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Discovering the Old TestamentHard, but rewardingDISCOVERING THE OLD TESTAMENT Why bother with the Old Testament? Because Jesus did, says the author. To be like him we must get into the Old Testament and understand how it links with and feeds into the New. Too many treat it as a collection of stories with morals or as another country where different spiritual rules apply. The book began as a series of magazine articles with a grounding in the author’s theology lectures. Romanised Hebrew words appear regularly. The first section (four chapters) deals with the unity of the Bible. It shows, for example, that grace followed by obedience is the pattern of the whole Bible. The second section (ten chapters) introduces the books of the Old Testament, with some individual books given extensive treatment. It demonstrates how its major themes (e.g. sacrifice as the basis of fellowship with God) feed straight into the New Testament. The chapter on the imprecatory psalms and similar ‘moral problems’ of the OT is particularly helpful. The third section (two chapters) looks back from the vantage point of the New Testament to show how the Old Testament themes emerge in full bloom there. This book was hard work — worthwhile hard work. Light-hearted chapter headings belie the fact that it is a study book, sometimes hard going, especially in the middle section. The author insists we look up every reference and do not skimp the readings and questions after each chapter. I confess that I flagged before the end. The material is densely packed; there is a lot to take in on every page, which typically has two paragraphs and 25 references. You can’t study this book as the author intends on a train — you need to be sitting at a table with something to hold the book open (hardback format would have made it easier) while you turn up those Bible references. Those who teach from the Old Testament should benefit from studying this book, perhaps in a group. It would be hard for the average non-theology student to persevere with it alone. Timothy Reynolds, © Evangelicals Now - May 2008 |