Reading the Old Testament

DAILY BYTE

For Christians the Bible is an essential book that we read to discover more about God, the world, the purpose of life and how we should live out lives. Yet for many Christians, the largest part of the Bible – the Old Testament – remains largely unread. This neglect of the Old Testament is not just true of lay people, but even preachers and pastors are guilty of overlooking the richness that the Old Testament contains.

Listen to these sharply insightful words of Ellen Davis, Professor of Bible and Practical Theology at Duke Divinity School. She writes:

"...there is not a lot of Old Testament preaching done these days... And even when an Old Testament text is treated, often little is attempted with it – little, that is, of serious reckoning with the text itself. In most cases, there is a brief reference to a familiar biblical figure or story as illustrative of the sermon’s main point, which is somewhere outside the text and the biblical story.

In my hearing, at least, it is highly unusual for a preacher to linger over a passage and find it compelling of attention, not as an llustration, but as an indispensable source of knowledge about the things of God. How rare it is for a preacher to work deeply with the challenge found in a prophetic passage, or perhaps a narrative, expecting to find in the text itself some guidance for meeting that challenge. Rarer still for a Christian preacher to discover in the instructions and prayers of the Old Testament a substantial measure of “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Phil 4:7) – and then show specifically how these words offer comfort in affliction, companionship in grief, clear direction for our gratitude, and [the beginnings of] hope. In sum, it is a rare thing for a preacher to show an Old Testament text to be not just useful but truly astonishing.” (In ‘Wondrous Depth: Preaching the Old Testament’.)

If this is true of preachers who are theologically trained, how much more is this true of ordinary people of faith, for whom much of the Old Testament remains obscure and difficult to understand, and is therefore often ignored.

In our devotions this week we’ll be shining the light on the astonishing riches of the Old Testament. If the Old Testament is a section of the Bible that you’ve neglected in your reading and reflection, then hopefully this week you will be challenged and encouraged to go back to read more of its pages, trusting that you will hear a life-giving word from God for your life. The good news is that no matter how challenging or complex the Old Testament may seem, it too is part of the Divine Revelation of Holy Scripture, so be encouraged and strengthened as you read.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Thank you Gracious God for the wonderful gift of the Bible. Help us to take it seriously in the ways in which we approach, read and study all of it. Give us perseverance to grapple with your word, trusting that we will encounter you and your words of life for us, if we do. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING

Psalm 119:105

‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.’