Mission in the Old Testament [Paperback]

Mission is the subject matter of this book. For most people, a study of the mission of the church turns first to Jesus and the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. Kaiser, an Old Testament scholar, explores the idea that the divine mission to the world did not begin with the Great Commission in Matthew but actually began in the Bible as early as Genesis 3:15. After making his case that Genesis 1 - 11 is decidedly universalistic in its scope, Kaiser focuses on the call of Abraham in Genesis 12. Kaiser calls this the first "great commission" in the Bible. Kaiser traces the universalistic nature of God's call through Genesis and Exodus, through the Psalms and into the prophets. Kaiser's work is thankfully not weighted down with scholarly jargon, while it is thoroughly grounded in sound biblical scholarship. A most fascinating chapter on the apostle Paul's understanding of mission grounds Paul's marching orders for his missionary zeal squarely in the Old Testament, particularly the Psalms and Isaiah. This little book provides an important corrective to the idea that God suddenly gave up on Israel and switched to the Gentiles. Correctly understood, God from the beginning was seeking a people who encompassed all the nations of the world. In a day when some want to make the tent of God's family smaller, Kaiser points out that God's promises have always been for all the nations.

As a distinguished professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and accomplished author, it is clear that Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. has devotedly pursued many themes throughout the Old Testament. In his book, published by Baker Books in 2000, bearing the title Mission in the Old Testament, Kaiser strives to illustrate that the Living God of the Bible is predominantly a missionary God. Kaiser states the crux of his thinking in the introduction to Mission in the Old Testament. The thesis of this work is that the heart of God has always been for the salvation of all mankind, and that the good news to all nations was not meant to strictly be a New Testament doctrine.

It seems as though Kaiser has in mind as his target audience those who are fairly well versed in the discussion of mission in the Old Testament. While Mission in the Old Testament is a short work, it is deceptively so. In order to fully understand the depth of Kaiser's assertions one must do so with scripture in hand, and in order to refute any of Kaiser's claims one must have a solid knowledge of the original Hebrew.

Mission in the Old Testament is not a book for the freshman biblical studies student. Kaiser makes some very strong claims about the person and intentions of almighty God and His plan for humanity. It seems like intense study would be required to challenge his thinking because Kaiser does not support his statements in a way that is friendly to the layperson. He simply states the way the Biblical texts should be interpreted and does not spend much time on the reasoning of opposing opinions. For example, he does not discuss to any satisfying extent why these prophetic statements in the Old Testament should not simply be applied within the new covenant. He talks about the Servant of the Lord (Christ) and the servant of the Lord (Israel), as mentioned throughout Isaiah, but this seemed to be a difficult sell and could have used more support. Kaiser squeezes his appeal for a missionary minded God into a scant 67 pages of analysis.

Overall, Kaiser's arguments needed more time to develop. I felt like I was being rushed through a six point lecture. However, the reason that I desired more structure and support for this thesis is because I personally agree with it and would like a stronger position to defend. I suppose Kaiser opens the door and directs the reader to paths of further individual study, but I worry that all but his opponents will take the time to do so. It seems clear that the Lord of all creation is willing that all should come to a saving knowledge of Him, and this can be seen in numerous examples throughout both testaments. In a western Christendom that is so heavily dispensational I would delight in a text that proved solidly that God's behavior and plan toward man is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Whether or not God wanted the Israelites to be active missionaries makes little impact on my responsibilities and the way I live my life. However, when conversing with non or young believers I anticipate more confidence in explaining the mysteries of the Old Testament. In this way Mission in the Old Testament was a useful text. I especially appreciated the attention given to Naaman and Jonah and the way their lives seem to prove God's heart. I am sure I will never fully understand an unfathomable God, but Mission in the Old Testament has helped to justify what I know of the New Testament God and the God that intercedes in my life, with the image of God in the Old Testament.

This short book treats a variety of familiar Old Testament passages in order to show that "mission", as bringing the message of salvation to unbelievers, was not an innovation of the New Testament church. Kaiser shows the Old Testament precedent for mission and how this led into the mission theology in the New Testament. His book tries to show that the nature of mission in the Old Testament was centrifugal (outward going), rather than centripetal (inward drawing). The few examples he cites, most notably the prophet Jonah, are good, but even after reading the book it remains difficult to see the nation of Israel as a whole actually acting in "centrifugal" mission. Nonetheless he does a good job of showing how the prophets and the Abrahamic covenant set the stage for the worldwide mission that occurred after Christ's ascension. The book is a very cursory treatment of the most significant OT passages on mission, and is by no means exhaustive, but it would serve well as an introduction to Old Testament mission.