ECWA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

KAGORO, KADUNA STATE.

NOTES ON ‘BIB 113’ (OLD

TESTAMENT
THEOLOGY/INTRODUCTION).

PREPARED BY: Hosea Simon

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THE CONCEPT OF OLD TESTAMENT THEOLOGY

Old Testament theology is the branch of biblical theology that seeks theological insights within
the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. It explores past and present theological concepts as they
pertain to God and God’s relationship with creations. Old Testament theology can also be seen as
the task of presenting what the Old Testament says about God as a coherent whole. Studying Old
Testament theology is important because it presents great truths about God and humanity.

The Old Testament came to us over a period of millennium from somewhere around 1400 to 400
B.C. The writer of Hebrews (Hebrew 1:1) began his book by saying “In the past, God spoke to
our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways.” The many times
covered the one thousand years just referred to-from the days of Moses to the time when the
book of Chronicles was completed.

It is also described in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. “When the Lord finished speaking
to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the testimony, the tablets of stone
inscribed by the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18)

And again, “These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole
assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he
added nothing more, then he wrote them on two tablets and gave them to me” (Deut. 5:22).

THE BASIS FOR STUDYING OLD TESTAMENT (THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS)

REVELATION: Theologians typically distinguished between God’s general revelation of

Himself in creation, which is made known to all people and special revelation of himself in the
canon scriptures which is not available by natural reason and cannot be discovered by the
scientific method. Through the words and verbally interpreted acts recorded in the Bible and
through the incarnation of his son to which the Bible bears witness, the God of Israel has
revealed his heart, mind, wisdom, program and purpose to his elect community, whom he
regenerated to believe and understand that revelation by his Spirit

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INSPIRATION: W. F. Shedd, one of the great nineteenth century Presbyterian theologians
distinguishes revelation and inspiration this way in his DOGMATIC THEOLOGY, “Inspiration
is like revelation in that, it is a superhuman influence upon the particular person selected to be
the organ of the divine mind. But inspiration goes no further than to insane freedom from error in
presenting that truth which has been obtained in the ordinary ways in which men obtain truth.

God’s Holy Spirit inspired chosen individuals to produce the biblical text. Inspiration here means
that God spoke through his prophets and Apostles in ways that involved, but were not limited to
their hearts, minds and emotions. The divine and human agencies complemented, not competed
with one another. On the other hand, the Spirit inspired revelation of all scriptures assures
mortals that the text of the Bible provides them with trustworthy accounts of God’s thoughts,
plans and desires. The biblical text is the end product of inspiration by the God of Israel who
does not lie or mislead.

ILLUMINATION: God completes the process of revelation by the illuminating work of the Holy
Spirit. The Spirit who is the first cause in our regeneration to faith illumines God’s word so that
His people may understand His revelation, but not apart from human research and reason. As a
result of this Spirit illumination of God’s revelation in His inspired scripture, the covenant
people of God hear God’s word as certainly as when he spoke to their fathers. Spiritual
discernment is a prerequisite for doing Old Testament theology. It is a masterpiece of indirection,
yielding its wealth only to those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

NARROW CANON: This theology assumes the protestant narrow canon (the list of sixty-six
books of the Bible) in both the Old Testament and New Testament and shared by all branches of
historic Christianity.

THE HISTORY OF RELIGION

The history of religion’s approaches was popular until 1920s. the two most significant
contributions to Old Testament theology in the twentieth century are part of the revival in
Biblical theology that reacted against the history of religions are approached and against the
scientific rationalism and developmental view of theological understanding that characterized it.

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Key concerns were to focus on the Old Testament as a whole as a revelation and to note both its
link with the New Testament and its relevance for the church. Those reactions though led in
different directions and reached different conclusions.

Walter Eichrodt’s two volume THEOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT was first published in
1937. Five years later, Gerhard Von Rad set out the direction of his approach in his easy “the
form-critical problem of the hexateauch”, though his Old Testament theology was not published
until the 1960s.

WALTER EICHRODT. Walter Eichrodt offers a systematic approach to the Old Testament
theology. He recognizes the need to do justice to the historical dimension of Israel’s faith but not
as had being the case with the developmental approach of historical theology, at the expense of
the unity and authority of the Old Testament. He maintains that despite variations within the
historical faith of Israel, there is also an essential unity and coherence within the Old Testament
and also between the Old Testament and the New Testament, which allows us to take it as
normative for our faith. According to Eichrodt, the task of Old Testament theology iss to
consider the problem of how to understand the realm of Old Testament belief in its structural
unity and how, by examining on the one hand its religious environment and on the other its
essential coherence with the New Testament, to illuminate its profoundest meaning. Eichrodt
viewed the Old Testament as “God’s relationship to his people and His world- and to link the
various theories within the Old Testament to that central idea”.

Since Eichrodt, other systematic approaches to Old Testament theology have been published that
follow his method of searching for a single central concept that gives unity and coherence to the
message of the Old Testament.

GERHARD VON RAD: Like Eichrodt, Von Rad also wants to make Old Testament relevant to
the life and faith of the church. However, while Eichrodt stresses what is fixed and constant in
the faith of Old Testament, Von Rad rejects his structural systematic approach and the view that
it is possible to discover a single theological center to the Old Testament and instead emphasizes
the dynamic nature of Israel’s faith.

Von Rad stresses the importance of history as the principal medium of divine revelation in the
Old Testament. The Old Testament writers did not set the content of their faith systematically,

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they did not subtract theological ideas into a body of doctrine about God instead, God revealed
through what he does and through the recital of the mighty acts of God that shaped the nation.

