Ruth and Boaz - more than a quaint story

She was a young, childless widow, an immigrant with no property and no income. He was a respectable land owner in a small town. Their story has a touch of romance, but it's hardly the stuff of history. Why is it included in the Bible? What distinguished Ruth and Boaz from those around them, who lived and died, then rested forgotten within a couple of generations? Why does Ruth´s story appear among the Old Testament records of kings and battles?

After her husband´s death, Ruth could have chosen to stay in Moab with her family, as her sister-in-law Orpah did (Ruth 1:8-18). No-one would have criticised her for that. Israel was in a state of chaos, with no clear leadership. As a foreigner, with no means of supporting herself, she would hardly have expected a warm welcome there. Her mother-in-law, Naomi tried to persuade her to return to her own people.

But Naomi's faith had touched Ruth. Her own gods, the gods of Moab, were not like Naomi's God. She felt a bond with the older woman that had nothing to do with self-interest. Naomi had little to offer her, but Ruth decided to go to Bethlehem and trust God for his provision and protection.

No-one would have protested if Boaz had looked after his own interests, as his near kinsman did, rather than caring for Ruth. But Boaz took God's word seriously. He accepted his responsibility towards Ruth, no matter how inconvenient it might be to him. He treated her with the kindness and generosity which Jesus described when he spoke of going the second mile (Matt 5:38-42).

Sometimes God calls on people as leaders, to do mighty deeds. Moses led the Hebrew people out of Egypt. David killed Goliath and enlarged the kingdom of Israel into a powerful nation. Paul travelled immense distances to preach the gospel to the gentiles.

But God also involves himself in the lives of ordinary people, working through their losses and hardships to bring them lasting joy. He uses those willing to be obedient in small things, to bring about results which they themselves could never have imagined. We are not told what became of Orpah and the kinsman who chose not to get involved. But Ruth and Boaz became the ancestors of both King David and Jesus. Their story is recorded for all to read and ponder.

(This article is modified from one which originally appeared in the St Alban's church bulletin and on my previous website, One Candle. Image Neil Palmer (CIAT), Threshing, near Sangrur, SE Punjab, India. November 2011)

Why we need to be familiar with the whole of scripture

Two voices, one song*

In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul was writing to Christians who were at risk of believing that keeping the Jewish law was helpful, perhaps even necessary, for salvation. To help them understand that it was their faith in Jesus, not keeping the law, that put them right with God, he pointed out that Abraham was declared righteous by God before the covenant of circumcision was even introduced. He quoted Genesis 15:6, “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

James' letter, on the other hand, was addressed to converts who, having rightly understood that they were saved by faith and no longer under the Jewish law, were at risk of going to the other extreme, thinking that they were free from all law. Any sort of “good work”, even loving a neighbour, could be seen as law-keeping and an attempt to win God’s favour.

He quoted the same verse from Genesis 15 that Paul used. But then he went on to say that this scripture “was fulfilled” just seven chapters later in Genesis 22:1-19, when God tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham had faith when he believed God’s promise in chapter 15, but that faith was demonstrated in his obedience in chapter 22.

Peter, writing to Christians who were being persecuted, says that they should see their trials as a test of their faith, to show that it is genuine. (1 Peter 1:6-7) Perhaps he too was thinking of Abraham’s faith being tested by God in Genesis 22.

Here we have an example of why we need to be familiar with the whole of scripture. If we don’t know the Old Testament, we’ll have no idea what Paul and James are talking about, and we’ll have even less chance of seeing the allusion to the Old Testament by Peter.

If we’re only familiar with a few verses from Paul, we’ll think that James has missed the point about “salvation by faith alone”, and we may be at risk of falling into the same error as the people James was writing to (though that was never Paul’s intention). If we only read James, we may fall into the opposite error. Knowing the whole helps us to make sense of the parts.


