DM 810 Proclamation Ministry of the Church
Preaching from the Old Testament
A. The Essence of the Text
--The preacher must begin by asking, “What does the text say?”
--This then moves to the question, “What does the text mean?” However, the two are not necessarily equivalent (i.e. imagery in Psalms [Ps. 23, “anoint my head . . . “], the prophets [Is. 5], or Song of Songs).
--Dr. Harold Bryson taught his students to develop an ETS=Essence of the Text in a Sentence. This is a concise way to determine what the text means. It can help the preacher stay within the bounds of the text.
--The Essence of the Text implies several things:
--Authority of the Bible—If the Bible is not your ultimate authority for life & teaching, then the essence of the text is of little importance to you. However, if you believe the Bible—OT & NT—is authoritative, then you should want to know & understand the essence of the meaning of the text.
--Serious study—Understanding the essence of the text often, in fact usually, requires more than a cursory reading. Here are three suggestions for studying a text in preparation for preaching.
1. Read in multiple translations (or translate the text yourself). Greek and Hebrew translation is the best way to understand what a text says, and certainly what a text means. (See, for example, Titus 2:13).
2. “Rhetorical Analysis”—Every preacher should analyze a text closely, looking for repeated terms, phrases, and grammatical forms. Since the Bible is written material, the preacher/interpreter must look at literary devices that the author might have used.
3. Prayerfully meditate on the text. Pray over the text, ask God to illumine the text, hear the text in your mind, and say it to yourself several times.
4. Utilize interpretative aids (commentaries & other books). After allowing the text to speak to you alone, go to good interpretive aids. These traditionally mean commentaries, but Bible Dictionaries/Encyclopedias/ Handbooks, Language helps (i.e. syntax and grammatical works), and other exegetical/expositional works can also help.
B. The Objective of the Sermon
--What do you desire for this sermon to accomplish in your hearers?
--This objective should be active. In other words, your objective should normally be something specific that will change in your hearers, not just cognitive understanding. A preacher should desire that his/her sermon be used by God to bring about change in a person who hears it. Learning is good, but if it cannot be translated into action then a sermon has only done half of its job.
--The objective should be related to the essence of the text. In fact, Dr. Bryson made us develop an Objective of the Sermon in a Sentence (OSS), which was directly related to the ETS. This exercise of developing an objective related to your text will always keep you centered upon the meaning of the biblical text, i.e. your text will speak to your situation instead of making your situation determining the meaning of the text. (Again see Titus 2:13.)
A. Literary Context—What type of literature is the text?
1. Narrative—the story
--Never lose the excitement of the story. Enjoy the story & make sure that sermon relates the story. Don’t boil the story down to a homiletical lesson. You may develop homiletical lessons from the text, but be sure that you enjoy the story.
--I recently read that no story in the Bible is there just to tell a story, but to deliver a message. I would suggest that this is often missing the point. Every event has a message or an application, but the story is still the story.
--Visualize the story. We must remember that these events happened to real people, not just Scriptural constructs (whatever some scholars might suggest!).
--Example: 2 Kings 6:8-18—Visualize the Aramean king, the prophet, the servant, the armies of God, etc.
--Be aware of literary techniques, such as humor, irony and satire.
--Once again, in 2 Kings 6, there is humor, irony, and satire. The picture of the blinded army is very humorous. The preacher should not miss the irony of the mighty Aramean king against a “defenseless” prophet. And certainly there is some satire on the relative strengths of kings vs. God.
PS 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our
God.
2. Law
--Remember that the Torah is based upon the nature of God, i.e. He is HOLY! This may keep you from becoming bogged down in the legal nature of the texts. The focus of legal texts is God’s holiness, & we will do well to respect & preach his holiness. Remember that “holiness” is the most basic theme of the Book of Leviticus.
--The laws are about boundaries. God’s holiness requires boundaries, and the laws function to maintain those boundaries. The level of “cleanliness” or “purity” determines the boundaries that one may cross. The results of crossing a boundary that is forbidden were dire (i.e. death, often violent), the laws include great detail concerning overcoming uncleanness and approaching God.
3. Prophets
--What is the nature of prophecy? In fact, what is a prophet? A prophet was one who delivered God’s message to his people, a message of judgment and hope, or destruction and deliverance. The primary concern of the prophets was that their own people (i.e. God’s own people) follow God faithfully.
