THE PERMANENT SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
In the opening paragraphs of Chapter I, attention is called to the
unique place occupied by the Old Testament in the thought, life, and
theology of the early Church. Throughout the Middle Ages, and in the
eyes of the Protestant reformers, the two great divisions of the Bible,
the Old and New Testaments, continued to command equal respect and
attention. The legal principles of the Pentateuch have determined the
legal systems of all civilized nations; the bold and fiery sermons of
the prophets have been the chief inspiration on the fierce battles for
righteousness in all ages; and the sublime religious lyrics of the
Psalter have ushered millions into the very presence of God. Indeed,
the Old Testament has exerted an incalculable influence on the
development of religion and civilization.
However, it must be admitted that during the latter part of the
nineteenth century a change of attitude toward the Old Testament seems
to have taken place. True, from nearly the beginning of the Christian
era again and again voices have {228} been heard denying to the Old
Testament a place in Christian thought and life, but not until
comparatively recent times has this sentiment become widespread. Says
a writer in a book published a few years ago: "The Bible was never more
studied nor less read than at the present day. This paradox is true,
at least, of the Old Testament. For two generations scores of patient
scholars have toiled on the text, scanning each letter with microscopic
care, and one result of their labors has been that to the majority of
educated men and women of whatever belief, or no belief, the Bible has
become a closed, yea, a sealed, book. It is not what it used to be;
what it has become they do not know, and in scorn or sorrow or apathy
they have laid it aside."[1] There may be some exaggeration in this
statement, but it cannot be doubted that there is considerable
justification for the complaint. C. F. Kent makes the admission that
"with the exception of a very few books, like the Psalter, the Old
Testament, which was the arsenal of the old militant theology, has been
unconsciously, if not deliberately, shunned by the present
generation."[2] And the words of Professor Cheyne are almost as
applicable to-day as they were when they were first written, more than
twenty years ago: "A theory is already propounded, both in private and
in a naive simple way in sermons, that the {229} Old Testament is of no
particular moment, all that we need being the New Testament, which has
been defended by our valiant apologists and expounded by our admirable
interpreters."[3]
If this represents in any sense the true state of affairs; if, on the
other hand, the words of the apostle are true, that "every scripture
inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction which is in righteousness, that the man of
God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work"; and if
these words are applicable to the Old Testament, as the writer intended
them to be--if, I say, these things are true, then Christians appear to
be in great peril of losing sight of one of the important means of
grace, on which were nourished Jesus and his disciples, and millions in
former generations, and for the restoration of which the reformers
risked their very lives.
The change of attitude toward the Old Testament may be traced to a
variety of causes, all of which affect very vitally modern religious
thought and life. There are, for example, many who feel, and that with
some justice, that the New Testament is in a peculiar sense the sacred
book of Christianity. Why, they ask, go to the Old Testament when we
have the New with its more complete and perfect revelation? But this
attitude reflects only a half truth, which is often {230} more
deceptive than an out and out falsehood. Certainly, Christians find
their loftiest inspiration in the study of the life, character, and
teaching of the Master and of his disciples; but the New Testament has
by no means displaced the Old. The early Christians were right in
placing it beside the New, because the former is still of inestimable
value. Indeed, it is impossible to understand the New Testament
properly unless one has an adequate knowledge of the Old. Moreover,
there are many truths taken for granted in the New Testament for a
biblical statement of which we must turn to the Old. Will the
revelation of the nature and character of God contained in the Old
Testament ever lose its doctrinal value? And even in cases where both
Testaments cover the same field the Old retains a peculiar value.
True, the New Testament presents a more complete and perfect
revelation, but there are few New Testament truths which have not their
roots in the Old. The former presents the full-grown revelation;
nevertheless, a vast number of people, who have not yet reached a state
of perfection, will understand even New Testament truths more readily
as they are presented in the Old Testament; for here they can see the
truths in more concrete form; they have flesh and blood; they are
struggling for victory over darkness and superstition. Nearly all the
great and vital doctrines of the Church, {231} though founded
principally on the New Testament, are illustrated, are made more real
and human, become more impressive and forceful as we study their
development and growth under the Old Testament dispensation.
The neglect of the Old Testament is due, in the second place, to a
reaction against its misuse by former generations.[4] Puritanism and
the theology of the past three centuries were largely rooted in the Old
Testament. From it the stern Puritans drew their spirit of justice,
their zeal for righteousness, and their uncompromising condemnation of
everything that appeared wrong. Their preachers nobly echoed the
thunders of Sinai and the denunciations of Elijah and Amos; but in
doing this they failed to recognize the divine love back of the
prophetic message, and by their narrow interpretation of the letter,
and their emphasis upon the more primitive and imperfect teaching of
the Old Testament, they were often led to extremes that were neither
biblical nor Christian. Against intolerance and persecution the human
heart rebels, and with it comes a feeling of resentment against the
cause. Thus it happened that the reaction against Puritanism brought
with it a disregard of the Old Testament, which was followed either by
the exaltation of the New Testament, whose spirit is more merciful and
tender, or by hostility against the entire {232} Bible and Christianity
as a whole. This abuse of the Old Testament was due in large part to
the use of faulty, or erroneous, methods of interpretation. And since
there seems to be even now a tendency in some places to defend these
methods, which are out of keeping with the spirit of scientific
investigation in this age, many intelligent men have come to look with
suspicion upon a book in the study of which unscientific methods
continue to be used.
Another important cause of the change of attitude toward the Old
Testament is to be found in the labors expended upon the Old Testament
by able scholars in the pursuit of a careful, critical study of the
ancient records. As has been stated in another connection, these
studies are not the outgrowth, as is often erroneously assumed, of a
desire to discredit the Bible, to displace it from the heart and
confidence of the people, or to attack its teaching or inspiration.