*Image by Ian MacKenzie, https://www.flickr.com/photos/madmack/424759185

Asking God to explain himself

“Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” Genesis 18:25

The Old Testament is vital to our understanding of who Jesus is and what he said and did. Yet it’s not always easy to read. Sometimes the problem is our distance in time and culture from when it was written. A good commentary can help us to understand the context. But the greater difficulty for many of us comes with those passages that make us exclaim “That’s awful! Why would God say or do that? What sort of God is this?” Many atheists point to these passages as a reason for their atheism.

Some would argue that if it’s in the Bible, it’s God’s word, and that’s that. Whether we like it or not, we have to accept what we read. We should never presume to question God. Such questioning is the first step on the road to unbelief.

But the Old Testament itself is full of people who were startled and disturbed by God’s words and actions and questioned him about his motives. Abraham (Genesis 18:16-33), Moses (Exodus 5:22-23, Numbers 11:11), Joshua (Joshua 7:7), Gideon (Judges 6:13) David (Psalm 10:1), Isaiah (Isaiah 63:17) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 12:1) all at some time cried a horrified “Why, Lord?”. The writers of the books of Job, Jonah and Habakkuk each sought to answer the question of how God’s righteousness and faithfulness could be reconciled with his actions (or inactivity).

What distinguished them from most atheists is that they genuinely sought understanding, and sought it from God himself, rather than using their questions as an excuse for unbelief. Underlying their questions was a solid belief not just in God’s existence but in his goodness and righteousness, based on their own experience. And although they were direct, even blunt, in speaking with God, they acknowledged that they were presuming on his grace in doing so. In humility they remained aware that they were created beings asking for answers from their Creator.

image by eric 

The Pharisees had something right

"Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

The Pharisees knew the scriptures well. They knew that in order to approach a good and holy God, you must live a life of scrupulous obedience to his law. Since no human being could hope to live a perfectly sinless life, a sacrifice was needed to atone for your sins. Then you must have a priest appointed by God to act as your intermediary. Only then was it safe to approach God. Those who encountered him unprepared, like Isaiah, cried out in terror at his presence (Isaiah 6:5).

When a young preacher from Galilee claimed that he was God in human form, it was easy enough to see that his claims were false. He ate and drank with blatant sinners. He let those made unlcean by diseases touch him. He didn't allow his disciples to stop anyone from coming to him. Even gentile sinners were welcome. And he talked to God with the familiarity of a child with his father.

In one sense the Pharisees were right. How could God appear among them and not consume those who approached him carelessly and in sin? Jesus was not even a priest, so how could he pretend to represent God? Were his claims not blasphemous?

What they didn't understand was that Jesus himself was living a sinless life, the only truly sinless life, on behalf of those who came to him. Jesus himself was the ultimate sacrifice for sin that would end all sacrifices. Jesus was the great high priest who would be the eternal intermediary between God and his people.

While the Pharisees’ problem was that they couldn’t imagine a holy God appearing among them, our problem is that we sometimes take it for granted. We “approach the throne of grace” with a confidence that is based on a diminished view of God’s holiness rather than an appreciation of Jesus’ role in making it possible. In an act of sheer grace, our holy and loving God has provided us with all that we need to come to him. Who could imagine that?

The Lord will be my light

Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light. Micah 7.8

Dungeons are traditionally dark, windowless places. That's no accident. Except for those born blind, human beings find being in the dark for any length of time disturbing. We rely so much on our vision to make sense of the world. Keeping a prisoner in complete darkness is a sure way of torturing their mind and breaking their spirit.

Sometimes life itself seems to become a dark and dreary dungeon. We can't understand what is going on. Our personal lives are shadowed by illness, loss and loneliness. The world around us is dark with disasters, wars, cruelty, threats and human suffering.

This is as true for Christians as it is for anyone else. In fact it can seem worse for Christians. Where is God in the darkness around us? Why is he allowing us to suffer such confusion and disorientation? In those times we are likely to hear a voice whispering to us "God doesn't care! He can't help you. Are you sure he even exists?"

To recognise these whispers as the voice of an enemy, the enemy, rather than our own, is a great relief. To summon the courage to say "I don't know why this is happening, but I know that God is trustworthy and I will wait for him" is often the turning point in our troubles. It's like finding a candle suddenly shining in the darkness. The dungeon doesn't disappear, but we're no longer afraid of the dark.