--Remember that the prophets have a context. Their message may be timeless, but we must study the context of their words. This keeps us from isolating the prophets into proleptic Christian preachers. The Christian preacher must remember that the prophets were not primarily concerned with the Messiah, much less describing what Jesus would accomplish. (Yes, isolated passages certainly speak to this, but it is still not the primary concern.) They were God’s spokesmen, in their time, as part of God’s redemptive history.
--What was the primary message of the prophets? Quite clearly, the primary message of the prophets was that God’s people had failed to keep their covenant with God. Even where the term, “covenant,” is not used, the message of the covenant shines through.
--The two key terms for the prophets were “justice” and “righteousness.” Fifty-four of 116 uses of “justice” (NIV) in the OT are found in the prophetic books. Sixty-eight of 155 uses of “righteousness” in the OT are found in the prophetic books. God’s justice and righteousness, His demand of justice and righteousness, and the people’s failure in this area make up much of the prophetic message. (See for example Is. 1:10-18; Jer. 12:1; Amos 5:21-24; Micah 3:1-3; Zeph. 3:5;
--Recognize predictive prophecy, but do not make everything predictive.
--Isaiah 7:14 is instructive here. Matthew quoted the verse out of context.
--In Isaiah the verse has a very definite historical context. Don’t isolate the verse from its context. Let it speak of God’s redemptive & salvific work in 734 BC & then allow Matthew to apply it to Jesus’ redemptive work for all of us.
--Brevard Childs argues that Isaiah 7:14 can indeed be read as messianic, even in its original context, by recognizing the references in Isaiah 8-9 that refer to the son, perhaps a reference back to the son in 7:14.
--We must be honest enough to admit that Isaiah 7:14 is not a prediction of a virgin birth in its original context. The Hebrew word is not even the Hebrew word for “virgin.” The term can refer to virgin, but does not necessarily. The point in Isaiah 7:14 is that a son would be born and that before that child was old enough to know right from wrong, the enemies that they were fighting would be gone. They would be gone because “God is with us.”
--The LXX translated the Hebrew term as “virgin” in the Greek, but Matthew quoted it as “virgin.”
--Isaiah 9:1ff is definitely predictive in nature. Recognize its predictive nature & preach it that way (but still do not ignore its historical context). This is predicting a “son” to come and set up righteousness and justice. To connect this to the work of Jesus is not unreasonable.
4. Psalms
--Most of the psalms probably have an original liturgical purpose. They are primarily the words of a “people” rather than a “person.” They are the words of a people praising, seeking, or beseeching God. Preaching them as such is powerful. Picture the people of ancient Israel gathered in worship & song before the holy temple, crying out to Yahweh their God.
--Preaching Laments—Psalm 42-43
--Lament, sorrow, and pain are all parts of life. The Lament Psalms are real life, with all of its problems. The psalmists are being honest about their pain. Has God really left the psalmist?
--The laments always include declaration of trust and determination to praise God, even in light of the current troubles. Reading half of a lament psalm could well be fatal to the interpretive process. (See also Hab. 3.)
--Preaching Imprecations—Psalm 139
--How does one preach Psalm 139:19-22? Carefully? Jesus told his followers to love their enemies (Mt. 5:44; Lk 6:27, 35). This would appear to make the imprecatory psalms obsolete for Christians.
--I once read a scholar who suggested that the Christian preacher might preach these psalms against demonic powers.
5. Wisdom
--Wisdom literature has a definite worldview. That worldview is basically an optimistic & humanistic worldview. If a person walked a certain way, avoided the pitfalls of folly & following the ways of wisdom, then that person could expect blessing & prosperity.
--So what caused books like Job & Ecclesiastes to be written? Reality. Skepticism. Cynicism. They are reaction to the worldview of Wisdom Literature, as primarily espoused in the OT by the Book of Proverbs.
B. Historical Context
1. When did this event take place?
--Spend enough time with the text & its surrounding context to understand the context, esp. in a narrative text. The surrounding passages of a narrative text may well be very instructive. This gets the preacher better acquainted with the characters of a narrative and the teaching of a prophet. (i.e. Isaiah 7:14)
2. Why was the text written?
--Texts were usually written, and words spoken, for a purpose. Understanding that purpose, usually in a particular time & space, will help our preaching. Spend enough time with a text, and do enough study of other scholars & expositors, to understand the logical context of the text.