"It would be a most hopeless thing," says W. G. Jordan, "to regard all
this toil as the outcome of skepticism and vanity, a huge specimen of
perverse ingenuity and misdirected effort."[5] They are simply the
results of Protestantism and the Renaissance.[6] But whatever the
spirit back of the study, and whatever the gains of this investigation,
one result is that many Christians feel perplexed with regard to the
true position of the Old Testament. {233} What of its claims? What of
its inspiration? How far is it human in origin? How far divine?
These and similar questions are asked by men everywhere. Never was
there more interest, more inquiry, and, perhaps, more unrest and
disquietude among thoughtful people.
Surely, it is high time to realize that all this investigation has had
no harmful effect upon the substance of the divine revelations conveyed
in the Old Testament records. In the words of Jordan, "To me, with my
faith that the whole universe is filled with the presence of the
living, self-revealing God, I cannot conceive ... that the most severe
criticism can ever banish the divine power from that great literature
which is one of the choicest organs of its manifestations."[7] As has
been pointed out in the preceding chapters, some long-cherished notions
and interpretations have been overthrown; to some extent our ideas
concerning its literary forms have had to be modified, but its
substance has not been disturbed. On the contrary, it has come to be
seen with a clearness unrecognized before that it bears the indelible
stamp of God.
This being the case, students of the Bible should return to a more just
appreciation of that part of Sacred Scripture which is so intimately
connected with the training of Jesus and his disciples. If the Old
Testament contains records {234} and interpretations of divine
revelations, those who claim to be children of God should be willing,
yea, anxious, to put forth some efforts to familiarize themselves
adequately with these records. But the sense of gratitude and
appreciation for these self-revelations of God is not the only reason
which should prompt the Christian to turn more frequently to the pages
of the Old Book. A much more important consideration is the fact that
the lessons taught in the Old Testament are of profound significance
to-day, and that they cannot be neglected without serious consequences.
Again, attention may be called to the fact that the Founder of
Christianity and his disciples found nourishment in its pages, and that
they constantly exhorted their followers to do the same. Now, Jesus is
recognized by all Christians as a model worthy of imitation in every
relation of life. Would it not be well to imitate him in the use of
the Old Testament Scriptures? If he found in the pages of the Old
Testament weapons with which to put to flight the Evil One, might not
we? Aside from these general considerations, it is easily shown that
every part of the Old Testament is full of teaching which is of the
highest value even in the twentieth century of the Christian era.
Consider, for example, the first eleven chapters of Genesis, around
which much controversy has raged. In former days these chapters were
{235} thought to give an absolutely accurate account of creation and
the early history of mankind. However, various lines of investigation
have shown this view to be untenable. "We are forced, therefore," says
a recent writer, "to the conclusion that, though the writers to whom we
owe the first eleven chapters of Genesis report faithfully what was
currently believed among the Hebrews respecting the early history of
mankind, yet there was much they did not know, and could not take
cognizance of. These chapters, consequently, contain no account of the
real beginnings, either of the earth itself, or of man and human
civilization upon it."[8] All this need create not the slightest
difficulty for one who holds the scriptural conception of the nature
and purpose of the biblical writings. It is true of these chapters, as
of other parts of the record, that "the only care of the prophetic
tradition is to bring out clearly the religious origin of humanity.[9]
If anyone is in search of accurate information regarding the age of
this earth, or its relation to the sun, moon, or stars, or regarding
the exact order in which plants and animals have appeared upon it, he
should go to recent textbooks in astronomy, geology, and paleontology.
It is not the purpose of the writers of Scripture to impart physical
instruction, or to enlarge the bounds of scientific knowledge. So far
as the {236} scientific or historical information imparted in these
chapters is concerned, it is of little more value than the similar
stories of other nations. And yet the student of these chapters can
see a striking contrast between them and extra-biblical stories
describing the same unknown ages handed down from pre-scientific
centuries. Here comes to view the uniqueness of the Bible. The other
traditions are of interest only as relics of a by-gone past. Not so
the biblical statements; they are and ever will be of inestimable
value, not because of their scientific teaching, but because of the
presence of sublime religious truth in the crude forms of primitive
science. If anyone wishes to know what connection the world has with
God, if he seeks to trace back all that now is to the very
fountain-head of life, if he desires to discover some unifying
principle, some illuminating purpose in the history of the earth, he
may turn to these chapters as his safest and, indeed, only guide to the
information he seeks.
The purpose of the narratives being primarily religious, it is only
natural that their lessons should be religious lessons. The one
supreme lesson taught throughout the entire section is "In the
beginning, God." But each separate narrative teaches its own peculiar
lessons. The more important of these are briefly summarized by Driver
as follows: "The narrative of creation {237} sets forth, in a series of
dignified and impressive pictures, the sovereignty of God; his priority
to and separation from all finite, material nature; his purpose to
constitute an ordered cosmos, and gradually to adapt the earth to
become the habitation of living beings; and his endowment of man with
the peculiar, unique possession of self-conscious reason, in virtue of
which he became capable of intellectual and moral life, and is even
able to know and hold communion with his Maker. In chapters two and
three we read, though, again, not in a historical but in a pictorial
and symbolic form, how man was once innocent, how he became conscious
of a moral law, and how temptation fell upon him and he broke that law.
The fall of man, the great and terrible truth, which history not less
than individual experience only too vividly teaches each one of us, is
thus impressively set before us. Man, however, though punished by God,
is not forsaken by him, nor left in his long conflict with evil without
hope of victory. In chapter four the increasing power of sin, and the
fatal consequence to which, if unchecked, it may lead, is vividly
portrayed in the tragic figure of Cain. The spirit of vindictiveness
and the brutal triumph in the power of the sword is personified in
Lamech. In the narrative of the Flood God's wrath against sin and the
divine prerogative of mercy are alike exemplified: {238} Noah is a
standing illustration of the truth that 'righteousness delivereth from
death,' and God's dealings with him after the Flood form a striking
declaration of the purposes of grace and good will with which God
regards mankind. The narrative of the Tower of Babel emphasizes
Jehovah's supremacy in the world, and teaches how the self-exaltation
of man is checked by God."[10]
These chapters are followed by the stories of the patriarchs.