Violence in the Old Testament - part 4

This is part 4 of a series. See part 1, part 2, part 3.

To summarise what I've said so far:

1. Much of the violence of the Old Testament is the result of human decisions and actions. The fact that such violence is not always condemned outright by the writers of the Old Testament does not necessarily mean that they are condoning it. (Part 1).

2. What causes the most difficulty for readers of the Old Testament, and arouses the greatest vitriol from its critics, is the fact that in some places God himself is the one commanding or carrying out the violence. How can a God who is described as loving and kind to all that he has made (by the Old Testament writers as well as the New) be involved in acts of violence and destruction?

3. Ignoring this problem is not a solution, nor is explaining it away by assuming that the Old Testament writers got it wrong or put words into God's mouth. (Part 2). However, it is true that the writers sometimes used militaristic metaphors for God's activity which we don't always find helpful.

4. God, as the uncreated creator, owner and sustainer of the world, does not have the same limitations that human beings have and his actions cannot be subjected to the same analysis or restrictions that we would apply to another human being. This is not the same as saying 'might is right'. A teacher who keeps a child from going out to play because of unfinished work is using their authority and wisdom to discipline the child. A child who stands at the door to prevent another child from going out to play is a bully.

5. Violence is generally perceived negatively. However it can be used positively in two situations - in creative (and re-creative) processes and in applying justice. (part 3)

Joshua and the Battle of Jericho

Let's look now at a specific example of God's use of violence, one which most people find disturbing.

The violence of the Old Testament - Part 3

This is part 3 of a series. See Part 1 and Part 2

Human-initiated violence in the Old Testament

In part 1 we looked at the human propensity towards violence. While the level of violence in a society ebbs and flows over time, it is never absent. Those who would not think of taking part in violent activity themselves may still watch violence or read about it as a form of entertainment.

Human nature hasn't changed, and much of the violence described in the Old Testament (not to mention the New Testament) is evidence of that. The Bible chronicles life as it is, not as it should be. Life in the Ancient Near East was hard and brutal, tribes and nations went to war with each other and families squabbled then as frequently as they do now. Much of the violence that is recounted in the Old Testament is initiated by sinful human beings. Often such violence is condemned, by the writers and/or by God (eg Psalm 11:5, Proverbs 3:31, Malachi 2:16) But not always. 

Persian warriors

As I've mentioned before, the fact that some activity is recounted in the Old Testament doesn't necessarily mean that it’s being approved. Unless a commentary is added by the writer, the reader is left to decide for themselves what the significance of any particular event might be. Sometimes a violent episode is recounted to demonstrate how bad things had become (the events of Judges 19, for instance). 

That's all very well. But what of the violence that seems to be specifically commanded or carried out by God? If we're not going to pretend it doesn't exist, and we're on shaky ground suggesting that God's words of command have simply been added by the human authors of the texts, (see part 2) what are we to make of it?

The violence of the Old Testament - Part 2

(Thursday thesis)

This is the second part of a series on violence in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament. Part 1 can be found here. And yes, I know it's not Thursday, I'm posting this late.

Two options that don't work

Ignoring the violence of the Old Testament isn't an option for several reasons. First, it suggests that we’re afraid of what conclusions we might come to if we did face it. We’re afraid that our image of God and the way he works might have to be revised in ways that we’re not comfortable with. We’d rather stick with the censored Bible and the blurry image of God we’re familiar with.

But living in fear of discovering the truth isn't healthy, psychologically or spiritually. It puts us constantly on guard against anything that might disturb our carefully constructed version of truth. It means that our faith is not really placed solidly on the God of the Bible, but on an idol of our own construction. We’re creating our own cannon of books and passages that are acceptable to us.

If the God of the Bible really is a cruel and sadistic monster, as the New Atheists suggest, then we should be right to reject him as they do. But not bothering to find out whether it’s true or not seems bizarre. Hoping that it isn't true is not faith but wishful thinking.

