The nineteenth chapter of the book “Grasping God’s Word” by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays deals with the uneasy matter of interpreting the Old Testament laws and their relations with the ones described in the New Testament. The religious texts describe these laws clearly enough though many modern Christians are concerned whether or not should they follow one or the other law. The authors implicit that the traditional methodology of interpreting is unclear, and therefore they provide their own way of distinguishing the laws. While it is still an issue of the future to interpret the whole Bible by their method, the provided examples and the methodology itself are clear enough for a scrupulous Christian.
The chapter begins stating that there are over six hundred commandments in the first five books of the Bible, and many of them are violated by the modern believers with certain regularity. The question arises, which laws are to be adhered by an exemplary Christian and which may be ignored. The traditional approach to interpreting the Old Statement implies the distinction between moral, civil, and ceremonial laws, and only the first category is eternal while the others were meant for the ancient Israelites.
The authors’ key concept is that such methodology is obsolete and unclear, as the texts themselves do not make such distinction. They emphasize that the whole Old Testament law “is firmly embedded into the story of Israel’s exodus, wandering and conquest” (Duvall and Hays 333), and the modern interpreter should take this into account. Since the law is an important part of the Old Testament narrative, therefore, authors indicate that the laws should be interpreted the same way as the narrative.
The chapter contains several major arguments supporting the author’s position. They emphasize that the law was introduced by the God in a covenant that is “closely associated with Israel conquest and occupation of the land”. In this way, the covenant provided the Israelites with a “framework” by which they can live with God in the Promised Land. There are about 200 mentions of the word “land” in Deuteronomy, which indicates the close interconnection of the law and the land.
Secondly, “the blessings from Mosaic covenant are conditional” (Duvall and Hays 334). The verses 1-14 of Deuteronomy, 28 include the blessing for Israel if they obey the covenant while verses 15-68 list the consequences of its disobedience. The most important argument on author’s concept of interpreting the Old Testament law is perhaps that “the Mosaic covenant is no longer a functional covenant” for the believers of the New Testament (Duvall and Hays 335).
Jesus was the mediator of a new covenant that replaced the old one. The authors use rhetoric questions in this case, demonstrating their own confusion with the laws of the Old Testament. They are also implicit, that “the Old Testament law as part of the Mosaic covenant is no longer applicable over us as law” (Duvall and Hays 334). Paul states clear that Christians are not under the law of the Old Testament. The authors point out that their way of interpreting is closely connected with Paul’s admonition: “Now that we are freed from the law through Christ, we do not put people back under the law through our interpretive method” (Duvall and Hays 335).
The question rises, though, why should the Old Testament’s law be considered by the Christians at all? The author reference Second Timothy to answer this: “all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking and training in righteous” (Duvall and Hays 336). In this way, while Christians are free from the covenant and its law, the Old Testament is eternal, and it should be studied.
As the chapter deals with the reasons to study and interpret the laws of the Old Testament, the authors reveal their method, the Interpretive Journey. To teach the reader of the methodology is perhaps the primary purpose of the article. While the Journey itself was presented previously in the book, this chapter describes how to use it in the context of the Old Statement’s law. There is no need to retell the method completely, but still it is worth noting several important details.
While the first two steps of the Journey are clear enough, the next three leave a wide scope for interpretation. Is not that easy to distinguish, which principles of the Old Testament law are eternal and which were meant for the ancient Israelites. It is a matter of discussion for the renowned theologians while the book aims at the wider audience. Secondly, the authors write of the “culture barrier” (Duvall and Hays 338) in the fourth step, providing an example of adultery in the culture of the Old Testament and the modern one. It seems that there may be much more examples while the authors write short on the matter. Therefore, the scope for interpretation becomes even wider.
In conclusion I would like to say, that authors’ made it clear, why do modern Christians need a new methodology of interpreting the laws of the Old Statement. The methodology itself, though, seems crude and unfinished. It is not quite obvious if the authors consider their method finished, or it is a starting point for a more deep research. In the second case, they have done a great job, as the current version may be useful for a critical-minded Christian while the less educated reader may be confused by the freedom of interpretation this method suggests.
Works Cited
Duvall, J. Scott and Hays, J. Daniel. Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005. Print.