Making Sense of the Old Testament: Three Crucial Questions

by Tremper Longman III

Book Description Publication Date: February 1, 1999 | Series: Three Crucial Questions A noted biblical scholar explores three questions Christians often ask about the Old Testament and provides answers that are both satisfying and understandable.

Genres: Theology, Reference

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is the Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. Before coming to Westmont, he taught at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia for eighteen years. He has authored or coauthored numerous books, including An Introduction to the Old Testament, How to Read Proverbs, and commentaries on Daniel, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Jeremiah and Lamentations, and Song of Songs.

Reviews

[Glenn Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fine, easy-to-read and relatively short book that serves as a great introduction for Christians to get stuck into the Old Testament. Even for someone like myself, who enjoys reading and preaching from the OT, I found this book encouraging and increases my hunger to learn more from the Scriptures that Jesus read.

As part of the “3 Crucial Questions” series, the ones chosen here are very appropriate: “What are the Keys to Understanding the Old Testament?”; “Is the God of the Old Testament also the God of the New Testament?”; and “How is the Christian to Apply the Old Testament to Life?”.

The Author manages to not only give a good overview of the Old Testament, but gives a good basis for the interpretation and application of it. He argues against the more dispensational view of interpretation, as well as against theonomic approaches - and I am in agreement with him in that regard :)

Well worth the read!

[Matthew McConnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book! Longman really helps break down the Old Testament in some cool ways and provides a rich perspective to our interpretation of Old Testament texts in light of the Christ event.

Chapter 1 provides a great hermeneutic on the basic keys to interpreting the OT text. He provides the attractions of the OT and the obstacles we have as readers thousands of years removed from the original writing of these texts. He then provides nine very practical principles for successful interpretation that our worth re-referencing.

Chapter 2 tackles the age old question of: "Is the God of the OT the same God of the NT?" but he does so from a unique/interesting perspective. Rather than tackling it as "mean vs. not mean" God (which is often how basic I've heard the argument deduced to...), he does so in terms of the continuity and discontinuity between the Testaments. He explores three metaphors that bind the Testaments together: God as covenant king, God as warrior, and God as Immanuel.

He explores the nature of a covenant relationship and the similarities found between Israel's covenant with YHWH and other ANE covenant documents. There is an excellent figure on page 70 that illustrates this. Longman's exposition of "God as warrior" is fantastic. He gives a biblical theology of divine warfare, not only in relation to Israel's flesh and blood enemies (i.e. Canaanites), but in terms of Christ's war against Satan and evil forces. Page 79 offers a summer chart of the "five phases" of divine warfare that is certainly worth referencing again. Finally, he explores the significance of the Tabernacle, the Temple, and now Christ/ the Church as the locus of God's special presence.

The last chapter provides an analysis of how followers of Jesus are to apply the Old Testament to their lives today. He specifically addresses how the laws of the OT apply to Christians and does so from a helpful perspective, taking into account both Jesus's comment in Matthew 5 of no "jot or tittle" of the law passing away and the ruling at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 (alongside Paul's argumentation in Romans). Longman's steps forward for how we can apply OT laws to our lives today is very rich and similar to Tim Mackie's view as expressed in the Bible Project's podcast series on the issue. Longman wraps up by addressing how all other genres of the OT can be applied to Christian's lives, from history, to wisdom, to prophecy and poetry. The section on reading historical narratives found in the OT was particularly helpful. Longman emphasizes the need to not only focus on moral lessons the OT teaches (which although it indeed does, can often be quite tricky to navigate) but to also consider how the texts elaborate on the redemptive actions of God in the world, whether through the corporate Israel or specific individuals.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed Longman's book and am grateful for his contributions within and elsewhere to the realm of biblical theology. I look forward to reading more work of his and, as a result, knowing more deeply the person of Christ and partaking in "the boundless riches of Christ" (Eph. 3:8) both in the Old and New Testaments.

[Michael Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Longman’s short, readable book is organized around three questions every believer should consider when studying the Old Testament:

1. What are the keys to understanding the Old Testament?
2. Is the God of the Old Testament the same as the God of the New Testament?
3. How should Christians apply the Old Testament to life?

These aren’t the only important questions, but they are certainly significant and worth exploring if we want to read faithfully.

He begins by highlighting both the appeal and the challenges of reading the Old Testament. He then presents nine principles for interpretation, such as: reading in context, identifying genre, and considering historical background. These aren’t new, and the discussion of each is brief, but that’s what makes the book approachable and part of the book’s strength. For those just beginning to study the Old Testament, this section is a useful primer. For more seasoned readers, it may feel a bit too light.

He handles the second question (whether the God of the Old and New Testaments is the same) with care and I appreciated a lot of what he had to say. However, a lengthy digression into covenants in the ANE and Israel, though thoroughly interesting on its own, felt disconnected from the central question or at least distant from the goal in mind. The topic is (maybe?) relevant, but the detour distracts rather than clarify (at least it did for me).

