Series: The Doctrine of Scripture

Message: The Old Testament Canon, its message, and why it matters

Introduction:

            Having introduced the subject of the Doctrine of Scripture in an introductory message, as well as covering the Inspiration of the Bible in the last message, we come to our subject for this second official message in the series, “The Old Testament Canon, its message, and why it matters”. As we begin this our third message in our series, I want to draw your attention to three New Testament texts that speak the Old Testament. The first records the words of Jesus in Luke 24:37 “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” The second passage records the Apostle Paul’s words about the value of the Old Testament Scriptures, Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” The third, 2 Peter 3:14-18, shows the Old Testament, designated “The rest of the Scriptures”, alongside the letters of the Apostle Paul, with both understood together as “Scripture”.

“Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

            All three speak on the Old Testament and the specific collection of books that comprise it, known as the “Old Testament Canon”. At the end of this message, I’ll remind us of the three benefits of the Old Testament revealed in these New Testament texts: knowing Jesus, having hope, and spiritual growth. Keep these three benefits in mind as we explore our subject “The Old Testament Canon, its message, and why it matters”.

            Wayne Grudem in his “Systematic Theology – 2nd Edition”, page 39, offers this crisp definition of the term “canon”, “The canon of Scripture is the list of all the books that belong in the Bible.” As we just read, Jesus, the Apostle Paul, and Apostle Peter indicate the authority and message of the Old Testament. So, let us take each of those two headings (“authority” and “message”) and consider how we got our Old Testament and why it matters to you. Here is how we will develop this message.

1. The Old Testament Canon (or, how we got our Old Testament – recognizing its authority).
2. The Old Testament Canon’s Message.
3. The Old Testament Canon’s application, (or, why it matters to you).

1. The Old Testament Canon (How we got our Old Testament –recognizing its authority).

 A. What is meant by “canon”?

            What do we mean by the term “canon” or “canonization”? We know this term refers to the specific collection of Divinely inspired books we find in the Old and New Testaments. To lend clarity to this concept, it may surprise some to learn that this term is used quite a bit in discussions about current films. For example, in the Star Wars series, fans will often compare the movies, T.V. series, and games that have spun from those with the books based on George Lucas’ ideas. The question that often arises is this – “is that canon?” The concern of course deals with whether or not a movie, a T.V. series, or game fits in accurately with the original storyline conceived by George Lucas.

            Now, what I just described to you is a contemporary use of this term “canon”. If one goes back to the city of Alexandria Egypt before the day of Jesus, one will find the term “canon” used to describe an official listing of books. The term “canon” itself comes from a Greek word meaning “measuring rod”.  When we apply this term to the Bible, we speak of the 39 books comprising the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament. You will notice in Jesus’ words in Luke 24:37 we find Him mention the “Law and the Prophets”. Jesus elsewhere spoke of the Old Testament in this two-fold division (Law and the Prophets) in Matthew 5:17; 7:12; 11:13; 22:40; Luke 16:16,29,31; 22:47. This phrase designated the books of the Hebrew Bible (or what we call “The Old Testament”).

 B. The first arrangement of the Old Testament Canon.

            In Luke 24:44, Jesus would sometimes refer to that same collection of books by the three-fold descriptor “Law, The Prophets, and the Writings”. This speaks of the arrangement of the books or “canon” of the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible, called by the Jews “Tanak” for the three sections subdividing its contents, contains the following. First. There is the Law books, call “Torah”, hence the “T” of “Tanak” (Genesis-Deuteronomy). Then there was that middle consonant of “Tanak”, the letter “N” which stood for the “Neviim”, the Hebrew term for “Prophets” (arranged in differing order than our modern Bibles, Joshua-2 Kings and Isaiah-Malachi, known respectively as the “Former” and “Latter” Prophets). Then lastly, the final consonant of “Tanak” or “K”, which the Jews called “Ketviim”, that is, “The Writings (beginning with the book of Job and ending with the book of 2 Chronicles). Later in this message, I’ll explain why the ordering of the books in our Old Testaments differ from the Hebrew Bible’s arrangement.

 C. The authority of the Old Testament Canon.

            The notion of “canon” and “authority” go hand-in-hand. If we did not know which books were the inspired ones, we would have no idea which one to follow in living the Christian life, let alone in how to receive salvation which begins such a life. Norman Geisler comments on this in his book “A General Introduction to the Bible”, page 221.

“Canonicity is determined by God. A book is not inspired because men made it canonical; it is canonical because God inspired it. It is not antiquity, authenticity, or religious community that makes a book canonical or authoritative. On the contrary, a book is valuable because it is canonical and not canonical because it is or was considered valuable. Inspiration determines canonization, and confusion at this point not only dulls the edge of authority but it mistakes the effect (a canonical book) for the cause and (inspiration of God). Canonicity is determined or established authoritatively by God; it is merely discovered by man.”

            To see this illustrated, we can observe the beginnings of the Old Testament Canon and the recognition of its authority by God’s giving of the Ten Commandments. Exodus 31:18 Exodus 31:18 “When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God” (See also Exodus 32:16 and Deuteronomy 4:13).  Deuteronomy 10:1-4 “At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the former ones, and come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood for yourself. 2 I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered, and you shall put them in the ark.’ 3 So I made an ark of acacia wood and cut out two tablets of stone like the former ones, and went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 He wrote on the tablets, like the former writing, the Ten Commandments which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them to me.”