As a form critic, Von Rad believes it is impossible to construct an accurate picturing of Old
Testament theology and certainly not one that accords with the picture given in the Old
Testament. He maintains that the stories recorded by the Old Testament writers are not
inventions: they are founded on actual events. However, what happened in the Old Testament is
the end result of constant telling and retelling, and corresponds not to actual history, but
Heilsgeschichte (salvation). The story of salvation as viewed through the eyes of Israel’s faith
and in which the significance of divine action is brought home to each new generations of
believers. Von Rad’s theology can be considered radical

Other recent approaches

Preuss follows systematic pattern suggestive of Eichrodt. Though instead of “covenant”, he takes
as his central organizing theme “God’s historical activity in electing Israel”. Gerstenberger looks
at the Old Testament from a historical-critical and more particularly a social-scientific stand
point. He maintains that rather than having theological centre.

The Old Testament is made up of diverse testimonies conditioned by Israel’s historical and social
conditions. He notes particularly the different understandings of God as the focus of religion
moves from family to village to tribal alliance to state and finally, to the post-exilic confessional
community, where the traditions of Israel’s faith were collected and written down. The result is
not a single theology of the Old Testament, but several theologies intention with one another;
Hence his choice of title theologies in the Old Testament.

AUTHORITY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

John Bright describes the tension of ideas present within the Old Testament. The Bible is at one
and the same time the religious literature and the historical record of an ancient people and it is
the normative (canonical) document of the faith of Israel and of the Christian community which
regarded itself as the true heir of Israel. Viewed as the first, it contains many things that belongs
to the ancient situations and cannot in any direct way serves as a model for Christians today.

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Viewed as the second, it is the primary record of the faith which we claim as our own and as
such remains the court of final appeal in all discussions regarding the nature of the faith.

Goldingay too argues that the Old Testament must be seen as something that both describes and
prescribes faith. It is a descriptive account of what the people of God believed and how those
beliefs developed through the Old Testament period. It is also normative for the faith of God’s
people in the present. It sets out what we should believe: affirmations and principles vital to our
faith today. The task of Old Testament theology is to mediate between the religion of the Old
Testament and religion we believe and practice today.

The approach to the subject adopted here builds on the premise that there is an essentials unity
and coherence within Old Testament. It is more than a record of developing religious ideas and
traditions or a series of narrative through which narrators seek to present testimonies and counter
testimonies of what they perceive as truth, and which then becomes the reality. It is a revelation
of the truth about the nature and being of the living God and about his dealings with his people
and his world. As such, it contains permanently valid truth that claims authority over us.

THE NAMES OF GOD

ELOHIM; Elohim can mean “god” or“gods”. It often refers to God (Gen. 1:1, Exo. 3:6, Deut.
4:35, Isa. 40:48). Sometimes it refers to the ‘gods’ of other nations (Exo. 12:12, 20:3, Josh.
24:15, Psa. 96:5, Jer. 2:28, 11:13).

El: This is the generic term for god. It sometimes refers to Israel’s God especially in the book of
Job and Palms. It is often compounded with other expressions, especially in the patriarchal
narrative, for examples El-Shaddai (el-shadday e.g Gen. 17:1, Exo. 6:3, traditionally translated
as “God Almighty” and El-Elyon (el-elyon meaning, ‘God most high” eg. Gen. 14:18-20). The
term also describes powerless idols which are contrasted with the true God (e.g Isa. 44:6-
23:45:20). El is also a proper name of a chief Canaanite god which features in compound
expressions similar to those found in the patriarchal narratives,

YAHWEH: This is the personal name of God revealed to Moses (Exo. 3:14, 6:3) and occurs
more than 6,000 times in the Old Testament. The name consists of four Hebrew consonants

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‘yhwh’(the tetragramaton). From an early date, it was regarded as too holy to be spoken aloud,
and in public readings of the Old Testament was read as ;adonay (my Lord).

THE COLLECTION OF BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Pentateuch: The great deal of skepticism remains around the repeated claim that Moses
wrote the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy). But by the time of Joshua, this piece of revelation must have been coming to its
completion, for only Joshua is said to have added any word to this legislation (Joshua 24: 26)

Deuteronomy and early prophetic books: the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Samuel, and Kings
have been viewed by scholars at large as having such a distinctive unity that they have been
repeatedly called “the Deuteronomic history”. Not only is the style, language and the theology of
these books similar, but the books seem also to be linked deliberately by items in the conclusion
of one book that are repeated in the introduction of the book that follows it. Thus, Deuteronomy
34:5 overlaps with Joshua 1:1 and Joshua 24:29-31 becomes a part of Judges 2:6-9. Similar
farewell speeches are found for Moses (Deuteronomy 34), Joshua (Joshua 23), Samuel (1
Samuel 12), David (1 Kings 2:1-4) and Solomon ( 1 Kings 8:54-61) all with a grand conclusion
by the overall author of the entire collections in 2 Kings 17. The entire collection could be seen
as a number of prophecies that found their fulfillment during the times in which this history was
recorded.

In the Pentateuch, Israel was unique among her ancient Near Eastern neighbors for her emphasis
on history. God created time and space and is therefore sovereign over human history. It should
not be surprising that a large portion of Israel’s sacred writings were historical writings. Most
religious expressions in the ancient Near East was mythological. Ancient peoples generally
expressed their theological convictions and worldviews through elaborated myths, in which
important events took place outside history. Most holy books of world religions are collections
of wisdom literature and religious APHOREMs. But Israel saw her own national history as an
arena for divine revelation. God’s word for the world is largely a narrative of his relationship
with one nation, and his plan for establishing a relationship with all humankind.

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Prophecies: By the 6th century B.C. in the books of the prophet Daniel, there were clear
references already to ‘the book’ of the prophets (Daniel 9:2). What Daniel was referring to was
the prophecy of Jeremiah about Judah remaining in captivity that means he was writing scarcely
more than seventy years since Jeremiah wrote his prophecy and already regarded it as
‘scriptures’. Here, is a strong argument for the progressive recognition of the scriptures as they
emerged from the hands of their writers rather than the more popular assertion that it was a
church council or the likes that declared what properly constituted scriptures.

