Misreading the OT

Misreading the OT

• Critics of orthodox Christianity now constantly employ a misunderstanding of the Old Testament, namely that the Bible is nothing more than a static book of ethical prescriptions, some of them monstrous, nearly all of them outdated. So, Muslim apologists will complain that Christianity is just as violent as Islam (just look at the conquest of Canaan!), and LGBT advocates will complain that OT passages barring homosexuality are now irrelevant (just like commands to stone children who disobey their parents). Both types of criticism are straw men.


• The first need is to understand how to think about Old Testament commands. OT statutes fall under three kinds of law: the Ceremonial Law, which guided conduct in the sacrificial system of the Tabernacle and the Temple; the Civil Law, which ordered life in the nation of Israel; and the Moral Law, which is the 10 Commandments and related teachings. Of these three, the Moral Law alone remains. The Ceremonial Law ended with Christ, who was the sacrifice “once for all” (Heb 10:10). The Civil Law ended when Israel ceased to exist as an autonomous state. For us, laws that prescribe things like stoning disobedient kids are long gone — as in 2,500 years ago, when Israel ceased to rule herself.

• But more importantly, the OT was always moving toward, and pre-figuring, the redemptive work of Christ. So we say that Revelation (the Bible) is progressive. Both the Civil and Ceremonial laws were “but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities…” (Heb 10:1). The real purpose of the law was — and this was always the real purpose — to proclaim the One who would fulfill it perfectly. As Jesus said to the Jewish leadership, “if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me” (Jn 5:46 but read vv30-47).

• So while it’s true that the nation of Israel fought violently, even ruthlessly, against other nation-states in the Ancient Near East (as did all nations in that day), those battles pre-figured a day when our battle would not be against “flesh and blood, but against… the cosmic powers over this present darkness” (Eph 6:12ff). Revelation has progressed and, as Christ, we are to love our enemies and “pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44). And when we read the command to stone the disobedient child, we are under no obligation, but we do understand more about the great holiness of God and how seriously he takes obedience.

• Finally, be encouraged. The current cultural climate is one of harassment, badgering and bullying. But love, Christ loving through you, covers a multitude of sin. Give good for evil and trust Him.

– Pastor Eric

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