Ignoring the violence of the Old Testament also ensures that we live in fear of other people questioning us about it. We’ll find ourselves unwilling to invite people to church or our Bible study group if we know that one of the ‘difficult’ passages from the Old Testament is going to be read. We’ll avoid suggesting that people read the Bible for themselves, or point them only to the New Testament. We’ll look embarrassed and give a half-hearted answer when we are questioned about difficult passages. Fear will kill our desire to evangelise, or lead us to offer a short and sweetened version of the gospel.

Ignoring the violence of parts of the Old Testament means that we’ll have no biblical way to understand the violence in the New Testament or in the world around us. The crucifixion will be a jarring aberration in an otherwise peaceful landscape. The final judgement scenes in Revelation will seem out of place. The lavender-scented version of the world that comes from our edited Bible won’t match up with a reality where war, brutality, rape, domestic violence, murder and a host of other evils are on display daily.

The violence of the Old Testament - part 1

A smiting God

The word 'smite' is seldom used today, yet everyone seems to know its meaning. The reason they know is that everyone is aware, whether they've read the Bible or not, that a lot of 'smiting' went on in the Old Testament. And often God was the one doing the smiting.

Tissot: the taking of Jericho

Recent translations of the Bible don't use the word smite. But the perception that the Old Testament is full of violence, much of it ordered or carried out by God himself, hasn't gone away. New Atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchins have made much of it, painting a picture of God as a violent and sadistic monster, promoting genocide

But it's not just the ignorant and the New Atheists who are disturbed by the violence of parts of the Old Testament. Many Christians are disturbed by it too. For some, the violence is intolerable, more than they can stomach. Their solution has been to reject the Bible as a source of truth and walk away from their faith. I have been tempted to do this myself at times.

And surely we should be deeply concerned when we read of God ordering the Israelites to slaughter every living thing in a city, including women, children and even the animals (Deut 20:16-18, Jos 6:21). Or when Moses is outraged on God's behalf because the Israelites have spared the women and children of Midian. (Num 31:7-19). What sort of God tells parents to have their unruly son put to death? (Deut 21:18-21) or orders the stoning of adulterers? (Lev 20:10)

Who hasn't winced when such passages have been the reading for the day? What Bible study leader or preacher hasn't wished they could avoid such passages in their teaching of the Bible? Isn't the Old Testament giving us a picture of a God that would feel familiar to the Taliban? Haven't such passages been the justification for so much blood shed and war in the name of God over the centuries?

Jesus, are you the one?

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”  Luke 7:2-6 (English Standard Version)

John the Baptist
 by Leonardo da Vinci

John the Baptist had staked his whole life on obeying God's call to be the forerunner, the herald, of the Messiah. He'd never shirked speaking the truth as God revealed it to him, whether to the despised local soldiers and tax collectors, or to the respectable and respected Pharisees, or to the powerful King Herod. He'd pointed repeatedly to Jesus as the coming Messiah, and humbly acknowledged his own inferior status. Now he sat in a dark, stinking cell in Herod's prison. It was unlikely that he'd ever leave that cell alive.

He could have followed his father into the temple service, an honorable and respectable occupation, with the opportunity to marry and have a family. Instead he'd gone off into the desert, living rough with only his disciples for company. While not making any claim himself that he was the expected Elijah, sent to call the people to repentance, he'd lived with the same fierce determination that Elijah had to do God's will and turn God's people back to him. He was a prophet like the prophets of old.

John the Baptist
by Guido Reni

Not long before his arrest, he'd met Jesus by the banks of the Jordan and recognised him as the one he'd been telling people about. Jesus had come to him and asked to be baptised. It must have been an awe-inspiring experience for John. What made him so certain, at that moment, that Jesus was the messiah? Did he receive some prompt from God? (John 1:32) He certainly appeared to be in no doubt that all that he had predicted about the one who was to come was fulfilled in this man Jesus.

Yet now, in the prison cell, he seems to have had a crisis of belief. He's heard rumours and reports about what Jesus is doing, but they don't seem to encourage him. He sends his disciples to Jesus to ask him "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?"