The psalter: The book of Psalms is made up of five hymn books as determined by the colophon
(ending verses of the section, or tail piece) that appears at the end of each book

Book 1- psalms 1-41

Book 2- psalms 42-72

Book 3- psalms 73-89

Book 4- psalm 90-106

Book 5- psalms 107-150

Some of the psalms are from exilic and possibly even from the postexilic period, but how that
affects the composition of the books remains problematic. As psalm 72:20 wrote, most of the
first seventy-two psalms (book 1 and 2) came from the hand of David, thus placing them around
1000 B.C. Recently, Gerald Wilson has argued that book 3 is representative of the exilic era and
books 4 and 5 are from the postexilic period. While there is a good possibility that this is an
accurate assessment of their dating and sequencing, the case has not been demonstrated as yet.

The story of how Old Testament originated is fairly long and complicated story, but it is
nonetheless fascinating and filled with more pieces of information than most would expect at
first blush.

THE JEWISH CANON OF 24 BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

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The term “canon” from Hebrew-Greek word means “cane” or “a measuring rod” passed unto
Christian usage to mean ‘rule of faith’. The church fathers fathers of the 4th century first
employed it in reference to the distinctive authoritative nature of the body of sacred scriptures.

The Hebrew Bible Bible or TaNaKh, also known as Miqra, is the Canonical collection of the
Hebrew Scriptures consisting of 24 books including the Torah, the Nevi’im and the Ketuvim.
The Hebrew Bible is “TaNaKh” an acronym derived from the names of its three divisions: Torah
(instruction, or law, also called Pentateuch), Nevi’im (prophet), and Ketuvim (writings).

The Torah contains five books comprise of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy). The Nevi’im comprise eight books divided into former prophets containing the
four historical works of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings and the later prophets, the oracular
discourses of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve (minor prophets) with the narrative of
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah
and Malachi. The twelve were all formally written on a single scroll and thus reckoned as one
book. The Kettuvim consists or religious poetry and wisdom literatures comprises of Psalms,
Proverbs, and Job, a collection known as ‘the five megillot’ (five scrolls) comprises of Song of
Songs, Ruth, Lamentation, Ecclesiastes, and Esther, which have been grouped together according
to the annual cycle of their public reading in the Synagogue and the books of Daniel, Ezra and
Nehemiah and Chronicles.

The table below shows the twenty-four (24) books of the Hebrew/Jewish Old Testament
scriptures according to their main divisions.

THE PENTATEUCH (THE THE PROPHETS ( THE THE WRITINGS ( THE

TORAH) NAVIIM) KETTUVIM
1. Genesis The former prophets The poetry
2. Exodus 1. Joshua 1. Psalm
3. Leviticus 2. Judges 2. Proverbs
4. Numbers 3. Samuel 3. Job
5. Deuteronomy 4. Kings Five little rolls
The latter prophets 1. Song of songs
1. Isaiah 2. Ruth

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 2. Jeremiah 3. Lamentation
3. Ezekiel 4. Ecclesiastes
4. The twelve minor 5. Esther
prophets The histories
1. Daniel
2. Era-Nehemiah
3. Chronicles

THE CHRISTIAN CANON OF 39 BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Christians/protestant Bible comprises 39 books of the Old Testament. This is grouped into
four main divisions comprise of Pentateuch ((Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy), Historical Books, (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings,
1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther), Poetical Books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs/Solomon), and Prophetic Books: Major prophets( Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Lamentation, Ezekiel, Daniel) and the Minor prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah,
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi).

PENTATEUCH HISTORICAL POETICAL BOOK PROPHETIC

BOOKS BOOKS
1. Genesis 1. Joshua 1. Job Major prophets
2. Exodus 2. Judges 2. Psalms 1. Isaiah
3. Leviticus 3. Ruth 3. Proverbs 2. Jeremish
4. Numbers 4. 1 Samuel 4. Ecclesiastes 3. Lamentations
5. Deuteronomy 5. 2 Samuel 5. Song of songs 4. Ezekiel
6. I kings (songs of 5. Daniel
7. 2 kings Solomon) Minor prophets
8. 1 Chronicles 1. Hosea
9. 2 Chronicles 2. Joel
10. Ezra 3. Amos

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 11. Nehemiah 4. Obadiah
12. Esther 5. Jonah
6. Micah
7. Nahum
8. Habakkuk
9. Zephaniah
10. Haggai
11. Zechariah
12. Malachi

THE HISTORIC PERIODS OF OLD TESTAMENT THEOLOGY

PROLEGOMENA TO THE PROMISE (PRE- PATRIARCHAL ERA): The Abrahamic

covenant is first given in Genesis 12:1-3 and it marks the beginning of God’s election of the man
when he would deliver the whole world if man will believe and also of Israel’s history and
theology.

So, the first of God’s word of blessing-promise in the creation was followed by that symbolic
word in Eden given to the woman’s seed. There would be a victorious seed over a snipping seed
of Satan. Before we reached the entire life of Abraham, this word is enlarged in the benediction
of Noah and then to the whole race or a line in whose tents God dwell. The key items in this pre-
patriarchal time were blessing, seed, and the race in the midst of whom God dwelt.

The resulting outline

1. Word of creation
2. Word of blessing
3. First word of promise: A seed
4. Second word of promise: The God of Shem
5. Third word of promise: A blessing to all the nations

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PROVISION IN THE PROMISE ( PATRIARCHAL ERA): This era is so significant because
God announced Himself as the God of the patriarchs or the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The patriarchs can also be regarded as prophets (Gen. 20:7, Ps. 105:15). This was because they
personally received the word of God. The word of God came to them directly (Gen. 12:1, 13:14,
21:12, 22:1) or the Lord appeared to them in a vision (12:7, 15:1, 17:1, 18:1) or in the personage
of the angel of the Lord (22:11, 15), the lifetime of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from another
distinct time in the flow of history. These three privileged recipients of revelation saw,
experienced, and heard as much as or more in their combined two centuries of life than all those
who lived in the preceding millennia.