--(2 Kings 6:8ff—why was the text written? It’s a story, but the purpose of the text is to show God’s care for his servants, God’s control of circumstances, and the need to seek Him to find the big picture.)
3. What did the characters in the text experience or learn?
--Always note the impact that the message of the text had upon the characters in the text.
--Isaiah 6--Isaiah is struck by his smallness, Yahweh’s greatness, and his need to surrender to & serve Yahweh. The impact of the encounter is as important as the encounter itself. Without the encounter with God, Isaiah would have had no mission. If Isaiah had not properly responded to the encounter, God would not have been able to send him. The text implies that Isaiah could not hear God until he submitted to Him and received the cleansing that God offered.
--2 Kings 5--Gehazi is struck by greed. Greed’s negative impact and rejection by God is emphasized here, as well as dishonesty. Gehazi’s greed and dishonesty (if he had confessed to Elisha, perhaps he could have averted the leprosy?) led to the downfall of his family. He and his descendants would be leprous. This also speaks to the impact a present improper response to God might have on the future.
4. What was the meaning of the text in its original context?
--We must pull together the elements above to understand the overall meaning of the text in its OT context. Unless we do so, we have failed to preach the OT biblically. This does not ignore the canonical context of the OT & the NT, in fact failing to do these things ignores the canonical context because by not doing these things we fail to take the OT seriously as God’s word & work with His people.
C. Linguistic Context—Does the original language impact the meaning of the text? Often how a word or phrase is translated can impact the meaning of the text (i.e. “shadow of death”). You can only discover this through serious study. There are three ways to recognize & understand the linguistic context.
--Hebrew & Greek training is the best way (only true way?) to understand the linguistic context. It is a great help to be able to look at the Hebrew OT & Greek NT, then go to the lexicon & read the suggested meanings of the words & phrases.
--Comparing translations is another way to see places where linguistic context is important. When two translations have a radically different translation, then different understandings of the Hebrew or Greek may be to blame.
--See, for example, Hosea 11:7b. The Hebrew offers several possibilities. The preacher should spend enough time with the text to understand these possibilities.
--Reading critical study aids will explain the differences, helping you to come to a proper understanding of the linguistic context. While expositional studies are helpful to the preacher, a critical look at the biblical text is also helpful. Critical commentaries, such as Word Biblical Commentary, New International Commentary, or Anchor Bible, ask questions that less scholarly works do not ask, such as translation, textual, and literary critical issues.
D. Canonical Context
--The OT context—
--The preacher should be aware of the OT context of a text. This includes both reading the text as part of an entire biblical book and as a part of the OT.
--For example, the Ten Commandments take a greater meaning if the preacher connects them with their context. In Exodus, the commandments are part of a wider covenant text. After the deliverance from Egypt, the Hebrews are invited into a covenant relationship with YHWY, their God. Upon agreeing to keep His commandments, the Ten Commandments are given to them. Since these are followed by more detailed case law, the context might suggest that the Ten Commandments are summary, or representative, laws for the covenant. Further, the context of idolatry in Deuteronomy and the prophets would speak to the commandments. The expansion of the commandments into case law in Exodus and Deuteronomy would also be instructive.
--Total biblical context—
--Achtemeier argues that the preacher should pair an OT text with a NT text whenever an OT text is preached. This keeps the Christian preacher firmly connected to the entire biblical context. We can debate the strength and weaknesses of that approach, but we cannot debate the need to be canonical. We are Christians, and to read the OT without any reference to the NT is irresponsible.
--Example: 2 Kings 6 & 1 John 4:1-4
--Example: Exodus 20 and Matthew 5
--However, we must avoid reading the NT back into the OT.
Example: Malachi 1:2-3—Should the preacher read this text as a treatise on predestination or sovereignty based upon Paul’s usage of the text in Romans 9:13? Or should the preacher allow the text in Malachi to speak its message of God’s choice and blessing of Israel?
--Interpretive context—
--The preacher should also be aware of history. While this is not a problem in some denominational backgrounds, in much of the modern church, an understanding of history is almost non-existence. Both Jewish and Christian commentaries and discussion is available today for virtually all of the OT, from a variety of viewpoints.
--For example, Genesis 22 is particularly rich in historical interpretations, both Jewish and Christian. The preacher would benefit from reading interpretations from a variety of perspectives. One Jewish perspective argues that Abraham made a mistake and that God never asked him to sacrifice his son. Thus God saved him from a terrible mistake. Other interpreters focus upon the importance of the ram or of Abraham offering his son, often from typological Christian perspectives.