In the final section, Longman discusses how Christians should apply the Old Testament today, comparing extreme views like theonomy and dispensationalism. His treatment is balanced, but I wasn’t entirely clear where he landed. I also found myself feeling a bit cautious/wary about his suggestion that we should draw moral lessons directly from Old Testament narratives. Much current preaching is simple moralizing on these stories, and there doesn’t seem to be any control on how we discover what moral lessons we are supposed to derive from them, meaning what moral issues the author intended us to draw.

In the end, Making Sense of the Old Testament is a helpful, easy-to-read introduction. If you’ve studied the Old Testament in depth, this may not be for you. But for others, or for those looking for a refresher, it offers a solid and accessible starting point.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic intro to the Old Testament. Offers up three questions with corresponding answers.

1. What are the keys to understanding the Old Testament.

Longman gave 9 keys here, and they were ones that pretty much everyone already knows about. Know the context of the passage, know the historical setting, consider the audience, consider the genre, etc.

2. Is the God of the Old Testament the same as the God of the New Testament.

This is a question that unfortunately needed a response to because big meanie God of Abraham is so different from sweet and loving God of Paul. But of course they are one and the same. Longman answered this through a procession of covenantal passages, showing that there is actually unity here if we uncover our eyes.

3. How does the Old Testament apply in the life of a Christian today.

Longman threw a curve ball here and went on a diatribe against theonomy for what felt like half the chapter. There were good applications to be sure, but a lot of smoke and mirrors.

More to be said about this one on my blog soon.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very broad overview of approaching the Old Testament, responding to basic questions and misunderstandings about the role and function and proper application of the OT. It was helpful but also very, very general in parts. For my purposes, it was what I needed at this time, but I could also see it raising more questions than it helped answer if someone was coming with specific questions and not a lot of other background. For instance, I had previously read Longman’s book on the Psalms and found it thorough and helpful, but in this book he covers OT poetry in about a page and a half.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strengths of this book are that it is very accessible/readable, has helpful content, and is short (less than 150 pages). The first section on understanding the OT gives many great principles for interpretation.

[Nicholas Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Longman gives a concise and straightforward hermeneutics lesson on reading Old Testament books that is practical, engaging, and quickly paced. It is a recommended read for those who don't have time to dive into deeper and longer books.

[Stuart Samuels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight into the old testament. Bringing understanding and love for the "old" law.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Longman's book is merely okay. The goal of the book is to answer three questions about Christian use of the Old Testament. What is the key to understanding the Old Testament? Why does God seem so different in the Old and New Testament? And finally, how is the Christian to apply the Old Testament to following Jesus? In answering these questions, Longman shows a deep knowledge of the Old Testament. I definitely learned from his exposition of Old Testament texts and themes.

In the end though, I found Longman's answers to the questions incomplete at best and inadequate at worst. For example as to the question of understanding the Old Testament, Longman never makes mention of the doctrine of illumination. Certainly Longman didn't have to use that term. However, the idea of the Spirit granting understanding of the word is vitally important to the question at hand and the question cannot be answered without consideration of the Spirit's role. As for the second question, I think Longman radically undersells the inherent difficulty of the question. Pointing out continuity between the Testaments does not alter the fact that God calls for utter annihilation of His enemies in the Old Testament while Jesus prays for their forgiveness in the new. Suggestions of continuity don't override this stark contrast. The contrast begs for explanation. Finally, it is hard to believe that Longman doesn't reference Acts 15 in his answer to the last question. Acts 15 is a place where the question of Old Testament application for New Testament living is explicitly discussed. In addition, Longman once again completely ignores the role of the Spirit in aiding community and individual applications of Old Testament principles. The Word lives today because of the Spirit's work. He guides interpretation and application.

Again, Longman has great Biblical insight. This book, however, would have been made stronger had Longman given consideration to the life of the Christian being the life of the Spirit. Bringing that fact to bear on his questions would have provided Longman with much stronger answers to his queries.

[Mark A Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Longman tries to dispel common misconceptions about the Old Testament, and he does so adequately, but not as thoroughly or engagingly as expected. (My guess is that the formatting restrictions of the ‘3 Crucial Questions’ series caused this, as Longman has written extensively on this elsewhere.) Longman suggests helpful principles on how to read, understand, and apply the Old Testament. For those just beginning to ask such questions, this is a sufficient port to sail from.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine introduction to the discipline of Old Testament studies, but overall, disappointing. The writing is repetitive and goofy at times because it's really a book comprised of three lectures. Also, Longman has some divergent views about the Old Testament I don't agree with (sensus plenior, etc.). But for the uninitiated, this is a fine start to demystifying OT studies and righting some wrong misconceptions.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERY academic but powerful. For the intentional reader; not a beach read, but a convicting and rewarding book that should further shape your Christology. I will read more Longman OT works in the future.