            We can see by how the tablets were recognized, received, and set apart, that their authority was evident. The Ten Commandments would have further written revelation, called the “Book of the Covenant” (see Exodus 24:1-7). This is where the Old Testament canon sprouts from the root of the ten commandments. As each prophet penned further books after Moses and Joshua, the Old Testament Canon continued to grow. The prophet Samuel likely wrote Judges, Ruth and major portions of 1 Samuel (see 1 Samuel 10:25). The remaining portions of 2 Samuel, Kings were composed by other prophets like Nathan the Prophet, Gad the Seer and Jeremiah the Prophet (see 1 Chronicles 29:29; 2 Chronicles 20:34; 32:32 and Jeremiah 30:2). Rather than treating this growing body of revealed books as a chain full of links, think of it more as chainmaille. Each book not only reinforces what was written, but also contributes to the overall message conveyed by God (see Amos 3:7). This brief history chronicles what really happened, based on textual evidence and archaeology.

            The authority of the Canon shaped the life of the ancient Jews in the following way. First, their revelation. Then of course, their inspiration in writing. Thirdly, their recognition. Lastly, their use. This process of “canonization” would take a millennium before the final completion of the Book of Malachi at roughly 400 b.c.  

 D.How did God’s people recognize the Old Testament canon?

             We must realize that it was the inspired books as God’s canon that formed God’s people, rather than God’s people formulating the canon. As each Old Testament book was composed, its recognition as inspired (and thus canonical) was immediate. Just as Isaac Newton came to recognize the law of gravity already present in creation, God’s people would recognize certain books already revealed by their Creator. So what principles were used? I glean five principles for how God’s people recognized the inspired books of the Old Testament Canon from insights gained in reading Normal Geisler’s “A General Introduction to the Bible” and Gleason Archer’s “A Survey of the Old Testament”.

    *Prophetic Test. Was the book written by a prophet or Apostle of God, or an associate? See

       Exodus 24:4; Luke 1:1-4.

    *Miraculous Test. Was the writer confirmed by acts of God? See Exod. 4:1-9; Num. 16-17;

      1 Kings 18; Mark 2; Acts 2:22; Heb. 2:4.

    *Truth Test. Did the message tell the truth about God? See Deut. 13:1-3; 18:21-22.

    *Salvation Test. Can the book bring someone to saving faith? See Is. 55:11; 2 Tim.

       3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:23

    *Recognition Test. Was it recognized by the people of God? The Old Testament’s books  

       recognition is demonstrated by how quickly they went into use after their writing. See

       Joshua 24:26.

            The Canon’s use would be used of God to call the people of God back to Himself. 2 Kings 22:9-11

“Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought back word to the king and said, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” 10 Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king. 11 When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes.“

            So, we’ve looked at how we got our Old Testaments by noting the process of canonization that stemmed from the Divine marks of authority in each of these books. But what overall message to they present? Why does it matter?

2. The Old Testament Canon’s Message.

            At the beginning of this message, I cited three New Testament passages that speak of the Old Testament (Luke 24:27; Romans 15:4; 2 Peter 3:14-18). To understand the overall message of the Old Testament enables us to see why it matters to us today. In short, the Old Testament’s message is about preparing for the arrival and first coming of Jesus. A fifth century Church Father by the name of Augustine once wrote “The New Testament in the Old is concealed; and the Old Testament in the New is revealed”. The revelation in the Old or New Testament “canon” points the way to the Lord Jesus Christ.

A. Why our English Old Testament is arranged differently than the Hebrew Old Testament.

            Let me deliver on a promise from the first point. I noted the arranging of the Old Testament books in the Hebrew Bible which Jesus knew of in His day. Copies of the Hebrew Bible, called “The Tanak”, can still be purchased. However, we find that our English Old Testaments arrange the Old Testament books differently. Why? In Jesus’ day there was an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament that He and the Apostle most likely used. This translation, known as “The Septuagint”, is quoted more in the New Testament than its Hebrew counterpart. The arranging of the Old Testament books differs from the Hebrew Bible.

            As Church history would march forward, Jerome would issue his Latin Vulgate, used by the Church of the Middle Ages for 1,000 years. The Vulgate’s ordering of the Old Testament books took its cue from the Septuagint. As English translations began to appear in the 15^th century onwards, translators arranged the Old Testament books according to how they had observed in the Latin Vulgate, which in turn took its cue from the Septuagint.

B. How the Old Testament points the way to Jesus Christ.

            As we see how our Old Testament books are arranged in their “canonical order”, we find they tell the message of Jesus. Note with me.

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy = The Law points to Christ.

Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther = History prepares for Christ.

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Songs = Poetic books picture Christ.

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi = Prophets predict Christ.

            We can note that this “canonical ordering” of the Old Testament books in terms of Law, History, Writings, Prophecy, roughly corresponds to the four-fold division we find in the New Testament canon. We must realize of course that the order in which the books of the Bible were placed was not inspired. Nevertheless, how they were ordered by subsequent generations of God’s people does convey an overall message perceived. The Gospels lay the foundation, as the Law laid the foundation in the Old Testament. Acts corresponds to the historical recounting of the early church, just as the historical books deal with Israel’s founding and history with God. The letters of Paul and others parallel the writings portion of the Old Testament. Lastly, the Book of Revelation is the most prophetic book in all the New Testament, pointing us to Christ’s second coming, as the 17 prophetic books of the Old Testament pointed to the first coming.

3. The Old Testament Canon’s application, (or, why it matters to you).

Closing thoughts:

            We have covered much ground in this message. What I hope is that you have a greater appreciation for the Old Testament. In going back to those three New Testament passages I cited at the beginning, let me remind you of why the Old Testament Canon is so important to us. I mentioned three benefits of the Old Testament revealed in three New Testament texts. First, “knowing Jesus” (Luke 24:37). Second, “having hope”, (Romans 15:4). Lastly, “spiritual growth”, (2 Peter 3:14-18).