--Isaiah 53 is another passage with a rich history of interpretation, as is the Song of Songs, if anyone dares to preach from it!
III. The Old Testament and Jesus
A. Redemptive History
--heilsgeschichte—“salvation-history”—God has worked through the millennia with the goal of “saving” His people.
--Creation—Fall—Abraham—Moses (Covenant) —David—Prophets (New Covenant)—Jesus’ Ministry—Church—Jesus’ 2nd coming
--The preacher needs to see Jesus as the culmination of a long history of God’s work in the world. The ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the climax of the history of Israel. All that went before leads up to His redemptive work.
--The preacher must remember that Jesus was not the beginning of Yahweh’s redemptive work in the world. God began a work with Abraham & Moses that continued through the ministry of Jesus. The work of God with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Josiah, Zerubbabel, and Malachi are important in understanding the work of Jesus in the NT. In fact, the preacher cannot properly understand and preach the NT without a grasp on the message of the OT.
--The preacher must remember that Jesus’ ministry was also not the end of redemptive history. He will come again to redeem the world. One could argue the final redemption at Jesus’ return is seen in passages like Isaiah 2 & 11.
B. Promise-Fulfillment
--The preacher must remember that not all fulfillments mentioned in the NT are from “promise” texts, i.e. Matthew 2:15/Hosea 11:1; Psalm 110; or Isaiah 40:3/Mt 3:3/Mark 1:3. These are not technically promises, but they are seen as applicable to Jesus’ ministry in a prophetic sense because His ministry fulfilled the words of the text in some way.
--There are many promises in the OT that are fulfilled in the NT. So don’t make a promise out of something that is not a promise, but don’t ignore them either.
--Zechariah 9:9=Matthew 21:5
--Isaiah 53=Passion narrative (passim)
--Genesis 3:15=Passion narrative
--Jeremiah 31:31-34=Hebrews 8-9
C. Typology
1. What is allegory?
--The events or characters of a text represent later events or characters. Allegorical interpreters seek for the “deeper” meaning of the text.
--Rahab (Joshua-Jesus, Jericho-world, Rahab-church, & scarlet cord-blood)
--Song of Songs (lover-Jesus, beloved-church)
2. What is typology?
--Typology refers to the use of a type, example, or pattern of a later event, in this case, Jesus. In the NT, some of these are fairly clear, i.e. Passover Lamb, Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac. Others are less clear, i.e. the work of Noah as a pre-figure of Jesus’ work. This may be better seen as an analogy or even theme than a technical type.
--Determining types requires patient & diligent study, as well as a refusal to make easy jumps from OT event to NT type. The Christian preacher should avoid overly easy, and overly dramatic leaps to types in the OT, especially without diligent study to be sure of the applicability of the type in both the OT and the NT.
--Passover Lamb=Ex.; Is. 53; Acts 8:32; 1 Pet. 1:19
--Abraham/Isaac
--Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement=Lev. 16/Hebrews 9
--Melchizedek=Hebrews 7
--Tabernacle
--Sabbath=Hebrews 4
D. Themes
--John Bright, Authority of the OT, 140, “Everywhere the NT seizes hold of the key themes of the Old and gives them new meaning in Christ.” The preacher should recognize these themes as he/she seeks to communicate the truths of God in the OT as well as the NT.
--Examples:
--Redemption (i.e. Ex. 6:6; Dt. 7:8, 9:26; Ruth 4; 2 Sam. 7:23; Job 19:25; Ps. 19:14; Isa. 43:1, 54:5; Hos. 13:14; Luke 1:68, 24:21; Rom. 3:24; Gal. 3:13-14, 4:5; Eph. 1:7, 14, 4:30; Col. 1:14; Heb. 9:12; Tit. 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:18)
--Freedom (i.e. Isa. 61:1=Luke 4:18; John 8:36; 2 Cor. 3:17; Gal. 5:1, 13;
--Protection (i.e. Num. 14:9; Josh. 24:17; Ps. 140; Prov. 2:8, 11; John 17:11-15; 1 Thess. 3:3)
--Faith (i.e. Hab. 2:4; Matt. 6:30-31; John 3:16-17; Rom. 5:1-2; Eph. 2:8-9)