Missionaries say--and experience at home has confirmed the claim--that
the patriarchal narratives are of inestimable value to impress lessons
of the reality and providence of God, and to encourage the exercise of
faith and confidence in him. There is nothing that can be substituted
for them in religious instruction. Lack of space will not permit to
point out in detail the educational value of these documents; however,
in passing, mention may be made of the fact that Professor W. W. White
enumerates twenty-one Christian virtues that are illustrated and
enforced in the life of Abraham.[11] He was (1) steadfast, (2)
resolute, (3) prudent, (4) tactful, (5) candid, (6) kind, (7)
self-controlled, (8) obliging, (9) self-denying, (10) condescending,
(11) unselfish, (12) peaceable, (13) hospitable, (14) courteous, (15)
humble, (16) thankful, (17) reverent, (18) prayerful, (19) worshipful,
(20) faithful, {239} (21) obedient. Not one iota of their value for
purposes of instruction in righteousness have these records lost
because doubt has been cast upon their absolute historical accuracy.
"Abraham is still the hero of righteousness and faith; Lot and Laban,
Sarah and Rebekah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, in their characters and
experiences, are still in different ways types of our own selves, and
still in one way or another exemplify the ways in which God deals with
the individual soul, and the manner in which the individual soul ought,
or ought not, to respond to his leadings."[12] What if some of these
figures pass before us on the stage rather than in real life, do they
on that account lose their vividness, their truthfulness, their force?
"If," says J. E. McFadyen,[13] "it should be made highly probable that
the stories were not strictly historical, what should we then have to
say? We should then have to say that their religious value was still
extremely high. The religious truth to which they give vivid and
immortal expression would remain the same. The story of Abraham would
still illustrate the trials and the rewards of faith. The story of
Jacob would still illustrate the power of sin to haunt and determine a
man's career, and the power of God to humble, discipline, and purify a
self-confident nature. The story of Joseph would still illustrate how
fidelity amid {240} temptation, wrong, and sorrow is crowned at last
with glory and honor. The spiritual value of these and similar tales
is not lost, even when their historical value is reduced to a minimum,
for the truths which they illustrate are truths of universal
experience." The present writer is convinced that even as historical
documents these narratives are of immense value. Nevertheless, it may
be well to remind ourselves again that the apostle does not point his
readers to the Old Testament Scriptures for instruction in ancient
history, but he claims that they are profitable "for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness";
and these records, whatever their historical shortcomings may be, are
most assuredly profitable for all these purposes.
The historical books of the Old Testament are a continuous illustration
of the reality of a Divine Providence, by revealing on almost every
page the hand of God in human history. Only as we trace the history of
the Hebrews can we understand the unfolding in the mind of man under
the influence of the Divine Spirit of the great religious ideas and
conceptions which have become the mainspring of human progress; the
ideas which may be seen in crystallized form in modern Judaism, in
perverted form in Mohammedanism, and in expanded and spiritualized form
in Christianity. {241} Preeminent among these conceptions is the idea
of one personal holy and righteous God. The Hebrews were also the
first to teach man that the supreme goal of life is righteousness, and
thus they became the ethical teachers of the human race. They first
gave objective expression to pure and lofty ethics in law. To-day the
principles of Hebrew legislation are still the bone and marrow of the
world's greatest legal systems. Though the Romans may be, to a large
extent, responsible for the form which modern legal systems have
adopted, the substance must be traced back to Hebrew legislation.
Moreover, the Hebrews prepared the way for Christianity. Jesus himself
recognized that the faith he proclaimed was not a new creation. "Think
not," said he, "that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came
not to destroy, but to fulfill."[14] He came to fill up, to
spiritualize and intensify the religious and ethical teaching of the
great leaders of the Hebrews. Men needed the preliminary training of
the Old Testament dispensation before they were ready to appreciate the
fuller revelation in and through Jesus the Christ, and Christianity
could never have triumphed had it not been for the preparatory work of
the religious and ethical teachers of the Hebrews, whose activity was
very largely determined by the course of the nation's history. Again,
{242} Jesus, according to the flesh, was a descendant of Abraham,
reared in a Jewish home, and under Jewish influences. He studied
Jewish literature and Jewish ideals were held up before him. All this
must have made some impression upon the mind and life of the Master.
He and his teaching can be understood only if he is studied in the
light of Jewish thought and Jewish religion reaching back to the very
beginning of Hebrew history. All this shows how important is the study
of the historical books of the Old Testament to one who desires to
appreciate fully the Christian religion.
It is impossible to estimate too highly the eternal value of the
devotional literature of the Old Testament as illustrated, for example,
in the book of Psalms. Well has it been said, "What the heart is in
man, that is the Psalter in the Bible."[15] The Psalms touch the
heart, because they are the expressions of the deepest feelings of the
writers; and because these lyrics express personal experiences they may
be, and are, used even to-day to express the various emotions of joy,
sorrow, hope, fear, anticipation, etc., of persons who live even on a
higher plane than did their authors. "What is there," says Richard
Hooker,[16] "necessary for man to know which the Psalms are not able to
teach? Heroical magnanimity, exquisite justice, grave moderation,
{243} exact wisdom, repentance unfeigned, unwearied patience, the
mysteries of God, the sufferings of Christ, the terrors of wrath, the
comforts of grace, the works of Providence over this world, and the
promised joys of that world which is to come; all good, necessarily to
be either known or done, or had, this one celestial fountain yieldeth;
let there be any grief or disaster incident to the soul of man, any
wound or sickness named for which there is not in this treasure-house a
present comfortable remedy at all times ready to be found."
