Duane Garrett, The Problem of the Old Testament: Hermeneutical, Schematic, and Theological Approaches (aff.). Downers Grove: IVP, 2020. 295 pages.
This book is unlike the ones I normally read. It made me think, which is one of the benefits of reading books outside one’s normal sphere of interest. I read it for a few reasons. First, I know the author, and he asked me to write an endorsement. Second, this book is helping in my research for a book I’m currently writing. Third, I have been in several discussions lately about the role of the Old Testament for Christians today. So, this was a timely read!
Duane Garrett is the John R. Sampey professor of Old Testament Interpretation and a professor of biblical theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He was also the Old Testament professor at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary when I became the president back in 1993. I have always respected Garrett’s knowledge and insight into biblical theology, so I was interested to see how he tackled the thorny issues.
Garrett begins by claiming, “We Christians revere the Old Testament. We experience the grandeur of creation in Genesis 1. In the books of Samuel, we see so vividly the strengths and flaws of David that we feel we know him personally. The peaceful lyrics of Psalm 23 reassure us of the love of God. Isaiah 53 surpasses even the four Gospels in its ability to inform our minds and break our hearts over the passion of Christ” (3). He adds, “But much of the Old Testament is not like that” (3).
Garrett notes that ample portions of the Old Testament are bleak and chronicle perpetual failure and apostacy by God’s people (16). He argues that Christians pick and choose from the Old Testament as if looking for a “secret code” of what applies today and what is hopelessly out of date (6). He acknowledges that it is often difficult to reconcile the Old and New Testaments. He purports that many of the Early Church Fathers struggled with apparent inconsistencies in how New Testament writers made use of Old Testament passages. Garrett points to verses such as Isaiah 7:14 to highlight this problem. Christians see the verse as a prophecy of the virgin birth, but the Hebrew does not indicate the woman was a virgin, and the historic events all seem contained within Isaiah’s lifetime. Throughout the book, Garrett returns to this example and ultimately provides his own solution.
Garrett is a thorough scholar. I have no doubt this book will be used as a textbook in seminaries (especially in his!). I will not try to summarize everything he says. I will not even try to summarize the parts I understood! But he offers a number of unique insights I think are very helpful.
He notices, for example, that there is an aspect of “mystery” in the Old Testament prophecies (27). While the Old Testament events had meaning for the people at that time, they also contained an element of mystery that only became clear later.
Garrett unpacks two approaches to understanding the Old Testament. The first is the Alexandrian school, which uses allegory (49). The Alexandrian school became the dominant method until the Reformation. The second is the Antioch approach, which is the one Garrett prefers. He also examines two schematic frameworks. One is Covenant Theology, which purports that the church replaced Israel as God’s chosen people (113). The second is the Dispensational approach, which keeps Israel and the church entirely separate. This method has been popularized by Scofield, Dallas Theological Seminary, and books such as The Late Great Planet Earth and the Left Behind series. Garrett dissects these two approaches and finds them wanting.
Garrett makes valuable contributions to this discussion. He presents some conceptual solutions. He argues that the true Israel is God’s chosen people, and the Old Testament promises still belong to them. The church has been grafted into Israel. He summarizes, “Israel is the elect people, salvation comes through Israel, and the promises belong to Israel. We Gentiles were grafted in [Rom. 11:17-19]. Through this process, the promises, covenants, and knowledge of God are ours, and we rightly embrace the Old Testament as our heritage. We possess these gifts as adopted members of the household of Israel, not as usurpers who “supersede” our hosts and not as a separate family. It is for this very reason that we cannot minimize the Old Testament promises and the problems they pose” (164).
Garrett makes a helpful distinction in identifying two bodies of texts in the Old Testament. One is Election literature, which speaks to God’s chosen people who are in covenant with him. The second is Wisdom literature, written by the creator of the earth and applicable to all of his creatures (167). Garrett also claims that the concept of “covenant” is not the central theme of the Old Testament. Election is. He writes, “God’s election of Abraham with its attendant promise is foundational; the covenant is an addendum. The promise would have been no less valid had there been no covenant” (181). Garrett points to Genesis 12:1-3 in which God makes a promise to Abraham; God does not make a covenant until three chapters later.
Garrett also claims that the Law was not intended to bring forgiveness for sin. He states, “The Law has never had the function of providing forgiveness of sin. Torah is not a savior and the Law is not gospel” (239). He uses David’s sin of adultery as a case study. He notes that David’s plea for forgiveness in Psalm 51 is not based on a sacrifice for his sin but a plea to God’s mercy and forgiveness (242). This argument is fascinating.
Garrett takes a thorough look at the prophetic model of Hosea and Joel to demonstrate how the Old Testament prophets used prophecy and how, in turn, Christians can use the Old Testament in understanding the New Testament. Then Garrett finally tackles the thorny problem of the New Testament’s use of Isaiah 7:14 (357).
This book stretched me. I found it very helpful as I have been attempting to think through the proper use of the Old Testament today. Certainly, many of today’s preachers abuse the Old Testament, lifting passages out of context and using them in ways the author did not intend. We also shy away from some sections, such as the kosher laws, seeing them as irrelevant to us today. Garrett claims that as Gentiles grafted into the true Israel, the entire Old Testament has value for us.
I typically enjoy Garrett’s exegesis of texts. His brilliant knowledge of Hebrew certainly helps him understand Old Testament Scripture. The one issue I took with him was in his handling of 1 Kings 19. He claims Elijah was fed up with Israel after Jezebel threatened his life. When Elijah met with God at Sinai, Garrett claims that Elijah laid out his prosecution against Israel, expecting judgment upon them. But then Garrett claims that God gave Elijah instructions to anoint two kings and Elisha who would implement God’s judgment. He states that “God’s answer may be more of a concession to Elijah than a command” (280). Then Garrett claims that God declares he will spare 7,000 righteous Israelites and not kill them in his judgment of Israel (279).
I do not quite agree with Garrett. Nowhere does Elijah ask God to judge Israel. He appears far more concerned with himself and the fact that Jezebel wants to kill him than with insisting that God judge his enemies. Garrett claims that when a prophet states the moral condition of a people, he is presenting his case for prosecution. Nonetheless, I think it is a stretch to claim God made a “concession” to Elijah. I believe the text presents a disillusioned prophet who wants to quit, and God alerts Elijah that there is still much work to be done. Elijah claims he is the only righteous person left, and God counters by informing him that there are actually 7,000 others who have not yielded to Baal worship. So, though I greatly respect his hermeneutical brilliance, I humbly take issue with him on this point.
Nonetheless, this book is great. If you have read Andy Stanley’s Irresistible, in which Stanley claims the Old Testament was not written to or for Christians and should essentially be jettisoned from the Bible, you might want to read this volume by a respected Old Testament scholar. Garrett doesn’t dodge the issues. He acknowledges they exist. But then he presents convincing, comprehensive, applicable solutions that will help New Testament Christians continue to mine from the rich deposits of truth found in the first 39 books of the Bible.
Rating: 4
