Here’s the third installment of my ongoing series with Dr. Michael Heiser at The Naked Bible Podcast. This was a fun episode. As we continue to discuss the Old Testament’s messianic profile, we start by recognizing key motifs that occur throughout the Old Testament itself. In this episode, we talk about the “offspring” motif, which begins all the way back in Genesis and is one that Paul picks up later in the New Testament. We also chat about Israel’s election, that is, about their vocation to be the rescue plan for the world (invoking a little bit of N.T. Wright). Paul also has a thing or two to say about election—to put the matter lightly. Although, I’m not convinced that many modern people have fully understood what, exactly, Paul—or the Old Testament—means by the concept of election (you’ll have to listen to the episode below to see why).
Below is the description for this episode, followed by the audio.
Description:
In the previous episode with Dr. Matt Halsted, we discussed how trying to articulate the Old Testament’s messiah merely by appeal to passages that contain that word (Hebrew, mashiach) was fundamentally misguided. What was needed, we concluded, was a “storied approach” to the Old Testament. We begin that journey in this episode, considering not only why it is important to approach the Old Testament as a story (as opposed to a textbook or reference work), but how doing so reveals important motifs along the way. These story elements provide a framework for understanding the Old Testament salvation plan of God through a human being, one who was also the son of God, who only later would be called “messiah” in a handful of passages. The motifs, it turns out, are far more important than that single term.