On the Old Testament by Mark Driscoll

Author:Mark Driscoll
Language: eng
Format: mobi, pdf
Tags: Spirituality, Old Testament, General, Christian Life - General, Religion, Biblical Studies, Spiritual Growth, Biblical Criticism & Interpretation
ISBN: 9781433501357
Publisher: Crossway
Published: 2008-01-15T14:03:57.912000+00:00

How to Read the Old Testament

Having answered the most common questions about the Old Testament, I now hope

to give you a brief overview of the various kinds of literature found therein, as well as a brief explanation of each Old Testament book. The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)

The Pentateuch, meaning “one book in five parts,” was written by Moses roughly fourteen hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The Bible clearly states that Moses is the author of the Pentateuch: “When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, ‘Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. . . .’”1 In this insightful section at the end of the Pentateuch, not only do we learn that Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament, but that these books were compiled as a single book and immediately recognized as God-given, perfect, and Scripture-worthy, to be placed alongside the very presence of God in the ark of the covenant. On other occasions the Bible also refers to the Pentateuch as a single book.2 Sadly, in the past few hundred years, critics have sought to convince people that Moses did not write the Pentateuch. However, Jesus taught that Moses did in fact 1. Deut. 31:24–26.

2. 2 Chron. 25:4; 35:12; Ezra 6:18; Neh. 13:1; Mark 12:26.

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On the Old Testament

write the Pentateuch.3 Jesus also repeatedly attributed sections of the Pentateuch to Mosaic authorship, including Exodus,4 Leviticus,5 and Deuteronomy.6 In addition to undermining confidence in the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, critics have also sought to deny some of its most miraculous accounts. Nevertheless, Jesus clearly believed in and taught that even the most controversial portions of the Pentateuch are factual, such as Adam and Eve,7 Cain and the murder of Abel,8 Noah and the flood,9 Abraham,10 Sodom and Gomorrah,11 Lot,12 Isaac and Jacob,13 the manna,14 and healing by the wilderness serpent. In summary, the Pentateuch is one book in five parts all penned by Moses with God’s inspiration as taught by Jesus Christ. Having established this fact we will now briefly examine each of the five books. Genesis, the book of beginnings, is the first book of the Pentateuch and focuses on

the life of Abraham and the patriarchs Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Judah, who were Abraham’s descendants. Genesis covers roughly two thousand years and accounts for about 25 percent of the content of the Pentateuch. The remaining four books of the 3. John 5:46; 7:19.

4. Mark 7:10, cf. Ex. 20:12; Mark 12:26, cf. Ex. 3:6; Luke 20:37, cf. Ex. 3:6. 5. Matt. 8:4, cf. Leviticus 13–14; Mark 1:44, cf. Lev. 14:3; Luke 5:14, cf. Lev. 13:8, 14:4. 6. Matt. 19:8, cf. Deut. 24:1–4; Mark 7:10, cf. Deut. 5:16; Mark 10:4, cf. Deut. 24:1. 7. Matt. 19:4–5; Mark 10:6–8.

8. Matt. 23:35; Luke 11:51.

9. Matt. 24:37–39; Luke 17:26–27.

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