Does the Old Testament demean women? (Reading the Old Testament part 7)

"The Old Testament is fundamentally a blokes' book, written by men, about men, and for men. Women are seldom mentioned, and when they are, it is usually as the property, whores or victims of men. Modern women will find little encouragement in reading such a chauvinistic, misogynist text."

Or so the commonly held theory goes. And let's face it, it's not an entirely untrue assessment of the Old Testament. As far as anyone can be sure, none of the books of the Old Testament were written by women. The society described (or should we say 'societies' since the Old Testament covers a period of over a thousand years) is decidedly patriarchal. The laws given in the books of the Pentateuch sometimes seem to treat women as second class citizens. The focus is frequently on political struggles, battles, wars, and rapine. Why would any woman want to read it?

Not-so-simple questions about the Old Testament (Reading the Old Testament part 6)

Asking “who, what, when” questions can be very helpful in understanding the Old Testament. But what about the “difficult” passages – the ones you hope your unbelieving friends won’t read (but they inevitably do, and then want you to explain why you would want them to read such a barbaric, sexist, racist book.) I’m thinking of texts such as Deuteronomy 20:10-18, Numbers 5:11-31, Judges 19, etc

The usual response to such questions is to attempt to explain away the difficulties those passages pose by appealing to cultural differences, poor translation of the text and/or the overwhelming sovereignty of God. Although many commentators frustratingly gloss over the difficulties, there are lots of books on the market that valiantly tackle them.

Some explanations are helpful. Others border on being rationalisations, or seem barely more acceptable than the passages they seek to explain. Many are just as culturally bound to the author’s time as the original texts were to theirs.

I’d like to suggest a different approach, one that doesn’t attempt to squeeze the Old Testament into our own comfort zone.

First, we need to recognise that there is nothing new about finding parts of the Old Testament objectionable. The Gnostic Bishop Marcion in the second century was so appalled by the Old Testament that he produced his own version of the Bible which excluded it (along with large chunks of the New Testament.) He was condemned as a heretic for his views, but he still had an audience.

Augustine of Hippo, who lived in the 4th century, was brought up in a Christian family. But as a young adult he dismissed the Old Testament as crude and barbaric compared to the writings of people like Cicero and the Manicheans. He later became one of the greatest theologians, and came to terms with the Old Testament. So Christianity hasn’t fallen apart because of these difficult passages, despite generations of struggling with them.

Second, we need to recognise that the Bible often leaves us to draw our own conclusions about the “rightness or wrongness” of a story. The fact that something happens in the Bible without comment doesn’t mean that it is therefore approved as God’s will. It could just as well be an example of human depravity. Wisdom is required.

Third, and more importantly, we have to deal with Jesus’ attitude towards the Old Testament. Most of our ‘modern’ objections to the apparent sexism, racism etc of the Old Testament are actually based on Jesus’ own teaching about loving our enemies, and Jesus’ example of treating all people with compassion and respect for their dignity. It would be ironic if we rejected the Old Testament while using the teaching of the one who inspired its writers and who appealed to it so often.

I'm not suggesting that Jesus  openly commended the passages we find so difficult. He didn't quote them or even allude to them as far as I'm aware. He sometimes added his own teaching to the words of scripture: “You have heard it said…but I say to you…”

But nowhere did he condemn the scriptures (the Old Testament of our Bible), though he often condemned its misuse (Matthew 23:4). He said that he had not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. (Matthew 5:17) He told his disciples that the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms spoke about him (Luke 24:41). We don’t have a mandate from Jesus to dump the Old Testament.

To be honest, I don’t know what to make of this in terms of how we should read the 'difficult' texts. But it says to me that if Jesus could live with the Old Testament as it was written, not as we’d like it to be, we should also be willing to live with it, even if we can’t explain everything in it. Jesus lived with the brutality and sexism and discrimination of the world around him, not accepting it, but not running from it or destroying it. He offered the world a new way to live, then died to redeem that world. Is there perhaps a sense in which Jesus also ‘redeemed’ the Old Testament?