Manifold indeed are the contents of the Psalter; manifold the moods of
the authors; and manifold the experiences they express. But there is
one bond which unites them all into one living unity, namely, a sublime
faith in Jehovah, the God of Israel. This variety on the one hand, and
essential unity on the other, are the qualities which have given to the
book in all ages a unique place in the religious life of the individual
and of the Church of God. With full justice says Perowne:[17] "No
single book of Scripture, not even the New Testament, has, perhaps,
ever taken such hold on the heart of Christendom. None, if we dare
judge, unless it be the Gospels, has had so large an influence in
molding the affections, sustaining the hopes, purifying the faith of
believers. With its words, rather than with their own, they have come
before God. In these they have uttered {244} their desires, their
fears, their confessions, their aspirations, their sorrows, their joys,
their thanksgivings. By these their devotion has been kindled and
their hearts comforted. The Psalter has been in the truest sense the
prayer book of both Jews and Christians."
Equally profitable is the study of the Wisdom literature. The wise men
accepted the great religious truths proclaimed by the prophets; it was
their business to apply them to the details of everyday life, and
instruct their contemporaries in that application. They did an
important and necessary work; they pointed out constantly and
persistently that religion cannot be separated from the daily life.
But the wise men were dealing with persons who had hardly gone beyond
the childhood stage in things religious and ethical, hence they must
put the most profound truths in the simplest possible form. They must
abstain, as far as possible, from all speculation, and confine
themselves to simple, practical precepts which would appeal to the
ordinary practical common sense of the hearer. "The great desire of
the sages," says Marshall, "was to reduce the lofty theistic morality
which underlies Mosaism to brief, pithy sayings, easily remembered and
readily applicable to the everyday life of man."[18] Certainly, in
time they would be compelled to rise above simple precepts and try to
solve some of {245} the more perplexing problems of life; on the other
hand, there would always be a demand for the more simple sayings of
these moral guides. The Old Testament contains specimens of these
different productions of wisdom activity. The book of Proverbs is a
collection of the more simple, practical precepts, while the books of
Job and Ecclesiastes illustrate speculative wisdom.
The charge has sometimes been made against the book of Proverbs that it
is not truly religious, that it moves on a lower plane, and
contemplates lower aims than the other books of the Old Testament; but
this is only a half truth. That the book differs from other books is
undoubtedly true, but that is due to the purpose of its author. He did
not mean to collect prophetic discourses or sublime religious lyrics,
but those simple precepts of life which, though simple, are ever needed
for the proper conduct of man. There are two phases of religion: the
one internal, the religious experience; the other external, the
religious life. The two go together, though at times the one, at times
the other, may be emphasized. The authors of the Proverbs emphasized
chiefly the latter. They teach the most difficult of all lessons: how
to practice religion; how to fulfill the duties and overcome the
temptations of everyday life. But these wise men rested their
practical teaching upon a religious basis. Their {246} religion may
not be on a New Testament level, but in this they resemble other Old
Testament writings; their conceptions of reward and punishment may be
crude, and at times materialistic, but this peculiarity they share with
all those saints of Israel whose vision is limited to this world.
Underneath all their teaching there is a firm belief in the existence
of a righteous God and the reality of his rule over the world, as also
in the other great religious verities taught by the prophets. Far from
disregarding religion, the writers of the Proverbs sought to make it
the controlling motive of life and conduct. A profound religious
spirit pervades the whole book; but in addition there are many passages
which give definite expression to the lofty religious conceptions of
the wise men.[19] Nevertheless, as is natural in view of the purpose
of the wise men, greater stress is laid upon ethics, the practice of
religion. Nothing and no relation of life seems to have escaped the
attention of the writers. Precepts are given concerning ordinary
everyday conduct, the relations of men to their fellows, domestic
relations and happiness, national life and the proper attitude toward
the government, and other relations and interests of life. The
permanent value of the book is suggested in these words of Davison:[20]
"For the writers of Proverbs religion {247} means good sense, religion
means mastery of affairs, religion means strength and manliness and
success, religion means a well-furnished intellect employing the best
means to accomplish the highest ends. There is a healthy, vigorous
tone about this kind of teaching which is never out of date, but which,
human nature being what it is, is only too apt to disappear in the
actual presentation of religion in the Church on earth."
From simple practical precepts the wise men rose to speculation. Their
speculative philosophy is theistic, for it starts from the conviction
that there is a personal God. The best specimen of this type of Wisdom
literature is the book of Job, which deals with the perplexing problem
of evil and suffering. The book recounts how Job, a man of exemplary
piety, was overtaken by an unprecedented series of calamities, and it
reports the debate between Job and other speakers to which the occasion
is supposed to have given rise. The experiences of the perfect Job
raised the perplexing question, How can the suffering of a righteous
man be harmonized with the belief in a holy and just God? The popular
view, reflected in the greater portion of the Old Testament, was that
suffering was always punishment for sin, prosperity reward for piety.
Such belief seemed in accord with the righteousness of Jehovah.
Undoubtedly, exceptions to the rule might be {248} noted, but as long
as the individual was looked upon simply as an atom in the national
unit, the apparent inequalities in the fortunes of individuals would
not constitute a pressing problem. When, however, especially through
the teaching of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the individual received proper
recognition, an experience like that of Job was bound to create
difficulties, for the suffering of a righteous man would seem to point
to unfairness on the part of God. That this perplexity was felt is
seen from allusions in the prophetic books. At last the time came when
a wise man in Israel sought to solve the problem in the light of the
religious knowledge he possessed. The problem, then, discussed by the
author of the book of Job is, How can the sufferings of a righteous man
be harmonized with belief in a holy and righteous God? Various
solutions of this problem are suggested in different parts of the book:
(1) The solution of the prologue--Suffering is a test of character.
