How do we accurately apply Old Testament stories today?
The Old Testament scriptures form the foundation for New Testament teaching and theology. But views within the Christian church vary on how to apply the Old Testament stories. Not everyone agrees on how the historical record of the Israelites’ wanderings and entering and conquering the promised land apply to our lives today. What are the spiritual lessons God wants the present-day believer to understand from these historical accounts? And do all the stories have a spiritual meaning?
The authority of Jesus and the apostles
The apostles based many of their teachings, exhortations, and theology on Old Testament texts and quoted them extensively in their letters to the churches. Many of these references are from the psalms or the prophets, which Jesus quoted also.
But Christian believers today must interpret these passages as Jesus and the apostles interpreted them. Author Michael Heiser wrote:
The Old Testament, rightly understood in its own context, will not violate what we read in the New Testament. Conversely, what we read in the New Testament will be illuminated by the Old Testament, rightly understood. (Michael Heiser, The Unseen Realm)
Can we apply the Old Testament history to our daily lives today? Yes, but the goal is to find the spiritual principles in these stories. And our interpretation cannot go against clear teachings found elsewhere in the Bible. Whatever Jesus taught we should apply to our lives in the way he intended. And whatever the Apostles taught in the epistles, we should also follow, as their words carry the Lord’s authority.
Let’s first look at New Testament teaching that gives clear guidance for applying the Old Testament stories.
To give us encouragement
The apostle Paul wrote:
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)
Old Testament Scripture was preserved to teach us and give us encouragement and hope. The stories of deliverance and victory were written to encourage us in our walk with God and affirm that he is our deliverer and protector. He gives us victory over life’s troubles and conflicts, over those who would harm us, and over Satan who seeks to destroy us.
Hall of faith
The “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11 is filled with many such encouraging accounts:
- Enoch’s faith pleased God, so God took him up into his presence without dying.
- By faith, Abraham made his home and lived in tents in a land promised to him by God. He also offered his only son Isaac as a sacrifice as a demonstration of his faith.
- Through faith, Abraham’s wife Sarah was able to bear children though she was past age.
- Moses left Egypt by faith, not fearing the king’s anger. And the people passed through the Red Sea by faith in the Lord who delivered them.
Through faith Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, David and Samuel and the prophets:
…. conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. (Hebrews 11:33-34)
All these encourage us to not give up hope, but to trust God for the seemingly impossible, and to believe that he will come through on his promises to us.
To warn us of God’s judgment
Other Old Testament accounts were preserved to warn us of God’s judgment. Paul recounts how Christ accompanied the Israelites as they trekked through the wilderness. But God judged them for their sin:
Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” (1 Corinthians 5-7)
We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. (1 Corinthians 10:8-11)
Many Old Testament stories were written as warnings. But they rarely included direct spiritual advice, as the lessons were imbedded in the stories. As Paul explained, they teach us to not live and behave as those people whom God punished. We can see the results of disobeying God. Certainly, most of the Israelites who were destroyed in the wilderness were not true believers. Their greatest sin was that of unbelief which led them into rebellion and defiance against God and his commands (Hebrews 4:1-2).
If we disobey God and fall into idolatry, sexual sin, and grumbling, we can only expect God’s judgment. Even as believers he will not spare us the consequences of a corrupt and immoral lifestyle.
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)
To tell the redemption story that points to Christ
There are many examples in Scripture of God sovereignly orchestrating human events to tell the redemption story. These accounts tell the story metaphorically, and foreshadow the birth, death, and resurrection of the Messiah. Sometimes these meanings are obscure but are still affirmed by either Jesus or the apostles in their teachings.
- Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac parallels the Father’s sacrifice of his only Son Jesus for our sins.
- The exodus and the Israelites’ deliverance out of slavery parallels the believer’s exodus from the dominion of Satan and into God’s kingdom.
- The story of the Passover lamb and the angel of death passing over the houses of the Israelites tells the story of how Jesus was our Passover lamb and his blood protects us from God’s judgment of sin.
- The manna eaten by the Israelites in the wilderness represents Christ, the bread of life given so we might live eternally.
- As Moses lifted up the brass snake so that those who saw it would be delivered, so those who behold and believe in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross will be delivered of their sin.
- The Israelites’ entrance into the promised land parallels the believer’s entrance into their eternal home.
- Jonah’s 3 days in the fish represents Christ’s time spent in the grave after he was crucified.
Some of these stories feature individuals who are types or illustrations of Christ. For example, the apostles saw the ancient priest Melchizedek as a type of Christ (Hebrews 7). David is also a type of the suffering Christ, as the sufferings of David before he became king are seen as prefiguring those of Christ. King Solomon is thought of as an illustration of the reigning Christ.
Using Old Testament stories as templates
Many believers today use some Old Testament stories as templates for their spiritual life and ministry. Almost all of us have done this at one time or another. I would put this in the “neutral” category, neither right or wrong.
Putting out a fleece
The account of Gideon putting out a fleece to determine God’s will (Judges 6:36-40) is probably the most well-known template. Many people today use it to discern God’s will in difficult situations. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with this, and God in his grace may respond to us if we “put out a fleece” to determine God’s will just as he did for Gideon.
However, putting out a fleece has potential dangers, because God never promises to answer prayer in this way. Demanding that God “answer my prayer in the way I specify” is testing the Lord, which Scripture prohibits (Deuteronomy 6:16). If someone tells God, “If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, then I interpret that as a green light to start looking for a job.” Certainly, God has the power to honor any such expectation. But he’s not obligated to do so. If no rain comes, then has God really spoken? And if it does rain is the person then off the hook for obeying the Lord?