We are people of the New Testament. We live by Christ’s standards and understand the world through his teachings and those of his disciples. More importantly we have the Spirit of Christ within us, who strives to show us the mind of Christ. It’s easy to throw up our hands and say “this is too much, I can’t stomach this” when we come across something unpalatable in the Old Testament. (I know, I've done it often.) Perhaps where we struggle with the text we should simply bring it to him and be content to wait for understanding. Then let's go on reading.

This post is part 6 of a series on reading the Old Testament:

Reading the Old Testament part 7 - Is the Old Testament misogynistic?
Reading the Old Testament part 6 - Not-so-simple questions about the Old Testament
Reading the Old Testament part 5 - A simple set of questions to use when reading the Old Testament 
Reading the Old Testament part 4 - The Old Testament wasn't written in a day
Reading the Old Testament part 3 - Remember the Old Testament is old
Reading the Old Testament part 2 - Getting an overview
Reading the Old Testament part 1 - Know your history

A simple set of questions to use when reading the Old Testament (Reading the Old Testament part 5)

The temptation when reading the Bible is to jump straight into the application and ask "What does this mean for me today?" But reading the text this way you are likely to miss a great deal that might have been helpful, not just today, but in the future. Part of the purpose of reading the Bible should be to absorb more and more of the richness of it's message so that it becomes part of your life and your understanding. Jumping to the immediate application too soon can leave you vulnerable to making false assumptions and being misled by words taken out of context.

To read without expecting any application to your own life would, of course, be little more than an academic exercise. We should read asking and expecting the Holy Spirit to show us what the text has to say to us personally. Many Christians have had the experience of reading a passage and one or two verses immediately seem to have great significance for their own situation. It's as if God has highlighted them. But generally we should expect the benefit of reading scripture to come from a regular, intelligent reading of the text and an understanding what the authors were saying, followed by obedience to it's truth. 

Whether you're reading a short passage of scripture or a whole book, it's helpful to have a framework for approaching the text. Here's a simple set of questions that can help in understanding what you're reading. You shouldn't need more than the notes in a study Bible or a single-volume Bible handbook to answer them. Often the text itself will provide the answers.

WHO - who wrote the text? Sometimes there's a lot of debate about this, and it's not worth getting side tracked by the arguments (unless perhaps you're a theology student doing an assignment.) But if it's clear who wrote it, that may provide a clue to the author's view point. We'd expect King David, composing psalms in Israel's heyday, to have a different point of view than Ezra the prophet writing after the exile, for instance.

WHEN - when was it written? A related question. Again there is often a lot of debate, but where it's obvious, we need to take this into account in understanding what's being said. Don't, for example, read New Testament ideas into an Old Testament text without first getting to grips with what the text meant at the time it was written. Once you have grappled with the original meaning, there will undoubtedly be New Testament themes to explore, and a grasp of the original meaning will often help to expand and enrich these. 

WHERE - where does the passage fit into the book, where does the book fit into the Bible as a whole? In other words, what is its context? Reading a whole book (if time allows) before looking at a particular passage is often very helpful in keeping the overall context clear.

WHICH - which genre is it?  Poetry, narrative, prophecy, law, teaching? What type of writing, in other words. This will often affect how we are to understand it. 

HOW - how is the text written? Are there any patterns in the structure, or repeated words or phrases? These might provide a clue to what is important. Is there an introduction somewhere earlier that tells you what the text is about? 

WHY - why was the author writing? What is the purpose of the passage or book? Is it addressed to a particular person or group of people? Why did he write what he wrote in this particular way?

WHAT - what does the text say? Try not to bring in what you've heard or read in the past, or what the commentaries say, until you've read the text several times. If there are verses that are difficult to understand, work on getting a sense of the meaning of the whole, then ask yourself "what could they mean, in the context of what I'm reading? And what couldn't they mean?" 

Once you've answered these questions, then it's time to look at how the text relates to what you know of the rest of Old Testament scripture, and the New Testament. Only then ask how it applies in your own life.