(2) The solution of the friends--Suffering is always punishment for
sin. (3) The solution of Job--Job struggles long and persistently with
the problem; a few times he seems to have a glimpse of a possible
straightening-out of the present inequalities after death, but it is
only a glimpse; he always sinks back to a feeling of uncertainty and
perplexity. His general attitude is that there must be {249} something
out of gear in the world, for the righteousness of God cannot be
discerned as things are going now. (4) The solution of Elihu--Elihu
agrees with the friends that suffering is closely connected with sin;
but he emphasizes more than they the disciplinary purpose of suffering,
which, he points out, is the voice of God warning men to return to Him.
(5) The solution of Jehovah--The whole universe is an unfathomable
mystery, in which the evil is no more perplexing than the good. In the
presence of all mysteries the proper attitude is one of humble
submission. (6) The solution of the epilogue--Returns to the opinion
of the friends, for it teaches that righteousness will sooner or later
be rewarded with prosperity even in this world.
It is chiefly in the solution of this age-long problem suggested by the
author of the book of Job that the real value of the discussion lies.
The author nowhere states which of the above-mentioned conclusions he
accepts as true. As a result, he has been charged with raising a
profound problem, discussing it with relentless logic, and then leaving
it unsolved. This, however, is not quite fair to this ancient wise
man. "With a touch too artistic to permit him to descend to a
homiletic attitude, the poet has shown that his solution of life's
problem is a religious one. He had portrayed with great power the
inability of {250} man's mind to comprehend the universe or to
understand why man must suffer; but he makes Job, his hero, find in a
vision of God the secret of life. Job's questions remain unanswered,
but now that he knows God, he is content to let them remain unanswered.
He cannot solve life's riddle, but is content to trust God, of whose
goodness he is convinced, and who, Job is sure, knows the answer. The
poet has thus taught that it is in the realm of religion, and not in
that of the intellect, that the solution of life's mysteries is to be
found."[21] Even Christianity has no other solution of the problem to
offer; it must still insist upon a solution of faith, with a lofty
conception of God, and a vision of life broad enough to include
eternity, when the apparent inequalities of this life may be adjusted
by a loving and righteous God.
The book of Ecclesiastes, dealing with the perplexities of life in
general, full of pessimism and skepticism, is not without its permanent
value. The author of the book has passed through many disappointments,
and his spirit has grown somewhat skeptical and pessimistic.
Everything has proved vanity: riches, pleasure, honor, even the search
for wisdom; and he is not sure concerning his destiny after death. But
over against his experiences in life there is a faith in God who
governs the world. The book, which portrays {251} the struggle between
experience and faith, has aptly been called "a cry for light." The
author does not see the light clearly, though here and there he may
have a glimpse of it. The real perplexity is due to the fact that the
author's horizon is bounded by the grave. In this life he sees no
hope, therefore he looks with longing for a possible reckoning in an
after life; but it remains a hope and cry, it never grows into a
conviction. The more significant is the retention of his faith in God.
He is conscious of a moral order in the world, though its operation is
often frustrated; he is aware of cases in which the God-fearing man had
an advantage over others. Hence, with all his uncertainty and doubt,
he holds that it is his duty, and the duty of everyone else, to fear
God and keep his commandments; God, somehow, will care for the
mysteries and perplexities of life. Even the Song of Songs, or Song of
Solomon, often an object of ridicule, when rightly interpreted, is seen
to bring suggestive lessons to the present age. The book owes its
place in the canon of Sacred Scripture to the allegorical
interpretation given to it from the earliest times. The Jews
interpreted it as picturing the close relation existing between Jehovah
and Israel; the Christians, as picturing the intimate fellowship
between Christ and his bride, the Church. At present it is quite
generally held that this interpretation {252} does not do justice to
the primary purpose of the book; but as to its original purpose two
different views are held. According to both interpretations, the
subject of the book is love--human love; the differences of opinion are
with reference to the manner in which the subject is treated. Some
think that the book is simply a collection of love or wedding songs,
all independent of one another. Others feel that there are too many
evidences of real unity in it to permit this interpretation; they see
in the book a didactic drama or melodrama, the aim of the author being
the glorification of true human love.
The drama centers around three principal characters--Solomon, the
Shunammite maiden, and her shepherd lover. The book relates how the
maiden, surprised by the king and his train, was brought to the palace
in Jerusalem, where the king hoped to win her affections and to induce
her to exchange her rustic home for the enjoyment and honor the court
life affords. She has, however, already pledged her heart to a young
shepherd; and the admiration and blandishments which the king lavishes
upon her are powerless to make her forget him. In the end she is
permitted to return to her mountain home, where at the close of the
poem the lovers appear hand in hand and express, in warm, glowing
words, the superiority of genuine spontaneous {253} affection. The
real aim of the book, therefore, seems to be to glorify true love, and
more specifically, true betrothed love, which remains steadfast even in
the most dangerous and most seductive situations.
