ROOTS: Let the Old Testament Speak
Eric Lui reviews for us Alex Motyer's Roots: Let the Old Testament Speak. He hopes that this first book review of the year will provoke interest in our congregation to read more Christian books this year.
Reading a book on the Old Testament is not everybody’s cup of tea, but I picked this book partly because of the writer (Alec Motyer is a renown Old Testament scholar) and partly because I love to read a book that succinctly summarise the 39 books of the Old Testament in less than 400 pages. As John Stott wrote in the preface of the book: “Alec’s mastery of the Hebrew text, his knowledge of the Old Testament background, and his conviction that Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the law and prophets together give him a rare ability to paint the big picture and to tell the ‘story within the story’ of the Old Testament.”
The book was originally called The Story of the Old Testament which was first published in 2001. It was re-published by Christian Focus Publications in 2009 and given a new title Roots: Let the Old Testament Speaks. Like vintage wine, the book has to be read slowly to enjoy its richness of thought and proposition, especially with respect to the biblical references provided in each section.
Surprisingly, the book starts with Jesus. Not in the sense that the whole Bible is about Jesus, but that the author looks through the eyes of Jesus to explain the importance of the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17-20):
- The Old Testament was really the Bible in Jesus’ days. It comprises “the Law or the Prophets” (vs 17a)
- Jesus is the fulfilment of the Old Testament (vs 17b)
- The Old Testament has permanent validity for the earthly church (vs 18)
- The Old Testament is to be obeyed by the children of the kingdom (vs 19)
- It is crucial to assured citizenship (vs 20)
On each of these points, the author elaborates with much wit and facility.
After this opening chapter, the author gives us an overview of the history of the Old Testament. Do you know that the Hebrew canon used by Jesus in His days does not have the same order of books as our English Bible? Our order follows that of the Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint (meaning Roman numerals for 70: LXX). The translation started around 250 BC, the individual books were grouped according to logic – the histories together, poetical books together, the prophets together. It is not known why the English translators chose to follow the Septuagint instead of the Hebrew canon. But a more important question is: why was the present Old Testament canon preserved over the centuries while some of the books that we know existed at the same time, which are mentioned in Numbers, Joshua and 2 Kings were lost? The author strongly believes that the answer lies in the authority inherent in the canonical books, which imposed itself on the church, and the task of the church was to recognise and accept. But how did the Word of God come to the writers of these canonical books to make them authoritative? Well, I guess you will have to read the book to find out!
The author then begins a deep dive into the books of the Old Testament, beginning with the first five books reputed to be written by Moses called the Pentateuch. He does this in an interesting way, in what he called “the story within the story”:
- The facts, ‘what happened’, for example, a migration of Hebrews out of Egypt.
- What God was doing, for example, the Hebrews involved in this migration understood it in a particular light: that their God, who had brought their father Abraham out of Ur and their father Jacob down to Egypt, was again at work as the Lord of history brought them out.
- The meaning, for example, this act of God went beyond political deliverance. It was a redemptive act whereby, through the sacrifice of the Passover, the Lord brought people who would otherwise have fallen under His judgment into His salvation.
Another good example is his discussion on Elijah and Elisha, God’s two great witnesses. They came into public ministry from the privacy of the Lord’s fellowship. Twice each man used the same oath of confirmation: “As the Lord lives before whom I stand” (1 Kings 17:1; 18:15; 2 Kings 3:14; 5:16). The perfect tense, “stand”, here is rich in nuances. It reflects choice (I have taken my stand), commitment (I have determined to stand) and an established state of affairs (I do indeed stand). The position is that of a servant awaiting orders. Behind the public man, therefore, was the private man, spiritually ‘waiting on God’, enjoying the presence of God, only moving at the divine word, and therefore a man of confidence in action and of authority in ministry.
His review of the book of Daniel also highlights his talent in bringing our understanding of such an apocalyptic book to a higher level. If you have read this book, you may be puzzled by various visions of Daniel and the repeated use of “seventies” for periods of time, the “abomination” used here as against the “abomination of desolation” used by Jesus in Matt. 24:15, and the meaning of North and South in Chapter 11. This chapter on Daniel has helped me to understand better.
Finally, the book ends with his review of Malachi and Joel, which is entitled “Hoping to the End”. Both of these prophets saw the ‘Coming of the Lord’ in judgment as inevitable, seeing the state of sinfulness of the people. But both held out hope for the people upon the promises of God through the significance of repentance, penitence and obedience. This, according to the author, is a satisfying summary of what the whole of Old Testament is all about – whether we look through the eyes of Moses, search the experience of the kings, or hear the words of the prophets. It reflects the unchanging divine promise: “You will be my people and I will be your God”.
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Read any good book recently that you would like to share and encourage one another in our walk with God? Send us your review to gracenews.gbc@gmail.com.
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