Jericho as a template for spiritual warfare
In the story of Joshua and the defeat of Jericho, God instructed the Israelites to march around Jericho for 7 days, and on the 7th day, march around it 7 times. Then the Lord was to give Jericho into their hands (Joshua 6:12-16). Some use this story as a template for how to conduct spiritual warfare against the powers of evil. They may conduct a prayer walk around a building or neighborhood and rebuke the spiritual forces present in it. Again, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but there’s no direct command in Scripture to support it. More importantly, God gives no promise that those who practice this will get their desired results.
Use templates with caution
Templates should be used with caution as they can lead us into error. We need to hold to the practice lightly and use it sparingly. A common error is to expect God to always answer our prayer or work a miracle the same way he did in the Old Testament story. Some people try to make the Old Testament miracles into a rule for today. So, we need to be cautious in selecting Old Testament stories for templates and be highly selective in the stories we use.
Questionable uses of the Old Testament
There are a number of ways that people misuse the Old Testament stories. Here are the more common.
Misappropriating commands specific to the Israelites
Much of the Old Testament is descriptive history. Within these stories are commands which God gave specifically to the ancient Israelites. There are a number of such commands, for example God’s command to conquer the peoples inhabiting the land God had given them. Likewise with the commands to establish a theocracy and implement the ceremonial and civil laws of Moses—these were intended only for the Israelites.
These types of commands were to be applied strictly to recipients of the message. They were not meant to be mimicked or applied literally in any context within the church or modern civil society. To do so is misappropriating them. We cannot find in the New Testament such commands specific to the Israelites or any commands resembling them.
These passages also show why always applying the Old Testament in the most literal sense is unwise. Nowhere in the New Testament is the church commanded to conquer evil by physical force. There are movements today that use Old Testament commands to promote the establishment of a “Christian Nation.” Certainly, Christians should be salt and light and involved in the political process to positively affect the direction of their community and nation to the degree possible. But establishing a distinctly Christian theocracy is nowhere commanded in the New Testament.
Allegorical interpretation of the Old Testament
The allegorical method of interpreting Scripture sees all biblical stories, people, and objects as having a symbolic meaning. With this approach, nothing in Scripture is to be taken at face value, but every passage has a hidden or deeper meaning other than the plain meaning. Teachers throughout church history have been known to allegorize stories to support their preferred theology.
Allegorizing Old Testament Scripture was common during the Patristic period of the church (100-451 A.D.). It was popularized by Origen, who taught that all Scripture had a literal meaning, a moral meaning, and a spiritual or mystical meaning. His goal was to show how the Old Testament foreshadowed the New Testament, but he clearly overextended the method by applying it to everything. In his view, a spiritual meaning was behind every historical text or person, and even object.
As a result, many Christians during this time saw hidden meanings all throughout Scripture, many of them fantastic and unbelievable. Many of these meanings were given arbitrarily, for example, the mention of wood in the Old Testament foreshadowed the cross of Christ. Any mention of water foreshadowed the Holy Spirit. This interpretation method continued through the Middle Ages, and many today still use it.
Spiritualizing Old Testament history
More common today is “spiritualizing” Bible history. Spiritualizing Scripture has become popular among some Reformed Bible teachers and authors. They write in a way that suggests that every passage of Scripture fits into a storyline or supernatural agenda. As discussed before, God used the lives of specific Old Testament people to tell the redemption story. But that doesn’t mean we can interpret all biblical events spiritually. Because God ordained some biblical stories doesn’t mean God so ordained all biblical events.
Under a spiritualized mindset, not only the Bible, but the whole world is a grand stage in which God directs a scripted play with actors who act out their part according to his divine will. And the intricate details of human events all serve a specific purpose predetermined by God, including the choices of individuals, both good and bad. God preplans all human events, and designs all of life’s ups and downs, good and evil, peace and calamity, to work out specific purposes tailored to the life of each individual believer.
Popular divine determinism
This is a popular version of divine determinism, wherein God meticulously controls not only the end results, but the means and details of all human events. A popular Bible teacher once said, “All events are orchestrated perfectly according to his will.”
From Scripture we know that God works all things, even adversity, for the good of those that love him (Romans 8:28). But there are no such promises for those who reject God. Instead, God “gives them over” to the evil that they desire and enjoy (Romans 1:24-31).
We’re not watching history enfold as passive observers of the predetermined script of a movie. God has placed humans in a real world with real dangers, challenges, choices, and consequences. And he has given humans the capacity to move toward the light or away from it, to accept the truth or reject it, to love and obey God or ignore him. And these truths were amply demonstrated by the Israelites in both their obedience to God and their failure to obey him, as recorded in the Old Testament.
Problems with allegorizing and spiritualizing Scripture
We need to be careful of inventing comparisons within Scripture that are not supported by Scripture. Yes, everything fits into an overall purpose within the context of God’s plan. But we can find ourselves fabricating explanations of events not intended by the biblical authors.
If we see all Old Testament stories as having hidden or personalized meanings, then the intended meanings can become secondary or even trivial. In searching for a hidden meaning, we can overlook the plain and obvious meaning amongst a myriad of speculations. If every story has a personal message, then they easily lose their universal message.
These stories were meant to grab our attention, not entertain us. But a deterministic interpretation of the Bible can trivialize them and dampen their intended impact. As a result, they don’t stand out as a warnings or teachings, but just more Bible stories amongst many others.
Summary
Let’s not be afraid to read the Old Testament, but let’s read it seeking to understand the authors’ intent. The Old Testament stories of deliverance and victory were written for our encouragement. And the stories of judgment and punishment were written as warnings. Woven into them were previews of the coming Messiah.
But we should be careful not to spiritualize every story we read. Let’s read the Bible as it was meant to be read, taking biblical history as plain language and affirming the symbolism and allegory only where it is well supported in the New Testament.
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