Relevant

Today was a special day for me. After morning lectures I hurried (with a noticeable amount of anticipation) to the dining hall for lunch. In the dining hall I found what i expected - food and fun. However, today, along side the food and the fun was a book store. After a good few moments perusing the hundreds of books i came upon a rather substantial volume entitled Old Testament Ethics for the People of God by a gentleman called Chris Wright. This being a subject I'm somewhat intrigued by at the moment, I promptly paid the reduced price(£15) and took the book back to my room.

Special times...

As I open this book to read, the question I have is this: 'Do Christian people really believe that the whole of the Old Testament is completely relevant to the church and the world today?'

There are some countries where the Old Testament (or Hebrew Scriptures) is not a regularly read part of the Bible. There seems to be a number of believers who confess with their mouths to believing the Bible but spend little or no time seeking the LORD through Leviticus or Ecclesiastes or Song of Solomon.

However, I lay this aside for the moment. Let us agree that the Old Testament was accepted by Christ and the early apostles, and it is a justified and essential part of the Holy Scriptures of God. It is relevant to the Church and the World today.

If it is relevant, then, how is it relevant?

Is its relevance held solely in the necessity of knowing the history of the Jewish, and consequently the Christian, faith?

Is its relevance held only in seeing how God related to man pre-messiah?

Is its relevance held in knowing the mindset and rules which Jesus had and had to deal with?

Is it a combination of one or more of these things?

I think the Hebrew Scriptures hold their relevance to us today in, among other things, in revealing to us aspects and characteristics of the nature of God that are revealed to us nowhere else (at least not as blatantly) and yet which still exist within the nature of God at this precise moment in time/history/eternity.

The nature and character of the God of the Hebrew Scriptures is still the nature and the character of the God of today.

The giver of the law hasn't changed but those who are receiving it has.

I think we have to learn to read the Hebrew Scriptures as if we were Hebrews.

Not only this, we have to read them as if we were ancient hebrews; with the mindset of ancient Hebrews.

Read the pentacheuch as if you were Moses.

Listen to the Psalms as if you were David.

Mourn as if you were Job

Moan as if you were Solomon

Get outraged at the prophecies of Jeremiah.

Long to go home with the Exiles of Judah.

Long for social justice with Micah.

Fight for purity with King Asa.

Rediscover the law with Josiah.

Has anyone ever told you that the God of the Old Testament is Sexist? Did they tell you He was violent and unfair? Did they say he was unforgiving? Did they say he was pro ethnic cleansing and pro slavery? Did they say He was a contradiction? Did they say He was biased towards the Jews? Did they tell you He was a God of condemnation and anger? Did a Christian tell you God relates to man differently now?

What was your answer?

I once read this quote: "The New Testament is when God got religion"

I wonder if you're happy to settle for that?

I sure as heck aren't.