Is there a single unifying theme in the Old Testament?

I think if I had met the question of a unifying theme in my earlier years I'd have said, "God", or "It's about God and humanity isn't it?" It is interesting to see that students of the Old Testament cannot really agree about a unifying theme, indeed some completely reject the idea that there is a unifying theme at all. It is hard to see how there could be a unifying theme when there have been so many authors, compilers, editors at work over so many hundreds of year, which means that if we ask the question, "What is the Old Testament about?" the answers will be as varied as its history of compilation. 

 

However at its most general it is the story of a certain people's relationship with God. Its laws and other pronouncements should all be seen in that light. If we see its pronouncements as determinative for today, we get ourselves into quite a mess. We have to figure out why we want to exclude some of the pronouncements and laws because nobody really is saying that every last word, every last thing is valid for today. No Christian denomination is carrying out the punishments for things like homosexuality or adultery though they may disaprove of them. 

 

When it comes to the behaviour and teaching of Jesus He seems to override some of these strictures anyway, even though He says that He has not come to set the tiniest part aside. So the search for what is determinative for today must come down to the benchmark, what is here that is wise? that is good advice for living? that is likely to reflect a clear understanding of the ways of a God who is love? Whatever does not conform to this framework has to be understood within its cultural setting and time. It had authority and validity in that setting, but it is of interest to us now in the way it informs us about the developing understanding of God in that context.

 

So for those of us who need a get out of jail free card for escaping the entire scope of the Old Testament, it has to be the clear behaviour of Jesus along with a very clear understanding that much of the Old Testament is imprisoned within its own time of writing and its historical context. It cannot have validity for today.

What does this imply then for our understanding of the theology of the inspiration of Scripture? If the whole Bible is inspired by God, "God breathed", then isn't it blasphemous to deny the authority of the Old Testament for today and for ever?

Clearly we need to revise our understanding of what it means for the written word to be inspired by God. That revision of our understanding needs to start with our acceptance of the Incarnation. The fact that Jesus came in the flesh is a pivotal point in our understanding of the way in which God deals with and interacts with us. The Incarnation points to God being made manifest in the local, the everyday, the ordinary, the here and now. The things which are local, everyday, routine however are also immensely varied and changing. The detail is infinite. So into the changing, transitory events and contexts, the eternal unchanging God comes. God does not turn the changing into the unchanging: He simply makes it valid for its time and capable of adding to our store of wisdom and understanding. To give a very simple example: Jesus grew and changed physically. He changed. 

So when we say that the Word of God is inspired, it does not follow that the specific detail has validity or authority over today's events or lives. Christians from all denominations and points of view have very rarely behaved as if it does. They have simply performed exegetical (interpretative textual) summersaults to try and escape the difficulties. It is these forced exertions which have undermined the Word of God, not the respectful scholarly studies and thinking which seek to give through weighing and carefully examining the text, a better understanding of what it is all about.