Approaches to Old Testament Theology
This chapter is quite informative as it highlights all the approaches used to understand the Bible, especially the Old Testament. It is because the Old and New Testaments make up the Christian Bible, and Christians have regarded both as canonical and normative for the faith since the beginning. The growth and development of the OT canon cannot be traced here. Its makeup was as it is known by the time of the New Testament. However, there was still controversy regarding the acceptability of some writings up until the so-called Council of Jamnia in AD, when some consensus about the canon’s contents appears to have been reached (Routledge, 2008). Additionally, various scholars have tried to identify and use various approaches to comprehend the Old Testament over the year. Hence, in some circles, the term ‘Hebrew Bible’ or ‘Hebrew Scriptures’ is used instead.
God and the ‘gods’
In this chapter of the book, the author tries to show the difference between God and ‘gods,’ which are different. God is almighty, and by using the example of the pagans, who believe in gods, the difference can be seen. Knowing a god’s name granted access to their power and could be used magically to manipulate the deity in pagan religions. God bans such misuse of his name: you shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not absolve anyone who misuses his name. He has revealed his name not to be manipulated but to allow men and women to become acquainted with him and form relationships. God, sometimes known as Elohim, is referred to by various terms throughout the Old Testament (Routledge, 2008). Many other examples have been given, including the Moses encounter on the mountain, the Spirit of God, and God is referred to as Yahweh.
God and Creation
The Old Testament is quite informative when it comes to creative matters. Form the book of Genesis, a systematic chronology of events is given. Although there are parallels between the Genesis tales of creation and the flood and the ancient histories of Israel’s neighbors, discrepancies greatly outnumber similarities. Humans were created from dust, implying that they are one with the rest of God’s creation. Humans share an order of being with a distinct creation from God. They are, nevertheless, separate from the rest of the established order and have a unique position within it. Humans are said to have the breath of life given by God, as we have seen (Routledge, 2008). God can make man and woman so that they can live together and fill the earth. From this, a clear connection is created between God and creation.
God and His People Part 1: Election and Covenant
This chapter is quite interesting as it brings the aspect of God having covenants with the people. This period was after they fell short of his grace, and He did not give up on them but tried to find a way through which they could have a strong connection. God is seen as a person who has made himself known. He has revealed himself to all of humanity, but he has formed a special bond with one person: the people of Israel. This important link between Israel and God was formalized in the shape of a covenant. Some of the major covenants that God had included Moses, Abrahams, and other individuals in the Old Testament, including the Sinaitic covenant. The idea of covenant is frequently linked to the ‘Deuteronomic movement,’ which began in the seventh century BC (Routledge, 2008). On the other hand, covenants in international treaties were common in the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BC.
God and His People Part 2: Worship and Sacrifice
In this chapter, the book shows how God interacted with his people. A good example was the Israelites, who had places where they worshiped. God specified for Israel what was to be the visible expression of their faith through the form of Israel’s reaction to God’s revelation. The regularized system of worship in Israel offered a setting for the temporal and infinite to meet and provided a mechanism for God’s people to draw near and worship him. The Old Testament writers acknowledge that God lives in heaven, which they imagine as being above the earth (Routledge, 2008). As a result, it was believed that meetings with God might occur anywhere, even while locations linked with a specific revelation from God were frequently regarded as holy and assumed special significance within Israel’s worship.
God and His People Part 3: Receiving Instructions
Here the will of God is known in all His relationships with people. The instructions were a way of showing what God wanted from the people. To give instruction God used prophets, who were chosen and responsible for communicating God’s will to the people. This role is most likely related to the verb ‘to call’ and refers to someone called by God or on God’s behalf. The prophet’s ministry was recognized, and the heavenly call gave his message authority. Each morning, prophets had to be awakened to listen to God to receive his prophetic word. It’s questionable how far the prophet said those exact words (Routledge, 2008). That could have happened on occasion, though it’s more likely that the message was interpreted and presented using whatever rhetorical skills would allow it to have the most impact.
God and His People Part 4: Kingship in Israel
In the Old Testament, Kingship was essential, and it was believed Go appointed the Kings through His prophets. Although God was king, the people scattered over the land paid him little or no attention, and without an earthly representative to execute the Law, the outcome was chaos. Pharaoh was supposed to be Ra’s progeny and thus an incarnate divinity in Egypt; in Mesopotamia, the king was a man chosen and exalted by the gods and granted divine status by being associated with a dying and rising god at the New Year ceremony. Kings were responsible for undertaking treaties with other nations around them (Routledge, 2008). God was and is Lord over all the globe’s nations because he is their Creator. Still, he distinctively is King over Israel via divine election, and the covenant embodies that special connection.
God and His People Part 5: Ethics and His Ethical Questions
The issue of ethics has to be adhered to in the Old Testament. It shows the different ways through which religion may be used. Religion and conduct are tightly linked in the Old Testament: faith must be practiced in personal and national life; it entails a connection with God and hence cannot be reduced to a mechanical system of appeasement or seeking heavenly favor through ritual. True faith in God requires a real commitment manifested in ethical behavior. This belief is stated in the Law, yet the principle dates back to Abraham’s covenant. God’s decision to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah was questioned by Abraham (Routledge, 2008). Along with the obvious moral advice found in the OT, some ethically dubious regions are ethically dubious. The Old Testament writers do not condemn polygamy.
God and the Future
This chapter used the case of the Israelites and how they believed in God’s promises from the time they were in Egypt. Israel’s faith in God helped them hold on to the hope that the nation would one day be restored to its former glory and share in God’s kingdom glory. However, rising sin and a commensurate refusal to heed God’s call to return to him led the pre-exilic prophets to conclude that hope lay only on the other side of judgment. Those who lived through the exile and attempted to understand it understood that it was God’s punishment for sin, but it also opened the door for future rewards. God chose the people of Israel as an act of sovereign grace, but they had to obey him to continue to enjoy God’s gifts and remain in the land he had given them: if they disobeyed, the divine blessings would cease.
Reference
Routledge, Robin (2008). Old Testament Theology. Downers Grove.