Roadblocks when Reading the Old Testament

—(Part 21 of Seeing Jesus in the O.T.)

Andrew Fountain – May 2, 2021

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Three types of Roadblock

Confusing
Violence or abuse
Strange or problematic laws

“The Psalms are OK. I like the Psalms.”

(most of them anyway)

Confusing: Ezekiel 17

Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.
He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants.
Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig,...

Ezekiel 17 cont’d

“And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it…

Roadblock 1: Confusing

Weird visions with no explanation
Doesn’t seem to all be in order
e.g. Kings & Chronicles repeat the same set of stories. Isaiah and other prophets are not in chronological order

another place where a study Bible can really help
Great detail on lives of some seemingly unimportant people
e.g. book of Ruth. But most of it is revealing how God relates to people
Seems like a string of failures
That is the point. God wants to show how his love and power can rise above our failure

And if the O.T. system was a wonderful success, there would be no need for Jesus to come!
Answer: A study Bible or a good friend

Three types of Roadblock

Confusing
Violence or abuse
Strange or problematic laws

Roadblock 2: Violence or abuse

Animal sacrifices
to please God?
Commands to the Israelite to attack and kill
Slavery

Animal sacrifices

God allowed the killing of animals for food, but they had to recognize that death only happened because we live in a sinful, broken world.
The animal dies so that we can live
To re-enforce that idea, when the nation was small, and living in the desert, every time they killed an animal for food,
they had to honour the fact that a life had been given to that they could live

The life was symbolized by the life-blood

take the blood to the tent where the alter was. (Lev.17)
When the nation grew, they didn’t have to do that if they lived far from the temple. (Deut 12:20)
Now there were special animal sacrifices, but even then. in virtually all cases, the meat was eaten
- This was a very powerful teaching lesson to respect all life, even animals
- But also made them realize the animal was dying so they could live
- It pointed forward in time when Jesus would come and die as a substitute for his people

Commands to the Israelite to attack and kill

This is one of the areas where people have the most problems, so it is important we address it
Recently a magazine called The American Muslim has published a list of violent passages in the Bible in order to argue that Islam is less violent than Christianity.
- But most of the quotes are the Bible simply reporting violent incidents, not saying the violence was a good thing
  - In these incidents it does not condone the violence
- On the occasions when God did tell them to do something violent, then it was very specific and limited in scope
- There are never any commands that give us license to kill today.
So what about the few rare cases when they are told to destroy a city?
God has the right to judge
- Day of judgement when God will judge all who have ever lived
- God sometimes judges through events: e.g. when the Israelite rebelled in the wilderness, he sent poisonous snakes to punish them
  - The snakes were the tool God used, like a surgeon might use a scalpel to cut out a cancer
- For a very limited time, and for a very specific purpose, God used Israel like a scalpel
  - From the archeological evidence we have, the Canaanites (the people who they were told to destroy) had sunk to one of the worst levels of depravity in human history.
    Horrific cruelty, even sacrificing their babies in a way that I won’t describe to you.
- We can’t judge God. We have to accept that Israel was his chosen scalpel to cut out this cancer.
- Never again was such a mandate given to do anything like that again in their later history

Slaves: Exodus 21

When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing.

Wait a minute, “buy a slave...?”
This has got nothing to do with North American slavery in the last few centuries, which had the extra dimension of racism, and was one of the most appalling stains on Western civilization.
It was one of the forms of employment—a 6 year live-in employment contract.
- Nowadays the technical name for it is not slavery but “indentured servitude”
- They were family members
  - Abraham’s eldest servant was given charge of everything, and would inherit his wealth if he didn’t have a son.
  - Joseph was a slave in Egypt, but he says that he was equal with his master and the only thing that was not available to him was his master’s wife
- Of course there were abuses, but it was a job for life (if you wanted it) with total package of healthcare, pension and security.
Yet even so, slavery is not the best way of employing people—more on that…

Three types of Roadblock

Confusing
Violence or abuse
Strange or problematic laws

Roadblock 3: Strange or problematic laws e.g.

Regulations, e.g. Harvesting laws
Treatment of Women
Very detailed laws about food, clothing & religious structure

When God established them as a nation, there were lots of laws that were about how society functioned.
- Just like we have speed limits on roads to restrain stupid drivers
- Why can’t we just say “everyone drive at sensible speeds”?
  Because there are a lot of irresponsible people out there
- Law would not be needed if everyone had a pure heart
- In a very rough society, the laws have to be able to restrain this evil
When they harvested an olive tree, or a grape vine, they were only allowed to go over it once. (Deut 24:19–22)
- They couldn’t go back and check if they had missed anything
- This was for widows, orphans and new immigrants (e.g. Ruth)
- It was a very rudimentary social security system
But the purpose of these laws was to limit abuse within that culture
- When you read the laws, don’t think they are God’s ideal plan—they are just to provide something that would work even in a rough society
After the day of Pentecost, with the coming of the Spirit and the New Covenant, how did widows get dealt with?
- Part of a new community, a church family that shared everything
- That was God’s ideal
Principle of progressive revelation in the Bible
- Moving from limiting the worst excesses of a violent society
- To a place where love and justice ruled
Slavery was not the ideal method of employment, no matter how kindly it was done
but at least the law could provide some protection and minimize the damage

Treatment of Women

Here is a clear example of the progressive revelation of God
- The O.T. law did not condemn polygamy—having multiple wives
- Protection for women being divorced was minimal

But Jesus is very clear that this was not God’s plan, but a minimal ruling to restrain the worst behaviour

Matt 19 & Mark 10

And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?”
He answered them, “What did Moses command you?”
They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.”…
He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
…

Not under Moses
but under Jesus

“For the law was given through Moses;
but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)

Galatians 3

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God, through faith…
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Very detailed laws about food, clothing & religious structure

Three main approaches to O.T.

Continuity – Discontinuity

Everything is the same, with different names
There is really no connection
It was a signpost, and now we have the reality

Read the Bible in 2021

Read the Old Testament as well as the new
I recommend getting a Study Bible
Jesus was the ultimate O.T. study Bible:
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’” (Luke 24:27,32)

Summary:

Yes, read the Old Testament,
but don’t see it as a destination,
but a journey to Jesus

Roadblocks when Reading the Old Testament

—(Part 21 of Seeing Jesus in the O.T.)

Three types of Roadblock

Confusing: Ezekiel 17

Ezekiel 17 cont’d

Roadblock 1: Confusing

Three types of Roadblock

Roadblock 2: Violence or abuse

Slaves: Exodus 21

Three types of Roadblock

Roadblock 3: Strange or problematic laws e.g.

Matt 19 & Mark 10

Not under Mosesbut under Jesus

Galatians 3

Very detailed laws about food, clothing & religious structure

Three main approaches to O.T.

Read the Bible in 2021

Summary:

Not under Moses
but under Jesus