This is a series of articles on how to preach Christ in the Old Testament. Many have mistakenly preached using the Old Testament for moralistic preaching or self-help. Preacher, do you want to learn to preach on the basis of the Old Testament?Series of articles will give you a good introduction.
As for biographical passages, four of these paths seem more conducive to preaching: that of historical-redemptive progression, that of typology, analogy, and contrast.
- The history of redemption is the story of God’s actions to redeem His people and restore their creation.
- Therefore.
- Everything is centered on God.
- Stories are descriptions of these great acts and acts of God.
- “Recognition that the history of redemption focuses on God is important because it establishes the connection with God’s culminating act in Christ.
- Therefore.
- The eschatological pulse of God’s present salvation must be perceived in the narratives and its fulfillment recognized in the first and second comings of Christ and Jesus Christ.
For example, by applying the Christocentric method to the narrative of the confrontation between David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, we will not isolate the passage by presenting “David to the congregation as a hero whose courage we must imitate in the fight against ours. “Goliaths “. Special ?. It is obvious that the text tells the personal story of a young man who killed a Philistine giant with only a slingshot and a stone. A unique and extraordinary story. However, the interest of the biblical author is not there He wants to show that this confrontation is a
an important part of Israel’s national and royal history: Samuel had just secretly anointed the young shepherd as king of all Israel (1 Sam. 16). Then (1 Sam 17), the young King Shepherd saves Israel from his nemesis, killing Goliath. The message is this: David, the anointed king of God, frees Israel and guarantees its safety in the promised land.
Then we move on to consider the narrative in the history of redemption. One wonders what this passage teaches about God and his actions. In this text, it should be noted that
David does not depend on his own strength or weapons or skill [?] (1 Samuel 17:45-47). The essence of this story, therefore, is more than Israel [sic] defeating the enemy of its people; most importantly, the Lord Himself defeats the enemies of his people. This topic places the passage on the main path of the history of the kingdom of God that leads directly to Jesus’ victory over Satan [?] Thus, the battle between David and Goliath is more than a personal struggle; Is he more than the king of Israel defeating a powerful enemy?It is a short chapter in the battle between the woman’s seed and the snake’s seed.
From there, different applications can be made depending on the conditions of the modern church, however, the message must remain around the confrontation between God and the enemies of his people, overcome by the work of Christ on the cross and consumed at the Second Coming of Christ. This same fundamental conflict can be seen in the conflicts between Abel and Urín, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Sau, Moses, and Pharaoh.
The deviation from typologization should not preclude the use of typology in the interpretation of biblical accounts. The discussion about what typology is and how it can be used is quite fierce, but it is obvious that this was one of the ways that the New Testament writers interpreted the Old. Chapell defines typology as “the study of the correspondences between people, events, and things that first appear in the Old Testament [?] To prepare or more fully express the New Testament truths of salvation. ” The main issue in the discussion is whether the author of the veteran’s will understood the typological meaning of the report. In some cases, especially in the psalms and prophets, it is possible to say yes. However, Greidanus says: “I suspect that most types are not prophetic, but then specific people and events are considered to have typological significance. ” In other words, most biblical types are not predictive, but are discovered only in light of their New Testament reality in Jesus Christ. This does not mean that we have to impose a new meaning on the text, but “simply understand this event in its historical and redemptive context”. In fact, although the relationship was only seen later, from God’s perspective, it was still there and the text was recorded for the implicit purpose of establishing it.
To avoid the danger of typologization, Greidanus points to four basic characteristics of a true type: an authentic type is historical, referring to facts, people or institutions; it is theocentric, that is, it refers to the facts of God in and through people and events, it shows a significant analogy with its antitype: we must avoid establishing the relationship by detail; Finally, the relationship of an authentic type with its antitype is marked by progression, from which it follows that historical-literary interpretation should not be abandoned, as it will serve as an indispensable basis for a correct typological interpretation; another important aspect is to establish the symbolic character of the person in old Testament times; if this meaning is not present, it is not possible to apply the interpretation typology.
As an example of the application of typology, we can cite
people like Moses, Joshua, judges, and kings, for whom God freed his people and sought to establish their reign (theocracy?God’s government). This redemptive work of God through its anointed leaders qualifies them as types of Christ, by which God would, in the end, free his people and establish his kingdom on earth. We also discover high priests and priests who are types of Christ in offering sacrifices. in atonement for the sins of the people and interceding for them.
In each of these situations, the use of typology turns out to be an adequate means to interpret and apply the biblical text; In them, the biographical sermon preacher will have the opportunity to demonstrate the components of Christ’s work, as well as to present the distinctive and superlative aspects of Christ in relation to the work of those who illustrated his ministry.
The analogy can also be used to address biographical texts. We have already seen that we should not simply establish a direct relationship between the character and the believer. In order to respect the unity of redemptive history and the continuity between Israel and the Church, the preacher must wonder what similar aspects exist between God’s relationship with God’s character and the relationship with believers today. Interest must be not only in the relevant application of the text, but in the establishment of the point of continuity based on Christ. by Christ, Israel, and the Church have become God’s own people: beneficiaries of the same covenant of grace, sharing the same faith, living the same hope, trying to show the same love. Thus, God’s actions in favor of the characters. , their teachings and demands are, in many ways, applicable to the people of today. Chapell warns that it is necessary to define the goal planned by the Holy Spirit and identify the biblical need that listeners share with those who have lived in the biblical situation that required inspired writing?and has the following hermeneutic procedure:
I. Identify the redemptive principles evident in the text
II. . Determine how these redemptive principles will apply to the lives of believers in the biblical context.
III. . In light of the common human characteristics or conditions that contemporary believers share with biblical believers, apply redemptive principles to contemporary life.
Greidanus illustrates the fact that in preaching about Jacob at Bethel (Genesis 28, 1022), can we point out that if Israel learned of God’s protective presence through Jacob’s experience at Bethel before his dangerous journey, Christ promises be with us every day? of our life (Mt 28,20).
The same concept of progression of redemptive history implies a contrast between the Old and New Testaments, and even between it and the present, but this does not impede the work of the preacher, only that such passages must be preached in the light of God’s final revelation in Christ, demonstrating the current contrasts. These contrasts are Christ-centered, for he is responsible for any change between the messages of the Old and New Testaments.
Greidanus presents two examples of the use of contrast in biographical passages: Gideon obeyed God by destroying the altar of Baal and saving Israel from the Midianites, but then stole a priesthood and deviated Israel from the Lord (Thu 6-8). However, He is the perfect Savior who frees us from our sins and enemies, including death, and brings us closer to the Father in a covenant that will never be broken (Jn 10:27-30). Ezra and Nehemiah fought for holiness to go beyond the boundaries of the temple and encompass the entire people of Jerusalem; they also took care to exclude all those who did not belong to Israel; However, Christ annuls the division between Jews and Gentiles and makes them a holy people for the Lord (Ephesians 2: 14-18).
These four approaches allow the preacher to treat the text with historical and literary fidelity, without giving up his theological commitment to recognize the centrality of God and his Christ in every passage of Scripture, nor will it prevent him from being relevant, for he exposes his listeners. true and well-founded truths based on the person, ministry, and teaching of Christ.