This post is part 5 of a series on reading the Old Testament:

Reading the Old Testament part 7 - Is the Old Testament misogynistic?
Reading the Old Testament part 6 - Not-so-simple questions about the Old Testament
Reading the Old Testament part 5 - A simple set of questions to use when reading the Old Testament 
Reading the Old Testament part 4 - The Old Testament wasn't written in a day
Reading the Old Testament part 3 - Remember the Old Testament is old
Reading the Old Testament part 2 - Getting an overview
Reading the Old Testament part 1 - Know your history

Reading the Old Testament - 4. The Old Testament wasn't written in a day

Unlike the books of the New Testament which were all written within 100 years of Jesus’ resurrection, the books of the Old Testament were written over many hundreds of years. This has a number of implications.

First, most of the human authors of the Old Testament books didn’t know each other. They didn’t collude together or work to a set agenda. They didn’t set out to write “The Old Testament”. It was only after the books were collected together, quite late in Jewish history, that the Old Testament came into being.

Second, each wrote for a particular group of people in a particular situation at a particular time. So although there is an amazing underlying unity to the Old Testament books that results from God’s faithfulness and purposes, each book has its own focus, its own style. At times this results in what may seem almost contradictory attitudes and ideas. For instance, the histories provided by the authors of the books of Kings and of Chronicles are not identical in detail or emphasis.

Third, the culture and faith of Israel changed over time and this is reflected in the Old Testament texts. The people who left Egypt and worshipped in a tent were very different people to those who were worshipping in the temple in Solomon’s reign, although obviously human nature being what it is, they shared some common longings and failings. The people who returned from exile had different experiences, different hopes and consequently different beliefs and practices to those who had gone into exile. Israel’s faith waxed and waned and struggled and matured over time. This is reflected in the text.

Fourthly, the later texts often make reference to earlier texts. So, for instance, Jeremiah assumes that his readers are aware of the contents of the book of Deuteronomy and alludes to it often. The Psalms refer back to Genesis, Exodus and other narratives. This can be helpful in working out when a book was written.

Fifth, there is a gradual unfolding of God’s plans. We read the texts as people who've jumped to the last chapter of the story and have read the ending. But the people in the story didn't always know where the plot was leading, so to speak. We shouldn't expect them to see things the way we do. They were faithful, mostly, to what had been revealed to them, but God revealed himself through the events of history as well as through personal revelation to the prophets.

This post is part 4 of a series on reading the Old Testament:

Reading the Old Testament part 7 - Is the Old Testament misogynistic?
Reading the Old Testament part 6 - Not-so-simple questions about the Old Testament
Reading the Old Testament part 5 - A simple set of questions to use when reading the Old Testament 
Reading the Old Testament part 4 - The Old Testament wasn't written in a day
Reading the Old Testament part 3 - Remember the Old Testament is old
Reading the Old Testament part 2 - Getting an overview
Reading the Old Testament part 1 - Know your history

Reading the Old Testament - 3. Remember the Old Testament is old

The Old Testament was written a long time ago. That's stating the obvious, but we don't always remember the obvious. We come to the text expecting it to be easy to read and immediately relevant to our daily lives. Why is that? Perhaps it's because we think of it as the 'living word of God' True, God is always up to date. He's as familiar with the Internet as he is with camels and the pyramids. The truth of his word is always new and relevant. But the actual text of the Old Testament is old - very old.

The last book in the Old Testament was written several hundred years before Jesus' birth. The earliest books were written at least eight centuries before Christ. (Much older dates are proposed by some scholars.) That would make them as old as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and hundreds of years older than books by Herodotus, Confucius, Plato and other 'ancient' authors. How many of us would pick up one of their books and expect to immediately understand everything we read?

Human nature hasn't changed. But human cultures change all the time. We see that happening in the Bible itself. Over the period covered by the Old Testament the culture of the Israelites and the people around them changed considerably. How much more have things changed since then.

