Mission 2: Old Testament observations

Last week I wrote about the mission of God and how the church finds its mission within that agenda. To form a mission apart from that agenda is to form a different mission. Moreover, any mission apart from God’s mission is likely to contain a different gospel (cf. Gal. 1:6).

Wright (2000) points out two reasons to learn about mission from the Old Testament: “First, it presents the mission and purpose of God with great power and clarity and with universal implication for all humanity. Second, the Old Testament shaped the very nature of the mission of the New Testament church, which indeed felt compelled to justify its mission practice from the Scripture we now call the Old Testament.”

The following table present the main Old Testament eras in which Israel’s history is depicted:

After being created in God’s image for fellowship, humankind is deceived by the serpent and they face judgment. In essence, this is where mission begins; it is the story of God pursuing humankind in order to redeem them. God’s call of Abraham and the promise made to him in Genesis 12:1-3, come as a major new chapter of God’s mission.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob become known as the Patriarchs - the the physical and spiritual ancestors of Judaism. As we see, the nation of Israel was not physically sent out to the nations as missionaries. But, it can be said they were, beginning with Abraham, sent into the idolatry and polytheism of Canaan for the purpose of attracting others to the light of God’s presence among God’s people.

In some ways it seems the mission for regular OT saints was the simple witness of their way of life in the middle of an idolatrous culture surrounding them on every side. In the same way, perhaps clear quality of simple godliness you display in your life in the middle of a worldly culture is critical to the mission God has for you.

In many ways, mission in the Old Testament involves learning God’s ways that we may walk in his paths (Isa. 2:3).

“The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts” (Isa. 26:7-8 TNIV).

References:

Wright, Christopher. (2000). “Old Testament Theology of Mission,” in Scott Moreau, ed. The Evangelical Dictionary of World Mission, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.