Colloquial approaches to the Old Testament (OT) abound in cultivating the notion that there is not much in the way of connective tissue fastening together the myriad of accounts and anecdotes which comprise the OT other than the caricatured version of the Hebrew God who is bearded and grumpy. Indeed, the casual reader of OT Scripture is dead set on cherry-picking the most discomfiting passages they can find in order to corroborate their claim of the OT’s cantankerous deity. But such claims are not only groundless when measured against the mass of OT Scripture — but are also utterly unsuccessful in grasping the OT’s prevailing essence. Namely, that the entire meta-narrative of OT history serves to divulge humanity’s ultimate deliverer. “The Historical Books,” attests D. I. Block, “are primarily concerned with the character and role of God.” Such is what, Block goes on to say, “represents the only thread that ties together all these books.”
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The compassion of God in the courses of…
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Colloquial approaches to the Old Testament (OT) abound in cultivating the notion that there is not much in the way of connective tissue fastening together the myriad of accounts and anecdotes which comprise the OT other than the caricatured version of the Hebrew God who is bearded and grumpy. Indeed, the casual reader of OT Scripture is dead set on cherry-picking the most discomfiting passages they can find in order to corroborate their claim of the OT’s cantankerous deity. But such claims are not only groundless when measured against the mass of OT Scripture — but are also utterly unsuccessful in grasping the OT’s prevailing essence. Namely, that the entire meta-narrative of OT history serves to divulge humanity’s ultimate deliverer. “The Historical Books,” attests D. I. Block, “are primarily concerned with the character and role of God.” Such is what, Block goes on to say, “represents the only thread that ties together all these books.”