This era feely received God’s benediction in an heir (seed), an inheritance (land), and heritage
(all the nations of the earth shall be blessed).

Resulting outline

1. Word of revelation
2. Word of promise: Heir, inheritance, heritage
3. Word of assurance
4. Ruler of promise
5. God of promise

PEOPLE OF THE PROMISE (MOSAIC ERA): A son (Gen. 3:15) born to a Semite (Gen.
11:10-22) named Abraham was to form a people and eventually a separate nation. Such a call to
nationhood meant that “holiness” or separation unto God was not an optional feature. Therefore,
both concepts were to receive major attention in this era of revelation. Israel was then called a
“kingdom of priest and holy nation” ( Exo. 19:6). Lovingly, God outlive the moral, ceremonial,
and civil means of accomplishing such a high calling. It would come in the primary act of the
Exodus with God’s gracious deliverance of Israel from Egypt, Israel’s subsequent obedience of
faith to the ten commandments, the theology of the tabernacle and sacrifices, and the likes of the
covenant code (Exo. 21-23) for civil government.

All the discussions about being a new people of God were elaborated from Exodus 1-40, Lev. 1-
17, and Num. 1-36. During this whole era, God’s prophet was Moses- a prophet who had no

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equal among mankind (Numbers 12:6-8). Moses was the pattern for that great prophet who was
to come, the Messiah (Deut. 18:15, 18).

This era at first stressed Israel as God’s son, His firstborn. With the Exodus, God called the
Israelites jointly into being a royal priesthood and a holy nation to Him. Subordinate to this high
election to privilege was an election to service. Israel was to be holy and clean. The former
meant, she was to be totally and entirely separated into God’s body, soul, and life. The latter
called her to be prepared and fit for the worship of God.

Resulting outline

1. My son
2. My firstborn
3. My people
4. My possession
5. Kingly priests
6. A Holy nation
7. The law of God
8. The tabernacle God

PLACE OF THE PROMISE (PRE-MONARCHICAL ERA): Conquest of the land of Canaan is

one of the parts of the promise of God that received a full enactment in the events of history and
on the pages of scriptures. The promise of the land as a place where God would cause His name
to rest was by this time already six centuries old. Therefore, Deuteronomy with its concern about
this place of rest (12:8-11) and the book of Joshua with its descriptions of the conquest of land
are clearly joined in concept and act. The history of Joshua, Judges, and even Samuel and 1
Kings 8 and 2 Kings was addressed from the view point of the moral standard of Deuteronomy.
And its connecting points were easily discerned: Deuteronomy 28:31, Joshua 1, 12, 24, Judges 2,
1 Samuel 12, I Kings 8, and 2 Kings 17. These significant moments in the history of revelation
of the periods are usually conceded by most biblical theologians today.

The themes of the pre-monarchical era revolve around the ‘rest’ of God, ark f the covenant, and
the injunction to love, fear and serve God with all one’s heart, soul, strength and mind.

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The resulting outline

1. The inheritance of the land

2. Rest in the land
3. Chosen place in the land
4. Name dwelling in the land
5. Conquest in the land
6. Prophetic history in the land: repentance and blessing, predictive word and fulfilled
events, a prophet like Moses.

KING OF THE PROMISE (DAVIDIC ERA): What Gen. 12:1-3 was to the patriarchal era, 2
Samuel 7 is to the times of David- forty years of David’s reign compare in length to the mosaic
era, but their importance for generations to come defies comparison.

As a prelude to the history of this period, the early signs of legal aspirations in Gideon’s son.
Abimelech, the people’s request for a king during the judgeship of Samuel (1 Samuel 8:10) and
even the reign of Saul prepare us negatively for the grand reign of David ( 1 Samuel 11- 2
Samuel 24, 1 Kings 1-2, and royal Davidic psalms like psalms 2, 110, 132, 145). Each of these
legal motifs was painstakingly connected to the ideas and words from an earlier time, ‘a seed’ a
‘name’ which ‘dwelt’ in a place of ‘rest’ a blessing’ to all mankind and a king who now ruled
over a kingdoms which would last forever.

The resulting outline

1. A promised king: a supping ruler, a rejected ruler, an anointed ruler

2. A promised dynasty: a house, a seed, a kingdom, a son of God
3. A charter for humanity
4. A promised kingdom: the ark and the kingdom, the royal psalms and the kingdom, the
succession narrative and the kingdom

LIFE IN THE PROMISE (SAPIENTIAL ERA): Solomon’s forty years were marked by the
erection of the temple and by another floury of divine revelation. In part, this period is much like
the pre-monarchical times in that it too is partially transitional in nature. Yet, it also had its own
distinctive character as well. No period of time is more difficult to relate to the whole of the

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continuing Old Testament theology than that of the wisdom literature of this era found in
proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs and wisdom psalms. Nevertheless, as the Mosaic law
presumed and built upon patriarchal promise, so Solomonic wisdom likewise presupposed both
Abrahamic- Davidic promise and Mosaic law.

The key concept of the sapiential era was the fear of the Lord- an idea already began in the
patriarchal as the response of believing faith (Gen. 22:12, 42:18, Job 1:1, 8-9, 2:3). It was this
connecting link that tied the promise and the law into the beauty and fullness of man’s living in
here and now. The temporal became more than a mere existence; living could now be
meaningful, enjoyable, and unified with eternal values and commitment.

The resulting outline

1. The fear of the Lord

2. Life in the Lord
3. Integration of life and truth in the Lord
4. Wisdom from the Lord
5. Eudaemonism and the Lord

DAY OF THE PROMISE (NINTH CENTURY): The day of the promise is the first of the five
prophetic eras, each with their own basic emphasis ranging from the divisions of the kingdom in
931 B.C. to the postexilic situation. Now that David’s house and Solomon’s temple had been
established, the subjects of each of the multifaceted promises had reached a provisional plateau
in their development. God’s future ruler was now visible in the line of David and God’s personal
presence in the midst of his worshipping subjects was dramatized in the temple. Accordingly, the
prophets could now turn their focus on God’s world-wide plan and kingdom. Unfortunately,
Israel’s sin also claimed much of the prophets’ attention. Many place, Joel, and Obadiah in the
9th century B.C. as the earliest of the writing prophets. While Obadiah could be placed at any of
the three different times in Judah’s history, the best would probably be in the reign of Jeroboam
(853-841 B.C.) when Edom revolted against Judah along with the Arabians and Philistines (2
Kings 8:20-22, 2 Chronicles 21:8-10, 16-17).

