Preaching the Old Testament

by Scott M. Gibson (Editor)

Many pastors find it easier to preach on the New Testament than the Old Testament, with its powerful and often shocking narrative, prophetic warnings and calls to holiness. For many preachers seeking to make the Bible relevant, it's far easier--and safer--to stay out of the woods and plow the well-worn fields of the newer canon.

Preaching the Old Testament equips pastors to journey into the forest and find a passion and confidence for preaching on the Old Testament. This book helps them keep up on their Hebrew, understand the themes of the Old Testament, and unpack Jesus' foundational text to take their congregations to a deeper understanding of Christ himself.

Genres: Theology, Old Testament, Biblical Studies

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Zachary Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as much about preaching as you’d think for a book about preaching. I didn’t find it very helpful at all. There have got to be better books out there about preaching the OT. My professor recommended to me Wondrous Depth by Ellen Davis, and I plan on reading Brueggemann’s and Rutledge’s books on OT preaching.

I didn’t realize until the end of the book that nearly all the contributors were from Gordon-Conwell, whatever that may say about it. But shout out to Dr. Denis Magary, who preaches with nearly every sentence he speaks. His chapter on Hebrew was good, but I would have loved to read his thoughts on preaching poetry.

[Samuel Bierig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sailhamer chapter was good. Good intro for learning how to preach different genres.

[Rob O'Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent introduction to the exegetical work that goes into preparing sermons from the Old Testament from an evangelical perspective.

As is often the case, the chapters on the Psalms/Wisdom Literature (chapter 6) and the Prophets (chapter 7) are abysmally weak. These texts compel the preacher or scholar to deal with them in their time rather than rushing to an ill-conceived Christological conclusion. As a result, these texts are often glossed over or manhandled for illegitimate means.

Additionally, the chapter on preaching New Testament passages that cite Old Testament passages was both dense and unrefined (chapter 9). It was dense in that it was written in a more academic way than the other chapters in the book. It was unrefined in that the chapter never really gets to an answer, at least one that seems logical.

Some of the earlier chapters, such as the one on using Hebrew (chapter 2) and preaching the historical passages (chapter 4) as well as the later chapter on preaching evangelistically from the Old Testament (chapter 11), make the book worth reading.

[Stephen Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful but heavy and dated

Although there are some excellent insights here, as a whole it is largely disconnected from the realities of pastoral ministry. That is, the authors are far more academics than pastors and the presentation of all that needs to go into preaching the Old Testament as depicted here is simply overwhelming. Should the pastor be as faithful as possible in preaching the Old Testament? Of course. Can they be an expert in Hebrew, ANE, and genre? Rarely. Unfortunately I fear that rather than spur on the preaching of the OT this work will make the average pastor feel insufficient to do so.

Also, there are many resources offered throughout the book, which is appreciated on one hand, however unfortunately now the resources are quoted dated. Do CD players still even exist on which one could listen to Hebrew?

I’m sure there’s a better book out there that would include these same ideas but in a more conscious and encouraging way.

[Michael Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid and helpful book to approaching the Old Testament as a preacher, teacher, and interpreter. A sound hermeneutical method combined with conservative and orthodox understanding of Scipture makes this book refreshing. Many articles are helpful. I especially enjoyed the articles on the genres, and how the NT uses the OT. For any lay teacher I would recommend this book.

[Josh Loomis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kaiser is the key word. As someone who is benefited from the legacy of Walter Kaiser, I did appreciate the authors approach to careful exegesis of the text. I will say that there was less practical advice about preaching and more information about preparatory work for making sure you understand the text. With that in mind the book is solid and helpful.

[Lucas O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ciampa chapter really makes this book worthwhile.

[Nicholas Abraham · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this book is not comprehensive of all types of Old Testament books or genres, it’s underlying biblical theology perspective is its real value.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

The chapters were unequal. Some were truly excellent, and others were not that helpful. But I appreciate any attempt to get preachers to preach the Old Testament with love and conviction.

[Lanie Walkup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some chapters were more helpful than others.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of essays in honor of Walter Kaiser, Preaching the Old Testament offers practical guidance for pastors seeking to preaching from the Old Testament: how to refresh Hebrew skills, apply narrative, interpret poetry, understand New Testament quotations of the Old Testament, and preach the Old Testament evangelistically. While the book is too broad to offer in depth commentary, its unifying theme is preaching the diverse genres of the Old Testament with relevance in the church. A good introduction to proclaiming the whole counsel of God – B+

[Norman Falk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some chapters were better then others, and I would say overall OK on salvation-historical perspectives.
Still, if this represents the best on evangelical preaching of the OT, then I remain unconvinced.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a very good book at all. It is not about preaching as much as it is about promoting an extreme covenant theology that reads the NT into the OT.

[Радостин Марчев]

Сборник есета върху проповядване от СЗ от различни автори и с различна стойност. Някои са доста добри.
Въпреки това голяма част от материала (отново) е повече егзегетичен и херменевтичен отколкото омилетичен. Разбира се, двете неща са тясно свързани и добро проповядване няма как да съществува без читава егзегетика. Но не са еднакви.