation Moses and the exodus Joshua and the conquest Early life in Canaan	Exodus–Ruth Exodus–Deuteronomy Joshua Judges–Ruth	1400–1100 BC
The Monarchy The united kingdom Saul David Solomon The two kingdoms The kings of Israel The kings of Judah	1 Samuel 1 Samuel 16–1 Kings 2 1 Chronicles 10–29 1 Kings 1–11 2 Chronicles 1–9 1 Kings 12 1 Kings 12–2 Kings 17 1 Kings 12–2 Kings 25 2 Chronicles 10–36	1100–586 BC 1050–930 BC 1050–1000 BC 1000–960 BC 960–930 BC 930–722 BC 930–586 BC
The Exile Babylon	2 Kings 25	586–540 BC
The Return	Ezra–Nehemiah	539 BC

Figure 1.1 Story outline of the Old Testament

Possessing the Land

Part of the promise was fulfilled when Jacob’s sons, now a large nation (Ex. 1:1–7), left Egypt under Moses and later entered and possessed Canaan under Joshua. The book of Joshua tells how the land was conquered (see Josh. 1:1–5; 21:43–45). Judges 1 sketches how individual tribes claimed their inheritance, but the main message of Judges is the good care of the Lord in providing judge-deliverers according to the people’s need but contrary to their deserving (2:10–19).

Figure 1.2 Map of the ancient Near East

The Kings

Then the people asked for a king (1 Sam. 8:6), and after the failure of Saul’s kingship (1 Sam. 8:1–7; 10:20–24; 13:13–14; 15:26), David united the kingdom around his new capital city, Jerusalem (2 Sam. 5:6–9). His son Solomon further cemented this unity by building in Jerusalem a temple, or dwelling place, for the Lord (1 Kings 6:1, 37–38).

But Solomon’s son Rehoboam was the sort of person we would today call a “loser.” Under his reign, the kingdom broke into two (1 Kings 12:1–19), with Israel (also called Jacob and Ephraim) to the north and Judah to the south.

Exile and Return

The single dynasty of David lasted in Jerusalem for four hundred years, but in the north one dynasty followed another. King succeeded king by conquest and assassination until Israel was taken captive to Assyria in 722 BC. Judah, however, did not fall to Assyria’s imperial successor, Babylon, until 586 BC, and then the exile of the Lord’s people was complete. But the faithful Lord never allows his promises to lapse (Ezra 1:1). He brought them home again in 539 BC but only to live as provincial subjects within the Persian Empire. They were never again a sovereign, independent state, and the dynasty of David was not to surface again until he came whose right it is to reign (Luke 1:29–33).

What Sort of History?

There are five things we can say about Old Testament history.

Old Testament History Is Reliable

Specialist opinion regarding Old Testament history has undergone a wide pendulum swing. There was a time when specialists were saying that the stories should be accepted as true only if verified by evidence from outside the Old Testament. But now many are prepared to allow that the stories can be assumed to be true unless other evidence contradicts them. It is fair to say that the major tendency of outside evidence is to confirm what we read in the Bible. But we have a much surer foundation to rest on than this piece of evidence or that. Our great privilege is to look beyond specialist opinion to the Lord Jesus Christ. When he referred to stories in the Old Testament, it is plain that he accepted them as the wholly reliable Word of God, and we who follow him need have no hesitation in accepting as true whatever the Old Testament is found to affirm about events and their sequence.

The words “found to affirm” are important. Old Testament history is not problem-free. It is not easy, for example, to fit together the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah from dates and chronologies supplied by the books of Kings; neither is it certain who is referred to as “Darius the Mede” in Daniel 5:31. On the other hand, it is clear from archaeology that the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph accurately reflect life and customs in the period 2000–1500 BC. Details f...