Similarly, Joel is usually dated in the reign of Joash of Judah (835-7960) because there is no
mention of Assyrian, Babylon or Persia among the long list of Israel’s enemies presumably

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because they were not yet on the historical scene. If this reign be the general time period, then
the book must come early in the reign from 835-820, while the godly high priest Jehoiada acted
as advisor to the youthful king Joash.

Regardless of Joel’s and Obadiah’s final dating, their theology is clear: it is the day of the Lord.
A day is coming in which YHWH will vindicate Himself by such great work of salvation and
judgment that all men will instantly recognize these works as divine in their cause. At that time,
God will complete what all the prophets anticipated and the believing remnants had hoped for.

Joel’s locust plaque and Obadiah’s concern over Edom’s lack of brotherly love were occasions
for God’s ancient word of promise to be renewed and enlarged.

The resulting outline

1. The prophets and the promise

2. The promise in the ninth century
3. Edom and the promise: Obadiah
4. The day of the Lord: Joel

SERVANTS OF THE PROMISE (8TH CENTURY): The quintessence of Old Testament

theology reached its peak during the eighth century. It concluded the works of such prophets as
Jonah, Hosea, Amos, Isaiah and Micah. Graciously, each was sent a decade or so in advance of
the threatened judgment on Damascus, Capital of Syria which fell in 732 B.C. and Samaria, the
Capital city of the northern ten tribes of Israel, which fell in 722 B.C. But dominating the era was
that magnificent mini- Old Testament theology of Isaiah 40-66 with its key personage “the
servant of the Lord”.

The resulting outline

1. Rebuilding David’s fallen hut: Amos

2. Freely loving Israel: Hosea
3. Mission to the Gentiles: Jonah
4. Ruler of Israel: Micah
5. The promised theologian : Isaiah

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RENEWAL OF THE PROMISE (SEVENTH CENTURY): At the close of the seventh century
comes another succession of writing prophets: Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Nahum, and Jeremiah.
Again, Nahum warned (as had Jonah more than a century earlier) of the imminent destruction
that would come on the Assyrian city of NINEVEH (which came in 611 B.C.). The other three
prophets likewise warned Judah’s capital, Jerusalem which was hit in 606, 598 and finally fell in
586 B.C. If only men could repent, they could save themselves from the horrors and realities of
impending desolation.

Nevertheless, the messages of doom and warning were not the only word for Judah, there was
the joyous prospect of a renewed covenant’s and built around it a program for the rejuvenation of
all men, nations and nature in his little book of comfort (Jer. 30-33). And for Zephaniah, there
was more light on that coming day of the Lord. In the meantime, Habakkuk thundered out his
solution to his own moments of despair and doubts. “The just shall live by faith”.

The resulting outline

1. Mission to the Gentiles revisited: Nahum

2. The day of the Lord: Zephaniah
3. The just shall live by faith: Habakkuk
4. The word of the Lord: Jeremiah

THE KINGDOM OF THE PROMISE (EXILIC TIMES): Ezekiel and Daniel while living in
Babylonian exile, continued to sharpen even more clearly how it was that the coming God
shepherd would one day reign over a reunited twelve-tribes Israel in Canaan. The Son of man
would come with the clouds of heaven and would be given dominion, glory, and kingdom
wherein. All people, nations and languages would serve Him. His dominion would be an
everlasting dominion which will not pass away and his kingdom would be such that would not be
destroyed. Earthly kingdoms would come and go, but His word never.

In this regal note, these two exiles prophets led Israel into the sixth century and new day for all
mankind. The scope and majesty of what had been so anciently promised to Abraham, and David
was staggering.

The resulting outline

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 1. The good shepherd’s reign: Ezekiel
2. The promised kingdom’s success: Daniel

TRIUMPH OF THE PROMISE (POSTEXILIC TIME); Together, the histories of Ezra-

Nehemiah, Chronicles, and the prophecies of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi make up the final
note of revelation in the Old Testament canon.

They moved from the despondency of conditions in Israel after their return from the seventy
years of Babylonian exile to the complete triumph of God’s person, word, and work. What
seemed to be small and insignificant to them in a day like 520 B.C. was directly connected in
glory and durability with God’s final wrap-up of history. Even though the rebuilt temple was
small and insignificant in their eyes, yet, it was that very temple whose glory would be even
greater than the Solomonic temple. No work done at the urging of God’s prophets could be
regarded solely or empirical grounds. There was the larger connection of the part of the whole of
God’s total finale history. Men must now look up, believe and work. Their king was coming,
riding on a donkey-bringing salvation (Zechariah 9:9). He would even go forth and fight all the
nations of the earth, which one final day would gather to do battle against Jerusalem (Zechariah
14)

And as if to establish the validity of the roots of this Messianic vision of the kingdom of God on
earth, the Chronicler used Israel’s past history to show the normality of the vision after the
pattern of the Davidic “house” and the Solomonic temple and worship.

So, the history of Israel lengthened, but the seminal root of her theology remained intact as the
plant grows into fully developed tree with each new growth

The resulting outline

1. God’s signet ring: Haggai

2. God’s conquering hero: Zechariah
3. God’s messenger of the covenant: Malachi
4. The Kingdom is the Lord’s: Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Esther

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THE MAJOR GOD’S COVENANT RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAN IN THE OLD
TESTAMENT THROUGH THE NEW

The God of Israel is a covenant keeper. God always keeps his promises in 2 kinds of covenants
in the Bible. We look at the two main kinds of promises in the Bible: conditional and
unconditional. At first glance, these covenants can seem like strange practices from the long-ago-
past that have no relevance for us today, but nothing could be further from the truth. Following is
a brief explanation of the eight significant covenants of the Bible.