In this age, when the responsibility of the individual Christian and of
the Christian Church toward the practical, social, religious, and moral
problems and evils is recognized more than at any other previous time,
the prophetic literature is worthy of the most careful study on the
part of all Christians who recognize and who are willing to meet their
obligations to their day and generation. The prophets of old met in
the strength of God, and at the divine impulse, the problems and evils
of their own age. They had to face the problems of materialism and
commercialism; the evils resulting from the accumulation of wealth,
power, and resources in the hands of a few; very serious economic
problems; cruelty, oppression, arrogance on the part of the rich
proprietors; corruption in government and in the administration of
justice; they had to grapple with a cold, heartless formalism that
threatened to destroy pure, spiritual religion. Against these evils
and wrongs the prophets of old raised their hands and voices. "When
the old tribal customs and bonds were weakened by the growth of cities
and the cultivation of commerce they saw that {254} society must be set
upon a moral basis or suffer destruction. When the nation itself was
about to be broken to pieces they saw in this a call for a deeper
spiritual life.... They were interested in politics, but not as a
profession in which to show their skill, or out of which they might
gain wealth or glory. Politics for them meant simply the life of the
nation in its relation to God and to the great outside world. They
were social reformers. To the earlier prophets man was regarded always
as a member of society rather than as an independent individual.... In
opposition to a showy ritual, they set up their demands for justice
between man and man."[22] Surely, it is a part of the Christian's duty
to do his share toward a Christian solution of the social and religious
problems of our day. We can hardly claim to have reached the full
stature of Christian manhood or womanhood until we have acquired the
knowledge and power to cope with these difficulties in the spirit of
the Master and with the methods best adapted to the Christianizing of
modern society. In these our efforts to lift humanity nearer to God,
or to bring God nearer to humanity, we may learn much from the prophets
of old.
To sum up the results of our study: As Christians we may find our
loftiest inspiration in the study of the life, the character, and the
teachings {255} of the Master, and of the words of his disciples. But
the New Testament is little more than a quarter of the Bible. In the
preceding pages the attempt has been made to emphasize the permanent
value of the larger division of the Sacred Book. It has been carefully
scrutinized, tested in furnaces heated seven times, but out of the fire
it has come bearing the stamp of God, testifying more confidently than
ever before that God in olden times spake unto the fathers, and that in
its pages may be found records and interpretations of these
revelations. The features of the Old Testament which assure to it a
permanent place in religious thought and life may be briefly indicated
as follows:
The Old Testament will always prove attractive as literature. The more
we know of other literatures of antiquity, the more evident it becomes
that even from the literary viewpoint the Old Testament is far superior
to any other literary remains of ancient civilization. "If the
inimitable freshness of life is preserved in Homer, it is not less
preserved in the epic stories of the Old Testament; while the still
more intangible simplicity of the idyl is found perfect in Ruth and
Tobit, the orations of Deuteronomy are as noble models as the orations
of Cicero. Read by the side of the poetry of the Psalms, the lyrics of
Pindar seem almost provincial. The imaginative poetry of {256} the
Greeks is perfect in its own sphere, but by the Hebrew prophets as bold
an imagination is carried into the mysteries of the spiritual world.
If the philosophy of Plato and his successors has a special interest as
the starting point for a progression of thought still going on as
modern science, yet the field of biblical wisdom offers an attraction
of a different kind, in a progression of thought which has run its full
round and has reached a position of rest.... And in the inner circle
of the world's masterpieces, in which all kinds of literary influences
meet, the Bible has placed Job, the Isaiahan Rhapsody, ... unsurpassed
and unsurpassable."[23]
From the standpoint of history the Old Testament still occupies, and
ever will occupy, a unique position. Important as are the
contributions of archaeology, the student of ancient history can by no
means spare the testimony of the Bible. The Old Testament is still the
main source of information for the national history of the Hebrew
people, and it is and will remain a very important secondary source for
the history of the surrounding nations. It also retains a unique place
in the history of religion, for without it the religious development of
the Jews could not be traced; and since the Jewish religion is the
foundation upon which Christianity was developed, ignorance of that
earlier religion [257] would prove a serious handicap to the student of
Christianity.
The Old Testament will always be of value because of its intimate
connection with the New. From the purely linguistic standpoint a
knowledge of the former is essential for an understanding of the
latter. New Testament modes of thought and expression are inexplicable
without a study of the Old. There are many passages in the New
Testament taken from the Old and referring back to it which cannot be
properly understood unless we examine them in their original context.
But the connection is even more vital, for in a very real sense the new
dispensation has its roots in the old. It is one kingdom of God that
is the subject of the history in both, and the Bible as a whole can
never be rightly understood until the two Testaments are comprehended
in their unity and harmony, for they are joined in inseparable unity in
Christ himself.
Most important of all, the Old Testament retains, and ever will retain,
a unique religious value. It will ever be important in the field of
doctrine. True, the New Testament is the primary source for the
doctrines of Christianity, but there are some things which the New
Testament takes for granted, and for which we must turn to the Old.
Will the revelation of the nature and character of God contained in the
Old Testament {258} ever lose its doctrinal value?--God, a spirit,
personal, with a clearly defined moral character, in his mercy
condescending to enter into covenant relations with his creatures,
loving man and desiring to be loved by him, his anger aroused by sin,
but gracious toward the repenting sinner? Again, have those early
chapters of Genesis lost their doctrinal value? Has anyone supplied a
substitute for the simple "In the beginning God created heaven and
earth"?
The Old Testament is of permanent religious value because of its keen
insight into human nature. The Bible has been called "the family album
of the Holy God"; we might compare it, rather, to a picture gallery.
What a variety! Everywhere we see them flesh and blood! Why is it
they impress us so? Is it not because the pictures are so true to
human nature that in spite of the difference in time, place, and
circumstances they may serve even us as mirrors?
The Old Testament will always deserve study from the religious
standpoint, because of the ideal of character it sets before us. "It
presents to our souls characters that are supremely worthy of our
reverence because consciously centered in God and full of his power.
It permits us to share the enthusiasm of the men who discovered the
fundamentals of our religion and the character of our God. It is
indispensable to complete the {259} discipleship of Christ, because it
is the creator of the mold which his soul expanded."[24] Its types of
character may lack the finer graces, yet they are types we may do well
to imitate. Will the lives of Abraham, Joseph, Samuel, Elijah, David,
and many others ever lose their lessons? What sublime ideals even the
Christian minister may find in the lives of the prophets!
