By N. E. ConstanceWHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO STUDY THE OLD TESTAMENT?One day the Sadducees came to Jesus inquiring about certain doctrines. It was not that they were searching for truth, but that they had intent to trick Christ into a response that would expose His lack of knowledge concerning the resurrection. Jesus said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29 ). Today we have a pseudo-philosophical approach to Biblical teaching by groups and individuals, sometimes within the church and sometimes outside of it, who call their approach critical interpretation of the Bible. However, they do nothing more than promote a negative and destructive atmosphere. It tears down but does not build up, and takes delight in undermining traditional creeds.
It is well for us to be aware of two approaches to the study of the Old Testament. One we will refer to as the critical or rationalistic view; the other as the traditional or historical view. Let us examine the two separately.
A. CRITICAL OR RATIONALISTIC VIEWThis view is that the books of the Old Testament are the product of the common Hebrew mind; that they spontaneously developed in national literature from age to age. The religions of Israel, like the religions of Babylon and Assyria, Egypt and India, began like all human religions—in polytheism (belief in many gods) and passed gradually upward into monotheism (belief in one God). The belief of Israel was at first idolatrous. Traces of fetishism and polytheism are found in the oldest parts of the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch is believed to be a composite collection made by several unknown compilers. Only a few brief fragments are said to date back to the time of Moses. The religion of the Hebrews at the time of Moses and the exodus, as shown by other later fragments incorporated into the Pentateuch, was not monotheism, but polytheism, like that of Egypt, from which they were emigrants, and like that of all the surrounding peoples. Gradually the Hebrew religion improved, through the development of the religious sentiment by which man gradually and generally grows better and better. In the eighth century before Christ, it had become a semi-pagan idolatry and semi-monotheistic religion, as is seen from the writings of the prophets which, in this, differ from the Pentateuch. Jehovah, the national god, who had previously been worshipped in the form of a bullock in both Judah and Israel, began to be conceived of in a more spiritual manner. In the seventh century before Christ, the process was completed in a pure monotheism which ever afterward continued to be the religion of Israel.
This critical theory supposes that there was no supernatural revelation of religious truth to the Hebrew people, but just the ordinary unfolding of man’s religious nature, common to every nation. The books of the Old Testament are a history of this unfolding in the case of the Hebrews, and are not infallible nor entitled to be the rule of religious faith for all mankind any more than any other books or literature which contain similar accounts of national religions. In brief, the Old Testament is an evolution, not a revelation. It is an evolution of the Hebrew mind, not a revelation of the Divine Mind of God.
The method by which the critical theory is established is called philological criticism. This is founded upon the text of an author, as the text is settled by manuscripts and explained by the rules of grammar and logic. The text itself must be determined by the agreement of manuscripts, the general consensus of editors, and not by individual judgments and caprice. That interpretation of the text which results from the studies and learning of the great majority of scholars and critics must be regarded as the true one rather than one which may be given by the minority. Although this theory is rarely found in profane literature, it has been frequently applied to the sacred writings. Today it has become the very popular order of religious thought. Although the church universal has for the most part unanimously respected and taught the authenticity and credibility of both the New and Old Testaments, there are schools and individuals who have denied both.
B. HISTORICAL OR TRADITIONALIn adopting this view, one believes that the books of the Old and New Testament are the infallible word of God, communicated to men selected from the people of Israel for this purpose. Certain holy men of old spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. These books do not contain the religious ideas of the Hebrew race, but the teachings of the Supreme Being. The Old Testament, though Hebrew in language and modes of expression, is not Hebrew literature but Divine revelation. (Literature, properly so called, is the natural and spontaneous product of a national mind.) The religion of the Old Testament is not one of the natural religions of the world, but a supernatural one. It enlightens the darkness, corrects the errors and does a work for sinful men’s hearts which no other religion can do. From Genesis to Malachi it is pure monotheism. From the beginning to end it contains the promise and the doctrine of a Redeemer and of redemption. There is no polytheism, deism or pantheism in the religion of Israel as given by Moses and the prophets. The Hebrew people themselves, from time to time, did become idolatrous and deistical, believing that God created the world and remained indifferent to His creation. The religion given to them by Jehovah was not this.
In brief, the historical or traditional view is that the Old Testament is a revelation, not an evolution—a revelation from God, not an evolution of the Hebrew mind. True Christianity, while requiring firmness of conviction, encourages freedom of investigation. It welcomes the most incisive and exhaustive criticism, but it insists that the criticism be unprejudiced, reverent and righteous in its attitude toward truth. Christianity believes in the Holy Spirit abiding in the Church.
Perhaps most of us are familiar with one or the other of the viewpoints given, but as we proceed in the study of the early history of Israel (Exodus through Joshua) let our hearts and minds be open to the truth of God’s Word. We will be learning many lessons from these Old Testament books that will prove to be a great blessing, and will give us a greater understanding of God and an unfolding of the New Testament. Having studied the Old Testament, we will have a greater appreciation and understanding of the New Testament.