The covenant of works (conditional). God made a conditional covenant with Adam in the
Garden of Eden. Adam was supposed to obey all God’s commands to earn the right to eat from
the tree of life and merit eternal life. Adam rebelled against God and earned instead death and
condemnation for himself and all his descendants (Gen. 2:17-18; 3).

What does this covenant mean for us? Because all humans come from Adam and were
represented by him, they are all under this same covenant and guilty of failing to keep it (Rom.
5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21-22). Because God is Holy, you are at enmity with God based on your own
imperfect works. Because you have a sinful nature due to the corruption resulting from Adam’s
fall, you commit more sins that heap more guilt on you.

The covenant of Grace (unconditional). We first find the unconditional covenant of grace in
Genesis 3:15 where God promises that a savior will come who will crush the head of the serpent
(serpent). In the covenant of grace, people are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone
because of Christ’s perfect keeping of the law and his perfect and complete sacrifice once and for
all for sin (Rom. 5:12-21, Heb. 7:27, 10:4)

Because we are sinful by nature, we can never keep God’s law perfectly and be pure in order to
stand in his presence. Through faith in Christ alone, you are declared righteous in God’s sight,
are forgiven of our sins, have peace with creator, and have been gifted all the rights and
privileges as God’s child for eternity ( Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 5:1, 8:15

The Noahic covenant (unconditional). In the Noahic covenant, God made a promise to Noah to
never again bring a flood to destroy the earth (Gen. 9:1-17). God instituted the Noahic covenant

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to preserve the earth so that humans would not destroy each other, in order that the savior, Jesus
Christ could come at the appointed time in God’s redemptive plan.

Since Christ has come and done his saving work, God is patient toward us, not wishing that any
should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Pet. 2:9). Jesus will return one day to fully
establish his kingdom (Rev. 21)

The Abrahamic covenant (unconditional). The covenant of grace is more fully revealed in the
covenant of Abraham. God made an unconditional, permanent: “I will bless those who bless you,
and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”
(Gen. 12:3; 15:5-6). God fulfilled his promise to Abraham by sending his only begotten son
Jesus to the earth as the savior of the world to be born in the flesh from a descendant of Abraham
( Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38; Gal. 3:16).

All who receive Christ as Savior are the true heirs of Abraham and have all rights and privileges
thereof. Abraham believed God would keep his promise, “and if you are Christ’s, then you are
Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29)

The mosaic covenant (conditional). Like the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic (Old) covenant
was part of the covenant of grace but it was temporary in nature. The Mosaic covenant was a
conditional agreement between God and the people of Israel that was mediated by Moses (Exo.
19-24). The people of Israel had to fulfill God’s stipulations in this covenant to stay and prosper
in the land God had given them. None of the Israelites were ever pure before God through the
keeping of this covenant, because it was impossible for anyone to obey it perfectly. They were
only declared righteous by faith alone, just as their father Abraham was (Gen. 15:6)

This covenant was extremely important for two reasons: 1, it showed the nation of Israel (and us)
the impossibility of keeping God’s law perfectly and the need of Savior. 2, it provided a forum
for Christ to come and be the perfect Son of Israel who would obey God’s law in all things and
the once-for-all sacrifice for sin.

The Mosaic covenant shows us that, because of indwelling sin, the law is a taskmaster that
humans can never appease (Rom. 3:19-20). Yet, no need for us to despair: through faith in

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Christ, we are declared righteous before God, since Christ’s perfect obedience is counted to us
and our sin is counted to Christ (Rom. 5:12-21, Heb. 7:27)

The David covenant (unconditional). In 2 Samuel 7, God made a promise that he would raise
up David’s offspring and “establish the throne of his kingdom forever “ (7:12-13). God promised
unconditionally to put a son of David on the throne, but only the righteous son would reign for
eternity. While David’s son Solomon ruled over Israel, he failed to keep God’s commands (1
kings 9:4-9; 11:4-8). Only David’s descendants Jesus was the true and faithful son deserving of
the everlasting throne of David (Ps. 2; 16; 110).

Unlike mere human rulers who disappoint us with their failure to rule justly, jesus obeyed God in
all things-even giving his own life out of his love for the world-and earned the right to rule in
glory forever (John 3:16; 1 kings 2:35; Rev. 11:15).

The new covenant (unconditional). Despite the failure of God’s people to live up to the
covenants that were made, God graciously made a new one with his people: “Behold, the days
are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and
with the house of Judah-not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers n the
day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which
they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law in
their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my
people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying,
‘know the LORD, for they all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,
says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more”
(Jeremiah 31:31-34)

In the above passage God makes several distinct promises;

1. He would give them the ability and the desire to follow Him. He would change their
hearts and give them a zeal for obedience (vs 34)
2. He will be their God, and they would be His people
3. He will forgive the sin of His people (vs 34b)

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The new covenant ushered in the new creation. This covenant is new in relationship to the Old
(Mosaic) covenant; both are part of the covenant of grace. While Moses was the mediator of the
Old covenant between God and the nation of Israel, Christ is the mediator of the new covenant
between God and believers through his finished work of redemption in his life, death, and
resurrection. (this promise finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ). While the Old covenant
required national obedience, the new covenant requires faith in Christ, the perfectly obedient son
of Israel (Jer. 31:31-34; Matt. 26:28; Gal. 3:16-18.

While the new covenant requires faith in Christ, this faith itself is a gift from God, given to all
who trust in Christ as their Savior (John 1:12; Eph. 2:8-9).