Will we ever get beyond the moral duties which are, according to the
Old Testament, obligatory upon man? Purity of thought, sincerity of
motive, singleness of purpose, truthfulness, honesty, justice,
generosity, love--these are some of the virtues which again and again
are in the strongest language insisted upon in the pages of the Old
Book. Indeed, the Old Testament emphasizes the loftiest ideals of
human life and society, anticipating the time when in all the world the
universal Fatherhood of God and the common brotherhood of man would be
realized. In an editorial in the Expository Times, commenting upon a
paper read before the First International Moral Education Congress, are
found these suggestive words: "It is when the teaching of the Old
Testament is simple, frank, and historical that it becomes the best
text-book of ethics in the world, for it possesses these two
incomparable advantages--it is full of humanity, and it is full of
variety. The epics of Joseph and David, the {260} tragedies of Elijah
and Isaiah have an undying charm. And the examples are varied as they
are interesting. It offers examples of almost every stage of moral
development. Whatever the pupil's moral attitude, there is some Jewish
hero that appeals to him. That hero's actions can be traced to their
motives and followed to their consequences. He can be treated with
sympathy in so far as he attains the standard of his times, and yet
criticized in so far as his motives are not those which we recognize as
absolute. So the pupil may learn at once to appropriate those _media
axiamata_ which fit him, and yet realize that there is something beyond
and above them."[25]
The Old Testament is of permanent significance because of its
insistence on pure and spiritual religion, and its condemnation of all
cold and external formalism. These words of the prophet Isaiah imply a
lofty conception of true religion: "What unto me is the multitude of
your sacrifices? saith Jehovah: I have had enough of the
burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not
in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. When ye come to
appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample my
courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto
me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of {261} assemblies--I cannot
away with iniquity and the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your
appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I am weary
of bearing them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine
eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your
hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil
of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do
well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead
for the widow."[26] And the prophetic definition of religion, "He hath
showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of
thee, but to do justly, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with
thy God?"[27] is in no wise inferior to that given in the New
Testament: "Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is
this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to
keep oneself unspotted from the world."[28]
Finally, how can we estimate highly enough the devotional value of the
Old Testament as illustrated, for example, in the book of Psalms? Here
we have the outpourings of human souls in the closest fellowship with
their God, giving without restraint expression to the most various
emotions, hopes, desires, and aspirations. What other literary
compositions lift us into such atmosphere of religious thought and
emotion? {262} Surely, the sweet singers enjoy a preeminence from
which they can never be dethroned.
It is quite safe, therefore, to assert, that as long as human nature is
what it is now the Old Testament must remain an ever-flowing fountain
of living truth, able to invigorate and to restore, to purify and to
refine; to ennoble and to enrich the moral and spiritual being of man.
"No man," says A. W. Vernon,[29] "save Jesus, ever had the right to lay
the Book ... aside, and he made it immortal."
NOTES ON CHAPTER VI
[1] J. C. Todd, Politics and Religion in "Ancient Israel, p. vii.
[2] The Origin and Permanent Value of the Old Testament, p. 7.
[3] Contemporary Review, August, 1889, p. 232.
[4] C. F. Kent, The Origin and Permanent Value of the Old Testament,
pp. 5ff.
[5] Biblical Criticism and Modern Thought, p. 6.
[6] See above, p. 79.
[7] Biblical Criticism and Modern Thought, p. 230.
[8] S. R. Driver, The Book of Genesis, p. xlii.
[9] A. Westphal, The Law and the Prophets, p. 43.
[10] S. R. Driver, The Book of Genesis, p. lxx.
[11] W. W. White, Studies in Old Testament Characters, p. 14.
[12] S. R. Driver, The Book of Genesis, p. lxviii.
[13] Old Testament Criticism and the Christian Church, p. 335.
[14] Matt. 5. 17.
{263}
[15] These words of Johannes Arnd are used by Franz Delitzsch as the
motto for his Commentary on the Psalms.
[16] Ecclesiastical Polity, Book V, Chapter XXXVII, 2.
[17] The Book of Psalms, Vol. I, p. 18.
[18] J. T. Marshall, Job and His Comforters, p. 4.
[19] For example, 3. 5-7; 16. 3, 6, 9; 23. 17.
[20] W. T. Davison, The Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament, pp.
134, 135.
[21] G. A. Barton, The Book of Job, p. 12.
[22] W. G. Jordan, Biblical Criticism and Modern Thought, pp. 284, 285.
[23] Richard G. Moulton, The Modern Reader's Bible, One Vol. ed., p. x.
[24] A. W. Vernon, The Religious Value of the Old Testament, p. 80.
[25] Expository Times, November, 1908, pp. 54, 55.
[26] Isa. 1. 11-17.
[27] Mic. 6. 8.
[28] James 1. 27.
[29] The Religious Value of the Old Testament, p. 81.
{264}
INDEX
Abraham, 238.
Adad-nirari IV, 134.
Ahab, 131 ff.
Angels, 182 f.
Animism, 165 f., 169 f.
Appeal to the soul, 30 ff.
Archaeological material, 123 f.
Archaeology, 110 ff.
Ashurbanipal, 140.
Assumption versus knowledge, 217 ff.
Authorship, of Pentateuch, 88 f.; other books, 89 f.
Babylon, fall of, 141.
Benefits of criticism, 105 ff.
Bible and Reason, 33 f.
Bible lands, 111.
Black Obelisk, 133 f.
Canon, 86 f.
Ceremonial system, 178 ff.
Character study, 238, 258 f.
Christian consciousness, 36.
Comparative religion, 160 ff.
Comparative study, 160 ff.; aim, 160; attitude toward, 161 f.;
importance, 164
Compilation, 87 f.
Composition, 21-23.
Confirmations, 156.
Conflict between science and Genesis, 41 ff.
Contrasts, 221 f.
Cosmology of appearances, 59 f.