We shouldn't expect the Old Testament to speak in a way that's in tune with our own culture, any more than we'd expect Homer's Iliad or Sophocles plays to be culturally familiar. That's not to say that the Old Testament has nothing relevant to say to us, but the cultural setting of any text needs to be remembered and wisdom used in understanding and applying it to our time. It's not 'cheating' to use Study Bible notes, commentaries, and other resources to help us understand the background and setting of what we're reading.

This post is part 3 of a series on reading the Old Testament:

Reading the Old Testament part 7 - Is the Old Testament misogynistic?
Reading the Old Testament part 6 - Not-so-simple questions about the Old Testament
Reading the Old Testament part 5 - A simple set of questions to use when reading the Old Testament 
Reading the Old Testament part 4 - The Old Testament wasn't written in a day
Reading the Old Testament part 3 - Remember the Old Testament is old
Reading the Old Testament part 2 - Getting an overview
Reading the Old Testament part 1 - Know your history

Reading the Old Testament – 2. Getting an overview

It’s important when reading the Old Testament (and the New Testament for that matter) to know the context of what you’re reading. The best way to do that is to read large chunks of it, before honing in on smaller portions. Ideally, everything you read in the Bible should be seen in the context of the surrounding chapters and verses, the book you are reading, the history of the period it describes, and that in which it was written, and the Bible as a whole.

If possible, read the whole of a book right through at least once before studying it verse by verse. Obviously that’s not usually possible with a book like Genesis or Isaiah, (although it makes a good project for a long journey or a weekend break.) But with shorter books it is well worth taking the time. Don’t get bogged down in genealogies and long lists of names and places, just skim over them on this first reading.

By reading a book right through you’ll get a sense of how the writer constructed the text, you’ll often start to see patterns in what is said, and you will have more sense of what the writer was trying to achieve. Then you can go back and look at the text in more detail.

Reading long sections of the Bible is like climbing to the top of a hill to get an overview of the landscape, before descending to follow the trail. It helps you to keep your bearings when you’re in rugged country and stops you losing sight of the forest for the trees.

This post is part 2 of a series on reading the Old Testament:

Reading the Old Testament part 7 - Is the Old Testament misogynistic?
Reading the Old Testament part 6 - Not-so-simple questions about the Old Testament
Reading the Old Testament part 5 - A simple set of questions to use when reading the Old Testament 
Reading the Old Testament part 4 - The Old Testament wasn't written in a day
Reading the Old Testament part 3 - Remember the Old Testament is old
Reading the Old Testament part 2 - Getting an overview
Reading the Old Testament part 1 - Know your history

Reading the Old Testament - 1. Know your history

Before you begin reading the Old Testament it’s helpful to have an overview of Old Testament history.Then you’ll have some idea of where the text that you are reading fits into the overall story.

The books of the Old Testament are not arranged chronologically, although the narratives in the books from Genesis to Nehemiah do follow Jewish history fairly closely. Having a basic outline of the events of the Old Testament in mind when reading the Psalms, say, or the prophetic books, will help you to understand their context and purpose.

For instance, the book of Jeremiah opens by saying that Jeremiah was active in the time of Josiah, King of Judah, until the time when the people of Jerusalem were taken into exile. (Jer 1:1-3). You’ll understand a lot more of what Jeremiah had to say if you know something about this period.

This short video, written and narrated by Andrew Wilson, provides a useful and easy-to-remember summary of the whole Old Testament.



As the video makes clear, the narratives of the Old Testament are not just Jewish history but also theological history. That is, they are interested in what God was doing through the events as they happened, and what his purposes were.

The video also brings out the important connections between Old Testament history and the life of Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus is not only the ultimate end or goal of history, but all history points to him.

This post is part 1 of a series on reading the Old Testament:

Reading the Old Testament part 7 - Is the Old Testament misogynistic?
Reading the Old Testament part 6 - Not-so-simple questions about the Old Testament
Reading the Old Testament part 5 - A simple set of questions to use when reading the Old Testament 
Reading the Old Testament part 4 - The Old Testament wasn't written in a day
Reading the Old Testament part 3 - Remember the Old Testament is old
Reading the Old Testament part 2 - Getting an overview
Reading the Old Testament part 1 - Know your history