The covenant of redemption (conditional). Without the covenant of redemption, the only other
covenant in this list that could exist is the first one: the covenant of works. The covenant of
redemption was established before creation and is the pact between the persons of the trinity in
which the father sends the Son to do the work of redemption, the Son submits to the father’s will,
and the Holy Spirit applies the benefits of the Son’s accomplished work to believers (ps. 40:6-8).
As a reward for his obedience, the Father gifts the Son with glory and an everlasting kingdom
(ps. 110; Isa. 53; Zech. 6:12-13; John 17:1-5).

OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT: CONTINUITY OR DISCONTINUITY?

The word “continuity” is defined as ‘the unbroken and consistent existence or operation of
something over a period of time’. “Discontinuity” is the opposite, meaning ‘a sharp difference of
characteristics between parts of something.’ In theology, continuity are terms applied to the flow
of sacred history and God’s overarching purpose.

Christians believe that the entire Bible is God’s inerrant Word and that it is divided into two
parts, the Old and New Testaments. The continuity vs discontinuity debate has to do with how
the two parts of the Bible relate and the application that has for Christians today. Covenant
theology often emphasizes areas of continuity, while dispensational theology, usually
emphasizes areas of discontinuity.

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The following are some of the issues that frequently come up in the continuity vs discontinuity
debate:

Are Israel and the church essentially the same body, or is Israel quite distinct from the church?
Those who follow the discontinuity route hold that Israel is a separate group and see the ‘church
age’ as a distinct time in which God deals with the Gentiles. When the church is removed at the
rapture, God will once again focus His attention on the salvation of Israel and the church will
often speak of the “Church in the Old Testament” and apply promises made to Israel to the
church today.

If the church essentially Israel (continuity), then it makes sense that all the law given to Israel
would apply to the church unless a particular law has been specifically repealed. If the church is
brand-new entity (discontinuity), then it would be in force unless they have been specifically
applied to the church.

The issues involved in the debate between continuity and discontinuity are complex, but, in
reality, almost every theological construct (covenant, dispensational, or otherwise) recognizes
some areas of continuity and discontinuity. Every Evangelical theology would recognize that the
animal sacrifices have been discontinued as the sacrifice of Christ is once for all (Hebrews
10:11-12). Likewise, every Evangelical theology would recognize that the moral aspects of the
law continue to be in force today.

There are some areas of both continuity and discontinuity, and that neither sharp discontinuity
nor uniform continuity is warranted. Jeremiah 31 speaks of a new covenant with Israel that
outlines a radically new way (discontinuity) of dealing with Israel (continuity). The New
Testament speaks of believing Gentiles being grafted into Israel (Romans 11). This was
something new that most never would have imagined possible, but it was revealed with the
coming Christ.

Jesus said He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17). In other words, He
was not preaching something brand-new (discontinuity) but the culmination of what had been
there all along (continuity). But Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law had in it the seeds of discontinuity,
because, after the Law had been fulfilled, it was no longer needed (Gal. 3:24-25). God never
changes, but the way that He deals with people can change.

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The relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament reflects both the continuity
and discontinuity between the Christian and Israelite faiths. Christians believe God had one plan
for salvation that was revealed first to the Israelites and then to all peoples through Jesus Christ.
The New Testament and Old Testament, then, tell one ongoing story of salvation. At the same
time, the authors of the New Testament were proposing something radically new: Jesus’
fulfillment of the Israelites’ hope in God’s promises.

For the New Testament writers, the Old Testament was Holy Scripture. To tell the story of Jesus,
those authors relied largely on the vocabulary and methods of reading scripture that already
existed in the Jewish world. According to one scholarly estimate, the New Testament has more
than 4,000 references to the Old Testament. Many of these references are “according to the
scriptures” and fulfill what scriptures said. Christ’s birth, for example, “took place to fulfill what
the Lord said through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son” (Mtt.
1:22-23). He said his last words on the cross “(in order to fulfill the scripture), ‘I am thirsty’ “
(John 19:28). The key word here is “fulfill”. The New Testament authors, while valuing the Old
Testament as revelation, saw Jesus to be the fulfillment of the revelation. For them, God’s plan
of salvation unfolded with the Israelites, then was added to and redefined by Christ. That meant
the New Testament writers read the events of the Old Testament as looking forward to Christ as
Messiah of His people. For example: in the opening of Genesis, God spoke a divine word to
create the world, so in the opening of the Gospel of John, God, in the Word of God, re-created
and renewed the world.

Fulfillment however does not mean prediction. While the first Christians saw in the Old
Testament the anticipation of what happened in Christ, that does not mean the writers of the Old
Testament were literally looking ahead into the mists of time and seeing the coming of Jesus.
What they were expecting was the final fulfillment of the promises God had made to them, but
when Jesus appeared, most Israelites did not think he was that fulfillment. The writers of the
New Testament, however, believed in both the coming of the Messiah and Christ being that
Messiah.

For many centuries, Christians were taught that there is dramatic discontinuity between the Old
and New Testaments, between ‘law’ and ‘grace’, between ‘Israel’ and ‘Church’. While there are
distinct and greater advantages to the New Testament instituted by Messiah Yeshua, there is also

24
much continuity between Old and New Testaments. There is grace in the Torah, and there are
laws and commands in the New Testament. There are differences between Israel and the church,
but there are a lot of overlaps as well.

People express thoughts like “Christians should not be concerned with the Old Testament,” but
the following are to be considered:

The founder of the faith, Messiah Yeshua, was Himself very Jewish. Yeshua was a Sabra (a
native born Israelite). Since he was born to the tribe of Judah, and is a descendant of King David,
he is Jewish royalty. He was circumcised on the eight day. He was given a Jewish name-Yeshua.
He was raised in a pious Jewish home by godly parents. He regularly went to the synagogue, as
was his custom (Luke 4:16). The life he lived was that of an observant Jew who kept the Torah
(Gal. 4:4). He was able to say “which of you convict me of sin?” because he never sinned by
breaking the commandments of the Torah. Messiah Yeshua taught that He fulfilled, not set aside,
the Torah (Matt. 5:17-19).

