The Impossible Call, Part 2 - Genesis 22:1-19 - A Brief Note on Being a Christian Reading the Old Testament

For the Christian reader of Genesis, it is almost impossible to read the story of Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac without thinking of Jesus' crucifixion.  I was taught in seminary that an appropriate reading of the Old Testament was not shaped by the New Testament or my commitments as a follower of Jesus.  I was trained to not see Jesus in the Old Testament (well, the attempt was at least made to train me in this way).  To be clear, this was not every professor I had, but this was part of my education in seminary.  The foundation for this approach was the historical-critical method of Biblical studies.  There is much to be learned in using this approach to studying Scripture.  Here are some good things about that approach:

1. You're able to see perspectives other than your own.  Studying Scripture in this way allowed me to see the limited nature of my own interpretative lens and had the important consequences of making me a (hopefully) humble, responsible, and respectful interpreter of Scripture. 

2. It is a rigorous academic discipline.  I treasure the skills that I gained in my graduate work and I use them on a regular basis, admittedly with varying degrees of success.  The historical-critical method does not pay that much attention to devotional aspects or emotional responses.  Actually it doesn't pay any attention to that.  The one thing that I was taught that I still hold to tenaciously is the admonition to the let the text speak for itself.  It takes effort to resist imposing meaning onto Scripture, but it's definitely worth the effort.

3. It allows (forces?) the interpreter to struggle with issues of history, culture, the limits of interpretation, Biblical authority, the nature of prophecy, on and on.  For me, the method of Biblical studies that I was taught in seminary was akin to a wrestling match with God that occasionally put me out of joint.  There were classes in seminary that I left with a mental and spiritual limp.  Sometimes it is still noticeable in my walk. 

Those are some good things.  Here are some things I struggle with:

1. I can't help but read the Old Testament as a Christian.  I am a Christian.  Unapologetically a Christian.  I believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah sent by God to save the world.  I believe that some of those promises are found in the Old Testament.  In his chapter in the book The Art of Reading Scripture, Robert Jenson has a quote that has stuck with me for a while:  "Be entirely blatant and unabashed in reading Scripture for the church's purposes and within the context of Christian faith and practice.  Indeed, guide  your reading by church doctrine."

2. While I gained some important academic skills by learning to interpret Scripture historically-critically, I can't and won't surrender a devotional reading of Scripture.  I was taught that Scripture is the Living Word of God.  I still believe that.  I believe that the Holy Spirit speaks to us, instructs us, convicts us, and confronts us through Scripture.  So, I can't read Scripture with complete academic detachment. 

3. If I truly believe that the Old Testament ultimately points us to God's redemptive work in Christ, I cannot ignore what I believe to be Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament.  Now, I will readily admit that it is definitely possible to read the Old Testament without reference to Jesus of Nazareth.  It's just not ultimately possible for me to do so.  Historically speaking, I understand that when Isaiah or Jeremiah or Micah or whoever wrote Genesis wrote the words of Scripture, they were not thinking of Jesus of Nazareth.  But the thing is, when I read Isaiah 53:4-6, I cannot help but believe that's about Jesus.  I can study the historical context and understand perfectly well that Isaiah would not have been thinking about Jesus Christ.  I'm thinking about Jesus and an academic interpretation is not the only way I interact with that text, or any text for that matter.  

So, as I'm reading/wrestling with the story of Abraham and Isaac, I do so humbly as a follower of Jesus Christ.  I do so as one who believe that Jesus was crucified for the sake of my sinfulness.  When I read the story of Isaac, I indeed see Jesus.  More on that next time...