Creation, 41 ff.; story of, 201 ff.; permanent value, 235 f.
Criticism, 66 ff.; benefits, 105 ff.; definition, 67 f.; Jesus and c.,
92 ff.; inspiration and c., 98 ff., 105.
Cyrus, 141.
David, 104.
Day of Creation, 45 f.
Decalogue, 199, 214 ff.
Deity, conception of, 165 ff., 206 f., 212; Babylonian, 165-169,
Egyptian, 169, Hebrew, 169-172; Character of D., 173 ff.
Demons, 183 f.
Devotional literature, 17 f., 242 f.
Divine element, 26 ff.
Doctrinal value, 257 f.
Ecclesiastes, 250 f.
Elephantine, 141.
Eponym lists, 153.
Esarhaddon, 140.
Excavations, 112 ff.; Assyrio-Babylonia, 112-116; Egypt, 116-118;
Palestine, 118-121; Phoenicia, 121; Moab, 121; Syria, 121; Asia Minor,
121 f.
Exile, 141.
Exodus, 128 f.
Facts versus inferences, 144 f.
Fall, 213.
Festivals, 178.
Flood, 207 ff.
Fulfillment of prophecy, 28 f.
Gains from excavations, 151 ff.; chronology, 152 f., 155; geography,
151 f.; history, 152.
Gilgamesh, 208.
Hammurabi, code of, 188 ff.
Harmonizing science with scripture, 45 ff.
Harmony between science and Genesis, 61 f.
Hezekiah, 138 f.
Higher criticism, 73 ff.; definition, 76; extra-biblical, 76 f.;
tradition and h. c., 77; importance, 78 f.; origin, 79 ff.; reformers
and h. c., 80 f.; loyalty to Christ and h. c., 82 f.; traditional, 83;
non-traditional, 83 ff.; conclusions, 85 ff.; illegitimate, 101 f.;
Jesus and h. c., 92 ff.; inspiration and h. c., 98 ff.; Moses and h.
c., 102 f.; Isaiah and h. c., 103 f.; David and h. c., 104.
Historical criticism, 72 f.
Historical literature, 19 f., 240 ff., 256 f.
Human element, 20 ff.
Ideal harmony, 52.
Illegitimate criticism, 101 f.
Imperfections, 24 f.
Inaccuracies, 23 f., 55 ff.
Infallibility, 38 f.
Inferences versus facts, 144 f.
Inspiration and criticism 98 ff., 105.
Interpretation, 39 f., 45 ff.
Isaiah, 103 f.
Jehu, 134.
Jesus, the supreme revealer, 35 ff.; limitation of knowledge, 97 f.;
criticism and J., 92 ff.; the Old Testament and Jesus, 9 f., 26, 36 f.,
234.
Job, 247-250.
Knowledge versus assumption, 217 ff.
Legal literature, 18 f.
Legal system, Babylonian, 187 ff.; Hebrew, 195 f.; relation between the
two, 199 f.
Linguistic criticism, 70 f.
Literary criticism, 71 f.
Literature, kinds of, 15 ff., 90.
Merneptah, 128 f.
Miracles, 27 f.
Mission of Israel, 60 f.
Misuse, 231 f.
Moabite Stone, 130 ff.
Monotheism, 167 f., 218 f.
Monotheistic tendencies, 167-169.
Moral teaching, 259.
Moses, 102 f.
Nature of Old Testament, 12 f.
Nebuchadrezzar, 140 f.
Neglect, 227 f.; causes of, 229-233.
New Testament, superiority, 229 f., 254 f.; estimate of O. T., 10 f.
Old Testament, nature, 12 f.; reliability, 150 f.; as literature, 255
f.; in Christian church, 9; New Testament estimate of, 10 f.; Old
Testament and interpretation of New Testament, 257; Jesus and Old
Testament, 9 f., 26, 36 f., 234.
Omri, 130 f.
Opposition to criticism, 74 f., 82, 101.
Order of creation, 47 ff.
Patriarchal age, 154; narratives, 238 f.
Pekah, 135.
Penitential Psalms, 168.
Pentateuch, authorship of, 88 f.
Permanent value, 59 ff., 227 ff.
Polydemonism, 171.
Polytheism, 166 ff.
Priesthood, 179 f.
Prophecy, fulfilment of, 28 f.
Prophetic literature, 15 f., 253 f.
Proverbs, 245-247.
Psalms, 242-244, 261.
Purpose of Old Testament, 11 f., 53 ff., 148.
Reliability, of O. T. history, 150 f.
Religion, development of, 87.
Religious imperfections, 24 f.; r. institutions, 175 ff.
Restitution theory, 48 f.
Revelation, 53 ff.; methods of, 13 f.; progressive, 85 f.
Sabbath, 175 ff.
Sacrifice, 180 f.
Samaria, capture of, 136 f.
Sargon II, 136.
Science, 38 ff.
Sennacherib, 137 ff.
Shalmaneser III, 132 f.
Shalmaneser V, 136.
Sheol, 184 ff.
Shishak, 129 f.
Similarities, 220.
Song of Songs, 251-253.
Spiritual appeal, 29 ff.; judgment, 35 f.; unity, 29 f.
Style, 21.
Taylor Cylinder, 138 f.
Tel-el-Amarna tablets, 125 ff.
Temple, 179.
Textual criticism, 68 ff., 74.
Tiglath-pileser IV, 134 ff.
Tirhaka, 139 f.
Tithe, 180.
True religion, 260 f.
Uniqueness, 32 f.
Unity, 29 f.
Unrest, 42 ff., 232.
Use of archaeological material, 143 ff.
Veracity of inscriptions, 145 f.
View point, 149 f.
Vision theory, 50 f.
Wisdom literature, 16 f., 244 ff.
Yahweh, 171 ff., 217.
Yaudi, 135.