The Lord’s Jewish disciples continued to live a very Jewish lifestyle for centuries after His death.
The book of Acts records the earliest history of the Messanic Jewish movement, and it presents a
very Jewish picture. For example, the apostles and the other Messianic Jews regularly met in the
Jerusalem temple (Acts 2:46, 3:1). They observed the sabbath day’s journey.” Luke, the author
of Acts, was recording the fact that when the apostles were returning to Jerusalem from the
mount of Olives, where they saw Yeshuah ascend to heaven, it was a sabbath’s day journey
away, or about 2000 cubits (approximately half a mile).

The apostles also observed the Jewish holidays like Shavuot (Pentecost). Acts 2 records the
awesome events that took place on the day of Shavuot, when the Spirit of Yeshua was poured out
on the apostles, and they were filled with the Spirit. Acts 10:9-16 indicates that Peter, the leader
of the apostolic band, was still keeping the dietary laws of kashrut (the kosher laws) after
messiah’s death and resurrection.

What about Paul? Throughout his life this great Rabbi from Tarsus reflected to great deal of
respect for Jewish law. For example, Paul, who supposedly gave up his jewish identity, took
Nazarite vows, which included offering animal sacrifices at the Jerusalem Temple (Acts 18:8 and
Numbers 6:2-21). Paul and company continued to keep Passover and the feasts. They observed

25
the yom kippur fast (Acts 27:9). Because he was a recognizable Jewish religious leader, Paul was
invited to speak in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:15)

Sometimes we tend to forget that what is called “the early chuech” or “first century Christianity”
was Jewish movement from its inception. The question in the first century was not, “How much
of the Law of Moses should we abandon” but, “Can a Gentile believe in the Jewish Messiah
withut first becoming a Jew and observing all the Jewish laws?” there was no question that
Messianic Jews were to continue to live Jewish lives based on God’s Torah. It was understood
that it is normative for Messianic Jews to continue to live a Torah-observant lifestyle (Acts
21:20-26). It was the Gentiles’ relationship to the Torah, and how much of it was incumbent on
them to observe, that was the issue under discussion at the First Jerusalem council (Acts 15)

Many Jewish people in the first century had missed the basic message of the Torah. They had
distorted their observance of God’s wonderful Torah into a system of works, self-effort and self-
achievement. The idea of keeping God’s laws was twisted into a means of getting right with God
by one’s own strength and merit. That misguided legalistic approach to salvation was being
carried over into some sections of the new Messianic movement as well.

THE BIBLE AS A COMPLETE BOOK

The Bible is one complete book consisting of Old and New Testament. There is a direct
continuity of divine revelation and authority running right through all 66 books of the Bible. No
one part contradicts another part, and if one part were to be missing there would be an obvious
gap in the whole Book. The Later parts (the New Testament) of the Bible are not contradictory
but complementary. They are given as a further development of the earlier revelation in order to
give a wider understanding of an important subject.

OLD TESTAMENT IS THE FOUNDATION OF ALL DIVINE REVELATION

1. The Old Testament is the beginning of the universe

2. The Old Testament is the beginning of human race (Genesis 1:26)
3. The Old Testament is the beginning of sin in human life (Genesis 3)
4. The Old Testament is the beginning of the plan of salvation
5. The Old Testament is the beginning of the nations (Genesis 11:1-9)

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6. The Old Testament is the beginning of Hebrew people
7. The Old Testament is the beginning of faith in human life
8. The Old Testament is the beginning of God’s revelation of Himself to man
9. The Old Testament contains the laws of God for human life
10. The Old Testament contains the promises of God concerning the coming of the Messiah,
the Savior
11. The Old Testament contains God’s promise concerning the New Testament

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Birch, Bruce, Walter Brueggemann, Terence E. Fretheim & David L. Peterson. A Theological
Introduction to the Old Testament. Second edition. Nashville: Abingdon press, 2005

Boda, Mark J., Micahel H. Floyd & Colin M. Toffelmire, eds. The Book of the Twelve & the new Form
criticism. Atlsnts: SBL Press, 2015.

Brown II, A. Philip & Bryan W. Smith. A Reader’s Hebrew Bible. Grand RAAPIDS, Michigan:
Zondervan, 2008

Brueggemann, Walter & Tod Linafelt. An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian
Imagination. Second edition. Lousville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012

Brueggemann, Walter. Theology of the Old Testament. Mineapolis: Fortress Press, 1997

Bullock C. Hassel. An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books. Chicago: Moody press,
2007

Childs, Brevards S. Biblical Theology of the Old and the New Testament: Theological reflection on
the Christian Bible. Minneapolis. Fortress, 2011

Goldingay, John. An Introduction to the Old Testament: Exploring the Text, Approaches & Issues.
Downers Grove, Illonois: IVP Academics, 2015

Hinson, David. Old Testament theology 1: History of Israel. African Christian Textbooks, 2017

Howard Jr., David. M. An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books. Chicago: moody
Publishers, 1993

Itapson, Emmanuel * George E. Janvier. A Study of Major and Minor Prophets of the OldTestament.
Bukuru, Jos: African Christians Textbooks, 2013

Kaiser, C. Walter Jr. Toward an Old Testament Theology. C.R.M: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978

Kitchen, K. A. On the Reliability of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan:Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 2003

Longman III, Tremper & Raymond B. Dillard. An Introduction to the Old Testament. Second Edition.
Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009

McConville, g. Exploring the Old Testament Prophets, Vol. 4. London: Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge, 2002

Routledge, Robin. Old Testament Theology: A Thematic Approach. Ebgland: Cromwell Press, 2008

Sanford, Williams Lasor, Fredrick, Hubbard. & Allan, David. Old Testament Survey. Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Eerdman Publishing Company, 1996

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Wolf, Herbert. An Introduction to the Old Testament Pentateuch. Expanded Edition, Chicago:
Moody Publishers, 1991

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