Imperfections of Old Testament Piety

I believe the wise use of the Bible requires judgment, spiritual insight, appreciation of its general scope, and the ability to bring the drift of the whole to bear on the interpretation of the parts. I also believe that the right use of the Old Testament requires that we be filled with the spirit of the New Testament, and be able to judge all that is written in the more ancient book in the light of its teaching.

In other words, the Bible, instead of being rules to be used mechanically, with equal value set on all its parts, is rather a living, breathing organism, which, like the butterfly, passes through various transformations before arriving at its highest and final form. Therefore, the final stage (New Testament) is the standard by which all is to be judged.

This truth has two sides. It means, on the one hand, that we should find Christ in the Old Testament as we find the butterfly in the caterpillar. On the other hand, we see that the Old Testament is incomplete insofar as it comes short of Christ, as the caterpillar is incomplete inasmuch as it is not yet a butterfly. I proceed to note in this hub what I consider to be the most outstanding imperfections of the Old Testament religion as reflected in Hebrew Scripture.

The prophets and many psalms exhibit the highest spiritual elements of the Old Testament religion. We have only to recall such bright lyrics as, "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines," "Your lovingkindness, O LORD, extends to the heavens,," "Whom have I in heaven but you?," "For the LORD God is a sun and shield," " Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength," to be impressed with the evangelistic spirit of the writers, and to feel that whatever shadows of legalism may permeate the pages of the Hebrew Scriptures, the joy of relationship, of trust in a heavenly Father's love is not unknown.

Nevertheless, the spirit of "sons" is not yet perfected even in those who, like the prophets, came nearest to resembling New Testament piety. There is noticeable, now and then, a tone of complaint, as of men who do not fully understand and trust the loving-kindness of God. Even in the case of the men who sang, "Though the fig-tree" and "Whom have I in heaven," the mood expressed in their song did not come easily to them. It was a victory gained in a severe struggle with profound doubt.

We know this to be true because the prophet Habakkuk had despairingly asked how God could look on while deeds of barbarous cruelty were being perpetrated by evil men against the just (1:2-4), and the Psalmist had been tempted by similar experiences to doubt whether God were good even to the pure in heart (Psalm 73). This querulousness, in view of the dark mysteries of human experience, is the weaker side of prophetic piety. It stands in sharp contrast to the uniformly buoyant, invincible triumphant tone of the New Testament, where it is impossible in a single sentence to find an echo of Jeremiah's wail, "Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?" (Jeremiah 12:1). On the mount, Jesus told His hearers to rejoice in sharing the fate of which the prophets complained: "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:12. Thus, what was cause for complaint in Old Testament is cause for joy in the New.

This difference is not due to any superiority in character in the men of the New Testament over those of the earliest dispensation. It was due rather to a new way of regarding life which came in Jesus Christ, in virtue of which the least in the kingdom of heaven became greater than the greatest of the prophets. The contrast in temper makes a real advance in the Christian education of believers. The forward step lay in what has been aptly called the "practice of inwardness."

The prophets (including psalmists) placed the good that elicits God's benevolence too much on outward conditions. That they did not do this exclusively is clear, from Habakkuk's song, "Although the fig-tree does not bud....Yet I will rejoice in the Lord." Yet the practice of outwardness was that which came natural to the men of the Old Testament. The very ideal of the good according to Isaiah was wise government and plenty of food. Nor was this a personal idiosyncrasy of Isaiah. It arose directly out of the nature of the Mosaic covenant, which was a covenant of God with a nation, and therefore, had for its sphere of action the political and social life of the people. Moses, in God's name, promised long life to children who honored their parents and national prosperity to Israel so long as she was faithful to Yahweh. Therefore, all pious Israelites under the old covenant were more or less worldly in their conception of the highest good. Wealth, large families, long life were for them the appointed rewards for obedience and doing good.

For prophets and psalmists with such ideas of happiness, springing directly from the covenant, disappointments were inevitable, bringing in their train of gloom, perplexity, doubt, a complaining temper, and even a mood that may seem to approach pessimism at times.

Another deficiency in the Old Testament religion, even professed by the prophets, was vindictiveness. "O LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause." (Jeremiah 20:12), prays even the tender hearted Jeremiah, with reference to his fellow countrymen who persecuted him on account of his faithfulness. Many similar utterances may be found in the prophetic literature and in the Psalter. For example the Psalmist prays, "Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the grave, for evil finds lodging among them." Psalm 55:15.

Let me hasten to add that it is not for us to condemn those who breathed what may appear to us to be unhallowed petitions, or to assume airs of superiority over them. We must remember that we are living in the era of grace and it would be to our dishonor to not be better than the best of the Old Testament worthies in this respect. For a higher ideal of patience and long-suffering has been set before us by the precepts and example of Christ.

Furthermore, I do not think the apparent vindictiveness of the prophets and psalmists was so much immorality, as crude morality. I say this because the legal covenant allowed and even fostered such a spirit. "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot," Exodus 21:24. Moreover, prayer for the punishment of adversaries was made almost necessary by their conceptions of the moral order of the world. Their theory was that God rewarded every man according to his works. Therefore, to not punish an enemy was to support him, and become part of the wrong posed against the victim. Their prayers were an appeal to the Judge of the earth to decide between the two, the perpetrator and the victim. This, not private, vengeful passion, was the scope of the vindictiveness of the Old Testament saint. In many cases private feelings are out of the question, the prayer for vengeance being uttered really in the name of the whole community of Israel. This applies to many of the so-called vindictive psalms.

Of the deficiency of the Law, as contained in the Pentateuch, it is unnecessary to treat at length. Christ has said all that needs to be said on the crudeness of the civil legislation ascribed to Moses. His criticism is given in few words but it cuts deep. "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." Matthew 5:38-39.

By this one sentence Jesus constituted Himself a critic of the Mosaic civil code, and made it appear a crude kind of justice adapted to a morally rude condition of society. What He implied in the Sermon on the Mount, He expressly said on another occasion, pronouncing the Mosaic statute of divorce a law adapted to a hard inhuman heart. "Jesus replied, 'Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.'" Matthew 19:8-9. One who has learned of Christ can apply the principle for himself, and see that much in Israel's statute book was destined to end when the new covenant came, bringing the renewed heart and the perfect law of love written on the heart.

These and other imperfections of Old Testament religion present no difficulty to intelligent Christian faith. They only help to make it evident that God, who in many ways spoke to Israel by prophets and psalmists, had not yet uttered His final perfect word. They show that the Hebrew Scriptures, while a true light from heaven, was but a light shining in a dark place until the dawn of a new day ushered in by Jesus Christ.